Winning the SEC West has nearly as much to do with schedule favorability as it does talent this season since most of the league is blessed with a nationally-relevant roster of returning players, substantial depth and high-quality coaches.

Glancing at each team’s slate, there are several ‘danger zones’ for the heavyweights and some roadblocks for potential surprises in college football’s most competitive division.

Looking at all seven teams, this year’s toughest back-to-backs for each squad are …

ALABAMA

Pick your poison on the Crimson Tide’s schedule, especially in October where Alabama will play possibly four ranked teams in consecutive weeks. The first two will be stiff tests for Nick Saban’s team, opponents that will challenge Alabama’s perceived strength at the line of scrimmage. Georgia and Arkansas won’t deviate from what they are — powerful, run-heavy football teams.

Besides the Iron Bowl, Alabama’s trip to Athens on Oct. 3 might be its toughest regular-season game of the season. The Bulldogs will likely be ranked inside the Top 10 and playing in front of hostile, College GameDay-lit home crowd. The Texas A&M-Tennessee combo to finish out the month could be just as difficult since Kirby Smart’s defense has proven to have some trouble against tempo-driven offense. Disregard Alabama’s blowout win over the Aggies last season. That’s not going to happen in College Station.

  • at Georgia, Oct. 3
  • vs. Arkansas, Oct. 10

ARKANSAS

We’ll know quickly if the Razorbacks have staying power without Jonathan Williams during their second and third SEC games of the season — treacherous road contests at Tennessee and Alabama. Arkansas will have a talent disadvantage in both matchups and hasn’t won a league contest away from Razorback Stadium came Oct. 6, 2012 against Auburn.

The best-case scenario for Bret Bielema’s team is that they come in with early momentum at 4-0 with the belief they can compete in the West without their best offensive weapon. A win over the Vols sends the Razorbacks into the Top 10 going into Tuscaloosa with lofty expectations as a dark-horse Playoff threat. Let’s not get ahead ourselves though. Despite the backfield depth, the Razorbacks’ production on the ground may look a lot different without Williams.

  • at Tennessee, Oct. 3
  • at Alabama, Oct. 10

AUBURN

For months, the Tigers have read about how good they are as a football team despite last season’s disappointing 8-5 finish. They’ve listened to national talk shows and watched the coverage of ‘Jeremy Johnson for Heisman’ even though their new starting quarterback has played sparingly in his career.

Well, now it’s time to put up or shut up for Auburn. With a new defensive coordinator leading the way on that side of the football, we’ll find out early if the Tigers made improvements in that department. There’s a ton of pressure on Johnson to find September success and these first two SEC games out of the gate are vitally important on the grand stage in that regard.

  • at LSU, Sept. 19
  • vs. Mississippi State, Sept. 26

LSU

The November schedule is brutal, but LSU’s potential quarterback issues could be on full display much earlier. And two losses in the first month would put the team out of division title contention in the blink of an eye. Mississippi State will be anxious to prove last year was no fluke in its SEC opener against the Tigers on Sept. 12.

Several nationally-ranked teams found out the hard way during the 2014 campaign that Dak Prescott plus cowbells can be a lethal cocktail. The rivalry matchup at home against Auburn will separate a national contender from a pretender and go a long way in determining how this fan base views Les Miles after the ’15 season.

  • at Mississippi State, Sept. 12
  • vs. Auburn, Sept. 19

MISSISSIPPI

Why is this back-to-back more important than a season-ending stretch against LSU and Mississippi State? Those final two games won’t hold near as much weight if the Rebels come up empty in October against any two of three SEC squads — Florida, Texas A&M and Auburn.

The Ole Miss secondary vs. the Aggies’ wide receiving corps is an appetizing showdown for viewers, but one that makes for a sizable headache for the coordinators involved. If the Rebels find a way to beat Kevin Sumlin’s squad at home, taking out perceived SEC favorite Auburn on the road the following weekend would be even more difficult. Sold tackling on defense will keep Ole Miss in both of these football games, but execution on offense in the fourth quarter will determine the final outcome during this stretch.

  • vs. Texas A&M, Oct. 24
  • at Auburn, Oct. 31

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs did it last season, so why can’t they do it again? Beating Auburn and Texas A&M in consecutive weekends this time around will be considerably more difficult. Both games are on the road and the element of surprise is, well, gone.

Not to discredit anything Mississippi State accomplished during the 2014 campaign, but it was able to wear the cloak of anonymity for multiple weeks before America began taking notice. This season, Mississippi State won’t benefit from a bye week to nurse wounds and gear up for the Aggies’ Air Raid. It will be forced to compete with tired legs coming off a game against the run-heavy Tigers.

  • at Auburn, Sept. 26
  • at Texas A&M, Oct. 3

TEXAS A&M

If the Aggies slip past these two opponents in mid-October, they’ve got a chance to make real noise in the SEC this season. That’s a huge “if” considering last year’s debacles at the hands of both the Crimson Tide and the Rebels.

Texas A&M’s improvement on defense will determine where Kevin Sumlin’s team stands unbeaten through the first five weeks leading into the bye week pre-Alabama. An unblemished record to that point puts this team in position to join the title conversation with an upset. The Crimson Tide’s bye week comes before the LSU game, so the Aggies have a slight advantage there.

John Chavis, for the most part, has done a great job limiting the Crimson Tide offensive in career matchups against Nick Saban. And he’ll turn his front seven loose against Ole Miss. Texas A&M’s hoping Kyle Field has a big impact this fall but it may not be enough to take out Alabama.

  • vs. Alabama, Oct. 17
  • at Ole Miss, Oct. 24