In the final team meeting before LSU took the field to face Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl semifinal, Ed Orgeron began by hushing the room. He then asked for all of the Tigers’ graduate assistants and analysts — more than a dozen of them — to rise from their seats.



Several had gray hair and Power 5 coordinator and NFL coaching experience in their backgrounds. but these weren’t LSU’s position coaches or coordinators. They were the people who had handled a lot of the advanced detail research and assisted in game-planning. Orgeron thanked them and told his players how vital these staffers were in making the team better prepared than any other in the country. A few heartbeats later every Tiger player stood up to give them a standing ovation.



Staff resources like that have also helped Alabama dominate college football in the past decade. When Nick Saban and the Tide started their run, the SEC distributed $132.5 million to its league members. When...