Alabama will be playing its yearly SEC East crossover game Saturday against Kentucky. The Crimson Tide is a 35-point favorite, according to Las Vegas against a SEC team. This may be astonishing, but the Wildcats have started a little slow at 2-2 with a loss to Southern Mississippi, a non-Power Five team. The Wildcats may not be the only SEC East team that looks shaky.

Only one team on the eastern side has remained undefeated, and that is Tennessee. Yes, the same Tennessee team that needed overtime to defeat Appalachian State. Yes, the same Appalachian State team that lost 45-10 at home to Miami. The SEC East is now a combined 1-4 against the AP Top 25. The one win is against itself when Tennessee beat a ranked Florida team last week, and so far the SEC West is 2-0 against the SEC East this season. This isn’t anything new. Last year, the West went 13-2 against the East, including the conference championship game. It almost looks like these two divisions are different conferences now.

Right now, the overall conference looks like it is heading toward another SEC West winner. While the West has won seven straight championships, it has also outscored the East, 292-138. Tennessee may be the East’s best shot, but again, this team has only played one ranked team, which, again, was Florida. Texas A&M and Alabama are both ranked higher in the AP rankings and both have posted impressive wins against non-conference Top-25 opponents.

Let us not forget the bottom teams of the East. Last season, four East teams missed bowl games. Comparatively speaking, the West saw all seven teams go bowling, including the eventual national champion, Alabama.

These two divisions don’t even look like they belong together, but maybe Tennessee or a surprise team can change that. My bet is on the West. Last year, the East had a combined record of 3-18 against AP Top 25 teams, and this year is trending the same way.