The SEC claimed nine national championships during the BCS era that spanned from 1998-2013, including seven in a row from 2006-12.

No other conference in the land was more successful during the reign of the BCS than the SEC, and in honor of Quarterbacks Week at SDS we’re ranking the conference’s championship-winning quarterbacks from that time based on their title-winning season(s).

Eight different quarterbacks combined to win those nine titles, but who among them was the best of the bunch? Take a look at our rankings:

8. Matt Flynn, LSU, 2007: Flynn’s numbers were modest during LSU’s championship season in 2007, which falls in line with the nature of that LSU team, perhaps the most modest title-winning team of the BCS era. Those Tigers did something no other BCS champion ever did: They lost twice in the same season, still managing to rise into the top 2 of the final BCS standings to earn a spot in the title game. Flynn was above average, but was far from a star. He threw for 2,407 yards that season, and only Tee Martin threw for fewer in a championship season by an SEC quarterback. He also threw double-digit interceptions, and his Tigers lost a game to a five-loss Kentucky team during the season. Flynn was good, but just like his career in the NFL you could never consider him a national star.

7. Tee Martin, Tennessee, 1998: Martin is the quarterback on this list that has been the most easily forgotten among casual college football fans through the years. Part of that is because we are the furthest removed from his title season, the first of the BCS era, and part of it is because he was the immediate successor to Peyton Manning, perhaps the most famous quarterback at any level of the last 20 years (other than Tim Tebow and Tom Brady). Nevertheless, Martin was a good thrower and a dynamic runner. He only completed 57 percent of his passes, but threw for 19 touchdowns against only six interceptions and ran for another seven scores. His completion percentage (57 percent) and yardage (less than 2,200 through the air, less than 300 on the ground) were pedestrian, but Martin was the man who kept the offense on track, and he made big plays when UT needed them most to achieve what Manning never could.

6. Matt Mauck, LSU, 2003: No, we’re not talking about Maty Mauk, the Missouri Tigers current starting quarterback. Instead we are talking about Matt Mauck, the oft-forgotten quarterback of the 2003 LSU squad that won the BCS championship game but is considered to share the national title with USC in the minds of many fans. (USC finished the year 11-1, won the Pac 12 title, was left out of the BCS title game but still wound up No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll.) Mauck’s numbers were actually better than many on this list not named Tebow or Newton; he completed an impressive 64 percent of his throws for more than 2,800 yards and 23 touchdowns through the air. He did throw 14 interceptions, which is far from admirable, but he was far more than a mere game manager, and he led the LSU offense to at least 30 points in nine of 14 games that season. He was the leader of Nick Saban’s first national championship team, and certainly deserves more respect for his achievements than he’s been given by fans 12 years later.

5. Greg McElroy, Alabama, 2009: McElroy quarterbacked Alabama’s first national title team during the Nick Saban era. He’s remembered as a game manager, and to some degree he was, but he was really good in that role. He threw for more than 2,500 yards and completed 61 percent of his throws in the process. He also threw for 17 touchdowns in 14 games, and only threw four interceptions all season long, which kept opponents from gaining a short field against the Tide’s historically good defense that year. Yes, he had the benefit of 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram in the backfield, but McElroy made big throws in big moments and rarely turned the ball over. Most importantly, his team never lost in 2009, something only one of the six non-Alabama quarterbacks on this list can claim (Newton).

4. Chris Leak, Florida, 2006: Some outside the Sunshine State regard Leak as “the other Florida quarterback to win a ring,” but that designation really downplays his impact on the Florida program. When Leak took over as the starting quarterback during his freshman season in 2003, he played for a Ron Zook team with little talent and a ton of negative publicity. But by his senior year in 2006, he was commanding a high-powered Urban Meyer offense, completing 63 percent of his throws for more than 2,900 yards and 26 total touchdowns against 13 interceptions. That interception total is a bit high, but it still resulted in an average of fewer than one per game, and obviously those picks didn’t cost Florida many games during a 13-1 season. His growth culminated with Florida’s best season since the days of Steve Spurrier, and much of what Leak achieved in 2006 made Tim Tebow’s career from 2007-09 possible, which is why he ranks so high on this list.

3. A.J. McCarron, Alabama, 2011-12: McCarron is a unique case on this list as he’s the only SEC quarterback to start for multiple title teams during the BCS era. He quarterbacked two loaded Alabama teams to consecutive titles in 2011-12, and posted nearly identical numbers in those seasons. He threw for more than 2,600 yards both years, completed 67 percent of his passes both years, and ultimately threw for a combined 46 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. Because of his lack of running ability in comparison to Tebow and Newton, and because he was known to have so much talent around him, many overlooked McCarron and his role on those title teams. But McCarron was far more than just a game manager, as his numbers indicate. He made plays with his arm and was as clutch and poised as any Alabama quarterback in recent memory, elevating Nick Saban’s offense to another level than where Greg McElroy left it before him. And, of course, winning two championships is better than winning one, and it certainly elevated McCarron on this list.

2. Tim Tebow, Florida, 2008: Tebow was a member of two BCS championship teams at Florida, but he was only the starter on one of those teams, the 2008 squad that produced more NFL talent than any other team in the nation from that season. The ’08 Florida team is historically great, as is Tebow, who’d won the Heisman Trophy one year earlier in his first season as the Gators’ starter under center. In his national championship season he threw for more than 2,700 yards and tossed 30 touchdown passes against only four interceptions all season. He also ran for 673 yards and 12 touchdowns, bringing his totals to more than 3,300 yards of total offense and 42 total touchdowns against only four picks. Those numbers ought to speak for themselves.

1. Cam Newton, Auburn, 2010: Newton spent only one full season as a starter in college, but capitalized in a major way by leading Auburn to a 14-0 record on his way to a national title and the Heisman Trophy. If these rankings were based on entire careers, Tebow would be the obvious choice for No. 1, but because the rankings are based solely on the title seasons it is Newton who is the obvious No. 1 choice. In 2010 he completed 66 percent of his passes, threw for more than 2,800 yards, threw for 30 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, ran for more than 1,400 yards and ran in another 20 touchdowns. He even caught two passes that season, including another touchdown. His grand totals were 4,369 yards of total offense, 51 total touchdowns and only seven turnovers. And unlike Tebow in 2008, his team finished the year with a perfect record, which can make all the difference when comparing two players with this much success.