Here's what we learned about every SEC West Team in Week 8

Thanks for playing, Texas A&M. Grab your consolation prize at the door.

Come on up, LSU. You’re next.

And Auburn, we see you.

Alabama keeps dismissing challengers, as it did Saturday with its 33-14 pummeling of Texas A&M. But as fast as the Crimson Tide puts one away, a new one emerges.

LSU looks the part of a team that could give Alabama trouble and the Tiers, fresh off a 38-21 rout of an Ole Miss team that gave Alabama all it wanted, will host the Tide after a bye week for both teams on Nov. 5.

And how about Auburn? The Tigers, once seemingly irrelevant, look more and more like a team that could be trouble in the Iron Bowl after a 56-3 dismantling of Arkansas.

So, challengers, keep stepping up to the plate. So far, Alabama’s had no problems with that.

Here’s what we learned about Alabama, and its SEC West challengers, on Saturday:

Alabama: It doesn’t seem to matter who Alabama is playing, the script pretty much stays the same. In Saturday’s 33-14 demolition of previously unbeaten Texas A&M, all the usual traits of an Alabama blowout were there: Jalen Hurts hurt the Aggies with his arm (166 yards and two touchdowns) and his legs (91 yards and another score).

Damien Harris was the running back of the day, giving the Tide it’s weekly 100-yard rusher. And, oh yeah, the defense scored another touchdown, continuing the streak where a unit other than the offense scores a touchdown in every game this year. It’s a tried-and-true formula and it’s boring for college football, unless you like houndstooth and crimson.

Arkansas: As the season wears on, what happened to Arkansas in a 56-3 loss to Auburn should serve as a lesson. It’s going to be difficult for teams – particularly teams not called Alabama – to bring their “A” games week after week.

Coming off a 34-30 win over Ole Miss, No. 17 Arkansas was a hot team in the SEC. But it’s difficult to turn around after an emotional win and go on the road and play your best football against a good team like Auburn, which continued to progress coming off a bye week. Certainly, there are fundamental issues 5-3 Arkansas has to be concerned about – the inability to stop the Tigers’ running game cemented Arkansas as the SEC’s worst team against the run at a per-carry basis – but the bigger issue is one that other SEC teams should heed. With Ole Miss looming, will Auburn suffer the same fate?

Auburn: Remember the reports that Gus Malzahn might have been coaching for his job back in the LSU game? How much has changed since LSU’s D.J. Chark’s would-be game-winning touchdown catch was negated when it was ruled time ran out before LSU got the play off in Auburn’s 18-13 win?

Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Now, not only is Malzahn looking like he’ll keep his job, he’s a coach of the year candidate. No. 21 Auburn improved to 5-2 with a 56-3 shellacking of Arkansas, a game where an immensely talented Tigers defense continued to dominate while an offense that had been a hindrance to the Auburn ambitions looked the defense’s equal. Auburn, now a winner of four straight, looks like a much different team than the one that lost to Texas A&M by 13 at home in a game where the Aggies consistently had to settle for field goals, otherwise it would have been worse.

LSU: The Tigers’ 38-21 win over Ole Miss was a vintage dominant performance by Leonard Fournette, but unlike his past big nights, the Tigers seemed less reliant on his single talents. The Tigers’ defense shut down Ole Miss in the second half and quarterback Danny Etling proved to be an efficient passer for the Tigers.

Since Ed Orgeron became the LSU head coach, the Tigers have outscored their opponents 73-7 in the second half and seem to get better as the games go on. Is it enough to compete with Alabama in two weeks? That remains to be seem, but the Tigers might be as well equipped as anybody in the country to do it.

Mississippi State: It’s getting harder to imagine any way for the Bulldogs to find their way to bowl eligibility after they suffered the heartbreaking 40-38 loss to Kentucky on Austin MacGinnis’ 51-yard field goal with no time on the clock. And this loss wasn’t about not having Dak Prescott. Kentucky, which entered the game 12th in the SEC in total offense, put up 554 yards on what had been a fairly competitive Bulldogs defense.

MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 107 yards and threw a touchdown pass in the game’s final minute that appeared to give the Bulldogs the win. Instead, MSU is 2-5.

Ole Miss: The more the season goes on, the more Rebels seem like a one-trick pony with quarterback Chad Kelly as the one reliable weapon. The LSU offense rolled up 515 yards on the once proud Ole Miss defense in the Tigers’ 38-21 rout of the Rebels Saturday. And the running game? Without Kelly’s 56 yards, there isn’t much.

Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Rebels lost most of the stars from their celebrated 2013 recruiting class after last season and this year, the depth of talent seems to have dissipated. Indeed, there was no Laquon Treadwell for Kelly to throw to, no Laremy Tunsil opening holes for the running game and no Robet Nkemdiche to anchor the defensive line. Could the Rebels be headed for a steep decline after Kelly departs?

Texas A&M: The Aggies have a play-making offense but the tendency to be inefficient – particularly quarterback Trevor Knight – finally bit them in a 33-14 loss to top-ranked Alabama, the Aggies first loss of the season.

Knight was below 50 percent – 14-for-31 – and is barely over a 50 percent passer for the year. With A&M’s two turnovers, including a fumble returned for a touchdown, that was too much to overcome. Knight is able to make enough plays to beat most teams, but against the elites, you simply can’t have so many unproductive plays and have to rely on big plays to compensate.