was only 12 plays away from winning 0 (zero!) NCs over some era of dominance they had.

Obviously, the SEC is very dominant by plenty of metrics, but I was amazed to see this guy's list of plays. They were not that far off from a championship drought.

Also, the SEC benefits from its perception. For example, when Alabama and LSU rematched in the NC game. That time the SEC got a championship based solely on the committee's perception that the SEC was the best. Otherwise, they would have had to play a team outside the conference to win the NC.

Finally, the SEC was comprised of specific great teams. A post-Saban Alabama could regress a lot. A post-Alabama SEC is a different beast.

Still, though, the SEC is a great conf by dozens of metrics, so you have a good point.