As far as I’m concerned, the next six weeks of the schedule in the West is a complete waste of time. Just fast-forward to Week 13 already.

The only unbeaten programs in the division, at least with regard to SEC play, are Alabama and Auburn. The Crimson Tide are No. 1 in the country and have been all season long, while the Tigers are now up to No. 10 in the AP Poll.

If all goes well, this could be one of the most highly anticipated Iron Bowl matchups in the history of the rivalry. Not only can it be an eliminator for the conference championship game seven days later, but the loser could have its chances for the College Football Playoff go up in smoke, too. What a Thanksgiving weekend that would be from a ratings perspective.

Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas and Ole Miss can only get in the way, so let’s pray they don’t.

While ‘Bama did struggle to some degree with Texas A&M last Saturday, even if the game wasn’t as close as the 27-19 final score suggests, coach Nick Saban and his minions have been every bit as dominant offensively as defensively in 2017.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts — the league’s reigning offensive player of the year, everyone forgets — is completing 63.1 percent of his passes with a perfect touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7-to-0, plus he’s third in the SEC in rushing with 517 yards and an additional 5 TDs. He may not be a finished product, but he’s incredibly effective.

The Tide average a conference-best 6.6 yards per rushing attempt, and 7.8 per pass attempt isn’t too shabby, either.

On the other side of the ball, nothing changes. This unit lost Jonathan Allen and Dalvin Tomlinson from the D-line, Reuben Foster and Ryan Anderson from the linebacking corps and Marlon Humphrey and Eddie Jackson from the secondary. You wouldn’t know it.

Alabama is first in the league against the run, seventh against the pass and second in both total defense and scoring defense. Opponents get just 2.6 yards per rush — that’s the toughest sledding in the SEC — and 5.8 per pass. After a rather slow start rushing the passer, the Crimson Tide have 9 sacks in their last two games.

Stidham is now the highest-rated passer in the league with a mark of 166.2, and he hasn't done it being Captain Checkdown.

The is the dictionary definition of reloading. Trying to point out flaws on this ‘Bama team is nit-picking, plain and simple.

As for Auburn, coach Gus Malzahn and his crew are coming off a third straight comfortable victory over a conference foe. Missouri, Mississippi State and Ole Miss have been blown off the field by an aggregate total of 144-47.

The biggest difference, of course, has been Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham settling in as the new QB. It’s no secret that Malzahn didn’t get much out of Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and John Franklin III the last two seasons. In particular, the aerial attack was almost exclusively horizontal because none of those three signal callers had a downfield arm.

But Stidham is now the highest-rated passer in the league with a mark of 166.2, and he hasn’t done it being Captain Checkdown.

Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Defensively, second-year coordinator Kevin Steele (above) has done a magnificent job with a deep and dangerous depth chart. The Tigers are fourth in the SEC vs. the run, sixth vs. the pass and third overall, not to mention third in scoring D.

The inside-outside combination of Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson — both of them blue-chip recruits — in the trenches is hard to handle, as each of them has multiple sacks. Linebackers Tre’ Williams, Deshaun Davis and Darrell Williams are the three leading tacklers on The Plains, so enemies aren’t getting to the second level.

Frankly, anything more than one in-league defeat apiece for the Crimson Tide and Tigers would be nothing short of a shock. The SEC simply isn't very deep this year. Georgia is the only other school with an unblemished conference record.

Cornerback Javaris Davis even did his best Tide impression by returning a pick 37 yards for a score against Mississippi State.

The other five schools in the West aren’t on the same level as Alabama or Auburn, and it isn’t even close. We can only hope that their meeting Nov. 25 at Jordan-Hare Stadium is for all the marbles, with the winner going to Atlanta.

Fortunately, there doesn’t appear to be very many stumbling blocks for either institution the rest of the way. The Crimson Tide have Arkansas and Tennessee the next two weeks, two struggling teams with embattled coaches. It certainly won’t help the Razorbacks and Volunteers that they have to visit Bryant-Denny Stadium.

‘Bama has a bye before the LSU affair in Week 10. That one is also at home and should be a seventh straight W in the series for Saban.

The Tide do have Mississippi State on the road in Week 11, and even if the Bulldogs have looked more pretender than contender recently, coach Dan Mullen always has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The Tigers are preparing for three straight roadies — LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M — wrapped around their bye. Even coming out of the visiting locker room, they should be favored and expected to triumph. However, Week 11 is no joke. Georgia comes to town for what might be one of the top cross-division tilts in recent memory for this conference.

Best of all, both Alabama and Auburn can afford one stumble. The Iron Bowl would still be winner-take-all at that point most likely.

Frankly, anything more than one in-league defeat apiece for the Crimson Tide and Tigers would be nothing short of a shock. The SEC simply isn’t very deep this year. Georgia is the only other squad that seems legit.

Chances are, the SEC is going to be short on drama the next month and change. In the East, Georgia has come of age under coach Kirby Smart and separated itself from the rest of the conference’s weaker division. At least the West can still be intriguing, but only if ‘Bama and Auburn keep racking up wins as we get closer to the holidays.

Now you know what’s on my wish list: Tide and Tigers for the whole ball of wax, please. A time machine would be nice, too.