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It’s easy to sit here and claim that the quarterback of the No. 1 team in the country is the SEC’s best.

I’ve been doing that on a weekly basis for all but one week of the 2017 season. Putting Jalen Hurts at No. 1 is neither bold, nor wrong.

The question is, what will it take for anyone to leapfrog him? He’s earned the right to have a bad game, which he hasn’t had yet. Statistically speaking, it’s hard to say certain numbers will definitively put a Nick Fitzgerald or a Jake Bentley ahead of Hurts.

So spoiler alert, Hurts is No. 1 until further notice. As for the rest of these SEC quarterback rankings, those spots are up for grabs.

14. Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee

As I said last week, I give Guarantano a lot of credit. He’s a tough kid who is doing everything he can to put the Vols in position to succeed. He nearly pulled out a win at Kentucky without John Kelly, who was suspended after his marijuana arrest last week. On the bright side, Guarantano led Tennessee on two touchdown drives. Like, real offensive touchdown drives! The bad news is that he’s still without a touchdown pass through his first three starts. One has to think that’ll change against Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Right?

13. Feleipe Franks, Florida

In Franks’ defense, I’m not sure how many quarterbacks would’ve been able to succeed in that offense. The redshirt freshman was swallowed whole by the Dawgs in what turned out to be the last game of Jim McElwain’s tenure in Gainesville. Will Franks suddenly play well without McElwain? Lord knows there have been plenty of Gators quarterbacks who have thrived after they were separated from McElwain and Will Muschamp.

12. Jordan Ta’amu, Ole Miss

Ta’amu and the Rebels looked like the Shea Patterson-led offense early against Arkansas. But down the stretch, the mistakes piled up. A fumbled exchange led to Arkansas pulling within one score, which proved costly in a bad Ole Miss loss. Ta’amu actually moved the ball really well — he finished with 368 passing yards — but he couldn’t sustain that fast start. The junior will face three SEC teams with winning records in conference play down the stretch. After Saturday’s collapse to lowly Arkansas, that’s a daunting thought.

11. Cole Kelley, Arkansas

Want a hot take? I don’t think the 2017 version of Austin Allen would’ve been able to rally the Hogs back from a 24-point deficit. But the gigantic freshman did just that to give Arkansas its first SEC victory of the season.

Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Kelley got some help from an Arkansas defense that finally figured some things out in the second half, but that victory doesn’t happen without him. In his first three starts — two of which were against top-notch defenses — Kelley completed 59 percent of his passes and he racked up five total touchdowns. That’s not awful behind that offensive line with that group of receivers.

10. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

I’ve been saying for a while that I thought the Mississippi State defense was still legit. The Bulldogs harassed Mond all game and made it one of the more forgettable performances of his young career. For the second straight game, Mond failed to complete 35 percent of his passes and he didn’t throw a touchdown pass. Since that breakout game against Arkansas, Mond has just the one touchdown pass, which came on a spectacular play by Christian Kirk (the scramble and throw were pretty impressive, too). Life in the SEC ain’t easy for a young quarterback.

9. Stephen Johnson, Kentucky

When it’s winning time, Johnson always seems to step up. He capped a 10-play, 72-yard drive with a game-winning touchdown run from 11 yards out to beat Tennessee. That washed away what was an otherwise lackluster performance from the Kentucky signal-caller. Completing 6 of 15 passes for 46 yards isn’t usually going to result in a win, especially on a day in which the Wildcats turned the ball over four times.

With favorable matchups against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt coming up, Johnson is in prime position to lead Kentucky to its first winning season in SEC play in 40 years.

8. Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt

Another game in which the Commodores were bottled up on the ground and Shurmur at least gave them a chance. His four touchdown passes tied his season high and his 333 passing yards were his best total of the 2017 campaign. Shurmur looks like he’s getting more comfortable playing with a deficit. He couldn’t lead a Vanderbilt comeback, but he did show again that he’s a far more capable passer than he was last year. If he could complete more than 48 percent of his passes in SEC play, he’d be much higher on this list.

7. Danny Etling, LSU

Hopefully Etling got all of his bumps and bruises patched up. He’ll need to be at 100 percent on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. It’ll be interesting to see how much trust Matt Canada puts in Etling to take some shots and test the Alabama secondary. It can’t just be the Derrius Guice show. We’ve seen that movie against Alabama before. If Etling can continue to play like he did in October (4 TDs, 0 INTs, 10 yards per attempt), the Tigers will have a chance to establish more balance than they’ve had in years past against the Tide.

6. Drew Lock, Missouri

Why does it feel like that’s the eighth cupcake the Tigers have played this year? Another non-Power 5 opponent, another monster game for Lock. I don’t care that he has 10 more touchdown passes than any other SEC quarterback. Only 10 of Lock’s 28 touchdown passes came in SEC play.

Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Including the five he threw against UConn on Saturday, 18 of his touchdown passes came against either Group of 5 or FCS opponents. Let’s see Lock do it consistently against an actual defense like he did in the first half against Georgia.

5. Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

A bye week for Stidham should’ve served him well heading into what figures to be a challenging game at Texas A&M. Against Arkansas two weeks ago, we saw Stidham flash the mobility Gus Malzahn has been looking for. The question is if Stidham can do that against a quality defense. The Aggies are fresh off a blowout loss in which Nick Fitzgerald carved them up with his arm and legs. In Malzahn’s perfect world, Stidham would follow a similar path in leading the Tigers on the road.

4. Jake Fromm, Georgia

I know. He only completed four passes. He threw a bad pick. The offense didn’t run through him. He wasn’t the difference in that blowout win against Florida. I hear you loud and clear. But look at the overall body of work with Fromm through Georgia’s 8-0 start. He still has a 13-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, he completes 62 percent of his passes, he averages an SEC-best 9.9 yards per attempt, and he’s only taken six sacks. The efficiency numbers are impressive, as is his command of the offense.

3. Jake Bentley, South Carolina

Man, does Bentley throw a nice deep ball. I feel like I write that every week, but it’s true. On Saturday, Bentley finally got a lift from the ground game, which plowed its way to 212 rushing yards against Vanderbilt. Part of that was on Bentley, who had a season-best 47 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.

Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Bentley had his fourth consecutive game without an interception, which was key in a game that stayed close throughout. The Gamecocks are quietly 4-2 in SEC play, and Bentley is the biggest reason why.

2. Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State

What is it about MSU that it just refuses to play in close games? Bizarre it is that every Bulldogs game has been decided by three touchdowns or more. Fitzgerald’s performance has a lot to do with that. Once again, he did the heavy lifting for MSU. Fitzgerald had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and the Bulldogs rolled in College Station.

On the season, he actually has more passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns than Hurts. So what’s holding him back from No. 1? Those eight interceptions.

1. Jalen Hurts, Alabama

With Hurts on a bye, let’s treat this as a chance to advocate for his Heisman Trophy odds. Notice I referenced “odds.” Entering Week 9, Hurts had 20-to-1 odds to earn the honor. Now, they’re at 60-to-1. In a year in which nobody has put up video game numbers, Hurts would be my favorite bet at this point of the race. With games still against LSU, Auburn and potentially Georgia, he’ll have plenty of opportunities for showcase moments.

If Hurts leads an undefeated Alabama team into the postseason and he puts up some impressive numbers down the stretch, it wouldn’t be surprising to see voters swayed in favor of the Tide quarterback.