The best program does not always win, especially as the regular season is demphisized and replaced with more random playoffs, but, yes, Alabama is the best program and probably will be as long as Saban is there. Clemson won the title this year. Clemson also has a great program. Sweney, who seems like a good person who has come over a bad childhood, is right there
The SEC is, by far, the greatest conference, with almost half of its current members having won national championships just since I-A and I-AA were split in 1978 (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana State), and over 40% of the current NFL rosters. No other conference has that kind of depth. You have to go back into ancient history to find 6 different national champions from the same league, and still you will fail in 2 of the 4 cases. The ACC is clearly second, but has several weak teams at the bottom that give de facto off-weeks to the top teams. Then there is a huge gap before you get to the Big 10 and Pac 12, which likewise have good teams at the top and little at the bottom, and then another gap before the Big 2, Little 8. Really the gap between the Big 2, Little 8 and the top G5 leagues in a given year is smaller than the gap between it and the other 4.
Now the Marshall content. Not that we will ever get there, because we won't, but the model for Marshall is the big state schools NOT named for a state or big city, and thus not flush with non-alumni fairweather fans. Chief among these Clemson, Auburn, and Purdue. Think about that, Clemson, a fairly small by I-A P5 standards (18K undergrads) and limited (mostly ag/sci/tech) college located in a tiny town in the mountains on the very edge of its state, has developed a statewide following (including many with no actual relationship with the school), a loyal alumni base (some accounts say it invented the booster club idea) and a national following. We could do worse in finding something to study and emulate.