SEC defenses will face some pretty tough tasks in bowl games over the next month thanks to a strong group of opposing quarterbacks. How tough? How about last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, and the man nearly certain to be his successor?

The SEC will face three of the nation’s top five quarterbacks in completion percentage this season and three conference champions, including the only undefeated team in the Football Bowl Subdivision regular season. Oh yeah, and the other two are College Football Playoff teams.

Here is a look at all nine quarterbacks facing SEC teams in the postseason, ranked top to bottom:

1. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma

The near-certain Heisman Trophy winner is the best player in the country this season, period. Georgia will have to focus on stopping a plethora of weapons on Jan. 1 in a CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., but it all starts with Mayfield. What more can be said about a player who finished fourth in Heisman voting in 2015 and third last season?

The senior leads the nation at 11.8 passing yards per attempt, a 70.5 completion percentage and a 203.8 rating. He’s also second in the country in passing yards (4,340) and touchdowns (41) for a Sooners offense that leads the nation in total offense at 583.3 yards a game and is fourth in scoring at 44.9 points a game.

2. Lamar Jackson, Louisville

As I wrote Sunday, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner has had about as good of a season this year as he did last year, just without all the awards buzz. Jackson leads the ACC in passing yards (3.489) and rushing yards (1,443) and is especially a matchup nightmare if Mississippi State’s defensive line loses containment during the TaxSlayer Bowl on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville.

Just in case Bulldogs fans needs a reminder … they don’t have to watch all 10 minutes, just jump in anywhere and be dazzled:

3. McKenzie Milton, UCF

The sophomore has been a revelation this season for the Knights, the only undefeated team left in FBS. The American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year is second in FBS in completion percentage (69.2), passer rating (184.8) and yards per attempt (10.5) — all behind only Mayfield — and is tied for fourth in passing touchdowns (35) and fifth in passing yards (3,795).

And Milton has been at his best in the biggest games, a trend Auburn must be aware of heading into the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Milton passed for 373 yards and four touchdowns in an epic win over archrival USF on Nov. 24, then topped that with a career-high 494 yards and five touchdowns (albeit with three interceptions, also a career high) in Saturday’s double-overtime victory over Memphis in the AAC title game.

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4. Kelly Bryant, Clemson

The good news for Alabama, which meets Clemson in the CFP for the third consecutive year, is that it longer will have to deal with Deshaun Watson. The bad news is that the Tigers have not lost a step with Bryant at the helm, as evidenced by Clemson’s No. 1 ranking heading into the Jan. 1 Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

No, Bryant has not been as dominant as Watson, but that’s hardly a fair comparison. The Tigers don’t ask Bryant to carry them — the fifth-ranked total defense in the country does that quite nicely — but the junior leads the ACC in completion percentage at 67.4, has thrown for 2,678 yards and has shown some wheels too, rushing for 646 yards and 11 touchdowns. It’s telling that the one game Bryant didn’t complete, on Oct. 13 against Syracuse when he left with an injury, was the only one Clemson lost.

5. Brandon Wimbush, Notre Dame

Wimbish is 80th in FBS this season in yards per attempt at 6.81 and he does not have a 300-yard passing game this season. But when the Fighting Irish square off against LSU on Jan. 1 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the Tigers will have to put a spy on Wimbush because the junior can definitely hurt teams with his legs.

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Wimbush rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns in September against Boston College and for the season totaled 766 yards on the ground, 13th in the country among quarterbacks, and 14 touchdowns. He completed more than 60 percent of his passes in just one game this season — 70 percent (14-for-20) against Michigan State — and is at 49.8 percent for the season.

6. John Wolford, Wake Forest

Texas A&M will look to slow down a fairly potent Demon Deacons offense in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 29 in Charlotte, and it starts with Wolford. The senior, with 46 career games, has set career highs in passing yards (2,792), yards per attempt (8.6, 16th in the nation) and passing touchdowns (25) and has thrown a career-low six interceptions.

He is third on Wake Forest’s all-time passing yards list at 8,394, behind immediate predecessors Riley Skinner (9,762 yards from 2006-09) and Tanner Price (8,899, 2010-13). The Demon Deacons are third in the ACC in scoring at 33.7 points a game and also third in total offense with a 450.8 average.

7. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern

The Wildcats rank 51st in FBS at 244.3 yards per game passing. Thorson has shown a decent deep arm and, though he is not much of a running threat — he has 29 yards on 85 carries this season — the Wildcats will use him in short-yardage situations, as his eight rushing scores attest. The Wildcats average 36.6 passing attempts a game, 24th in the nation and third in the Big Ten, but star running back Justin Jackson is the real engine of Northwestern’s offense, easing the pressure on Thorson.

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However, the quarterback can be vulnerable; Thorson is tied for 10th in FBS with 12 interceptions in 2017, so that is something Kentucky might look to exploit in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 29 in Nashville.

8. Shane Buechele/Sam Ehlinger, Texas

The Longhorns have had trouble keeping either quarterback healthy this season. True freshman Ehlinger has played a bit more, going 147-for-260 passing for 1,803 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but he missed two games with concussion symptoms. Buechele has battled shoulder and ankle injuries and is 131-for-199 for 1,350 yards, six TDs and four picks.

Bottom line, Texas is ranked seventh out of 10 teams in the Big 12 in passing yards (266.5 a game) and eighth in scoring (29.2 points a game), last among the league’s eight bowl-bound teams. So who will Missouri see on Dec. 27 at the Texas Bowl in Houston?

Yep, it’s a waiting game.

9. Brandon Peters, Michigan

The Wolverines have been, to be blunt, dreadful in the passing game this season. Wilton Speight was average at best in four games of duty before getting injured, then last week he announced plans to transfer. After that Peters jumped John O’Korn on the depth chart, started three games and played OK, but the sophomore was injured Nov. 18 against Wisconsin and O’Korn took over for the regular-season finale against Ohio State. In that game, O’Korn showed why he was bypassed not once but twice for the starting job.

Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh announced Sunday that Peters would start against South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa. In a season when 16 FBS teams averaged at least 300 passing yards per game, Michigan has not had even one 300-yard passing game.