For almost a quarter of a century now, on the first Saturday in December, the SEC has crowned a champion and a hero has been attached to each championship memory. The team shares in the title, but the MVP of each game gets carved into that school’s football lore forever.

Just saying his name strikes a winning chord for that particular fan base, for that treasured day, in that particular year. His performance is permanently stapled to the team’s championship effort, like Super Bowl MVPs are.

So in the spirit of the 25th SEC title game coming up Saturday in Atlanta between Alabama and Florida, we have ranked the 24 previous MVPs of this conference’s climactic game. They will all be recognized during Saturday’s game, and this ranking of them is an inexact science, of course, because all 24 are part of an elite fraternity. Here we go:

24. Ryan Perrilloux, LSU, 2007: Perrilloux showed he was ready for the big stage in place of an injured Matt Flynn for the eventual national champions, throwing for 243 yards and a touchdown to lead the Tigers to a 21-14 victory over Tennessee. That was Les Miles’ first SEC title.

23. Tyrann Mathieu, LSU, 2011: The first cornerback since Antonio Langham to win the MVP award, “The Honey Badger” ran back a punt 62 yards for a touchdown, set up another score with a fumble recovery and added another amazing return that set up a score in the Tigers’ 42-10 rout of Georgia.

22. Terry Dean, Florida, 1993: In the second and last SEC title game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Dean threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, including a key 43-yard TD pass to Jack Jackson in the third quarter of a 28-13 win over Alabama.

21. Percy Harvin, Florida, 2006: One week after being taken off on a stretcher after spraining his neck against Florida State, the freshman returned with a flourish, catching five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, and running six times for 105 yards with a 67-yard TD run in a 38-28 win over Arkansas.

20. Rex Grossman, Florida, 2000: Grossman threw for just 238 yards but he tossed four touchdowns, including two to Reche Caldwell that got the Gators rolling early in a 28-6 win over Auburn.

19. Blake Sims, Alabama, 2014: Sims completed a remarkable 23-of-27 passes for 262 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions as the top-ranked Tide rolled to a 42-13 victory over Missouri.

18. D.J. Shockley, Georgia, 2005: Shockley tossed two touchdown passes in the first quarter and added a 7-yard TD run when the pocket collapsed to spark the Bulldogs to their second SEC title in four years with a 34-14 win over LSU.

17. Freddie Milons, Alabama, 1999: The wide receiver did his damage that day with his legs, running for 116 yards, including a 77-yard gallop that was part of a huge fourth quarter as the Tide pulled away from Florida for a 34-7 win.

16. Ellis Johnson, Florida, 1994: Ellis did the near impossible, standing out enough from the defensive line to be named MVP. Johnson had five tackles, one pass breakup and an SEC title game record three tackles for a loss, including two sacks in a 24-23 win over Alabama in the first title game played at the Georgia Dome.

15. Danny Wuerffel, Florida, 1995: In the first SEC title game not pitting UF and Alabama, Wuerrfel won the first of his two consecutive championship MVPs, going an efficient 20-of-28 for 276 yards and two touchdown passes, one TD run and zero interceptions in a 34-3 rout of Arkansas.

14. Justin Vincent, LSU, 2003: Vincent was the first freshman to be named MVP in an SEC title game. He bulled his way to a then-championship-game record 201 yards on just 18 carries and two touchdowns in the Tigers’ 34-13 thrashing of Georgia.

13. Peerless Price, Tennessee, 1998: About a month before his heroics in the national title game win, Price caught a 41-yard TD pass from Tee Martin with 6:15 left that put the Vols ahead to stay in a 24-14 win over Mississippi State. Price caught six passes for 97 yards against the Bulldogs.

12. Matt Mauck, LSU, 2001: The backup quarterback waited for his moment and pounced, coming in for an injured Rohan Davey in the first half and directing two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, including his second rushing TD of the game on the second play of the fourth in a 31-20 win over Tennessee.

11. David Greene, Georgia, 2002: Greene propelled the Bulldogs to their first SEC title since the days of Herschel Walker in 1982, throwing for 237 yards and a touchdown as Georgia scored on its first five possessions in a 30-3 rout of Arkansas.

10. Greg McElroy, Alabama, 2009: The year after Tim Tebow’s heroics, Bama finally got one back on UF on the way to its first national title of the Nick Saban era, and McElroy was strong and steady while Tebow could only watch. McElroy only went 12-for-18 for 239 yards and one touchdown, but the TD pass gave the Tide breathing room in the third quarter of a 32-13 victory. McElroy didn’t throw an interception and had a 196.5 rating as a dynasty was being born.

9. Eddie Lacy, Alabama, 2012: Most only remember Amari Cooper’s late winning TD catch, but it was the freight train Lacy who bulled over the Georgia defense for 181 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns as the Tide continued its march to a national title with a 32-28 win.

8. Jason Campbell, Auburn, 2004: Campbell was dynamic in leading the Tigers to their first SEC title game victory, going 27-of-35 for 374 yards and three touchdowns, and adding 57 yards rushing on 13 carries for good measure in a 38-28 win over Tennessee. Campbell still ranks second for most passing yards in championship game history.

7. Peyton Manning, Tennessee, 1997: Manning was magical in his SEC sendoff, throwing for 373 yards and rescuing the Vols from a 20-7 deficit, capping the 30-29 comeback win over Auburn with a 73-yard TD pass to Marcus Nash early in the fourth quarter.

6. Derrick Henry, Alabama, 2015: Before he won the Heisman and led Bama to its fourth national title under Saban, Henry bulled his way to 189 yards on a dizzying 44 carries against one of the country’s best defenses as the Tide eventually brushed aside pesky Florida in a 29-15 victory.

5. Tim Tebow, Florida, 2008: Yes, Mr. Everything at Florida is high on our list. And while he didn’t put up huge stats in yet another Gators-Crimson Tide championship clash (14-of-22 passing, 218 yards), he threw three touchdown passes and completed all five of his passes in the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives to turn a 20-17 deficit into a 31-20 win that kept UF on track for an eventual national title.

4. Tre Mason, Auburn, 2013: Mason was a one-man wrecking machine, rolling up a championship-game record 304 yards on 46 carries and four touchdowns in the highest-scoring SEC title game, as the Tigers outlasted Missouri 59-42. Before this game, Missouri hadn’t allowed a team to rush for more than 184 yards.

3. Danny Wuerffel, Florida, 1996: About a month before he led the Gators to the national title and a week before he won the Heisman Trophy, the cerebral leader of Steve Spurrier’s Fun ‘N’ Gun offense broke SEC title game records with 401 yards passing and six touchdown tosses to lead Florida to a 45-30 victory over, yes, Alabama.

2. Cam Newton, Auburn, 2010: The Year of Cam included a stunning SEC championship performance by the dynamic quarterback, who rolled up six touchdowns in the 56-17 rout of South Carolina, four of them passing and two rushing. Newton helped Auburn set the title game record for most points and largest margin of victory.

1. Antonio Langham, Alabama, 1992: Yes, the first one is still the best one. Langham’s interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter lifted the eventual national champion Crimson Tide to a 28-21 victory over Florida in a play that observers said changed college football forever. It was a fitting start to the annual title game between powerhouses who will now meet for the championship for an unheard of ninth time Saturday.