It is very similar to us and Kentucky.
The silliest thing to me is that admitting you need to beat Vandy, State, Arky, & Auburn in that order is not admitting you are a lesser team. It's just being realistic.
I know that for us it has to be Kentucky, Ole Miss, Auburn & Arky before we even begin to think about the Bama, UGA and LSUs of the conference.
Why so many of them want to skip that step and move directly to SEC Championship amazes me. Those are the most important games on the schedule every year before the season starts. And none of them should be treated as "less important" or "less desired" because of your self-aggrandizement.