Auburn's struggles against Georgia State are a real head-scratcher... but otherwise, they've had a pretty good year. They are one play in Happy Valley away from being 5-0 and likely ranked in the Top 10.

I'm not sure what Arkansas or Ole Miss have done to establish themselves ahead of Auburn at this point. I would say there's no clear leader among those 3 SEC West teams. They've all had their ups and downs.

Arkansas is hanging their hat on wins over Texas and Texas A&M..... but at this point, its become pretty obvious that Texas A&M is the worst team in the SEC West.

I know Georgia is good this year, but the 37-0 score says just as much about Arkansas being a pretender as it does about UGA being a contender. And lets not just gloss over the fact that Arkansas was tied with Rice in the 4th quarter in Week 1.

Lay it all out on the table and the only real accomplishment thus far is a big win at home against Texas. Are we sure Texas is any good? What's their best win? A 5-point win over TCU?

Now do Ole Miss: Their "accomplishment" at this point was beating the tar out of a Tulane team that took Oklahoma down to the wire? Well guess what, everyone has taken Oklahoma down to the wire. And Tulane has since lost to UAB and East Carolina (by 23 points!). The win over Louisville is nothing impressive... the Cards just lost to Wake Forest.

My suspicion is that LSU is being undervalued at this point. I think Auburn's win in Death Valley is going to be worth a bit more in a few weeks, while Arkansas's wins over Texas and Texas A&M will continue to show they weren't worth much.

My gut feeling about how the West looks at the end of the year:

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. Auburn (6-2)
3. Ole Miss (6-2)
4. LSU (5-3)
5. Arkansas (3-5)
6. Miss St. (3-5)
7. Texas A&M (2-6)

Auburn's losses will be to Georgia and Bama
Ole Miss' losses will be to Alabama and Auburn
LSU's losses will be to Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss
Arkansas' losses will be to Bama, AU, OM, and LSU

Just my guess at things after five weeks of play.