Parity, Not Parody, in College Football
🏈 How a decade of disruption made college football more competitive than ever
After decades in and around college football, I have learned that every major shift brings out both fear and brilliance. This one brought both, and something better: fairness.
I have watched this game from the sidelines, the press box, and the living room. I have seen the passion that fuels it and the fear that change might ruin it.
When NIL, the transfer portal, and realignment arrived, many people I know believed they would destroy competitiveness. They believed the rich would get richer and everyone else would be left behind.
But just the opposite happened.
The very tools that were supposed to tip the scales have leveled them instead. NIL allows athletes to stay where they are valued. The portal gives players second chances and programs a chance to rebuild faster than ever. Together, they have made the game fairer and more exciting.
Look at Vanderbilt. Look at Virginia. Ten years ago, those programs were barely whispers in the championship conversation. Now they are contenders. Not because the system is broken, but because it finally works for more than just a few.
And the data proves it.
According to CBS Sports, the gap between the top team and the No. 25 team in SP+ efficiency ratings has nearly cut in half since 2017, from 17.6 points to about 9.5 in 2025. Within the SEC, the average scoring margin has fallen from 20.9 points in 2017 to 10.7 this season. Games that used to be decided by halftime are now decided by a single drive.
As ESPN analyst Bill Connelly said, “It basically looks like you took some of the power at the top and redistributed it elsewhere.”
That redistribution is fairness in motion. It does not make everyone equal. It makes everyone possible.
Even Georgia’s Kirby Smart sees it: “If you are talking about the median, then I think it is closer.”
Fairness is not weakness. It is the heartbeat of competition. You can feel it in the stands. You can see it in the locker rooms that believe again.
Fairness is not just a sports principle. It is a leadership principle. When opportunity is shared, excellence multiplies.
This season, that belief feels justified. College football finally looks like what it was meant to be, not just a game of giants, but a fair fight worth cheering for.
Because in the end, the soul of college football has never been about dominance. It has always been about possibility.
Photo: JD Hill, Hall of Famer Sun Devil and Phillippi Sparks, Sun Devil, 1992 2nd round draft pick, played for nine seasons, NY Giant and Dallas Cowboy.
Both quotes appear in the same CBS Sports article by Dennis Dodd, published in October 2025, titled “Parity Has Arrived in College Football, and There’s a Ton of Data to Back It Up.”
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