Is the SEC West as bad as its 2-5 bowl record indicates? Let’s take a look:

Perception: The West didn’t stack up nationally as it turns out

For the first time in FBS history, all seven teams from the same division appeared in bowl games this season, a testament to just how impressive the SEC’s Western Division was during the regular season. That success didn’t translate for late-December and into the New Year, however. Alabama’s loss to Ohio State as a nine-point favorite was icing on the cake of dread, according to some, brown sugar on the overrated souffle hand-crafted throughout the season by ESPN and The Network. America outside of the South was waiting on the SEC to stub its toe and it came, for the first time in several years, this postseason. Tying the record for most bowl wins ever by a single conference (7) was meaningless to the majority who preferred spotlighting embarrassing losses by perceived elites Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Magnolia State’s ineptitude on Dec. 31 was a terrifying sign of things to come the following day.

Reality: Quality of competition, lack of defense surprised

After a 59-point loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and a Heisman finalist in the backfield on the way, could anyone assume Wisconsin would click on all cylinders offensively against defensive coordinator-less Auburn? The Buckeyes, as the last team in the Playoff, had their way with Alabama despite starting a third-string quarterback with an outgoing play-caller on his way Houston. Georgia Tech proved its overall value this season after winning in Athens and now has a victory over seventh-ranked Mississippi St. to boot. In all of the West’s five bowl losses, defense was in a sense non-existent, and the SEC’s perceived speed and athleticism advantage wasn’t as clear as most of us thought based on what we watched during the regular season across college football.