Who’s the best quarterback in the SEC?

There are all sorts of variables to consider when you set out to answer that question, but the best place to start is how a guy has fared against SEC competition.

That said, we've pulled out the numbers of the SEC starting quarterbacks in league games. Only the quarterbacks who started more than half the games are included, which eliminates Kentucky’s Mike Hartline.

Vanderbilt’s Larry Smith was injured in the fifth game, and Mackenzi Adams finished the season for the Commodores.

A few things of interest when you’re looking at these numbers:

• Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, Tennessee’s Jonathan Crompton, South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia and LSU’s Jordan Jefferson have all gone against both the Alabama and Florida defenses, the top two ranked defenses in the country.

• Florida’s Tim Tebow has eight rushing touchdowns to lead all quarterbacks and has also rushed for 532 yards in SEC games. That said, only Auburn’s Chris Todd (four), Mississippi State’s Tyson Lee (three) and Smith (two) have thrown fewer touchdowns this season in SEC games than Tebow’s seven.

• Georgia’s Joe Cox has thrown the most touchdowns (17), but he’s also thrown the second most interceptions (11). Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead has thrown the most interceptions (12).

• The best touchdown-to-interception ratios belong to Mallett, Alabama’s Greg McElroy and Crompton, in that order. Mallett has 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. McElroy has nine touchdowns and three interceptions, and Crompton has 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. All three players still have one more SEC game remaining this week.

• Mallett, who has 1,962 yards passing against SEC defenses, should surpass the 2,000-yard mark Saturday against LSU.

• Of the guys who’ve played at least seven games, Snead has the lowest completion percentage (51.5).

So, who’s the best quarterback in the SEC? Make up your own mind, but here are the hard numbers (Quarterbacks are listed in order of passing yardage in SEC play):