Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

If you really want to stir emotions in SEC country, start ranking the head football coaches.

I get asked all the time who's the best coach in this league. I always do my best to defer. After all, five different coaches -- Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer, Florida's Urban Meyer, LSU's Les Miles, Alabama's Nick Saban and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier -- have won national championships, while a sixth -- Auburn's Tommy Tuberville -- has a perfect 13-0 season to his credit.

But, hey, an even tougher question is: Who's the worst coach in the league?

There's not one.

Anyway, as conference play begins in earnest this weekend with a couple of key showdowns, let's take the emotion out of it and take a fact-based look at which coaches have done the best against their current SEC peers.

You might be surprised at some of the findings.

Arkansas' Bobby Petrino is unbeaten, even though this weekend's game against Alabama will be his debut as a head coach in an SEC contest. He beat Kentucky's Rich Brooks all four years he was at Louisville.

Florida's Urban Meyer has the best winning percentage against current SEC head coaches. He's 16-6 (.727), but LSU's Les Miles is right on his heels at 15-6 (.714).

Georgia's Mark Richt and Auburn's Tommy Tuberville are tied for the most wins against current SEC head coaches. They each have 30, although Richt has a better winning percentage. Tuberville was at Ole Miss for four seasons before moving to Auburn in 1999.

Richt's consistency has been amazing ever since arriving in Athens in 2001. He's guided the Bulldogs to top 10 finishes in the polls five of the last six seasons and has won 10 or more games all but once during that stretch.

Tuberville warrants a close second for the consistency award. He just hasn't won as many SEC titles or been to as many BCS bowls as Richt. What Tuberville has done is beat up on the heavyweights.

One of the best big-game coaches in the business, Tuberville has won nine of his last 12 games against top 10 teams, including 15 of his last 22. He gets a chance to add to that total Saturday when No. 6-ranked LSU visits the Plains.

Fulmer, the dean of SEC coaches, is just three games over .500 against this current lineup. His longevity in a league that chews up and spits out coaches shouldn't be taken for granted. That said, the only current coaches he owns a winning record against are Bobby Johnson, Rich Brooks, Houston Nutt and Sylvester Croom.

Against Meyer, Miles, Richt, Saban, Spurrier and Tuberville, Fulmer is a combined 13-23.

Of course, Saban is also hovering just one game above the .500 mark, and he has losing records against Miles, Spurrier and Tuberville.

Spurrier, in his fourth season at South Carolina, is 25-18 against his current counterparts. Most telling, though, is that 14 of those 18 losses have come after he took on the South Carolina rebuilding job. The Gamecocks have lost six straight SEC games dating back to last season.

Here's the complete breakdown, coach by coach, and in order of winning percentage:

Arkansas' Bobby Petrino: 4-0 (1.000)
Brooks 4-0
Croom 0-0
Fulmer 0-0
Johnson 0-0
Meyer 0-0
Miles 0-0
Nutt 0-0
Richt 0-0
Saban 0-0
Spurrier 0-0
Tuberville 0-0

Florida's Urban Meyer: 16-6 (.727)
Brooks 3-0
Croom 1-0
Fulmer 3-0
Johnson 3-0
Miles 1-2
Nutt 1-0
Petrino 0-0
Richt 2-1
Saban 0-0
Spurrier 2-1
Tuberville 0-2

LSU's Les Miles: 15-6 (.714)
Brooks 1-1
Croom 3-0
Fulmer 2-1
Johnson 1-0
Meyer 2-1
Nutt 2-1
Petrino 0-0
Richt 0-1
Saban 1-0
Spurrier 1-0
Tuberville 2-1

Georgia's Mark Richt: 30-14 (.681)
Brooks 4-1
Croom 2-0
Fulmer 4-3
Johnson 5-1
Meyer 1-2
Miles 1-0
Nutt 4-0
Petrino 0-0
Saban 2-2
Spurrier 3-2
Tuberville 4-3

Auburn's Tommy Tuberville: 30-21 (.588)
Brooks 2-0
Croom 4-1
Fulmer 3-3
Johnson 3-0
Meyer 2-0
Miles 1-2
Nutt 5-5
Petrino 0-0
Richt 3-4
Saban 4-2
Spurrier 3-4

South Carolina's Steve Spurrier: 25-18 (.581)
Brooks 3-0
Croom 2-0
Fulmer 8-5
Johnson 2-2
Meyer 1-2
Miles 0-1
Nutt 1-2
Petrino 0-0
Richt 2-3
Saban 2-0
Tuberville 4-3

Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer: 29-26 (.527)
Brooks 5-0
Croom 1-0
Johnson 5-1
Meyer 0-3
Miles 1-2
Nutt 5-2
Petrino 0-0
Richt 3-4
Saban 1-3
Spurrier 5-8
Tuberville 3-3

Alabama's Nick Saban: 14-13 (.518)
Brooks 0-0
Croom 1-1
Fulmer 3-1
Johnson 2-0
Meyer 0-0
Miles 0-1
Nutt 4-2
Petrino 0-0
Richt 2-2
Spurrier 0-2
Tuberville 2-4

Mississippi's Houston Nutt: 18-24 (.428)
Brooks 1-1
Croom 4-0
Fulmer 2-5
Johnson 1-1
Meyer 0-1
Miles 1-2
Petrino 0-0
Richt 0-4
Saban 2-4
Spurrier 2-1
Tuberville 5-5

Kentucky's Rich Brooks: 9-26 (.257)
Croom 2-2
Fulmer 0-5
Johnson 4-1
Meyer 0-3
Miles 1-1
Nutt 1-1
Petrino 0-4
Richt 1-4
Saban 0-0
Spurrier 0-3
Tuberville 0-2

Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson: 7-26 (.212)
Brooks 1-4
Croom 1-0
Fulmer 1-5
Meyer 0-3
Miles 0-1
Nutt 1-1
Petrino 0-0
Richt 1-5
Saban 0-2
Spurrier 2-2
Tuberville 0-3

Miss. State's Sylvester Croom: 4-21 (.160)
Brooks 2-2
Fulmer 0-1
Johnson 0-1
Meyer 0-1
Miles 0-3
Nutt 0-4
Petrino 0-0
Richt 0-2
Saban 1-1
Spurrier 0-2
Tuberville 1-4