Put it in the books: Tennessee has had a successful football season.

So long as the Vols beat the two remaining teams on their schedule they should beat, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, 2006 should go down as a good year for UT football.

A win over LSU or Arkansas would be a bonus. The Tigers are the most talented team in the SEC, and the Razorbacks get the Vols at Fayetteville and have the best player in the league in tailback Darren McFadden.

Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is dealing with some tough distractions.

His offensive coordinator, David Cutcliffe, is being courted by other schools as a head coaching candidate.

Fulmer’s most pivotal playmaker, Robert Meachem, is being lured by the NFL to leave school with a year of eligibility remaining.

Tennessee’s quarterback, Erik Ainge, has a bum ankle, and his top tailback, LaMarcus Coker, is out at least another week with a knee injury. UT’s other tailback, Arian Foster, is obviously not completely up to speed because of his nagging ankle injury.

The defense is already without two key playmakers, Justin Harrell and Inky Johnson, and the supposed rising star of the secondary, Demetrice Morley, is apparently resisting the opportunity to grow up.

Those are not excuses for the Vols to lose to the Tigers or Razorbacks. Those are legitimate reasons.

Just as the Tigers having an open date heading into Saturday’s game at Neyland Stadium is a good reason to pick LSU.

If the Tigers win, as I believe they will, it won’t necessarily be because LSU has a better coaching staff. It doesn’t.

But it has more talent, more rest, and plenty of motivation.

The Vols have gone from being the hunters to the hunted. Tennessee is the higher ranked team. The Vols won last year’s game in Baton Rouge.

The boys in Las Vegas have the Bayou Bengals as a 2-point favorite. I think LSU will win by more.

Give Fulmer credit for trying to manage the situation, but the dynamics surrounding this game appear beyond his control.

"There’s a lot of talk about other things other than this game,’’ Fulmer said. "A player or coach that’s talking about anything other than this game is wasting their breath and going so against my wishes.’’

Fulmer knows the only chance UT has in the next two games is to stay focused and play its best football.

Fulmer deserves credit for managing the program as well as he has and making 2006 a successful season.

Should Cutcliffe and/or Meachem leave — along with two top-flight senior receivers, an All-America left tackle and a clutch kicker — it will be on Fulmer to lead the program into the future.

After this season, Vols’ fans should know Fulmer is the man to find a way for the program to get it done, regardless of what happens against LSU and Arkansas.

I believe it will take a wild card for Tennessee to upset either of its next two opponents. Perhaps some unexpected hero or unforeseen event could make the difference.

Fulmer implied what the Vols have going right now won’t be enough, saying "In this game, we have to find a way or make a way’’ to win.

Could it be backup quarterback Jonathan Crompton? Could Crompton be the Vols’ version of Matt Mauck (circa LSU in the 2001 SEC title game)?

Maybe. From what I saw in the preseason, Crompton has all the tools to be a great one.

But maybe not. Surely, Cutcliffe knows a lot more about the situation, and he has chosen to run up Ainge’s numbers in blowouts rather than put Crompton on the field to run the offense.

Regardless of the outcomes, the drama the next two weeks is enticing.

LSU BREAKDOWN

Key Players: UT quarterback play; WR Jayson Swain; TE Chris Brown; FS Jonathan Hefney; LSU: quarterback JaMarcus Russell, FS LaRon Landry, RBs Jacob Hester, Justin Vincent, Alley Broussard.

Over/Under: UT 50 yards rushing; Arian Foster one fumble; Russell two interceptions.

Key stat: Rushing yardage. The team that establishes the run should win.

Keep an Eye On: Demetrice Morley. The Vols’ strong safety has the talent to be a difference maker, but he also has shown a penchant for not doing his homework in the classroom, and sometimes on the field.

GRIFF’S PICKS

Florida minus-14 over Vanderbilt

Alabama minus-14 over Mississippi State

Georgia minus-7 over Kentucky

Ole Miss (no line) over Northwestern State

Arkansas State plus-31 over Auburn; Auburn straight-up

LSU minus-2 over Tennessee

Arkansas minus-2 over South Carolina

RECORD: 48-9 Straight-up; 31-29 vs. Spread