SDS is taking a look at each SEC Championship contender and their chances of winning in Atlanta. We’ll list three reasons why each team will win and three reasons why each team will not.

Missouri Tigers

Winning a conference championship is the next step for Gary Pinkel’s program at Missouri. To the surprise of many, the Tigers have been in the SEC Championship Game two years in a row and have played for a conference title five times since 2007, dating back to their Big 12 days.

But they haven’t earned a distinction bigger than the one that comes from winning a division. Missouri won’t be favored to win the SEC East this season, but that hasn’t stopped the Tigers the last two years. If Mizzou can get by Georgia and the rest to make it to Atlanta, perhaps a long-awaited conference championship is within reach.

It won’t be easy though. The aforementioned Bulldogs pounded the Tigers a year ago in Columbia and are considered favorites to win the East and perhaps contend for a national title, and most have Tennessee picked to finish second in the division. Even if Missouri gets back to Atlanta, beating the SEC West champion would mean beating one of the country’s best teams. But the move from good program to great program eventually requires those steps.

Three Reasons Why

1. Quarterback: Maty Mauk returns, giving the Tigers an experienced veteran at the most important position on the field. He’s 14-4 as a starter, and all but three of those games were against power-conference opponents. The junior threw for 2,648 yards last year and has helped take Missouri to the conference championship game two years in a row. He’s had some games he’d like to forget (see: Georgia last year), but there should be some significant improvement following his first full season as the starter, especially with one of the most experienced offensive lines in the SEC in front of him.

2. Defensive Back 7: The Tigers have been known for standout defensive ends the last two seasons (four NFL draft picks), but this year the stars will line up a little further from the line of scrimmage. Kentrell Brothers and Michael Scherer are tackling machines, combining to make a ridiculous 236 last year. The linebackers should blitz more often under new coordinator Barry Odom. And the team’s veteran secondary looks solid thanks to the emergence of junior-college transfer Kenya Dennis last year. Aarion Penton has some competition as Mizzou’s top corner. So while Mizzou might not get the pass rush off the ends they’ve grown accustomed to, putting up points against the Tigers will remain tough.

3. Schedule: There are some breaks that came Missouri’s way with the SEC schedule. Its road games include trips to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Tigers’ SEC West opponents are Arkansas and Mississippi State, meaning they avoid Alabama, Auburn and LSU, at least until a potential SEC Championship Game matchup. Winning at Georgia will be tough, but the Tigers made it to Atlanta last year despite a blowout at the hands of the Bulldogs. Mizzou could very well be 5-1 in conference when Tennessee comes to Columbia on Nov. 21.

Three Reasons Why Not

1. Skill Position Depth: Mauk and 1,000-yard rusher Russell Hansbrough give Missouri solid, experienced starters at quarterback and running back, should they get hurt the Tigers enter a world of unknown. Mauk is the only player on the roster who completed a pass last year, while Ish Witter returns to back up Hansbrough after rushing for 101 yards on 27 carries in 2014. At wide receiver the concern begins with three all-new starters. J’Mon Moore, Nate Brown and Wesley Leftwich had 10 catches combined last year.

2. Turnovers: On the surface, Missouri’s +9 turnover margin in 2014 looks great. But the Tigers had a tendency to give the ball away in big games and rack up takeaways versus the patsies. In losses to Alabama, Georgia and Indiana last season, Missouri turned it over seven times without a takeaway. The Tigers likely won’t score upsets over the likes of Georgia unless they win the turnover battle.

3. They Are In the SEC East: Someday a team from the East Division will rise up and win the SEC title for the first time since Florida did it in 2008, but for now the West continues to look like the dominant division. Even if the Tigers manage to rise above Georgia and Tennessee to win the East, they’d still have to beat likely either Alabama or Auburn to win the title.