I don't think anyone is really "touting" a win over NW, they did what they had to do and beat them good.
Problem is a win over NW should still count more than a "close" loss to Alabama, where said losing team completely choked in the 2nd half. Yes Ohio State lost to Purdue, but "great teams" dont choke like UGA did against Bama. There's a big problem when teams are given more respect for "close losses" than actual wins, and this has happened more than a few times with SEC teams this season. Nobody else is really afforded that luxury.
The SEC this year was Bama, UGA and a bunch of mediocre teams. Problem here is, the media props up said mediocre teams. Sorry but LSU and Florida are not anywhere near what I would call "great teams". They are ok at best and have inflated rankings in a year of a bunch of mediocre teams everywhere. After the top 6 or so (and maybe throw UCF in there) this season there is just an avalanche of mediocre-average teams. Very few teams i'd actually even consider to be in the "good-great" category this season.