For the first time in eight years, no SEC team will play in tonight’s national championship game. You can argue whether that’s good or bad for the rest of college football, but the country’s biggest behemoth will not have the opportunity to claim its dominance heading into 2015.

Count Kevin Sumlin as one who isn’t surprised the SEC isn’t in the championship game, but he notes that the sky isn’t falling. He joined 105.3 The Fan, via the Dallas Morning News, and Sumlin was asked whether he was surprised the SEC isn’t playing in the national championship.

“I don’t know that I’m surprised,” Sumlin said. “I think the surprise would be that this is the first year in eight years that there is not one. I think people get used to a certain standard and when that doesn’t happen it becomes a surprise. By no means is the sky falling… Teams in the SEC are good teams and are well coached. There were some tough bowl games but the SEC set a record with seven bowl wins this year. What is going to happen in the next couple months with the draft and everything else? The SEC has a lot of talented players, coaches and a great fan base. It will continue to be one of the best leagues in the country.”

The sky isn’t falling on college football’s top conference. The landscape is cyclical, and although the SEC may have disappointed compared to recent years, the top talent in the country is still funneling into Southeast.