20 years ago it may not have been an SEC team, however the dominant teams were largely southern, aka Miami, Fla St, etc. throw in a few Big 12 and USC.
I think the big thing is for a long time many thought you couldn’t championships in the SEC because the competition was high and you could not win enough games. Bobby Bowden said this when Fla St. was debating SEC or ACC and he wanted them to pick ACC.
MSU got annihilated by Bama last year. Maybe the cold would make a difference but the warmth helps both. Lets not act like the MSU kids “enjoy” the cold.