Adams: Bowls will be filled with SEC success

SEC commissioner Mike Slive could not have dreamed a better regular season than this one - unless, of course, he would have had Vanderbilt beating Army and convinced Houston Nutt to play Dexter McCluster at running back from the get-go:

n Alabama and Florida are both unbeaten and in the running for a national championship.

n Two SEC teams will qualify for BCS bowls and eight more will play in other bowls (translation: college football's richest league will get even richer).

n Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Alabama running back Mark Ingram are strong contenders for the Heisman Trophy.

n Georgia's Drew Butler leads the nation in punting, and Alabama's Leigh Tiffin is second in field goals.

n And how's this for balance: Alabama and Florida rank one-two nationally in scoring defense and total defense, yet three SEC teams - Arkansas, Florida and Auburn - rank in the top 15 in scoring offense.

Tennessee 27, Kentucky 20: Moments after the Vols had plodded to a 15-point victory over Vanderbilt, and Kentucky had rallied to upset Georgia, I thought: "This could be the year Kentucky ends the streak (24 consecutive losses against UT)."

Seconds later, another thought: "What's wrong with me?"

Every time I think: "This could be Kentucky's year," it never happens.

I thought that in 2005 when UT went into the game with a 4-6 record and again last season when UT was 4-7.

Not only did the Vols win both games decisively, they won the same way - by running the ball. Get ready for more of the same.

Kentucky ranks 98th in rushing defense, and UT senior tailback Montario Hardesty is coming off a career-high, 171-yard rushing game.

The streak continues.

Georgia Tech 34, Georgia 27: These Bulldogs have no respect for tradition.

Beating Georgia Tech is supposed to be a Georgia tradition. So is honoring the most famous mascot in college football.

On the same day that the Bulldog Nation mourned the loss of Uga VII, its team blew a 14-point lead and lost to Kentucky at home. That's blasphemous.

Look for the Yellow Jackets' triple-option offense to pick up where it left off last season when it rushed for 407 yards against the Bulldogs. There are no bad options against Georgia's defense.

Florida 41, Florida State 17: What happened to this rivalry?

Answer: Florida hired Urban Meyer, and Florida State hired a coach-in-waiting.

Meyer is 4-0 against the Seminoles, and only one of the games has been close. For those keeping score, it's Florida 145, Florida State 48.

Arkansas 27, LSU 24: If you didn't understand why LSU coach Les Miles is known as the "Mad Hatter," you probably figured it out in the final seconds of the Tigers' loss to Ole Miss last week.

He's making over $3 million a year and he can't tell time. But he's still "Lucky Les," right?

Not lately.

Ole Miss 34, Mississippi State 17: McCluster, who has been the most exciting player in the country since Nutt moved him to running back, proved he wasn't perfect last week against LSU when he played matador on an onside kick.

But once he gets his hands on the ball, it's the defense that looks silly.

South Carolina 27, Clemson 24: I realize the Tigers are one of the hottest teams in college football, and the Gamecocks are fully engaged in their annual November swoon.

I also realize that the Tigers have C.J. Spiller, and the Gamecocks have a couple of running backs no one can remember.

But I just can't fathom coaching-legend Steve Spurrier losing to someone named Dabo Swinney.

Top 25: TCU 55, New Mexico 10; Oklahoma 27, Oklahoma State 24; Virginia Tech 31, Virginia 13; BYU 30, Utah 23; Miami 31, South Florida 17; Southern California 34, UCLA 17; North Carolina 30, N.C. State 20; Houston 52, Rice 20.

Record: 203-55 (.787) overall, 122-107 (.533) against the spread.

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