We’re not even out of September yet, and we may already have the season’s biggest disappointment pegged.

LSU is a mere 2-2 after losing 18-13 at Auburn, and what was hoped to be a turnaround season and a return to glory has already been spoiled. With losses to AU and Wisconsin, the road to the College Football Playoff looks closed to the Tigers (although they did once win a national championship with two losses, so you never know).

An improved passing game from having a returning starter at quarterback and both wide receiver spots has not materialized (Brandon Harris has been benched and the receivers have not been productive), Leonard Fournette has not been as dominant as a year ago and a team that’s supposed to finally have the senior leadership when a group of draft-eligible juniors opted to stay in school has not been able to win close games.

It would be hard for any team in the SEC West to reach the disappointment level LSU has already achieved, save a complete collapse by Alabama. And if we learned anything this week, that seems far from happening.

Here’s what we learned about each SEC West team this week:

Alabama: In a 48-0 rout of Kent State, head coach Nick Saban said his team played a complete game, which is scary for future opponents, considering the top-ranked Tide’s youth and how easy it could have been for them to come out less than sharp against an inferior opponent. Instead, Alabama did what it wanted in the first half, jumping to a 41-0 lead before easing off the gas pedal. Joshua Jacobs, who rushed for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns, had a coming out party that just adds to the Tide’s tailback depth.

Arkansas: If one thing consistently stands out about Bret Bielema teams, whether at Arkansas or previously at Wisconsin, it’s the big, physical offensive lines. This year, the Hogs are struggling to continue that tradition and looked downright shaky up front in the 45-24 loss to Texas A&M. Quarterback Austin Allen took a beating (although there was just one official sack), and the running game averaged just three yards a carry. There are more issues — obviously, the defense was shredded by an increasingly dangerous Texas A&M offense — but the line issues sort of go to the program’s identity.

Auburn: We see Gus Malzahn’s blueprint going forward for his 2-2 Tigers. In the 18-13 win over LSU, the Auburn coach played conservatively on offense, settling for field goals while turning the game over to a much-improved defense. The defense held LSU to 338 yards and just one touchdown, so the strategy worked. Auburn moved the ball in the air against a good defense, so perhaps he’s on to something. But to continue to win, Auburn still needs to find ways to finish in the red zone. It has a weapon in kicker Daniel Carlson (12-for-12 in field goals), but three touchdowns in three games against Power 5 conference teams won’t get it done.

LSU: Changing quarterbacks didn’t magically heal the offense of 2-2 LSU. The Tigers had just one touchdown and could get little going in the air until the final drive of the 18-13 loss to Auburn. Danny Etling (15-for-27 for 118 yards) could never get anything going down field, and star receiver Malachi Dupre was under-utilized. LSU’s overreliance on Leonard Fournette may be Les Miles’ undoing as head coach. And it won’t be because of this season’s ineptitude on offense, it’ll be about years of offensive struggles, with this year being one in which the Tigers returned nine offensive starters.

Ole Miss: What’s scary about 2-2 Ole Miss is that it has had three games this season where it jumped to 20-plus point leads against ranked opponents. Unlike the first two – collapses in losses to Florida State and Alabama – the Rebels stayed on point in a 45-14 rout of No. 12 Georgia on Saturday. Chad Kelly further solidified himself as the SEC’s best passer, going 18-for-24 for 282 yards. But the biggest takeaway was that the defense was good, shutting out the Bulldogs in the first half and really until the game was out of hand. This could be a reflection of Georgia weakness — remember the Bulldogs’ struggle with Nicholls State — but we’ve now seen three times this year how good the Rebels can be for stretches of a game.

Mississippi State: Nick Fitzgerald was shut down by LSU last week, but he returned to his dual-threat dominance, passing for 299 yards and rushing for 110 more in a too-close-for-comfort 47-35 win over UMass. But there are serious defensive questions in Starkville after the Bulldogs gave up 411 yards to the Minutemen. There’s also reason to be concerned that MSU dominated the first half but still trailed 14-13 at the break. Was it a sign that the 2-2 Bulldogs are young with a huge learning curve, or was it a sign that they’re flawed and facing a difficult road ahead in finding ways to win in the SEC?

Texas A&M: How huge has Trevor Knight been for Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies? Texas A&M is 4-0 for the third year in a row and ranked No. 10 in a season after a mass defection of quarterbacks. The Oklahoma transfer has solidified the position and then some. In a 45-24 win over Arkansas, he did it with explosive plays, scoring on runs of 42 and 48 yards and delivering the game’s big play on a 92-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds, which came two plays after the defense delivered a goal-line stand. He accounted for 382 yards — 225 passing and 157 rushing — and the Aggies are an offensive force again. With an improved defense, they look like they could be the SEC’s best team not called Alabama. But where would they be without Knight?