SEC officials will have to restrain themselves at Jordan-Hare Stadium this afternoon. No cheering is allowed in the press box.

But how could you blame them for an occasional bark? The conference needs the Georgia Bulldogs to beat Auburn for it to get two teams in the Bowl Championship Series.

If Auburn wins, only the SEC champion will qualify for the BCS. But if Georgia beats Auburn and wins its final regular-season game against Georgia Tech, it would have an outside shot at a BCS bowl.

The Bulldogs will need help. Texas and Utah might both have to lose for the Bulldogs to get a BCS bid.

The Bulldogs also will need help this afternoon. They need the team that beat LSU 45-16 to show up in Auburn.

Auburn 24, Georgia 17: Consistency is the biggest difference between the two. Auburn has had only one close game, a 10-9 victory against LSU; no other team has been closer than 18 points of the Tigers.

Georgia looked like the best team in the country when it dismantled LSU. That was followed by a dismal performance the following week against UT.

South Carolina 30, Florida 27: The game can't be as good as the rumors, the most outlandish of which is that some Division I-A college football programs still regard Ron Zook as head-coaching material. The Gamecocks are more interested in the previous Florida coach.

Just wondering, but suppose Steve Spurrier said at halftime that he wanted the South Carolina job. Would the Gamecocks let Lou Holtz coach the second half?

Ole Miss 27, Arkansas 24: The Rebels and Razorbacks have several things in common: (1) They aren't yet bowl eligible; (2) Spurrier isn't interested in coaching either one of them; (3). Ole Miss will play at least two quarterbacks (probably Ethan Flatt and Robert Lane), and so will Arkansas ( Matt "Big Play" Jones and Matt "Crucial Turnover" Jones).

LSU 18, Alabama 10: Scoring breakdown: LSU - safety, an interception returned for a touchdown, safety, a fumble returned for a touchdown; Alabama - safety, blocked punt returned for a touchdown (two-point conversion failed), safety.

The Tide is down to its third quarterback, and LSU has two quarterbacks who sometimes play like third-teamers. You could see more offense in the Vanderbilt-Kentucky game.

Kentucky 16, Vanderbilt 13: Anyone who thinks this is the worst Kentucky team ever has no appreciation for history.

Sure, the Wildcats rank at the bottom or near the bottom of the SEC in almost every meaningful statistical category. But the 1994 and 1982 teams were clearly inferior.

In 1994, the Wildcats went 1-10 and were outscored 405-149. In back-to-back games, they gave up 73 points to Florida and 59 to Indiana.

In 1982, Kentucky spoiled a perfectly awful season by tying Kansas in the third week of the season. Those Wildcats were outscored 287-97 and never managed more than 14 points in a single game.

Top 25: Southern California 42, Arizona 10; Oklahoma 42, Nebraska 13; Utah 48, Wyoming 22; Wisconsin 30, Michigan State 20; California 52, Washington 17; Texas 37, Kansas 15; Michigan 31, Northwestern 17; Boise State 61, San Jose 24; Virginia 27, Miami 24; Arizona State 30, Washington State 20; West Virginia 31, Boston College 27; Iowa 30, Minnesota 23; Texas A&M 42, Texas Tech 37; Oklahoma State 38, Baylor 23; Notre Dame 27, Pittsburgh 20; UTEP 38, Rice 21.

Record: 168-32 (.840) overall, 114-86 (.570) against the spread.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.