ATLANTA — The chant started with 4:43 left, in between a taunting rendition of “Hey, hey, goodbye” and the hundredth playing of “Rocky Top.” It came from the Tennessee fans in the visiting corner of Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, named after the man who pulled Georgia Tech out of the SEC.S-E-C!S-E-C!S-E-C!A short time later, Volunteers coach Josh Heupel lamented a “disappointing” second half, then remembered his team won, 45-24.“I’ve learned to understand that you better appreciate every win,” Heupel said.The SEC can appreciate a big weekend and a start to this season that should prove vital if it can return to dominance.But it also showed how hard the conference might make things for itself.Two weeks into the season, the SEC is 28-2 against other conferences, including 8-2 against power conference opponents. Every other conference has at least twice as many losses. The Big Ten suffered five nonconference losses Saturday alone, and another Friday night.Texas’ win over Ohio State — which required a 20-point comeback at home — was stirring but perhaps not confidence-inducing. But what happened elsewhere surely warmed SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s heart, particularly after a rough few weeks dealing with a wayward LSU program:• Mississippi State, picked to finish last in the SEC, went to Minnesota, picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten, and rolled, 38-13.• Missouri, picked to finish 12th in the league by SEC media, got a 38-21 win at Kansas (picked 12th in the Big 12).• Tennessee, picked to finish eighth, didn’t have much trouble with Georgia Tech, the ACC’s preseason fifth-place pick.It wasn’t a perfect day: Oklahoma and its offense went down at Michigan, showing the Sooners are a long way from getting back to the College Football Playoff. Arkansas, expected to struggle, was beaten soundly at Utah.There’s also no assurance the SEC has a super team, one that appears likely to end the conference’s three-year national championship drought. Texas trailed 23-3 after three quarters. Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU had to pull away from unranked opponents (fellow SEC team Kentucky, in Alabama’s case). Ole Miss had a close call last week against ranked Louisville. Georgia looks good but hasn’t played anybody.Texas completes comeback over Ohio StateChris VanniniThe lack of a great team — or at least a great team come Playoff time — has been the issue these past three years for the It Just Means More conference. The transfer portal and the ability to pay players have made it far more difficult to build super teams. The SEC is still the most talented conference, with 20 straight years of having the most players picked in the NFL Draft. But much of the talent is spread around, bringing parity to a conference that had been dominated by Alabama, Georgia and the occasional LSU national championship contender.This season, the parity may be up a notch. Potentially at the worst time.The nine-game schedule now looms large. If there aren’t many bad teams this season — in fact, if the majority of SEC teams are pretty good — then the concerns of the league’s coaches will prove right.