Now that Vanderbilt senior quarterback Jay Cutler is just killing time until he gets to the NFL, there's something he'd like to pack before he leaves campus.

"I wish I could take him with me," said Cutler, referring to Vandy freshman wide receiver Earl Bennett, who set an SEC freshman record this season with 79 catches.

Bennett had 14 in Saturday's 28-24 victory at Tennessee, including the game-winning TD. Two weeks earlier, it was Bennett who was flagged for a shoulder shake after celebrating a TD catch against Florida. The 15-yard penalty made Vandy coach Bobby Johnson change his plans for a two-point conversion; instead he settled for a game-tying extra point that sent the contest into overtime, where Vanderbilt lost.

Bennett learned his lesson: After his TD catch at Tennessee, there was no shake, no celebration, no penalty. "We celebrated as teammates after the game," said Bennett, playing it safe.

Atlanta times two

Georgia has punched its ticket for the SEC championship game in Atlanta's Georgia Dome on Dec. 3. But it will also spend Saturday night in Atlanta at Georgia Tech's Grant Field, trying to beat a Yellow Jacket team that just pulled off a 14-10 upset at No. 3 Miami. "I believe this game had the attention of our players already, but I don't think there's any doubt that watching a performance like that will get you even more serious about preparation," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. ... Florida figures that two more wins -- beating Florida State on Saturday and then a Big 12 team in most likely the Independence Bowl -- would be an acceptable 9-3 finish for Urban Meyer's first year as the Gators' coach. "The program is definitely headed in the right direction," senior outside linebacker Todd McCullough said. "They're going to get a championship here. You can tell. The feeling around the program is so positive. You can just see the progress in people's lives overall, in the classroom and off the field. When you've got everything coming together like that, good things happen."

Nothing could be finer

Despite a 13-9 loss to Clemson on Saturday, South Carolina is eager for a bowl trip under first-year coach Steve Spurrier. Even at 7-4 with five straight SEC wins, including victories at Tennessee and against Florida, Spurrier isn't satisfied. "We've got a lot of coaching to do," he said. "Our team is not near what they can be. That's what's frustrating." Still, Spurrier's college teams now have had a five-game winning streak or better for 15 seasons in a row, beginning in 1988 during his second year at Duke.