Is the SEC losing its grip on college football? While Week 3 brought its usual chaos, the SEC’s performance has put all 16 of its member teams on high alert, even the ones who are winning. Despite a strong showing in the national polls, an Oregon legend is warning that the SEC’s defenses are not holding up their end of the bargain, which is making them vulnerable to a rising threat across the college football landscape.

In his analyst era now, George Wrighster isn’t sugarcoating anything. He points to the fact that defenses across the conference couldn’t hold the ground against a good QB. “Right now we are in a situation where, who’s the best team in the SEC, because the teams that performed, quote, unquote, best this weekend, where the hell is the defense? Where is the defense for Ole Miss, who is undefeated right now? Where’s the defense for Georgia? Where’s the defense for Tennessee? Where’s the defense for Arkansas? “Where’s the defense for Alabama and Wisconsin? They play with a backup, not close to the same athlete,” Wrighster said. And this really makes sense.

Unfortunately for the teams, game stats back up his argument. Remember Alabama’s lousy defense against Florida State? They allowed 31 points and 382 yards, and rushed for 230 yards and 49 carries, and Kalen DeBoer’s team couldn’t stop their run. Even Ole Miss’s defense struggled at times against Kentucky, allowing some chunk plays. And let’s not forget, even Tennessee gave a strong fight to Georgia, scoring 41 points against them.

And on top of that, Vols had nine plays of 15 yards or more, and the most head-scratching ones were 72- and 56-yard TD passes to 6’5″ WR Chris Brazzell II. But then, when it mattered the most, Josh Heupel’s defense flinched against Georgia, too, as they allowed a game-tying TD in their overtime loss against the Bulldogs. So, it’s clear the SEC needs to buck up real fast if they really want to make an impact this season. And let’s not forget that for two years, no SEC team has won the championship game. So, it’s high time now.

But even with all these warnings, the SEC’s run isn’t stopping anytime soon.

Are they still the kings of college football?

Despite the inconsistencies on the field, the answer is still yes. Even after week 3, the SEC continued its strong showing in the AP Top 25, boasting 11 ranked teams for the 2nd week in a row. Crazy, right? Well, that’s what the SEC is known for. Now, LSU held firm at No. 3 after defeating Florida 20-10, while Georgia rose to No. 5 following an overtime win against Tennessee, which is still at No. 15. But the shocker is Texas, which dropped from No. 7 to No. 8 despite winning against UTEP. But can we blame it? Arch Manning’s game is turning into a nightmare for them.

Then there’s Texas A&M, which had the biggest jump, going from No. 16 to No. 10 after winning against Notre Dame, but South Carolina, which was at No. 11, fell out of the rankings entirely after losing to Vanderbilt. And the best part? Vanderbilt, which just had one vote, now surged to No. 20, its highest ranking since 2008. So, it’s pretty evident that the SEC is making its dominance known even with all those inconsistencies.

While some SEC teams look like contenders, and others look like pretenders, the conference as a whole remains the gold standard. But the on-field performance is not the only thing Wrighster is worried about. He warned listeners about the risk of unequal revenue sharing in the future of college football.

“And of course, revenue sharing with the media payouts and all of this, but unequal, I’m telling you, guys fight back on this,” he noted. “Fight back on this when it comes to your school, your team, your board, wherever you sit, that will be the death of college football. What the ACC is doing with just because you have better TV ratings, that you get paid more money and widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots,” he said.

The SEC is already CFB giants thanks to lucrative TV deals. If other conferences, such as the ACC, adopt unequal revenue sharing, it will only widen the gap, making it tougher for them to compete.