Early Season Chaos Scenarios for the SEC West
If there was any lingering doubt about which division is the toughest in college football, look no further than the current Associated Press Top 25 for your answer.
Six of the seven teams in the division are ranked in the top 17: No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 17 LSU. The only team not in the standings, Arkansas, also received nine votes this week.
Just how tough is it?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Auburn has games against seven ranked opponents remaining on the schedule, with Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss tied for the next-toughest schedules with five.
That's not just running the gauntlet, that's like running the gauntlet blindfolded with a pack of hungry wolves chasing you.
That doesn't mean, however, that a team from the SEC West is a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff. Doomsday scenarios exist, so lets go through some that could send the division into chaos before the leaves change colors.
The Rise of the Mississippi Schools
Mississippi State announced its presence with authority on Saturday night, absolutely destroying LSU in Baton Rouge 34-29 in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.
Meanwhile, all Ole Miss has done through three games is produce the SEC's second-best defense (296 yards per game), gained the second-most turnovers (nine) and the quarterback, Bo Wallace, with the highest completion percentage in the nation (75.5 percent).
Do either have staying power, though?
The SEC Network's Paul Finebaum thinks Mississippi State does (via The Opening Drive on WJOX 94.5 in Birmingham).
West division powers Auburn, Alabama and Texas A&M had better hope not, because the Bulldogs already bit LSU. Another upset or two of that magnitude could not only knock off one or more high-profile contenders, but put one of the Mississippi schools in a prime position to make a run at the SEC West title.
If one of the Mississippi schools finishes with one loss and an SEC title, will that resonate the same as a one-loss SEC champ named "Alabama," "Auburn" or "Texas A&M?" I'd like to think it would, but we've never been through this process before, so there's no way to be sure until we've been through the College Football Playoff selection process for real.
Arkansas Gets Hot
This Arkansas team isn't the same one that lost nine straight games to close the 2013 season. These Hogs are physical up front, powerful and multidimensional in the running game and, surprisingly, have a quarterback who has proven that he can be somewhat of a difference-maker.
Brandon Allen has completed 43 of his 70 passes (61.4 percent), for 552 yards, eight touchdowns and only one pick.
Are those Heisman-caliber numbers? Of course not.
In that offense, though, a quarterback who's efficient through the air, doesn't make mistakes and keeps the chains moving is all head coach Bret Bielema needs to be successful.
Will Texas A&M's defense—which has played more fundamentally sound this year—be able to maintain that momentum against the three-headed running back attack this weekend in JerryWorld? Will Arkansas, with two weeks to prepare, get creative against an Alabama team that will be coming off of a road trip to Ole Miss on Oct. 11?
Arkansas could hold the keys to the kingdom. If it springs an upset, the SEC West will get even more chaotic.
LSU Beats Auburn
It's rare that Auburn gets to host LSU at night, but that's exactly what will happen in two weeks in Jordan-Hare Stadium when the battle of the SEC West's Tigers goes down.
One week ago, this seemed like a matchup that could determine the early-season landscape within the division. After LSU's loss to Mississippi State Saturday night, it has evolved into a must-win game for the boys from Baton Rouge.
What happens if they win it?
The cannibalization of the SEC West will be on, with no signs of letting up.
That's the worst-case scenario for the conference. It's clear the the best football in the country is being played within the division, but if all of its teams beat up on each other and can't produce a playoff-worthy resume, what's the point?
The best team in the SEC West has a division loss in each of the last three seasons (Alabama 2011 and 2012, Auburn 2013). If at least two, and possibly more, of its powers have losses on the resume by Oct. 15, the margin for error diminishes and November could get really crazy in the toughest division in college football.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
