At SEC Media Days, one of the biggest debates centered around the best team in the SEC.

Most times, the opinionated media anoints a preseason darling. For many years, that team has been Alabama. In July, though, there were more questions. Could Auburn be the team to beat? What about heavy SEC favorite Georgia? Some even preferred LSU or Ole Miss.

Then September and October happened. By the end of last weekend, Alabama once again is a clear SEC favorite. So much for a muddled discussion into the final week of the season.

Instead of a race to the top, it has been a race to the bottom. There are plenty of teams vying for the dishonor as the worst in the SEC. South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mizzou all are valid arguments. (We’re looking at you, SEC East.) We asked our staff to help sort through that conundrum.

WHICH TEAM IS THE WORST IN THE SEC THIS SEASON?

Tom Brew (@tombrewsports): Missouri

It’s sad that there are actually several options for the worst team in the SEC. South Carolina and Vanderbilt are certainly in the mix – and Kentucky is charging fast on the outside – but I’m going with Missouri. Their offense has completely disappeared and the defense isn’t great enough to make up for it. Vandy’s offense is a a joke too, but their defense has been stout and kept them in games, even against good teams.

Vandy beat Missouri 10-3 too, so that settles it for me. And plus, Vandy is supposed to struggle. Missouri just won back-to-back SEC East titles. Point a finger at their fall? Absolutely.

Chris Wright (@FilmRoomEditor): Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt has the worst offense — and the biggest disparity between offensive and defensive ability — and it’s not even really close. Its only hope is to win a 10-3 game, which is what it did against Missouri.

The troubling part if you’re a Vandy fan is I’m not even sure what the offense is trying to accomplish. They’ve completely punted on the passing game. They’re running gun runs on third-and-long, which would be questionable even if they had Leonard Fournette and Derrick Henry back there.

Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): Kentucky

The Wildcats have lost four straight SEC games since their midseason bye week by an average of 21 points per contest, a result of faulty execution offensively and a defense that’s been out of position more often than not.

What happened to the early-season confidence and September momentum? Was this team poisoned during their time away from the field? The truth is both conference wins came against struggling teams and Kentucky is once again trying to offset a second-half collapse with a bowl bid. If the Wildcats lose to Vanderbilt on Saturday, those aspirations drastically diminish.

Talal Elmasry (@TalalElmasrySDS): Missouri

Missouri just doesn’t have a heartbeat right now. Maybe that changes and the events that transpired this week serve to galvanize the team, but maybe it has the opposite effect. It’s between Mizzou and Vandy for me, but it was the Commodores who came out with a 10-3 victory over the Tigers back in Week 8. Both teams have been led by stellar defenses, but it’s amazing that the Tigers (127th) and Commodores (126th) rank as the two lowest-scoring teams in the entire FBS.

South Carolina seems to be in the best shape of the basement teams, beating Vanderbilt before taking Texas A&M and Tennessee to the wire. Meanwhile, QB Perry Orth’s 275 yards of total offense and 3 passing TDs with no picks is a huge plus. Missouri and Vanderbilt’s QB situations look bleak at best right now.