Four years is enough time to properly evaluate how much better or worse a program has gotten. In some cases, a team has fallen off to a point where they don’t even look the same. Certainly the head coach might not.

In other cases, a team could’ve risen to a level where they’re consistently one of the conference’s best teams — see Alabama’s improvement from the four years prior to Nick Saban’s arrival.

Are you better than you were in 2013? Here is how each team from the SEC West would answer that question today:

Alabama: Better

Right out of the gate, and this was already a tougher call than I had anticipated. Heading into the 2013 season, Alabama was coming off back-to-back national championships, and they returned several key players including their quarterback (AJ McCarron) and star receiver (Amari Cooper).

It would’ve been almost impossible for McCarron to replicate his 10-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio from 2012, but the 4-to-1 ratio that he followed it up with was still impressive. Cooper also took a step back in production, going from 999 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns to only 736 yards with 4 touchdowns.

Alabama went 11-2 that season, losing their final two games of the season to Auburn and Oklahoma.

Fast forward to today, and you’ll find that the Tide is looking to replace several key starters from last year’s team. However, they are still ranked No. 1 and the favorite to win the SEC and make their fourth consecutive Playoff appearance. It’s not impossible for them to suffer multiple losses, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Arkansas: Better

The Razorbacks are losing a lot of weapons on offense — Rawleigh Williams III, Jeremy Sprinkle, Keon Hatcher and Drew Morgan. The defense is getting back their field general, Dre Greenlaw, whose season was lost to injury in 2016, but pass rusher Deatrich Wise Jr. has moved on to the NFL.

It’s a lot of turnover, but the Hogs are expected to be better than they were in 2013. That was Bret Bielema’s first season. Hogs went 0-8 in the SEC and finished 3-9 overall; only Kentucky (2-10) was worse.

Brandon Allen, who was a sophomore at the time, was the starting quarterback. He completed only 49.6-percent of his passes for 1,552 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 11 games.

Brandon’s little brother, Austin, is now heading into his second season as the starter. His first season went much better than Brandon’s after he threw for 3,340 yards and 25 touchdowns to only 15 interceptions.

The SEC West is stronger than it has been in a while, but Arkansas will finish better than 3-9.

Auburn: Worse

This is where things get interesting. When looking back at Auburn’s 2013 season, it’s hard to predict them being much better.

The Tigers were coming off a poor 3-9 season, but turned it around quickly en route to a 12-2 record. In the SEC Championship Game, Nick Marshall and Tre Mason managed to outlast Missouri in a 59-42 shootout.

Auburn lost 34-31 to Florida State in the national championship game following a 2-yard touchdown from Jameis Winston to Kelvin Benjamin with 1:06 left to play, but it was still one of the most impressive seasons in program history.

While Auburn is expected to be Alabama’s main competition for the SEC West this season, it’ll be hard for them to top 2013 — that is, unless they manage to win it all.

LSU: Worse

How did LSU only manage a 10-3 record in 2013? Its offense included Zach Mettenberger, Jeremy Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. Defensively, they had stars such as Kwon Alexander and Danielle Hunter. Looking back, this might be one of the most underachieving teams in SEC history, but they were still good.

Looking ahead to this season, things are starting to relatively bleak for Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers. The team lost multiple starters from last year — including three first-round picks. In addition, the team’s best player, pass rusher Arden Key, could miss the start of the season.

Similarly to 2013, LSU should still finish as a top 3 team in the SEC West, but I’m not sure 10 wins are in their near future.

Ole Miss: Worse

The Rebels find themselves in a situation that is difficult to gauge. With the looming NCAA investigation and resignation of Hugh Freeze, it’s impossible to determine the Rebels’ motivational level.

In 2013, they weren’t dominant, yet, but Freeze had just landed the recruiting class that created, well, a lot of good and some bad. On the field, Bo Wallace was the main source of offense — throwing for 3,346 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The team only finished 8-5 that year, but that group set the stage for better days. It’s tough to say they’ll be better than that this season, even with a dynamic dual-threat in Shea Patterson.

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State: About the same

The similarities to four years ago are scary. The team lacked overall talent, but was led by a sophomore quarterback who was the team’s leading rusher — Dak Prescott.

[table “” not found /]

Prescott wasn’t yet viewed as a passing threat — 1,940 yards, 10 TDs with 7 interceptions — but he ran for team-high 829 yards and 13 scores. Over the course of that season, Prescott began showing signs that he could help State win football games, even on his own.

Nick Fitzgerald will be a year older than Prescott heading into this season, but he’s also a guy who shows impressive, raw tools that are necessary to get Mississippi State to a bowl game.

In 2013, the Bulldogs finished 7-6, and that’s about where I would expect them to finish this season as well.

Texas A&M: Worse

Heading into this season, the Aggies haven’t been able to name a starter at quarterback.

There was no such doubt or drama in 2013. Johnny Manziel was fresh off a Heisman Trophy season, and he followed it up with 4,114 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions — while completing almost 70 percent of his passes. He also led the team in rushing yards with 759.

Manziel had a go-to receiver in the 6-5, 230-pound Mike Evans. While the defense was atrocious, the offense gave the team the ability to win football games. They finished that season with a 9-4 record — giving them the No. 18 spot in both major polls to close the year.

A&M could end up being the worst team in the SEC West this season, so don’t expect them to be come even close to being as good as they were in 2013.