When discussing the hotly debated strength of schedule of each team going into the season, SEC West teams were given a major bump. This was due to the division being seen as a formidable gauntlet with all seven teams being close to top 25 consideration. As with many pre-season beliefs, this has quickly been proven to be false and we’ve barely started the SEC schedule.
Re-assessing the SEC West
The division didn’t see too much change in week one as the Alabama Crimson Tide were solid in a win over Wisconsin while Texas A&M beat Arizona State and Auburn held on to win against Louisville. But shortly after that, things started to change for what was the toughest division in college football in the eyes of many fans pre-season.
The two teams who seem to have changed this view are Auburn and Arkansas. Many were picking Auburn to win the SEC behind the arm of new quarterback Jeremy Johnson and be chosen for the College Football Playoff. While Arkansas finished the 2014 season very strongly which culminated with a 31-7 bowl win over Texas, they also shut out Ole Miss and LSU in back-to-back games. They were another team that people were picking as a team that might make ten wins in 2015.
To begin the season it looked like Auburn had a few issues to work out as they held off a late comeback from Louisville. They needed overtime to beat FCS Jacksonville State but still there was this belief that they would work out their offensive issues at quarterback. Unfortunately that didn’t happen as Jeremy Johnson imploded against LSU, at the same time as the defense was getting run over by talented running back Leonard Fournette. A change was made at quarterback but it didn’t have the desired effect as Auburn mustered just nine points in a home loss against Mississippi State this week.
For Arkansas things went wrong a lot faster after a comfortable week one win. They were upset by Toledo from the MAC which was one of the biggest shocks of the season but despite this they were still favourites to beat Texas Tech the following week. The Red Raiders didn’t just win but topped the Razorbacks by 11 points in Fayetteville to pile on the misery for Bret Bielema. The Razorbacks were improved as they opened SEC play but once again blew a fourth quarter lead to Texas A&M and were beaten in overtime. Nobody predicted Arkansas going 1-3 through their first four games.
Elsewhere there are still question marks about the other teams in the SEC West. Texas A&M beat Arizona State but have struggled ever since and needed overtime to beat Arkansas. Mississippi State had issues against Southern Miss, lost at home to LSU and their only decent win so far was against the struggling Auburn. The SEC West is still amongst the toughest divisions in college football but it certainly isn’t head and shoulders above the rest like many thought going into this season.
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