The SEC’s slate of 12 bowl games gets underway this afternoon, with several high-profile games on the docket.

SEC programs clash with top-tier programs, as the conference looks to firm up its hold on the title of “Best Conference in College Football.”

Looking ahead to the games, Saturday Down South ranks each of the SEC’s bowl opponents from best to worst.

1. TCU: It’s a toss-up between the Horned Frogs and Ohio State, but we’re going with Gary Patterson’s TCU club because it’s at full health and has a more impressive body of work during the course of the season. Quarterback Trevone Boykin is as good a player as there is in the game, and the Horned Frogs’ defense is nothing at which to scoff. TCU likely will never understand how it won out and dropped, but the Horned Frogs are clearly one of the four or five best teams in the country, and will provide No. 9 Ole Miss with its stiffest test of the season.

2. Ohio State: The 2014 season has been Urban Meyer’s best coaching job, without question. To lose a Heisman candidate just weeks before the season, and have J.T. Barrett step into the role as well as he did and then have Cardale Jones impress in the starting role in the Big Ten Championship Game is quite the accomplishment. Meyer is as good as anyone at developing quarterbacks, and the Buckeyes play with great chemistry. After the shutout against Wisconsin the Ohio State defense pitched, Brutus the Buckeye provides quite the test for top-ranked Alabama.

3. Georgia Tech: Call it old school if you’d like, but Paul Johnson’s triple option is lethal. The Yellow Jackets are good for a surprising season once every few years and 2014 fell in line with that mantra. Very few people saw Georgia Tech winning 10 games and nearly upsetting Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, but an upset of in-state rival Georgia on the final weekend of the regular season got the Jackets to Charlotte. It’s not sexy, but the triple option is tough for anyone to defend.

4. Wisconsin: Auburn’s bowl opponent is armed with one of the top three players in the country as Wisconsin looks to aid in the Big Ten’s anticipated success against the SEC. Four B1G teams have opportunities to upset SEC foes, and Wisconsin figures to have the best shot against a dismal Auburn defense. Former Badgers coach Gary Andersen — now the head man at Oregon State — won 10 games this season, and outside of the blowout loss to Ohio State, Wisconsin had another stellar campaign.

5. Minnesota: If Jerry Kill wasn’t in the Big Ten Coach of the Year conversation at some point, that’s a shame. On paper, the Golden Gophers aren’t very talented. Kill did a masterful job leading this team to eight wins in 2014, however, with wins over Michigan, Iowa and Nebraska. Minnesota’s run game, averaging 224.6 yards per game, is good enough to give Missouri fits in what should turn out to be a very interesting Citrus Bowl.

6. Louisville: The Cardinals had a good first season in the ACC, with the defense leading the charge. Star wideout DeVante Parker starred for Bobby Petrino, giving Louisville seemingly instant big plays. The Cardinals defense is good enough to keep them in games and will need another strong performance in the Belk Bowl against Georgia. Wins over Miami (FL) and Notre Dame highlighted the season, along with a near-upset of then-No. 2 Florida State on the Thursday before Halloween.

7. West Virginia: Dana Holgerson fielded one of the most exciting offenses in the country in Morgantown. The Mountaineers finished 7-5, but wins over then-No.4 Baylor, Maryland and Oklahoma State highlighted the 2014 campaign for West Virginia. Holgerson’s “Air Raid’ scheme had the ninth-best passing offense in the FBS, but it was announced on Friday quarterback Clint Trickett would no longer play football due to a history of concussions. Still, West Virginia is good enough to scare plenty of Big 12 teams and should give Texas A&M its money’s worth.

8. Iowa: The Hawkeyes got off to a good 5-1 start, but slid down the stretch, winning just two of its final six games. Kirk Ferentz again had a mediocre season and will keep his job due to his astronomical buyout, but nonetheless the Hawkeyes are a decent measuring stick for a Tennessee program on-the-rise nationally. Iowa won’t blow you away, but can overpower you. The Hawkeyes, though, didn’t beat anyone of note in the Big Ten en route to a 4-4 conference mark.

9. Notre Dame: Just two years removed from an appearance in the national championship, Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame was thoroughly underwhelming after a gut-wrenching loss at Florida State sent the Fighting Irish into a tailspin. Notre Dame had started 6-0 before dropping the contest in Tallahassee on a controversial ending. Kelly’s team would go 1-5 during the back half of the season. Kelly needs a bowl win and a strong 2015 or life in South Bend will get uncomfortable.

10. East Carolina: The Pirates have wins over Virginia Tech and North Carolina and a narrow loss to Cincinnati. At 8-4, East Carolina put together a solid season in the American Athletic Conference. Quarterback Shane Carden and wideout Justin Hardy form as dynamic a duo as there is in college football. College football’s all-time leading receiver, Hardy will be a handful for top Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves. A passing offense and scoring offense that ranks in the top-15 nationally, Pirates head coach Ruffin McNeill has garnered head coaching attention from major programs.

11. Texas: Year one in Austin was tumultuous for head coach Charlie Strong due to a series of dismissals which many blamed for the Longhorns’ 6-6 record. Close losses to UCLA and Oklahoma kept Texas from eight wins, though Strong’s youthful club needs to learn how to win. Closing games was an issue for Texas in 2014, similar to the early-season struggles of its Texas Bowl counterparts, Arkansas. Strong is on the right trajectory, though, and should have a good Texas program built within a matter of years.

12. Miami (FL): The Hurricanes have as good a trio of offensive weapons in quarterback Brad Kaaya, tailback Duke Johnson and wideout Phillip Dorsett. Inexcusable losses to Virginia and Pittsburgh late in the season cost the Hurricanes a better season in 2014, and put head coach Al Golden on the hot seat. Miami nearly upset then-No. 3 Florida State but couldn’t take advantage of chances late.