BCS National Title: Alabama Cements SEC Dominance of College Football

As Alabama clinched it's first national title since 1992, the college football world should have felt a big shock wave across the land.

The realization that the SEC, again for the fourth time in a row, won the BCS title. 

The SEC has dominated this era of college football.  The SEC has won six of the BCS titles with four different teams. 

Why does the SEC have such a stranglehold on the current system?  As with any story, it starts at the beginning. (Note: The years mentioned are the years that the title game was played in.)

1999 —Tennessee Wins First BCS Championship.

There is no better place to start a dynasty than winning the first championship of a new era. 

The Tennessee Volunteers were undefeated and SEC Champions for the second year in a row.  The Vols faced a Florida State team that had two losses and received the nod to face the Vols in the title game. 

Tennessee would come out on top 23-16 in a close game. 

2004 —LSU Sets the Conference up for Complete Domination.

After a wild finish at the end of the 2003 season, the LSU Tigers managed to leapfrog its way into the national title game versus Oklahoma. 

This game, seemingly not important big picture wise at the time, would crown which conference would first win two BCS title games. 

In a comeback for the Bayou Bengals, LSU would go on to win 21-14, setting the SEC as the first conference to win two BCS titles. 

2005 —SEC Has an Ultimate Free Pass Due to Auburn.

In one of the many injustices of the BCS system, 2005 rings as a battle cry not only for the Auburn Tigers, but for the SEC as a whole.

As most know, USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn all finished the season undefeated.  Auburn, ranked lower in preseason polls than USC or Oklahoma, was left out of the BCS title game.

The Tigers would win a close game over the Virginia Tech Hokies 16-13 in the Sugar Bowl, while the USC Trojans walloped the Sooners 55-19.

The 2005 title game left many fans, critics, and voters uneasy about leaving an  SEC team out of future title games. 

2007 —Florida starts a winning streak.

Because of Auburn's snub in 2005, BCS voters did not want to chance making the same mistake twice. 

An undefeated Ohio State team was assured a spot for the title, but Florida managed to vault into the title game due to Auburn's situation two seasons ago and harping on fears of a rematch between the Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines.

Florida would put on a show, destroying the Buckeyes 41-14. 

2008 —LSU becomes the First School To Win Twice.

LSU would make another jump into the BCS title game, becoming the first two-loss team to play for the championship.  LSU was the benefactor of winning the SEC title game and having teams in front of them lose in order to leapfrog to the No. 2 spot.

LSU poured on 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to lead to a 38-24 victory over the Buckeyes. 

LSU would then be the first school to win the BCS title twice.

2009 —Florida Makes It Double.

Florida would dominate the SEC again, manage to beat the Crimson Tide in the SEC title game, and jump Texas to face Oklahoma in the title game.

The Gators would soon prove that they belonged in the game, winning 24-14 over the Sooners. 

2010 —The Rise of the Crimson Tide

Out of all the SEC teams, besides Tennessee, that reached the BCS title game, none were more dominating than the Crimson Tide. 

The wins were not always flashy, but they got the job done, including holding off a Texas comeback to win 37-21.

As listed here, the SEC has shown its dominance of the sport these last twelve seasons. 

There are a number of reasons why the SEC is such a force in this BCS era.  It isn't just the fans, the money, the high school talent in the area, or facilities. 

The SEC has become the epitome of college football excellence. 

Whether or not the conference as a whole is the best each season, it doesn't diminish the fact that the SEC has the same number of BCS national championships as the rest of the BCS power conferences COMBINED .

Until another conference can show it has wrestled power away from the SEC, the idea that the SEC is the best conference in the land will not be easily disputed.

That idea may not be put to rest for a long time to come.