It happens all the time. A few months later, you look back at the preseason rankings and one — and only one — question comes to mind.

What the heck were we thinking?

That’s the feeling you get when you look back our rankings of the Top 10 quarterbacks in the SEC. They were compiled just before the season started and now, after 11 weeks of football, one thing is very, very clear.

We were very, very wrong.

It’s not all our fault, of course. Many of these guys had great reputations coming in but then went out and stunk it up. Others just acted like goofballs and got booted from their team. Some were unlucky, unable to avoid injuries.

Still, our preseason rankings, when you look at them now, are laughable. Here they are:

SDS PRESEASON QUARTERBACK RANKINGS

  1. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
  2. Jeremy Johnson, Auburn
  3. Kyle Allen, Texas A&M
  4. Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
  5. Brandon Allen, Arkansas
  6. Maty Mauk, Missouri
  7. Patrick Towles, Kentucky
  8. Jake Coker, Alabama
  9. Connor Mitch, South Carolina
  10. Brice Ramsey, Georgia

Knowing what we know now, we’d certainly like to take another run at it. We have a new list of stars now, some guys who have been steady and some guys who have fallen off the map.

Here’s are some quarterback takes as Week 12 approaches:

THE 3 WE WHIFFED ON

  1. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss: Kelly didn’t even make our list in the preseason because we weren’t sure he was even going to be the starter. But he’s proven to be exceptional and he’s choreographed the game of the year, the fantastic 43-37 Ole Miss victory over Alabama in September when he threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He’s thrown a few too many picks, but he’s a serious contender for first-team All-SEC honors.
  2. Will Grier, Florida: The redshirt freshman proved to be the real deal early, putting up big numbers for the Gators and setting the tone for a quick revival under first-year coach Jim McElwain. But then Grier got busted by the NCAA for failing a drug test for performance-enhancing drugs and was suspended for a year. An appeal process is on and if Grier can start the beginning of the season next year, Florida has something special. For now, they carry on with Treon Harris, a substantial downgrade.
  3. Jake Coker, Alabama:  Coker was on our Top 10 list, but near the bottom. He’s even been benched earlier in the year, but now, as Week 12 approaches, he deserves his props. Alabama is probably the best team in the country right now and Coker has made enough good throws to help them roll forward toward the playoffs. He’s also been perfect at handing off to Derrick Henry, which might be the best play in college football right now.

THE 3 WE NAILED

  1. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State: We had him No. 1 in the preseason, and he’s probably still there. Kellly and Allen are charging, but when you add it all up, Prescott’s arm and legs are better than everyone else.
  2. Brandon Allen, Arkansas: Allen has been really special this past month and is pushing for All-SEC honors himself. What’s funny about how we nailed this one is that even Arkansas fans thought we had rated him far too high. He’s had his low points throughout his career, but he’s having a special senior season.
  3. Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee: Dobbs hasn’t been particularly spectacular and the Vols have had  four close losses where some points late by Dobbs sure would have  helped. But we’ll leave him here for one good reason — he’s been there every week. Only Dobbs, Prescott, Allen, Kelly and LSU’s Brandon Harris can say that.

The 3 WHO LET US DOWN

  1. Maty Mauk, Missouri: Suspended once, Mauk got another chance from coach Gary Pinkel and then got immediately suspended again. His off-the-field behavior is disappointing and he’s let his teammates down. He’s let Pinkel down too, in his final season.
  2. Jeremy Johnson, Auburn: The Tigers were preseason No. 6, primarily because Johnson was considered a huge upgrade from Nick Marshall at QB. But Johnson played poorly from the get-go and the Tigers are dead last in the SEC West. Having him at preseason No. 2 turned out to be a huge mistake.
  3. Kyle Allen, Texas A&M: After making such a huge splash as a freshman last year, big things were expected of Allen this year. But he’s found his way to the bench too, replaced by freshman Kyler Murray, after hitting the skids in a major way. He was a horrifically bad against Alabama then had a 2-for-22 stretch against Ole Miss. He hasn’t started since.

There’s plenty more to be disgusted about with quarterback play in the SEC this year. The carousel at Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina led to serious offensive woes, and Vanderbilt hasn’t shown any excitement on offense, either. Kentucky’s Patrick Towles was certainly a prime candidate for our “Let Us Down” list, too, because he’s really struggled during UK’s five-game losing streak.

And then there’s Brandon Harris at LSU, who fell through the cracks of all three of our categories. That’s because he’s been just good enough to help LSU win its first seven games, and just bad enough to lose the last two. When Alabama and Arkansas put max-effort into stopping Leonard Fournette — and succeeding — Harris just couldn’t make enough plays in the air to keep LSU in the game. When he had a chance to step up and shine, he hasn’t been able to deliver.