Strange: After Vols thump Georgia, more games look winnable

I heard the SEC football weekend referred to as Separation Saturday. That's only partly accurate.

True, Florida and Alabama separated themselves, both from the rest of the SEC and the rest of the nation. (Texas may argue differently.)

A No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting of 12-0 teams in the SEC championship game on Dec. 5 seems all but inevitable, although I'm not sure the word inevitable applies to college football.

Alabama has four of six remaining games at home. Its biggest hurdle would appear to be at Auburn.

Florida has four of seven remaining games in The Swamp and a fifth in Jacksonville against Georgia's defense. The biggest hurdle would appear to be at South Carolina.

The remainder of the SEC, however, appears more tightly clumped after Saturday than before.

LSU slipped backward toward the pack. Ole Miss remains stuck in reverse. Tennessee thumping Georgia and Arkansas thumping Auburn level the playing field on all accounts.

South Carolina's struggle at home to beat Kentucky might also be enlightening.

So as we survey the second half of the season, the jockeying for order of finish will be intense.

The prizes range from the pleasant consolation of holidaying in Orlando to the dubious distinction of being the final SEC team invited to Shreveport.

Tennessee, by throttling Georgia, kept itself in play. The Vols showed enough muscle to project that after Alabama on Oct. 24, the other five games are winnable.

Several, of course, are also losable. Here are some ideas on how it may play out.

Alabama

Why UT Might Win: Bama announces shortly before kickoff that a bunch of starters are suspended over, say, a textbook scandal. No, wait. That didn't work in 2007.

Why UT Might Lose: Alabama is just too solid in every phase of the game. The Crimson Tide have revealed no serious flaws and junior Greg McElroy has elevated the quarterback play from last season.

South Carolina

Why UT Might Win: South Carolina struggled to beat Kentucky at home and failed to win at Georgia. Monte Kiffin's defense could force QB Stephen Garcia into mistakes.

Why UT Might Lose: The Gamecocks are capable of great defense and the offense has some developing young play-makers. There's always the Spurrier Factor.

Memphis

Why UT Might Win: The Vols should win this one big. End of story.

Why UT Might Lose: Memphis needed only one score on a kickoff return to shock the Vols in 1996. They might get three this year.

Ole Miss

Why UT Might Win: Quarterback Jevan Snead is in a funk and Tennessee's defense could keep him there.

Why UT Might Lose: Points can be tough to come by against the Ole Miss defense. There's still a chance the Rebels show why they were so highly ranked in preseason.

Vanderbilt

Why UT Might Win: The Vols should be getting better in mid-November. Vandy is usually banged up and getting worse.

Why UT Might Lose: Vandy runs a kickoff back and blocks a punt for another score.

Kentucky

Why UT Might Win: Because the Vols always find a way to keep the nation's longest rivalry win streak alive. Should be a big day for Tennessee's running game.

Why UT Might Lose: Because Derrick Locke returns two kickoffs for touchdowns. Because Randall Cobb is wearing blue instead of orange.

Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6726.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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