Gus Malzahn: SEC west is toughest division in college football

SEC Media Days kicked off on Monday for their four-day event and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn let it be known this conference is still the king of college football.

The SEC has been the premier conference in college football for the better part of the last 10 years with seven straight national championships from 2006 to 2012 and more NFL Draft picks than any other league.

But is the SEC still the best conference in college football after two straight years without a national championship and a 7-5 record in bowl games?

More from Auburn Tigers

According to Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn it’s still a resounding yes.

"“In my opinion, the [SEC] West is the toughest conference in football, and I don’t think it’s close,” Malzahn said at SEC Media Days. “It’s a man’s league … If you’re not in it, you don’t understand it.”"

Auburn and their Iron Bowl rival Alabama are the two most popular picks to win the SEC this year and play for the national title and then there’s Mississippi State who was ranked No. 1 last year, Ole Miss, LSU, Texas A&M and a rapidly improving Arkansas team.

All seven teams were in a bowl game last year and likely will again this year, but the west was surprisingly poor last season with a 2-5 bowl record. In fact, the two wins came from Texas A&M and Arkansas who finished in sixth and seventh place so the top five teams all lost.

The Pac-12 had the best overall bowl record at 6-3 after Oregon lost in the championship game to Ohio State where the Buckeyes helped lift the Big Ten to a 6-5 bowl record.

So do you agree with Malzahn’s claim that the SEC is the toughest conference and the west is the toughest division?

If not, tell us who is the best conference and the best division in college in the comments section and on social media.

Next: Predicting College GameDay Locations for 2015

More from Saturday Blitz

Home/Auburn Tigers