For much of the season, the best quarterback in the state of Mississippi was an afterthought. The better question was will Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott win honors for the best signal caller in the SEC?

But after Ole Miss’ late-season run, including a 38-27 victory over Prescott and the Bulldogs, it’s fair to place the Rebels’ Chad Kelly in the same discussion.

Let’s compare and contrast the two quarterbacks:

Off the field, Prescott and Kelly are very different. Prescott is the squeaky-clean, boy-next-door. Although somewhat unfair, many still see Kelly as Hall of Famer Jim Kelly’s spoiled nephew, who was arrested at a bar last December and kicked out of the Clemson program two years ago.

On the field, the two quarterbacks became the generals of their respective offenses — two of the best in the SEC during 2015.

Both Prescott and Kelly finished in the top three in nine different passing categories in the SEC. Prescott finished first in the conference in attempts, completions and completion percentage while Kelly was first in passing yardage.

Even including rushing yards, Kelly eclipsed Prescott. The Ole Miss quarterback amassed 4,176 total yards. Prescott accounted for 3,954 yards of offense.

Arkansas’ Brandon Allen was the only SEC quarterback with more passing touchdowns (29) than the Mississippi signal callers, but Allen had just one rushing TD. Kelly and Prescott both dominated in the rushing game.

Though Prescott enjoyed a reputation as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football, each Mississippi signal caller had 10 rushing scores. Kelly had 37 total TDs, and Prescott posted 35.

Kelly had more issues turning the ball over with 12 interceptions, but that wasn’t a problem at the end of the season. In the final three games of the year, he had seven passing TDs, six rushing scores and no interceptions. Kelly also accounted for 1,149 total yards in those three contests.

Prescott had 1,185 total yards, seven passing and three rushing TDs with three interceptions in the final three games.

It’s important to note that Kelly had a lot more talent to work with at Ole Miss, including WR Laquon Treadwell. Once OT Laremy Tunsil returned in the second half of the season, the Rebels had three potential top 10 picks in next year’s NFL Draft.

Mississippi State, on the other hand, doesn’t have that much potential NFL talent.

That might give Prescott a slight edge in the eyes of fans, but the two Mississippi signal callers are now certainly in the same elite tier of SEC quarterbacks.