The Alabama Crimson Tide have a fairly manageable schedule this season — relatively speaking, of course, because they still play in the SEC West, after all – but they face a rather strong contingent of QBs.

Not only do they face two of the best QBs of the SEC (who are also two of the best nationally), but they’ll face one of the best group-of-5 QBs in nonconference play early in the season. If you examine their schedule, there’s really only a handful of weeks where they won’t go against at least a solid QB.

So, what would a ranking of the QBs Alabama is going to face look like? Let’s take a look:

12. Jordan Black, Citadel

Well, someone has to be at the bottom of the list, and it might as well be the QB from The Citadel, this year’s nonconference sacrificial lamb for Alabama. The Bulldogs run a triple-option based offense, meaning they rarely throw the ball, even when they fall behind early. Black’s greatest strength is his ability to make plays with his feet, and he rushed for 303 yards last year with 2 TDs. When he did throw last year, he completed just 46 percent of his passes for 584 yards with a 6/1 TD to INT ratio. He might insist otherwise, but I don’t think Nick Saban will lose much sleep preparing for this matchup.

11. Andre Nunez, Louisiana

This could also be Levi Lewis, depending on who wins the QB battle, but whoever wins the job won’t offer much of a challenge for the Tide. The two split time last year and combined for 1,160 yards (58% completion) with a 6/3 TD to INT ratio. Who knows, maybe first-year HC Billy Napier – who coached WRs for Alabama from 2013-16 – can get creative enough with the game plan to make things interesting, but again, this shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Tide.

10. Joe Burrow, LSU

This guy could wind up much higher on this list if he plays the way Tiger fans believe he will, after an offseason fueled by the hype train. But until we see him take meaningful snaps, we just don’t know what to expect of him, because mop up duty against UNLV and Rutgers really doesn’t mean squat.

9. Jawon Pass, Louisville

The redshirt sophomore is in the same boat as Burrow. Lots of offseason hype, but not much tangible production in the books yet. Pass is a big and athletic guy (6-4, 231) with impressive physical tools, but with just 33 career pass attempts, we still don’t know whether the hype is legitimate. He has enough pressure just trying to replace Lamar Jackson.

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He’s another guy who probably should be ranked much higher on this list, but I’m a fan of proven production over potential.

8. Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee

This could also be Stanford transfer Keller Chryst, but most accounts coming out of Knoxville are that this is Guarantano’s job to lose. His overall numbers last year weren’t terrible (completing 61.9% of his passes for 997 yards, 4/2), but he really struggled against Alabama last year (9 of 16 for 44 yards and a pick, 11 rushes for -12 yards). Still, he’s just a redshirt sophomore and new OC/QB coach Tyson Helton did a good job developing Sam Darnold at Southern Cal, so there’s reason to believe he’ll be improved this year.

7. Cole Kelley, Arkansas

It’s going to be interesting to see how well Kelley adapts to new coach Chad Morris’ fast paced offense after playing in the plodding Bret Bielema ground-and-pound scheme. Kelley’s numbers last year weren’t great (1,038 yards, 57.6% completion, 8 TDs and 4 INTs), but there’s no denying his monstrous arm talent, and he has an underrated receiving corps to throw to.

6. Nick Starkel, Texas A&M

This could also be Kellen Mond, depending on who wins the job, but Starkel looked pretty good down the stretch last year (aside from an abysmal performance at LSU), finishing with 1,731 yards (60% completion) with 14 TDs in the final 6 games. He lit up a Wake Forest secondary in the bowl game for just under 500 yards with 4 TDs, completing 66.7 percent of his passes. He’ll be in a vastly different offense under Jimbo Fisher, but Fisher has proven an ability to get the most out of his QBs.

5. Justice Hansen, Arkansas State

He’s one of the best group-of-5 QBs in the country and put up huge numbers last year, completing 62.6 percent of his passes for 3,967 yards with a 37/16 TD to INT ratio while also adding another 415 yards and 7 TDs on the ground. He’s a big-play guy with a solid receiving unit who likes to take shots downfield. Alabama, with a brand new secondary and defensive coordinator, faces him in Week 2 of the regular season, so it should be a good litmus test before heading to Oxford the next week.

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4. Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss

Ta’amu was impressive after taking over for the injured Shea Patterson last year, completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,604 yards with 11 TDs and 4 INTs in the 5 games he started. Entering the year as the undisputed leader of the offense with arguably the best receiving corps in the country at his disposal, he’ll provide the best test yet for the Alabama secondary in Week 3. At that point, Nick Saban will have a very good feeling of whether the defensive backfield is in good shape or needs to be shaken up a bit.

3. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State

He took a step backward last year as a passer, but his career numbers speak for themselves (4,440 passing yards, 39/21 TD to INT ratio, 2,486 rushing yards with 33 TDs), and there’s a lot of optimism that he’ll improve under new coach and known QB whisperer Joe Moorhead. Plus, his receiving corps should be vastly improved this year, and he has a solid offensive line with a good stable of backs. Alabama certainly won’t be taking him lightly.

2. Drew Lock, Mizzou

This is a guy that many in the scouting community are very high on, and some believe he’ll be the first pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. He set an SEC record last year with 44 TD passes and finished the season with just under 4,000 yards passing, and returns many key pieces around him on offense. The big question is how he responds to the new pro-style-centric scheme under first-year playcaller Derek Dooley.

1. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

He’s arguably the best QB in the country and a legitimate Heisman contender who really played well down the stretch, beating both No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama last year. From the Mizzou game through the rest of the regular season, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,054 yards with 14 TDs and just 2 INTs. He’s athletic and intelligent, with the ability to make accurate throws to all three levels and he takes care of the football. Corralling him is no small task.