Most important games in determining the SEC West champion
- Wyeth Wilson
- Apr 29, 2015
- 3 min read
This season, the SEC West will once again be the toughest division in college football.
An argument could be made for all seven teams in the division as a contender to be in Atlanta come season’s end.
These games will determine who comes out on top of the brutal division that is the SEC West:
September 19 – Ole Miss at Alabama
The highlight of Ole Miss’s 2014 season, and one of the highlights of the college football season, was the Rebels upset of Alabama.
The game will once again play an important role in the SEC West standings in 2015, especially with the game coming early in the season. The winner will become an early favorite, and the loser will be forced to climb back into the SEC West race.
Revenge and home field advantage will be on Alabama’s side in this game, which gives them the edge.
October 10 – Arkansas at Alabama
After losing by a combined 104-0 to Alabama in 2012 and 2013, Arkansas came close to knocking off the Tide in 2014, losing by only one point, 14-13.
Many think that Arkansas is ready to compete with the powers of the SEC West, and if the Razorbacks can tally a win here, they will have proven that argument, and will be a possibility to reach Atlanta.
But Arkansas is just not quite to that point. The Razorbacks will be good in 2015, but not quite good enough to go into Tuscaloosa and knock off the Crimson Tide.
October 31 – Ole Miss at Auburn
This game starts a brutal stretch of four SEC games (vs. Ole Miss, at Texas A&M, vs. Georgia, vs. Alabama) for Auburn, who will be one of the favorites in the West.
At the time that this game takes place; both of these teams should still be in contention for the Western division crown.
This will be Auburn’s first big test of the season for their high-powered offense, which will be a battle to watch.
In the end, home-field advantage and the Tigers offense will over power the Rebels on Halloween.
November 7 – Auburn at Texas A&M
At a point in the season when Auburn will be solidifying themselves as the frontrunner in the SEC West, they will have to travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M.
Kyle Field, especially since expansion, has established itself as one of the toughest places to play in the conference, and the Aggies might catch Auburn at a good time to pull off the upset.
By this point in the season, it will be known if bringing in John Chavis as defensive coordinator will have paid off for Texas A&M.
If the Aggies defense is improved, and their offense is it’s normal self, Texas A&M will have an excellent shot at upsetting the Tigers for the second year in a row.
November 7 – LSU at Alabama
In the past decade, the LSU-Alabama rivalry has become extremely important in the western division race.
In six of the past eight seasons, either the Tigers or the Tide have gone on to play in the SEC Championship Game.
Four of the last five regular season games of this series have been decided by seven points or less. In 2015, it should be no different.
This game will once again be close, but Alabama just has more talent than LSU this season, coupled with the fact that this game is in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
November 28 – Alabama at Auburn
The most influential game in the SEC West will once again be the Iron Bowl.
This game should once again be a clash of top ten foes, probably with the winner going to Atlanta, like the 2013 “Kick Six” matchup.
Last year’s game ended with 99 combined points, but this season’s edition probably won’t have quite that much scoring.
The battle to watch in this game will be the coaching matchup of Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
Auburn will still give up some points, but their defense will be fully developed by this point in the season. The early edge here goes to Muschamp and the Tigers.
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