The West may be the best of all time.
The Southeastern Conference Western Division has let its talent speak for itself during the past few years. Three of the last four and the last two BCS National Champions hailed from the division.
This year, the West may be even more stacked than it was the past few years  — and perhaps ever.
When LSU, Alabama and Arkansas were ranked first, second and third, respectively, LSU coach Les Miles downplayed the division’s strength.
“It is a compliment to the member institutions in the West,” he said. “We have a very talented group of talented.”
The only conference that has ever shown the dominance this season’s SEC West has shown is the 1971 Big Eight.
At that time, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Colorado ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
While LSU’s win against Arkansas took the Razorbacks out of the No. 3 spot, LSU and Alabama are still the nation’s top two teams, and Arkansas has only fallen to No. 8.
Senior offensive guard Will Blackwell said the rankings speak for themselves.
“We’ve got three teams in the top 10 right now,” Blackwell said. “That says a lot about this conference and East.”
The West is a bit top-heavy, but Auburn has proven to be a formidable opponent for most teams, with wins over Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida.
The Plainsmen have been lurking around the top-25 perimeter all season, although they lost by a combined 87 points to LSU, Alabama and Arkansas.
While the SEC West is practically a minefield of competition, Ford said he enjoys playing in such a difficult division because teams that make it out with stellar records don’t need to prove anything more.
“You know you’re in the best conference,” he said. “You can say you’ve beat the best guys and you know you can leave no questions to ask at the end of the