Here’s what we’re not overreacting to in the SEC after bowl season:

The SEC’s reign ending in New Orleans: Bowl season hasn’t been kind to the nation’s most competitive league, especially the Western Division. At one point this season, the West became the first seven-team division in college football history to boast seven ranked teams — all bowl-eligible at season’s end. Texas A&M and Arkansas were the only victorious teams, a black eye for a league that has appeared in nine consecutive national championship games. The onslaught of SEC hate began after the Magnolia State took one on the chin New Year’s Eve and exploded after top-ranked Alabama lost to Ohio State.

Combination of SEC speed + defense being a thing of the past: Opposing offenses have torched this SEC’s perceived strengths over the last few days after TCU, Georgia Tech and Ohio State — the last team in the College Football Playoff and down to its third-team quarterback — humiliated the West’s three best teams. Add Melvin Gordon’s 251-yard explosion during Wisconsin’s win over Auburn. Relax, folks. Until the SEC loosens its grip on the recruiting front, most of the nation’s best athletes on the defensive side of the ball will remain in the South. Tackling has become a nationwide epidemic however that has plagued the SEC as well.