Here’s what we learned about every SEC West team following the recently concluded bowl season.

RELATED: SEC bowl season helmet stickers

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Bowl result: Lost to Ohio State 42-35
What we learned: Alabama’s seven-point loss to Ohio State taught us two things about this year’s Crimson Tide. The first is that the Tide’s defense this season did not live up to the standard set by the defenses on the Tide’s title teams in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Alabama boasted the SEC’s No. 1 rush defense this year, but just the conference’s No. 11 pass defense. An injured front seven and a suspect secondary cost Alabama in a high-scoring national semifinal. The second thing we learned about this year’s team is its unfamiliarity with playing from behind. The Tide blew late-game drives in both its losses to Ole Miss and Ohio State, and Alabama’s two-minute drive late against Ohio State appeared unrehearsed and sloppy. Alabama doesn’t trail often, and it had no clue how to handle the moment when it did fall behind.

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Bowl result: Defeated Texas 31-7
What we learned: Bret Bielema and the Razorbacks taught us once and for all that a Big Ten-style of football can indeed succeed in the SEC. Arkansas was unrelenting in its approach week in and week out, relying on a downhill rushing attack and a physical defense to control games. That’s exactly what the Hogs did in their rout of the Texas Longhorns in the Texas Bowl, and that’s exactly what they did in upsets of Ole Miss and LSU and in near-wins against Alabama and Mississippi State. When Arkansas’ SEC losing streak grew to 17 games, many began to wonder if Bielema’s style was too slow and methodical for the SEC, but he proved them wrong throughout the second half of the season and cemented it with the SEC West’s most impressive bowl win of the season.

AUBURN TIGERS

Bowl result: Lost Wisconsin 34-31 (OT)
What we learned: Auburn taught us that even as the FBS becomes a “passing league,” the lack of a solid run defense can still cost a team in the modern era of the sport. The Tigers lost four conference games during the regular season while boasting a bottom-five run defense in the SEC, and they allowed more than 400 rushing yards to Wisconsin in a three-point overtime loss. Auburn amassed a top 20 offense in the nation this season but still lost five games due to its inability to stop opposing rushing attacks. It absolutely haunted the Tigers against Wisconsin, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi State, all of which ran for at least 200 yards against the Tigers. The loss of Carl Lawson before the season didn’t help, but the issues up front spanned the entire defense, limiting Auburn in its failed attempt to defend its 2013 conference crown.

LSU TIGERS

Bowl result: Lost to Notre Dame 31-28
What we learned: LSU taught us once and for all what kind of impact the lack of a quarterback can have on an otherwise talented team. The Tigers boasted the SEC’s least-productive pass offense in 2014 and completed just seven passes in a three-point loss to Notre Dame in their bowl game. LSU’s one-dimensional offense was easy to stop this season, and eventually the Tigers talented defense wore down from spending so much time on the field. LSU remains one of the most talented teams in the FBS, but without a quarterback its all for naught.

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

Bowl result: Lost to Georgia Tech 49-34
What we learned: The Bulldogs loss to Georgia Tech taught us the true value of former defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who left following the conclusion of the regular season to take the DC job on Jim McElwain’s staff at Florida. The Bulldogs struggled on defense at times this season, but those struggles were mostly in the secondary. However, upon Collins departure the MSU front seven fell apart, allowing the Yellow Jackets to rush for more than 450 yards in a one-sided second half. The Bulldogs might have struggled even if Collins had led bowl preparation, but its unlikely. MSU must hit a home run with its next DC hire to get back on track.

OLE MISS REBELS

Bowl result: Lost to TCU 42-3
What we learned: The Rebels’ lack of a running game held back their entire offense this season, especially quarterback Bo Wallace, and their bowl loss to TCU only further proved that. Ole Miss ran for just 9 yards in its 39-point loss to the Horned Frogs, allowing TCU to adjust its defense to primarily focus on the Rebels passing game. Yes, Wallace threw a pick on just the third snap of the game, but there’s a reason Ole Miss opened the game with three passes and continued to stick to the pass after that point despite Wallace’s continued struggles. Without balance on offense, Ole Miss became easy to defend, and we saw the result of that in this season’s Peach Bowl.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Bowl result: Defeated West Virginia 45-37
What we learned: Many expected Texas A&M to regress in 2014 based on the talent it lost in 2013, and that’s exactly what happened during the regular season after a 5-0 start to the year. However, the Aggies taught us that they have plenty of young talent to rebuild around in the coming year, and they put that talent on display in their Liberty Bowl victory over West Virginia. Freshman Kyle Allen appears to have the makings of A&M’s quarterback of the future, and the combination of returning wideouts Josh Reynolds, Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones will be difficult to counter in 2015. An 8-5 season might not live up to the standard set during the Johnny Manziel era, but its indicative of better days ahead for the Aggies.