We’re already a third of the way through the season for most teams, and that has given people a lot to process. There have been a lot of surprises and disappointments so far this season, and we wanted to take a look at some of those.

Here’s our take on the biggest surprise/disappointment for every team in the SEC West.

Alabama

Biggest surprise: The number of true freshmen playing

At a program like Alabama, most wouldn’t expect a lot of true freshmen to see significant playing time. Well, this year’s freshmen have defied those expectations.

Over 60 percent of the 27-man freshman class has already seen game action and several players, including Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy and Dylan Moses, have carved out important roles for the nation’s No. 1 team.

Biggest disappointment: The lack of a pass rush

Alabama has five sacks in four games (1.25 average); last season the Crimson Tide averaged 3.6 sacks a game.

It’s not surprising that Alabama’s pass rush hasn’t been nearly as effective as it was in 2016, but that doesn’t make it any less of a disappointment.

The Crimson Tide will hope that the returns of Anfernee Jennings and Rashaan Evans will help improve things, but the defense has already proven that it’s hard to replicate the level of production that Jonathan Allen, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams brought to the table.

Arkansas

Biggest surprise: The emergence of Chase Hayden

After Rawleigh Williams III retired early due to injuries, everyone thought Devwah Whaley would be the feature back for Arkansas. So far, that hasn’t been the case.

True freshman Chase Hayden has as many carries as Whaley (29) but has outrushed the sophomore — 198 yards compared to 130 for Whaley.

Biggest disappointment: Not being able to protect Austin Allen

It has only been three games, but the offensive line has already given up 11 sacks, including six versus Texas A&M.

There’s only so much that Austin Allen can do without proper protection. Overall, the senior quarterback has been solid, but a 1-2 start reflects poorly on the team.

Auburn

Biggest surprise: The defensive line

A lot of people expected Auburn to have one of the best defenses in the SEC, but with the Tigers having to replace Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams along their defensive front, few expected them to have one of the top lines in the country.

Marlon Davidson (two sacks) was the guy everyone was looking to, but other guys such as Jeff Holland and Derrick Brown have stepped up in a major way.

Holland is tied for first on the team in sacks (2.5) and leads the team in quarterback hurries (six) by a wide margin.

Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Biggest disappointment: Lack of consistency on offense

The ups and downs of Auburn’s offense have been frustrating for Tigers fans this season. For example, Auburn scored only 24 points — with five turnovers — against Mercer in Week 3, then put up 51 points — with no turnovers — against Missouri in Week 4.

LSU

Biggest surprise: K’Lavon Chaisson — Arden Key’s backup 

Arden Key will more than likely leave for the NFL following the 2017 season, which was expected to be a huge blow to the LSU pass rush. Well, with the emergence of true freshman K’Lavon Chaisson, Key’s departure might not be as big of a deal as originally anticipated.

That doesn’t mean that the Tigers won’t feel the loss of Key, but it has been encouraging for LSU to see Chaisson register two sacks this season, despite taking a backseat to Key once the junior returned from injury.

Biggest disappointment: More of the same from the passing game

LSU is ranked 86th in FBS in passing yardage at 203.8 yards a game.

LSU’s hope was that coordinator Matt Canada’s arrival from Pittsburgh would bring more balance to the offense, but that hasn’t necessarily been the case.

The passing game has outgained the run game 815 to 802, but there is still something left to be desired from LSU’s air game. Danny Etling is only completing 58.4 percent of his passes, and he’s only averaging 180.8 yards and 0.8 touchdowns per game.

Meanwhile, the run game could have two 1,000 yard rushers — Derrius Guice (on pace for 1,020.5 yards, assuming a bowl game) and Darrel Williams (on pace for 815.8).

Mississippi State

Biggest surprise: The defense

Mississippi State got throttled by the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in a 31-3 beatdown, but MSU still ranks third in the conference in total defense.

In a season where a lot of people expected Nick Fitzgerald to be all State had, it has been nice for Bulldogs fans to see the defense become a complementary piece.

Biggest disappointment: Home vs. road splits

The Bulldogs are 2-0 at home. They’ve only given up seven total points in those two games and have averaged 43 points.

When State has played away from Starkville, it is 1-1, including that embarrassing loss to Georgia. It’s still early in the season, but the splits haven’t looked good so far.

Ole Miss

Biggest surprise: The number of weapons in the passing game

Coming into the season, the Rebels were looking to replace three of their top four options in the passing game from last season –Evan Engram, Damore’ea Stringfellow and Quincy Adeboyejo.

The returning receivers were talented, but they were also young. That hasn’t had any impact on the unit’s ability to produce, however. The team currently has three receivers (A.J. Brown, DaMarkus Lodge and D.K. Metcalf) averaging at least 80 yards per game, and two of those already have four touchdowns.

Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Biggest disappointment: The lack of defense

Ole Miss leads the SEC in offensive yards per game (496.7), but the Rebels don’t have an adequate enough defense to compete in the SEC West — currently ranked ninth (369) in the conference.

On defense, edge rusher Marquis Haynes might be the biggest disappointment, with 0.5 sacks after he averaged more than eight per season during his first three years on campus.

Texas A&M

Biggest surprise: The team’s fast start

I don’t know if a lot of people realize this, but Texas A&M is a blown second half away from starting this season 4-0.

In a season where the Aggies had to replace several key starters, including QB Trevor Knight, WR Josh Reynolds and DE Myles Garrett, that is both unexpected and impressive.

After defeating Arkansas 50-43 in overtime on Saturday, A&M is 3-1 (1-0 SEC). True freshman Kellen Mond also seems to be finding his groove as the starting quarterback.

Biggest disappointment: Blown lead against UCLA

As impressive as the Aggies’ 3-1 start has been, that loss against UCLA still stands out as a major disappointment.

You simply can’t blow a game you lead by 34 points with 4:08 left in the third quarter. It’s inexcusable, and something that will continue to leave a bad taste in the mouths of Aggie fans everywhere.