A sport that was once dominated by the SEC, more specifically Alabama, has become completely wide open in terms of legitimate championship contenders.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.It all culminated in a team like Indiana, one of the worst programs in college football history, completing a 16-0 dream season with a national championship just last year.SEC'S CRAZY, HISTORY-MAKING WEEK 7 WEEKEND IS THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S NEW ERAIndiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza passes against Miami during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game, Monday, Jan.19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)Now in 2026, the parity has reached an all-time high, with no truly dominant team standing out eight weeks into the season.Many fans and pundits alike have attributed this to the advent of NIL, and their reasoning is fairly sound.Of course, the proliferation of talent would become "flatter" when every program is allowed to legally pay money for players.Not everyone is on board with this theory, though, and one of the voices leading the charge in the opposite direction is none other than "The Film Guy," Brooks Austin.In an exclusive interview with OutKick, Austin reasoned that it's actually the transfer portal, and not NIL, that is the cause for all this chaos in the ranks of CFB."Everybody blames it on NIL," he explains."I think it has far more to do with freedom of movement.
The portal has changed this more than anything else."As Austin puts it, teams like Bama and Georgia can no longer stack talent and stick it on the proverbial shelf for three years.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEGeorgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) rolls out of the pocket against Alabama during the second half of a Southeastern Conference champi...