What did we learn about the SEC West this week?

Not as much as usual with nearly half the division — Alabama, Arkansas and LSU — having bye weeks.

But we did learn that Auburn is here to stay. And that Ole Miss is done. And that Chad Kelly, Christian Kirk and especially Kamryn Pettway are pretty good football players. And that Nick Fitzgerald is a fast-riser as well.

Auburn: Here’s the biggest takeaway from Auburn’s 40-29 win over Ole Miss: The Tigers are setting up a huge Iron Bowl. Now 6-2 with games ahead against Georgia, Vanderbilt and FCS opponent Alabama A&M, the Tigers will be heavy favorites in their games leading up to the season finale. Win those games and they would be 9-2, a sure-fire top 10 team and, regardless of the outcome of the LSU-Alabama game, a team with a shot at the SEC West title. With Pettway hitting 236 yards rushing, the AU run game found its footing and won on the road at Oxford, earning the right to set up that possible scenario.

Ole Miss: With the offensive line banged up and the defense ineffective, Ole Miss is one player away from being maybe the worst team in the SEC West at the moment. If not for Chad Kelly providing 89 percent of his team’s offense in the 40-29 loss to Auburn, it’s hard to imagine where yards would have come from. Kelly’s performances are starting to recall the days of Archie Manning. Not so much from his college days, but when the Ole Miss legend was the lone bright spot on some otherwise hapless New Orleans Saints teams.

Mississippi State: The good news is the Bulldogs improved to 3-5 with a 56-41 shootout win over Samford, and sophomore quarterback Nick Fitzgerald accounted for seven touchdowns in the win. Here’s the bad news: An FCS quarterback named Devlin Hodges lit them up for 468 yards passing. And who’s on the schedule the rest of the way? Trevor Knight and Texas A&M, Jalen Hurts and Alabama, Austin Allen and Arkansas, then Chad Kelly and Ole Miss. You think MSU’s secondary might get picked on in those games? The Bulldogs need to put some serious work in to improve. Otherwise, it might be an ugly stretch run.

Texas A&M: As the Aggies dispatched a 2-6 Sun Belt Conference foe from New Mexico, 52-10, it became clear that the path to a meaningful season finale against LSU is wide open for A&M to take. Christian Kirk returned two punts for touchdowns this time, and upcoming games against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and UTSA before hosting LSU in the season finale could provide more highlight opportunities. The best case scenario for A&M is LSU beats Alabama and the Aggies go into the Thanksgiving weekend game with the possibility of winning the SEC West (with help from Auburn), which would have them solidly in the College Football Playoff picture. But at the least, taking care of business would mean A&M would be playing to wrap up a New Year’s Six bowl appearance.