If you include Alabama’s victory in the national championship game, the SEC set an NCAA record with nine bowl victories. However, not every team in the conference enjoyed the postseason. Four were stuck watching from home.

For this week’s Take Two, we ask which of those four teams – Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt – is most likely to play in a bowl game this coming season?

Sam Khan: I think it's Kentucky. The Wildcats knocked on the door the last two seasons and pulled themselves to within a game of reaching a bowl, but were unable to close the deal both times. Mark Stoops enters his fourth season in Lexington, the Wildcats have been building depth and add some more with a solid recruiting class coming in (ranked 31st currently in the ESPN class rankings).

Returning offensive skill players such as running back Stanley "Boom" Williams, receivers Garrett Johnson, Dorian Baker, Jeff Badet and Blake Bone plus tight end C.J. Conrad will certainly help. Quarterback Drew Barker will need to take a significant step forward in development, though he's light on starting experience.

In order to do make a bowl game, the Wildcats will likely need to win their season opener against Southern Miss, a team that is coming off a solid season (9-5, won the Conference USA West Division) but will be led by a new coach (Todd Monken recently left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). If they do, there's a solid opportunity to start the season 3-1. Then the Wildcats would need to pick up three more victories down the stretch, with games vs. Vanderbilt (a team Kentucky lost to this season), at Missouri and vs. Austin Peay being the most logical possibilities. That end-of-season rivalry game with Louisville has been close each of the last two seasons, and the Wildcats allowed a 21-point lead to vanish in November.

Kentucky has been competitive enough the last two seasons that I think they will take the next step in their development. The Wildcats will steal some wins that people aren't expecting and find themselves bowling in 2016.

Greg Ostendorf: I actually agree with you that the Wildcats will make a bowl game. Their schedule sets up better than any of the teams mentioned above. But joining Kentucky in the postseason will be Vanderbilt.

Wait, what? I’m taking the same Vanderbilt team that has won just two SEC games the past two seasons, with Missouri and South Carolina, two teams that won 11 or more games in 2013, available to select? Yep. And here’s why.

The Commodores ranked No. 10 nationally in defense efficiency and they return seven starters from that unit, including All-SEC linebacker Zach Cunningham. The sophomore was among the conference leaders with 103 tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss. Clearly, having head coach Derek Mason assume the defensive-coordinator role worked wonders for this group, and there’s no reason to think they will fall off in 2016. They should be better.

The offense is still a question mark, but freshman quarterback Kyle Shurmur made strides late last season and should be the guy going forward. Joining him in the backfield will be Ralph Webb, one of the more underrated running backs in the SEC who has rushed for more than 900 yards two years in a row. This unit gets offensive lineman Andrew Jelks back from injury. He's a former All-SEC freshman who missed all of last season.

The schedule isn’t easy. Vanderbilt has to make trips to Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky, though both teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks against that vaunted defense. If the Commodores can win both of those and go 4-0 before SEC play begins, a bowl game should be a near-lock. If not, they might need to win a game they’re not supposed to win. But let’s not forget that this team was a field goal away from beating SEC East champ Florida this past season.