Here’s what we learned about every SEC West team following Week 12 action.

RELATED: AP Poll | Coaches’ Poll

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

Week 12 result: Defeated Mississippi State 25-20
What we learned: We learned Alabama is indeed the best team in the SEC (as many suspected) following their convincing win over Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa. The Tide has played dramatically better at home than on the road this season, and it will get to host Auburn in Bryant-Denny Stadium in the season finale as it aims to clinch the SEC West. The Tide appears on the fast track to a division title, a conference title and a bowl berth at season’s end, and if it plays like it did against Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs in Week 12 it could bring home Nick Saban’s fifth career national title at season’s end.

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

Week 12 result: Defeated LSU 17-0
What we learned: The Razorbacks 17-0 shutout of LSU in Fayetteville taught us this team really does know how to close out wins in the SEC. Arkansas had come close to snapping its 17-game SEC losing streak a few times this season, but it fell apart late in games when it was, as they say, “winning time.” Against LSU, the game never reached “winning time” as Arkansas was in control from start to finish. It never let up, even late in the game when LSU’s chances seemed lost, showing it has learned from its failures earlier this season. The Razorbacks have an outside shot at a bowl berth this season, but whether it reaches a bowl or not we learned this team is trending back toward the pack in the highly competitive SEC West.

AUBURN/LSU TIGERS

Auburn Week 12 result: Lost 34-7 to Georgia
LSU Week 12 results: Lost 17-0 to Arkansas
What we learned: These two teams are listed together not just because they share a mascot, but because we learned the same thing about both teams following Week 12. What did we learn about the Tigers and the Tigers? We learned just how soul-crushing the SEC West can be, and just how impactful playing in that division can be on a team’s mental psyche and physical well-being. Both Auburn and LSU entered the week off heartbreaking losses in Week 11, and both appeared affected by those losses when they came out flat in embarrassing Week 12 defeats. Auburn lost by 34 to one of its biggest rivals; LSU was shutout by a team lacking an SEC win since 2012. Both teams looked a step too slow, and they were manhandled by two physical opponents who looked engaged in the action. Neither Auburn nor LSU appeared engaged in Saturday’s games, likely the result of being worn down at the end of a difficult SEC West schedule. Neither team has much left to play for, so it remains to be seen whether either can turn things around before the end of the season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

Week 12 results: Lost 25-20 to Alabama
What we learned: Saturday’s loss to Alabama taught us Mississippi State is a great team, but at the same time is not ready for the bright lights and the big stage of meaningful November football. The Bulldogs appeared unprepared for the moment, which is to be expected from a team that hasn’t played in any top 5 November showdowns in the last five years, and when the finally found their rhythm and began chipping away at the lead, it was too late. The Bulldogs remain one of the most talented and veteran teams in the nation, and they still have a great shot to make the inaugural College Football Playoff, but they’ll need to learn from how Alabama approached Saturday’s game if it hopes to avoid a similar fate in the postseason.

OLE MISS REBELS

Week 12 results: Bye
What we learned: Ole Miss was off in Week 12, but we still learned plenty about the Rebels from what their fellow SEC West counterparts did on Saturday. Following losses by Mississippi State, LSU and Auburn, we learned Ole Miss is the third-best team in the SEC behind Alabama (which it beat) and Mississippi State (which it plays in two weeks). The Rebels are the highest-ranked two-loss team in America, and if somehow at the end of the year there are only three zero- or one-loss teams remaining, the Rebels could earn a playoff spot with two losses (they’d have to beat Mississippi State to make that happen). So, even though Ole Miss didn’t play this week, we learned it still has much more to play for than we originally thought.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Week 12 results: Lost 34-27 to Missouri
What we learned: Saturday’s loss at home to Missouri taught us Texas A&M is as mediocre as we thought it was prior to a win over Auburn. The Aggies followed their upset of the Tigers with a home loss to an unranked team from outside the West (the West had collectively only lost once outside the division all year before Week 12), and they now have four losses on the season despite beginning the year ranked in the top 25 in the preseason polls. Texas A&M is explosive enough to beat almost anyone if its clicking on that day, but it is also bad enough to stub its toe against anyone, even a team like Louisiana-Monroe, if the offense isn’t clicking. Texas A&M is not in a bad place as far as building toward the future is concerned, but in the present we learned it is as mediocre as mediocre can be.