Winning the SEC West can be harder than winning a national title. To do so, you have beat the likes of the Alabama Crimson Tide, the most dominant program in America, as well as the LSU Tigers and Auburn Tigers, who have each won titles in the last 10 years as well. Throw in the Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies, and you are looking at a group where nearly all of the teams are ranked at one point or another each season. It is the toughest gauntlet in the sport. With that in mind, here are our projections for the SEC West in terms of wins and losses for next year.
LSU Tigers
Projected Record: 10-2 (7-1)
The Tigers have a monster of a game to start the season, visiting the Badgers at Lambeau Field, which they could very well end up losing. The reason we give them the top spot here is because we see them getting by Alabama in Death Valley. They won’t be perfect, though, as they have to visit the Florida Gators. This should be a bounceback year for LSU with Les Miles’ back up against the wall. If they can topple Alabama, they’ll hold the tiebreaker and likely win the SEC West.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Projected Record: 10-2 (7-1)
The defending champs are not going to fall too far, but they have once again lost a ton of talent to the pros, and have to replace a starting signal caller. Many people cannot wait to see them take on the USC Trojans in the opener down in Arlington. Like LSU above, they will probably lose their opener, and then only once more the whole season…at LSU. They might still make the playoffs with a couple of losses, though.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Projected Record: 8-4 (5-3)
Many people can’t imagine the Bulldogs worse than third in the division. Their non-conference is not too intense. In the SEC, they get South Carolina and Kentucky in the crossover games with the Gamecocks at home. That is a manageable slate for the program to be pretty good in their first year without all everything Dak Prescott.
Texas A&M Aggies
Projected Record: 9-3 (5-3)
The Aggies always seem to disappoint, don’t they? They have a tough test to start the year against UCLA and at that point, we’ll know who they are. If they can get that win and then win when they are supposed to in league play, they should be close to double-digit victories. That means losing to Alabama, LSU and Auburn on the road. This team should be in a lot of ballgames, but they are not of the caliber of the big boys this season.
Ole Miss Rebels
Projected Record: 8-4 (4-4)
All you have to do is look at the draft rankings to understand why Ole Miss is likely to dip this season. They are getting stronger as a program and you have to love the fact that they return a productive quarterback in Chad Kelly – a rarity in this league – but the schedule is very tough. Florida State in the opener is a loss and even though they host some of their toughest games, they are not ready to win them all.
Auburn Tigers
Projected Record: 6-6 (3-5)
The Tigers take on the runners-up in Clemson to start the season in a battle of the Tigers. That is going to be a huge opportunity to make statement, but it’s hard to see it happening. The rest of the non-conference schedule is Sun Belt or worse. In the SEC, they benefit from getting Vandy, but likely won’t win any road games.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Projected Record: 4-8 (1-7)
The Razorbacks always seem to be discounted in the SEC West. They will be looking to retool their backfield, but this team knows who they are. In another league, they might be in contention, but the schedule is tough. In crossover action, they get Florida at home and the Missouri Tigers on the road. That Mizzou win is the only league win we’re forecasting. The schedule is very unforgiving.
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