Look for Florida to beat Tennessee on Saturday

Tennessee plays its first Southeastern Conference game this Saturday when Florida comes to Knoxville. What a way to start conference play. The Gators are tough, and Tennessee will have to find another gear if it hopes to win.

We all know about Florida. Quarterback Tim Tebow is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, and he has a lot of weapons on offense to use. Questions still surround the Gators' defense, but the unit looked strong in holding Miami, FL, to only three points in their last game.

Tennessee showed a lot of improvement against Alabama-Birmingham last week. I know fans like to see the Vols air it out, but quarterback Jonathan Crompton's 31 passes against the Blazers seemed way too much. We have an experienced offensive line and several first-rate running backs. The bottom line is the Vols will have to throw the ball less and run the ball more to beat Florida.

Given Tennessee's inconsistency in its first two games, I just can't pick them. The UCLA loss still stings, and the wound got deeper last Saturday when the Bruins played Brigham Young and got flattened 59-0. Just thinking about that makes me choke on the bile in my throat.

Florida will find ways to make more big plays than Tennessee and that will propel them to victory.

The pick: Florida 34 Tennessee 20

Other SEC picks: Arizona State over Georgia, LSU over Auburn, Ole Miss over Vanderbilt, South Carolina over Wofford, Alabama over Arkansas, Georgia Tech over Mississippi State

Last week: 7-0 (1.000), Overall: 24-5 (.828)

SEC already showing why it is the nation's best football conference

If week one of the college football season revealed anything, it is that the SEC remains the best conference in the country.

While teams like Florida, Georgia, and Auburn abused creampuffs, other teams made impressive statements. Alabama buried Clemson, Kentucky embarrassed Louisville, and South Carolina shut out North Carolina State. Of course, Tennessee put a blotch on the conference's resume by losing to UCLA, but even the best conferences don't beat every non-conference opponent.

I know the rest of the country gets tired of hearing it, but the SEC rules. Until a conference comes along that can wrestle the crown away from it, the rest of the country should treat the conference with awed silence.

However, I believe a special nod should go to the Big 12. I like some of what I'm seeing from that conference. In addition to Oklahoma, I believe Missouri can be a special team if they can play some defense.

Week Two SEC picks: Florida over Miami (FL), Wake Forest over Ole Miss, South Carolina over Vanderbilt, Kentucky over Norfolk State, LSU over Troy, Auburn over Southern Mississippi, Alabama over Tulane, Mississippi State over Southeastern Louisiana, Arkansas over Louisiana-Monroe, Georgia over Central Michigan

Last week: 8-4 (.667)

Top of SEC's Eastern Division will be a jumble this year

Too many, Georgia is the clear-cut team to beat in the SEC East this year, but I don't think so. I think the Bulldogs have the potential to win it, but we all know the SEC is a conference of parity.

I don't see any team winning the SEC East outright this year. The divisional winner will have at least two conference losses, which means all of us will have to brush up on the conference's tiebreaker rules when it comes to determining which team will play in the SEC title game.

Frankly, I think this will be a season of surprises. Here is how I think it will shake out.

1. Florida Gators – While most of the talk surrounds quarterback Tim Tebow, the Gators will take a step forward this year because of its improved defense. The defense was inexperienced last year and was flat-out awful at times. It won't be great this year, but it will be good enough because the Gators should score a ton of points. Expecting Tebow to match his output of last year would be unfair, but he is the main reason the Gators will continue to score a lot of points.

2. Tennessee Volunteers – Even though the Volunteers return 16 starters from last year's divisional winning team, there isn't much talk about them repeating as champion. If the Vols develop depth on their defensive line and new quarterback Jonathan Crompton continues to progress, Tennessee will be right in the mix. A lot of people appear to be down on Coach Phillip Fulmer these days, but his career record is 147-45 (that's 102 games above .500 folks). I think some in the Vol Nation need to appreciate what they have.

3. Georgia Bulldogs – I know, I know. All the hype this year says Georgia should be a national championship contender, so how can I have them picked third in their own division? Just look at the schedule. The Bulldogs play six teams that have head coaches who have won national championships. The Bulldogs have the talent, but sometimes the schedule is just too tough. Prove me wrong, Georgia.

4. South Carolina Gamecocks – What is the state of the South Carolina program? Are they as good as they were when they started last season 6-1? Or, are they as bad as they were when they lost their last five games? Actually, they are somewhere in between. This year's team will be like many Carolina teams over the last five years. The Gamecocks will win seven games and go to a minor bowl. There is something bland about South Carolina football. I never thought I would say that about a Steve Spurrier coached team.

5. Kentucky Wildcats – Quarterback Andre Woodson carried Kentucky to eight wins last year, but he is gone, leaving a huge void on the team. Until a playmaker of his caliber steps forward, Kentucky will struggle. The Wildcats have a solid defense and a weak non-conference schedule, which means they will go bowling. However, 7-5 may be the best they can hope for.

6. Vanderbilt Commodores – Vandy lost a ton of talent from last year. Coach Bobby Johnson has done an excellent job improving the Commodores overall talent level, but this is clearly a transition year. Johnson is a good coach. Let’s hope Vanderbilt's administration continues to show patience with him.

Bruce Pearl continues to own Billy Donovan

Back on February 4, I suggested that Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl owns Florida coach Billy Donovan. Pearl ran his record against Donovan to 5-1 tonight as Tennessee went to Gainesville and beat the Mighty Gators 89-86. The Volunteers overcame a 16-point deficit in claiming the win.

However, the most important thing to come out of this game is that the Vols clinched the SEC regular season championship. Vanderbilt helped out by beating Mississippi State in overtime to eliminate the Bulldogs.

Congratulations to Coach Pearl and the players. Well done.

Does Bruce Pearl own Billy Donovan?

On Tuesday night, Florida comes to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols (19-2 overall, 6-1 conference) lead the SEC Eastern Division, but the Gators (18-4, 5-2) are only one game behind them.

The Gators lost almost everybody from their national title team but had played well until getting thumped by Arkansas 80-61 on Saturday. Tennessee, on the other hand, is coming off impressive road wins at Mississippi State and at Alabama.

Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl is 3-1 against Florida since coming to Knoxville, which is even more impressive when remembering that the Gators have won the last two national titles. Even with all his success, Florida Coach Billy Donovan has only managed to beat Tennessee once in Pearl's first two seasons at UT.

In football, we have all heard for years how Florida has gotten into the head of Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer. Fulmer has an excellent record, but his losing record against Florida is something Gator fans love to needle him about.

Because of this, it is only fair to ask the same question of Billy Donovan. Donovan is only 1-3 against Pearl. Has Pearl and Tennessee gotten inside Donovan's head? Does Bruce Pearl own Billy Donovan?

Florida's program will never be better than it has been the last couple of years, but the Gators have struggled against the Vols.

Will this happen again Tuesday night? We’ll see...