Well, well, well, look who’s stepped forward to challenge Alabama for supremacy this season in the SEC West? With its impressive and convincing victory over Ole Miss on Saturday, the Auburn Tigers have taken one giant step forward ahead of the line of contenders.

What a strange and entertaining season it’s been through 2/3 of the way through, complete with all the twists and turns that keep our attention and invite us wonder what will happen next.

At the start of the season, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Texas A&M would be that team to make the biggest push to the top of the SEC West standings and give perennial powers Alabama the most challenging run for its money.

But as the 2021 schedule started to unfold, it was an unsuspecting Arkansas team that began to show signs of becoming that team. Knocking off the Aggies put them square in the driver’s seat. But that shooting star has since fizzled, giving way to an Ole Miss team that boasted the Heisman Trophy front-runner.

Then the season took yet another turn when Texas A&M pulled the upset of the season, looking like the team we all thought they would be before the season’s first kickoff.

And now it’s Auburn that’s telling all SEC brethren to hold its beer.

The Tigers, now 3-1 in conference play and 6-2 overall, have quietly bided their time, like the fiercest prowler in the jungle, waiting for their opportunity to pounce. And pounce they did on Saturday, all over Matt Corral and the Ole Miss Rebels.

Bo Nix is transforming into the quarterback that everyone thought he’d be. Adding an ability to scramble has really opened up his game. Some in the media have even mentioned his name in comparison to … wait for it … Johnny Manziel. That’s a lot of hyperbole in my opinion, but there it is.

Even on the road, where Nix has struggled mightily throughout his career, he is turning it around and playing with much more confidence.

Nix, and the Tigers, will enter Kyle Field on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET) with a 2-game road winning streak. That’s something Nix has not been able to say in his 3 years as the Tigers’ quarterback. As a team, Auburn has not won 2 consecutive regular-season road games since 2017 and haven’t claimed 3 road wins in the same season since 2013.

Both streaks involved victories over Texas A&M at Kyle Field. In fact, Texas A&M has never beaten Auburn at Kyle Field. The Aggies are 0-4 in those games, dating to the first meeting in 2013 after they joined the SEC.

So, they’ll meet again Saturday in a game that may or may not prove once and for all which team has the best chance at dethroning the Tide, if any.

The Aggies (3-2, 6-2) could be that team, but even with a victory on Saturday they’ll still need to do what Auburn did and corral Matt and his Rebels. But that’s not all. In addition to running the table, the Aggies would likely still need help from Auburn in beating Alabama in the Iron Bowl in order to represent the SEC West against juggernaut Georgia in the SECCG.

Auburn, on the other hand, controls its fate. Win out, and they get Georgia in Atlanta the first Saturday in December.

So, it’s a big game for both teams Saturday. It’s the CBS Game of the Week, always reserved for that afternoon time slot. It’s the 2nd in the defacto round-robin tournament between Texas A&M, Auburn, and Ole Miss, the trio of legitimate contenders for Alabama’s throne.

Mississippi State, with its impressive thumping of Kentucky is still mathematically alive but would need back-to-back road wins over Arkansas and Auburn, a home victory over Ole Miss, and then still a lot more help. This is a crazy season; it’s not that crazy, however.

No, Kyle Field will host on Saturday one of the biggest games of the season in the SEC, in a season of big games. But that’s just how the SEC rolls.

Texas A&M is certainly no stranger to this type of atmosphere, having already turned away the defending national champions on that very turf this season. But the Aggies and head coach Jimbo Fisher have done an excellent job of putting that exhilarating victory over Alabama in their back pocket and have moved on since.

It will be interesting to see what this wacky season has in store for us on Saturday in Kyle Field.