Even when the Southeastern Conference showed signs of vulnerability last season, its streak of seven consecutive national championships broken by Florida State, it didn't stay down for long.

If the SEC East isn't carrying its share of the load, the SEC West is doing more than enough to make up for its weaker half this season.

Six of the division's seven teams currently rank in the Top 15 of the Associated Press poll. Five of the teams are undefeated. LSU's only loss is to a division opponent, Mississippi State.

Even the bottom-feeder of division, Arkansas' only two losses are within the division to Auburn and Texas A&M. And still, Arkansas looks much improved from a year ago. The direction his team is headed, Bret Bielema isn't going to stay winless in the SEC for long.

For all the attention on a playoff at the end of the season,there's concern that the West is going to cannibalize itself. How is a team expected to escape unscathed through a guantlet like this?

There's not much sense in worrying, however. All the teams can do is take care of business and hope at the end of the season the playoff committee recognizes the degree of difficulty all teams within the division must navigate.

Saturday is an opportunity for the SEC West to bask in its glory. Three games, pitting six teams with only one loss amongst them, make up three of the best games on college football's weekly calendar.

Here's a quick look at each game before we get to the day's marquee match-up:

LSU at Auburn, 6:00 p.m. CT on ESPN

The skinny: LSU is better off with Brandon Harris as their quarterback, but there's something not quite right about their defense, probably due to losing so much talent to the NFL after years of attrition. Going into Jordan-Hare to face the defending SEC champions is a tall task.

Prediction: For a team that doesn't pass a ton, Auburn is collecting a good amount of receiving talent. Either D'haquille Williams, Sammie Coates or Ricardo Louis will make the Tigers defense pay. 31-22, War Eagle.

Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 11:00 a.m. CT on ESPN

The skinny: On a day that the Bulldogs might have hosted College GameDay had it not been for Ole Miss, Mississippi State will host their biggest game in years in front of a crowd that will be whipped into a cowbell-ringing frenzy. They'll host a Texas A&M team that isn't missing Johnny Manziel at all with Kenny Hill running the show.

Prediction: The Aggies are going to run into the best defense they've seen all season, including Bulldogs defensive lineman Chris Jones and linebacker Benardrick McKinney. They'll force more punts than Texas A&M is used to. 30-28, Hail State.

Where College GameDay Is At

Ole Miss didnt blow it. It might have seemed the weight of the world was on their shoulders last week against Memphis, knowing that a visit from College GameDay was at stake for this week's game, hosting No. 3 Alabama.

All No. 11 Mississippi had to do was win, and they'd be in the national spotlight. They already knew they'd get the nationally-televised SEC game of the week time slot at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS. Now they get a visit from ESPN's pregame show too.

For the first time ever, College GameDay will originate from The Grove, and arguably the best tailgate scene in all of college football will be on display for the nation to see.

Also on display will be the Rebels defense, ranking first in the SEC and third nationally in scoring, allowing an average of just 8.5 points per game.

Although it's a true team effort with stars all over the field, this year's NFL Draft prospects are are safety Cody Prewitt and linebacker C.J. Johnson. And perhaps the even better player is defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, but as a true sophomore, he still has a few years before the NFL comes calling.

They'll have their hands full with Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, who leads the nation with 163.8 receiving yards per game and is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

But no player may have a bigger outcome on the game than Tide quarterback Blake Sims, who has deftly claimed the starting job over Jake Coker and has played too well to give anyone a reason to question him.

Prediction: Sims will be held in check for most of the day by an inspired Mississippi defense, but he'll make one big play that will be the difference in a low-scoring game. 21-17, Roll Tide.

The Wisconsin Connection

Wisconsin showed a surprising amount of vulnerability in their win against South Florida a week ago, particularly in the passing game.

Despite a rushing attack that's as strong as ever, quarterback Tanner McEvoy still hasn't shown the ability to complete a deep pass on play action.

The concern is that opponents aren't going to respect the pass at all and load the box to stop Melvin Gordon and company at all costs. That's pretty much what Western Illinois and South Florida did against the Badgers. And luckily for Wisconsin, they can still beat overmatched teams on pure talent.

The non-conference portion of the schedule is over, however. The No. 17 Badgers should be on high alert heading into the Big Ten opener on the road against a Northwestern team (2:30 p.m. on ESPN2) that upset Penn State in Happy Valley a week ago.

Word this week is that Joel Stave is back being the Badgers No. 2 quarterback, but whether that means the coaching staff will be bold enough to insert him into the game if McEvoy struggles is another matter.

Despite the concerns on offense, the Badgers have performed surprisingly well on defense despite losing elite talent from last season up the middle: linebacker Chris Borland, defensive lineman Beau Allen and safety Dezman Southward, all NFL Draft picks.

The Badgers rank No. 1 in the Big Ten in both scoring (14.5 ppg) and total (260.8 ypg) defense. The linebackers in particular—Derek Landisch, Marcus Trotter, Joe Schobert and Vince Biegel—have stood out in spite of their relative inexperience.

Northwestern is a team that takes on the fiesty indentity of their head coach, former Wildcats linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, and can never be counted out. But they certainly do have a difficult time playing consistent football.

Prediction: Northwestern will gear up to stop the Wisconsin run game, but it still won't be enough. Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement will be held to short run after short run, but they'll each break off one back-breaking long dash to the end zone, giving the Badgers a hard-fought road victory. 26-20, On Wisconsin.

What Happened Before Saturday

People might not be willing to buy-in on Arizona, but this team is real.

After upsetting No. 2 Oregon on the road Thursday evening, Arizona has the best win by any team in America. Yes, better than Texas A&M's road win at South Carolina to open the season.

What's scary is that a couple of the major players on this Arizona team are true freshman.

Quarterback Anu Solomon is fouth in the nation in two categories: total passing yards with 1,741 and average passing yards per game at 348.2.

And running back Nick Wilson leads the Pac-12 in rushing with 574 yards.

To think that these players are only going to get better with more experience, that means bad things for the rest of the Pac-12.

Yes, it's still going to be extremely difficult for Arizona to escape the rest of the rest of their schedule undefeated and make college football's playoff.

But credit Rich Rodriguez for building up this Wildcats team to playoff contender. Things just got a whole lot more fun out in the desert.

Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor at Cheesehead TV and its "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].