The biggest SEC football game of the year won't be played for another six days but let the parade of awards start here and now.

Arkansas was the most improved team in the league in 2006, which will be reflected in the individual honors bestowed.

The Razorbacks improved from 4-7 in 2005 to 10-2, with the chance to get win No. 11 against Florida on Saturday in Atlanta.

The six-game (so far) improvement in the win column trumps Tennessee and Kentucky, each with four more wins than in 2005.

The biggest drop in regular-season results was Alabama, from 9-2 in 2005 to 6-6 this fall.

Georgia dipped from 10-2 to 8-4. Just think, if the Bulldogs hadn't let both Vanderbilt and Kentucky sneak up on them, they'd have been right back at 10-2.

On to the individual awards:

• The MVP for 2006: Darren McFadden of Arkansas.

McFadden led the league in rushing by a whopping margin of 40 yards a game. He scored 14 touchdowns rushing, was 5-of-5 passing for two more, caught one TD pass and returned a kickoff for a score. Enough said.

• Coach of the year: Houston Nutt.

Nutt was on the ropes this time last year. Hiring a high school coach to be his offensive coordinator seemed an act of desperation.

Nobody gave the Razorbacks a prayer of winning the SEC West but win it they did.

• Comeback player: Tennessee's Erik Ainge.

I thought he would bounce back from a sophomore slump, but he exceeded my (and your, probably) expectations.

• Freshman of the year: It's a quarterback, but not preseason hotties Matthew Stafford or Mitch Mustain.

Tim Tebow didn't even start but he had the biggest impact of any freshman in the league in a year in which there were no Sidney Rices.

The Gators don't win the East without Tebow's change-of-pace pinch-hitting for Chris Leak. Tebow rushed for 399 yards, a 5.6 average, and seven touchdowns. He passed for 357 yards and four more scores.

The top freshman running back of the year, by the way, was UT's LaMarcus Coker with 660 yards. Coker's 6.4-yard-per-carry average was second among all backs to Felix Jones of Arkansas.

• Transfer of the year: He comes from Ole Miss, but it's not Brent Schaeffer.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, a transfer from Indiana, was the second-best rusher behind McFadden. BJGE (whose middle name is FrankHerman) averaged 83.2 yards a game and finished at 999 yards. Couldn't they get him one more?

• Disappointment of the year: Kenneth Darby of Alabama.

He was the No. 2 rusher in the SEC in 2005 at 103.5 yards a game and a 5.2 average. In 2006, Darby fell off to 68.3 yards, a 4.1 average and zero touchdowns.

• Mr. Consistent: Patrick Willis, the Ole Miss linebacker, led the league in tackles for a second consecutive year. Even though the Rebs are finished, nobody has a prayer of catching him Saturday or in a bowl game.

• Most Important Stat: Most coaches will tell you scoring defense is the most pivotal statistic. Here's one angle on how Tennessee's season bears that out.

The Vols (9-3) are tied for 27th nationally in scoring offense at 29.33 points a game. Five teams ranked below them in that category have at least 10 wins and a sixth, TCU, should get its 10th on Saturday.

The Vols are ranked 39th nationally in scoring defense at 19.5 points a game. Only two teams ranked below them in that category (Notre Dame and Hawaii) have 10 wins.

Leak On Verge: Florida quarterback Chris Leak is likely to surpass Peyton Manning in one or more career categories Saturday in the SEC championship game.

If Leak passes and runs for a combined 99 yards he'll pass Manning into second place in SEC career total offense. Leak trails leader David Greene of Georgia by 348 yards.

Leak needs 10 pass completions to overtake Manning's SEC-leading 863. Leak has 86 touchdown passes, three behind second-place Manning. Danny Wuerffel's lead is safe.

Close? Doubt It: A close game in Atlanta will buck the trend. The average victory margin in the 14 previous SEC championship games is 15.57 points. Only three have been decided by a touchdown or less and the most recent of those was UT's 30-29 win over Auburn in 1997.