granted, they usually do have the very best team. but not as much as the polls say they do. and the rest of the conference is just like the big 12 on the field. but the polls don’t reflect that cause the SEC appears much more big time. the SEC has twice as many viewers and twice as many fans in the stands. therefore when the play on the field is equal, the SEC looks better because of the other stuff.
the big 12 and pac 12 used to be pretty even in the polls and on the field with the SEC before the insane flow of money and power in the media really came in.