Strange: Darn good run for UT football, basketball fans

The official SEC all-sports trophy standings won't be announced until the last tennis ball thwocks into the net. The unofficial all-sports bragging rights, however, are much easier to compute.

You take football and men's basketball. That's it. Simple.

Not to discount swimming, track, etc., or even baseball, because the non-revenue sports in the SEC compete as fiercely as in any league in America. But when it gets down to gut-level fandom, the big two rule.

And no disrespect intended toward women's basketball and Tennessee's latest national championship. However, women's hoops isn't a common denominator. Lady Vol fans care about it passionately, other SEC fans not so much.

So who puffs out their chest and struts into the sports bar in Hilton Head or Panama City this summer with the most swagger?

Well, once past September, it was a darn good run for Tennessee fans.

An historic season in basketball and an Eastern Division title in football was the best one-two punch in the league this year.

But LSU won a football national championship and in the SEC, that trumps all. End of argument.

Never mind that the Tigers fired their basketball coach in mid-season and didn't get a whiff of the NCAA tournament. They brought home the big trophy for the second time in five years. Move to the head of the class.

If not for LSU's football title, Tennessee would be living largest. The Vols combined for 41 wins in football and basketball. Only basketball finalists Kansas (49) and Memphis (45) had more.

The football Vols staggered early, regrouped and battled their way to Atlanta, if only by the thinnest of margins. There, they were a fourth-quarter interception from ending their title drought. An Outback Bowl win left UT 12th in the Associated Press poll.

Basketball brought a school-record 31 wins, the first outright SEC regular-season title since 1967 and a brief No. 1 ranking. The Vols were the only SEC team standing in the Sweet 16. They finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Georgia comes next. As with LSU, football success weighs in disproportionately.

But for a woodshed whipping in Neyland Stadium in October, Georgia, rather than LSU, might well have captured the Sears Trophy. The Bulldogs went 11-2, routed Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Unlike LSU, Georgia enjoyed a feel-good basketball moment, winning the SEC tournament.

Mississippi State is movin' on up.

An 8-5 football season, capped by a Liberty Bowl win, was the school's best since 1999. Basketball won the SEC West and gave Memphis a fight in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Close on the Bulldogs' heels is Kentucky.

Oddly, football carried the burden with consecutive eight-win seasons first the first time since 1976-77, consecutive Music City Bowl wins and bonus points for beating LSU.

In basketball, 18 wins and 13 losses were the fewest and most, respectively, since 1990. A first-round NCAA loss broke a 16-year streak of advancing. Still, the Wildcats finished 12-4 in the SEC, tying Mississippi State for the second-best record behind UT.

Florida fell back to earth after an unworldly 2006-07 season that produced national titles in both sports.

The Gators went 9-4 in football, lost the Capital One Bowl and finished 13th in the AP poll. Basketball, in reloading mode, missed the NCAA tournament.

There was a shining moment, however: Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy.

At Arkansas, it was a transitional year. Houston Nutt bolted after an 8-5 football season that ended in a Cotton Bowl spanking by Missouri. Bobby Petrino's hire was good news.

First-year basketball coach John Pelphrey didn't maximize a senior-laden team but at least notched the school's first NCAA tournament win since 1999.

Up next? Auburn or Vanderbilt, in a toss-up.

Auburn gets the nod, based on its sixth consecutive win over Alabama. A 9-4 season and Chick-fil-A Bowl win positioned the Tigers to No. 15 in the final poll. Jeff Lebo has yet to make basketball relevant.

Vandy's 26-win basketball season was somewhat muted by getting skunked by 13-seed Siena in the NCAA tourney opener. A 5-7 football effort is commendable by Vandy standards. But after a 5-3 start, you have to score this one a missed opportunity to break the bowl drought dating to 1982.

At Alabama, there's been a lot of sizzle this year, but the actual bacon doesn't measure up yet. (Editor's note: We don't give a lot of weight to spring game crowds or recruiting rankings.)

Nick Saban went 6-6 regular season, same as predecessor Mike Shula. He lost to Auburn, same as Shula. The difference is Saban won his Independence Bowl and Shula didn't. Basketball was underachieving, with Mark Gottfried scrambling to keep his job.

Ole Miss football was a disaster; a 0-8 SEC mark ended the Ed Orgeron era. Hiring Houston Nutt lifted spirits.

Rebel fans had fun with a 13-0 basketball start, only to find SEC play was a reality check. At least the season ended in New York in the NIT semifinals.

Finally, South Carolina was the only SEC school that had no postseason in either sport.

Football limped home 6-6 after a 6-1 start. Steve Spurrier is 11-13 in SEC games after three years. Basketball wasn't able to salvage itself with NIT glory after Dave Odom's retirement.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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