SEC: How The East Was Won (If Anyone Can Put Enough Wins Together to Win It)

A wild day last Saturday left the SEC East shattered, and surprisingly enough, every team has the chance to pick up the pieces and take them to Atlanta.

…Even Tennessee.

The SEC east hasn’t been this shaky in a long time, and not one team has been able to take advantage of it. South Carolina (4-2, 2-2 SEC) is only two games ahead of last place Tennessee (2-4, 0-3 SEC). And Tennessee, with a little help, could still possibly win the SEC east.

I wish I was making this up.

The last place Vols still have more issues than any other team in the SEC so far. But as College Football has shown us this season, anything can happen. Coach Derek Dooley’s move to play true freshman QB Tyler Bray (6’6’’ 192) is suspicious at best. I would understand if Matt Simms was having a terrible time as the leader of the offense, but he is truly one of the last things that Tennessee has to worry about this season.

Tennessee’s offensive line cannot protect for more than three seconds, even though it really seems like less, and putting a freshman quarterback in against an experienced front seven like Alabama just boggles my mind. Bray is 192 lbs. He will not be able to sustain 15 to 20 hits like Matt Simms can. He will break.

Here’s a hypothetical: lets say protection isn’t an issue. Would you still want to put your fresh-faced baby quarterback in his first meaningful playing time in front of 103,000 fans against the BCS seventh-ranked team in the country, not to mention a rivalry game.

I didn’t think so.

Now Bray does have a laser-rocket arm, but that won’t necessarily translate into a win right away. He will still have to make the right reads against a capable Alabama secondary, and when you have about 1.5 seconds to think, he might have some trouble.

I also see the positives in getting Bray snaps against Alabama, not as a better chance to win, but as a chance to make a better player. Not to make a ridiculously premature Peyton Manning comparison, but he was thrown into the fire his freshman year, although it was due to injury.

And that didn’t work out so badly.

I still think Tennessee’s best chance of winning on Saturday comes from Matt Simms, and a defense that will have to play way above themselves to come through for Rocky Top.

Maybe if the Vols can pull a monumental upset over an Alabama team far removed from 2006, the last time Tennessee won, they might be able to take that momentum into the rest of the season, and possibly a run at the SEC east. Not without a little help from their SEC friends of course.

The east IS out-of-whack.  

We have seen a shift of power in the east this season, from Florida (4-3, 2-3 SEC), who has dominated in the latter part of the decade, to, well... a democratic separation of power, in which everyone but Tennessee has been able to partake.

The Gators have dropped three straight for the first time in Urban Meyer’s coaching career, and I don’t think the bleeding ends with Mississippi State. (Unless John Brantley is ready to make a promise.) Florida has three tough tests they’ll have to face before the season is out; all they are likely to be favored in except against in-state rival Florida State Seminoles, and possibly The Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

All they are likely to lose, including the final game of the season against the 'Noles.

After the first month of the season, Florida has seen their running game become about 50 percent less productive, as well as their turnovers become more prevalent. The Gators still have a positive turnover margin, at +2, but when an offense coughs up the ball 14 times, the other team will eventually take advantage.

Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio has got to find something new for QB Brantley to take advantage of him as a drop-back passer; because the fact is, he is not Tim Tebow. The only time he needs to run the zone-read is if it’s play-action. He will never rush for a hundred yards, and he will never force a defense to play honest and respect his escapability, for the simple fact that he has none.

Just behind Florida in the rankings we find their rival Georgia.

Georgia has begun to find their offensive rhythm after a 1-4 start in which they didn’t have A.J. Green for four of those games. The 'Dogs (3-4, 2-3 SEC) are coming off a huge 43-0 win over Vandy, their second straight, and are playing a hot Kentucky team that is coming off what will likely be their signature win of the season.

It will be interesting to see how Kentucky reacts after beating the best South Carolina team since Steve Spurrier took over in 2005. It could’ve been a completely different story if the Darth Visor knew how to manage the clock. Joker Phillips can thank him, because that will surely keep the critics off of his back for a little while.

Kentucky has the talent (Randall Cobb, Mike Hartline, Derrick Lock) to make a run at the SEC east this year. 

If UK's defense can survive Georgia’s offense, they have the offensive  firepower to really put a hurting on Mark Richt’s Dogs. (Fig 1 A. South Carolina’s Defense)

If the 'Cats want any chance at winning, they will have to pressure Georgia’s Aaron Murray. South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia, not necessarily an elite passer, was able to pass for 382 yards and two touchdowns because he was able to sit in the pocket all day. He was only sacked once the entire game. UK’s secondary isn’t going to be able to cover for five and six seconds; they just don’t have the talent, or the experience, especially against A.J. Green.

If this weekend is as crazy as every other weekend has been this season. The east could end up being so upside down that VANDERBILT could be on top.

I think I need an IV.