re: If Indiana were in the SEC how would they do?

I think they'd do fine.

SEC has always been tough and remains tough, but it's also always been top heavy. What makes it exciting is all the big names and the dedicated fan bases. However, year to year a lot of those big names are not actually that good. Most recently Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Texas, are all big names that look good on a schedule and on a conference roster, but have had variable periods of suckage.

Combine with NIL and you have Vandy and Indiana kicking the big name teams in the mouth.

But even when the SEC was at the highest summit, they still had half a conference that were mediocre at best.

I think what makes the SEC unique is that it does "mean more" to the fans and players which makes week in and week out more intense, regardless of the opponent (case in point, Texas lost to Florida in the Swamp in what was a down year for Gators). And because of this I think this year's IU probably would've dropped one along the way.

But they are the real deal and would have won the conference regardless. Not sure how anyone could argue otherwise at this point.