Offline
What conference has 5 premiere teams?
Pac 10 - USC (1)
Big 10 - Ohio St., Michigan, Wisconsin (3)
Big East - West Virginia, Louisville (2)
Big 12 - Texas, Oklahoma (2)
ACC - Virginia Tech, Miami (2)
SEC - LSU, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, (5)
The SEC is the only conference where every year all 5 teams have a legit chance of winning the SEC title. In the other conferences it's the same teams year end and year out. Alabama had a good year last year and this year it has been Arkansas. You never truly know with the SEC because it's just that GOOD.
LSU had the hardest road schedule of any team in the top 10. LSU played 3 premiere teams on the road and a tough Arkansas team. What other top 10 team has done that, none, not even Ohio St. or USC. SEC teams don't need to schedule tough OOC games because playing in the SEC is hard enough. They need a break when they go out of conference.
Also, any one that knows anything about college football know that it's extremely hard to be charged up every week. When you play tough schedules you often come out flat against weaker teams. Especially when you have another tough opponent coming up. Also, injuries take their toll on you when you play a tough schedule.
We already know who will be the conference winners in the other conferences for 2007. That's how predictable they are. There will probably be 2 different teams playing for the SEC title game next year. That's what makes the SEC so exciting and unpredictable, great teams.
Don't Hate
These five "premier" teams you mention are only "premier" within the SEC. None of them, save MAYBE Florida, are premier teams on a national stage year in and year out.
Just because they all have bad offenses, leading to a bunch of close games and unpredictability within the conference, does not mean that they are all elite teams. On the national stage they are all good but not great teams.
BTW
Auburn is not a "premier" team. They have had some recent success against the SEC but are not a storied program. Neither is LSU. If you're going to include them, you have to include the Clemsons and Texas A&M's of the world - both of whom have historically had more success than teams like Auburn.
Big 10 - Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU (borderline)
ACC - VT, Miami, Florida State, BC, Clemson
Big XII - Texas, OU, Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M (borderline)
Pac 10 - USC, Cal, UCLA, and ASU/Oregon are both borderline