There are half-dozen SEC teams at the moment that have one loss in league play, three in the East and West, respectively: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Tennessee.

Members of our staff debate which of those teams has the best chance of getting back into its respective division race.

WHICH TEAM HAS THE BEST CHANCE OF GETTING BACK INTO THEIR RESPECTIVE DIVISION RACE?

Jon Cooper (@JonSDS): Alabama

Alabama is still a major player in the SEC West race, and the only thing that seems to be lacking is the quarterback play. Sometimes it takes quarterbacks longer to get in the rhythm of the offense, and assuming Jake Coker can find some confidence ahead of the Georgia game, the Crimson Tide are right back in the SEC Championship hunt. Quarterback play is the most important aspect of any team, and knowing how talented Alabama is, an improvement in quarterback play could take Alabama to the next level.

Christopher Smith (@csmithSDS): Tennessee

I think Missouri, if Russell Hansbrough gets healthy and Drew Lock turns out to be an upgrade at quarterback, could claw back into the East Division race. And Alabama, if it manages a road win against Georgia, should find itself near the top of the West Division standings at the end of the year.

But I’ll still take Tennessee as the team with the highest likelihood to win a division among the teams listed here. The Vols essentially are two plays away from being 4-0 and a top 15 program, with Butch Jones getting discussion as a potential coach of the year candidate. Instead, UT fans are beginning to grumble that he’s the wrong man for the job. Still, the back end of the schedule — at Kentucky, vs. South Carolina, vs. North Texas, at Missouri and vs. Vanderbilt — looks very manageable. An upset against Georgia would give the Vols a division tiebreaker, and even a road loss to Alabama may not end the team’s division title hopes in that scenario.

Talal Elmasry (@TalalElmasrySDS): Tennessee

I based my pick from two factors: 1) Which team I have more confidence in; 2) Which road is most favorable. Tennessee checked both boxes for me. As long as the Vols don’t get too discouraged from the fourth-quarter collapses and the seat that just got much warmer under Butch Jones, the team should have a glass half full mindset (even though the other half didn’t go down so smooth).

Not including head-to-head matchups with each other, all three of those SEC East teams have at least two tough games. Here’s a look at each: Tennessee (vs. Georgia, at Alabama); Kentucky (at Mississippi State, at Georgia); Missouri (at Georgia, vs. Mississippi State). With a win over Georgia being a potential tie-breaker, Rocky Top has the luxury of getting the Bulldogs in Neyland Stadium, while Kentucky and Missouri will be on the road. Plus, I just think the Vols are slightly better than the Wildcats, and I can’t have any confidence in Missouri until it shows me more.

Nick Cole (@NickColeSports): Missouri

Based on track record alone, I think you have to consider Alabama and Missouri as the most likely candidates to jump back into the divisional races after early-season losses. While the Crimson Tide is the more talented team, it also plays in the tougher division, which is why I’m going to pick Missouri for the sake of this debate. The Tigers have shown that they have one of the league’s elite defenses, meaning even a moderate improvement on the offensive side of the ball would set them up to compete in most every conference game they play the rest of the season. Being forced into playing talented freshman QB Drew Lock on Saturday might just create that needed spark. Assuming Kentucky loses one of its next five conference games, there is a good chance that Missouri will still be in control of its own fate in the SEC East race. If the Tigers get some help from Alabama in Athens and Ole Miss in Gainesville this weekend, they’re right back in the mix.