They don’t call it the “wild west” for nothing. Anybody and everybody has a chance at winning the South Eastern Conference (SEC) western division title. Since 1992, when the SEC split its 12 members into two 6-team divisions, the western division containing Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU and Mississippi State, has been the most competitive. The eastern division of the SEC contains Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. In the past 10 years, the eastern division championship has been won by only two teams, Florida (seven titles) and Tennessee (three titles). On the other hand, the western division has been more equally distributed. Alabama leads the west with three division titles followed by Arkansas and Auburn who both have two. LSU and Mississippi State share one title victory, while Mississippi is the only western division team not to own a division title.
So who will take the western title this year and get a chance to play in the SEC Championship game with the eastern division champion? Who knows? Last year it came down to the last game of the season between LSU and Auburn. Let’s break down the wild western division.
It doesn’t matter how many games Alabama wins, they’re not going anywhere for the next two football seasons. The NCAA banned the Crimson Tide from the SEC Championship game and all bowl games. So you can roll the Tide right out.
How about the Auburn Tigers? They strolled into Starkville and put a 28-point licking on Mississippi State. But entering the 4th quarter the Tigers only led 21-14. If it were not for the four turnovers in the last quarter, by State, who knows what could have happened? Auburn opened its 2002 season at USC and gave the Trojans a great game, losing to them by a touchdown. Don’t be surprised if “Cadillac” Williams drives Auburn to their third western division title.
Arkansas belted their first two cupcake opponents with a total score of 83-17. The Razorbacks will get their first real test when Alabama rolls into Fayetteville this weekend. Arkansas has a steady quarterback in Matt Jones and a great defense. So don’t be surprised to see the Razorbacks capture another western title.
Could this be the year that Mississippi confines their first western title? I really doubt it, looking at their final six games in which the Rebels play only two at home. Don’t get me wrong, Eli Manning is a good quarterback, but is he really as good as he’s made out to be? Or is his last name his best friend? Remember, Mississippi–a quarterback is only one man on a 22-player field. I think they realized that with the thrashing Texas Tech gave them and the pathetic defensive play in the Vanderbilt game.
Will the Bayou Bengals repeat their championship from last year? LSU could very well do it again. Their opener at Virginia Tech was ugly, but as the Tigers progress into the season they usually get better and better. For example last year, LSU started the season going a lousy 4-3, but won their last 6 games to go 10-3 on the year. The Tigers of LSU could sneak right up to the top of the SEC west.
Finally, we get to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs took a lashing from Auburn last Thursday in their SEC opener, but if you look closely at the game, State turned the ball over four times in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers capitalized with touchdowns on three of them. Bulldog fans, do not lose hope. There’s a long way to go, and you could very easily see Mississippi State at the helm of the SEC West.