Altogether, the West is a ridiculous 20-3 against the rest of college football with just a single unranked loss (coming to Memphis in dubiously officiated fashion.) Whomever emerges atop this free-for-all could have a national title in their sights-and after this week, it might not be Alabama in the lead of college football's toughest division.Īll times are listed as Eastern. LSU, winners of three on the trot after a letdown loss to UCLA, have a chance to prove their rejuvenated hype is deserved against Auburn, which had top-10 Penn State on the ropes recently. Mississippi State took home an understated win over North Carolina State earlier this year, and their two losses have come by a combined five points. Texas A&M, for example, is still one of the better teams in the country, setting aside a bizarre Colorado contest in which they were called to game-plan around a backup quarterback on the fly. The old stalwart Crimson Tide, the up-and-coming Rebels, and the out-of-nowhere Razorbacks are the headline names, but the rest of the division is full of dangerous opponents as well. If Arkansas can come away with two wins from those three games, they could very well challenge for a playoff spot. Now they enter a stretch of their schedule that is, somehow, even harder: a visit to Georgia, then a trip to Ole Miss, and finally a home duel with Auburn. The stunning Razorbacks, in their second year under longtime offensive line coach Sam Pittman, demolished Texas 40-21 and most recently took down Texas A&M 20-10. But just as Ole Miss was gearing up for a seemingly obvious ESPN College GameDay appearance against the Crimson Tide, an unexpected division rival stole their thunder.Īrkansas, strike a light, is 4-0 with two ranked wins. Ole Miss is the fan favorite, with an explosive offense led by Heisman Trophy frontrunner Matt Corral and coached by the bombastic Lane Kiffin the Rebels have lived up to the hype, sitting at 3-0 and averaging over 50 points per game. Alabama, still probably the nation's best team despite that Florida nailbiter, leads the way, but those behind have been on a charge thus far. Because while no team has gotten through the first few weeks without drama, one division has separated itself from the rest and established clear superiority: the SEC West. The College Football Playoff field is wide open, with plenty of spots for unheralded contenders such as Iowa and Oregon to snap up.īut we're not here to talk about that. Alabama looked like the lone exception, but a remarkably undisciplined second half against Florida showed their vulnerability as well. Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame continue to play with their food, and Clemson was caught napping in their most recent game, taking a stunning loss to North Carolina State that effectively shut the door on their playoff hopes. Through the first four weeks of the college football season, few teams have demonstrated clear and consistent dominance.

Split second game