The talent discrepancy was obvious in the mid 2000s, notably in the speed department.

The SEC couldn’t help itself, running away from fellow perceived elites on the grand stage with seven BCS national championships over an eight-year span.

Urban Meyer’s first title at Florida in 2006 helped develop the ‘SEC speed’ edge and forced other Power 5 conference teams to take a look at what the Gators, Crimson Tide and Tigers of the world were doing on the recruiting trail, welcoming athleticism over brawn.

The Gators entered the game against the top-ranked and unbeaten Buckeyes as the underdog, unlikely to win against Heisman winner Troy Smith. Instead, Florida made a national statement, literally running away from the Big Ten champs, 41-14.

Eight years since Percy Harvin was the first of several SEC speedsters to flex his prowess as a multi-position playmaker, is the league’s speed advantage coming to an end?

Knee-jerk reactions after what many deemed a less-than-stellar 7-5 bowl record suggests so, though the SEC’s not willing to give up its crown just yet to frontrunners from the Pac-12 and now Florida State who Jimbo Fisher has positioned as a title contender for the next several years using a similar, speed and athlete-heavy blueprint.

At the time of the SEC’s initial speed edge, Meyer’s ‘Gator-heavy’ spread based attack in Gainesville was borderline transcendent, incorporating a dual-threat Heisman-winning quarterback who was just as talented on the ground as he was through the air.

Players like Tim Tebow, Cam Newton and later Johnny Manziel neutralized the opposition’s strength defensively and forced coordinator’s to scheme around an uptempo mindset that has proven to nearly impossible to stop. An offense’s ability to get the ball out quickly to the edges to its speed guys before defenders could react was a fatal combination resulting in long touchdowns and crooked numbers by game’s end.

The rest of college football has caught on.

The Big XII has prided itself on scoring points in bunches for years and makes no qualms concerning its prevalence for shootouts.

Oft-criticized for being soft thanks to the system and its style of play, Oregon is one of college football’s most winningest programs in the spread era, prepping for its second national championship game in five years on Jan. 12.

Even Clemson, a program that struggled to stay nationally relevant before Dabo Swinney, has added new dimensions to its offensive look using speedsters like DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and now Artavis Scott, to dominate speed-challenged ACC defenses under play-caller Chad Morris.

Speed kills … even the SEC

The gap between the SEC’s overall roster talent and other Power 5 competition has lessened, evidenced by several embarrassing performances for top-tier, once highly-rated defenses during bowl season.

Looking back at New Year’s Six game results beginning with Alabama’s loss to Ohio State in New Orleans, the Western Division was thrashed against comparable programs with lesser-known talent. Using several categories to analyze the SEC’s ineptitude defensively, here’s how it shakes out:

SUGAR BOWL: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35

  • Ohio State total offense: 537 total yards, 23 first downs
  • Plays of 20 or more yards: 8 (2 for touchdowns)
  • Third-down conversions: 10-for-18
  • Embarrassing stat: Equipped with the nation’s top rushing defense with only three touchdowns allowed all season, Alabama was gashed for 230 yards and two scores by sophomore Ezekiel Elliott, a player who wasn’t a primary focus for Kirby Smart and staff coming in. Elliott’s 85-yard burst in the fourth quarter sealed Ohio State’s first bowl win over the SEC in 11 tries (not counting a Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas that was vacated).

PEACH BOWL: TCU 42, Ole Miss 35

  • TCU total offense: 423 total yards, 24 first downs
  • Plays of 20 or more yards: 4 (3 for touchdowns)
  • Third-down conversions: 8-for-14
  • Embarrassing stat: The Horned Frogs scored 21 points off four Ole Miss turnovers, capitalizing on their first possession following the first of three Bo Wallace interceptions on a double-pass touchdown from Kolby Listenbee to Aaron Green. The oft-reliable Rebels secondary gave up four touchdowns through the air after allowing just eight through the first 12 games.

ORANGE BOWL: Georgia Tech 49, Mississippi St. 34

  • Georgia Tech total offense: 577 total yards, 26 first downs
  • Plays of 20 or more yards: 8 (3 for touchdowns)
  • Third-down conversions: 9-for-13
  • Embarrassing stat: Without looking at the horrific film, Mississippi State finished in the range of 25 missed tackles against an offense that feeds off of players not staying true to their assignment. The Yellow Jackets rushed for 452 yards during its second win over an SEC Top 10 this season.

What does this mean for the once mighty SEC?

It’s time for a soft reset, a come-to-Jesus meeting of sorts across the board on defense. Speed remains a contributing factor to stellar play, but tackling has become a lost art, a primary issue plaguing college football that offenses are using to take advantage.

One of the reasons the SEC has looked so dominant against non-conference teams over the last decade is its strength on defense thanks to speed and athleticism. Tackling, even at the bottom-dwellers, hasn’t been a crippling issue until now.

The SEC isn’t going to slide down the mountain unless the league loses its death grip on recruiting, but a gradual shift will continue if defenses don’t find an answer for offenses now equipped with comparable playmakers.