Phil Steele believes 'Auburn is going to surprise some people'

The SEC West is brutal and predicting what is going to happen this season is almost impossible.

College football expert Phil Steele, known for his preseason magazine, admitted how hard the decision was when it came to ranking the seven squads in college football's strongest division.

Steele picked Alabama to win the SEC West and Texas A&M to finish second. After that, he had a hard time knowing where to go next according to his interview on Locked On SEC.

"I could pick any of the five to be third," Steele said. "Which one are you picking last? I don't want to pick any of them last. Playing in the SEC West is just ridiculous. As it came out, I didn't pick any team last. I have two teams tied for sixth. I originally was just going to tie everyone for third. I mean, it is a wide-open race."

He touched briefly on all the schools that he had tied to finish third, including the Auburn Tigers, the Arkansas Razorbacks, and the Ole Miss Rebels.

"I think Auburn this year has a much higher buy-in level than they did last year and they've got talent," Steele said. "I think Auburn is going to surprise some people."

Steele had LSU and Mississippi State tied to finish sixth in the SEC West.

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