USA TODAY Sports

The race for the SEC West title starts this week.

No. 7 Auburn hosts No. 13 LSU in a game that will establish one group of Tigers as contenders for the division championship. The losing Tigers will have some significant ground to make up.

LSU and Auburn have already earned significant wins on neutral fields against Miami (Fla.) and Washington, respectively. This game will be on The Plains and under the microscope will be LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. Can he make enough plays to keep his team in the game? That should be the biggest factor on Saturday.

The other big game of the weekend sees No. 4 Ohio State travel to face No. 14 TCU in Arlington, Texas. The Buckeyes look like they haven't missed a beat in their first two games without coach Urban Meyer. But this will be the first real test from a defense capable of slowing them down.

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The third game matching Top 25 opponents sees Boise State travel to Oklahoma State. The Broncos hope a huge Power Five win can vault them into playoff consideration and pole position for a New Year's Six bowl.

Elsewhere, No. 1 Alabama faces a potentially tricky game at Ole Miss. The Tide has struggled in Oxford in recent visits. No. 5 Oklahoma will try to enact some revenge on Iowa State after last year's loss to the Cyclones. Washington needs to be on guard for its trip to Utah. And there's a meeting between Southern California and Texas that is big on name recognition, but both teams come in already with one loss.