Tennessee and Florida saved the SEC East from a total disaster. We had no desire to sort out that six team tiebreaker if it came to that.
The Gators eliminated South Carolina in a 20-7 victory and the Volunteers eliminated Kentucky with a 49-36 victory on Saturday.
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That gives a division that didn’t have a team in the Top 25 of last week’s College Football Playoff rankings a more palatable scenario. Either Florida or Tennessee will represent the division in Atlanta, likely against Alabama or Auburn, on Dec. 3.
Now, that rescheduled game against LSU comes in handy. If the Gators win, then they are in. If they lose, then Tennessee can get back to Atlanta with wins against Missouri and Vanderbilt. Remember, the Volunteers have the head-to-head advantage in this one.
Who should go to Atlanta?
If Florida can pull off a victory at LSU (yes, we know they should be playing at The Swamp), then that would look a little better (but not much) for the SEC.
The Gators did what they had to against South Carolina. Austin Appleby (17-of-21, 201 yards, 2 TDs) played well, and Jordan Scarlett (20 carries, 134 yards) and a stout defense helped Florida grind out a win against the former ball coach (Will Muschamp) on the other sideline with the HBC (Steve Spurrier) in attendance.
The Gators are nowhere near perfect. Three first-half turnovers and 10 penalties for 80 yards made this game uglier than it needed to be, and Florida is dealing with an unheard of amount of injuries on both sides. Starting linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone didn’t suit up, among several others. They might not be healthy if they get to Atlanta.
A rematch with Alabama — especially on the 25th first anniversary when those teams met in the first SEC championship game — wouldn’t be so bad. After all, the Crimson Tide is trying to become the first SEC team to three-peat since Florida won four in a row from 1993-96.
Who will go to Atlanta?
Tennessee provided they take care of business in games they should win. That would befit a season in which the Volunteers were unquestionably the most entertaining team through the first half before three straight losses and Jalen Hurd’s transfer. That seems like it’s on the back burner now.
The Volunteers have some mojo back. Joshua Dobbs passes for 223 yards, rushed for 147 yards and totaled five TDs against Kentucky in a game that was a trendy upset pick. Alvin Kamara (128 yards, two TDs) and John Kelly (94 yards).
The Volunteers control their destiny, and they can pull this off.
Does it matter who goes to Atlanta?
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If you assume that the winner faces Alabama — which is a good bet — then it might not matter. The Crimson Tide embarrassed Tennessee 49-10 in Knoxville on Oct. 15. Alabama beat Florida 29-15 in the SEC championship game in 2015.
The best development, however, is that no matter how this shakes out the SEC East most likely avoided sending a SEC East champion with four losses to Atlanta. It could still happen, but a three-loss team seems more likely.
That’s happened before. The conference has had seven three-loss division champions reach the conference championship game. That list includes Florida (1992), Arkansas (1995, 2002), Mississippi State (1998), LSU (2001), Tennessee (2007) and South Carolina (2010). Those teams combined to go 1-6, with LSU winning in 2001 under Nick Saban.
Spurrier took a three-loss Florida team to the first SEC championship game in 1992 and gave undefeated Alabama all it could handle in a 28-21 loss. That would be the best-of-the-best-case scenarios down the line.
That’s fine. They can sort that out later. Tennessee and Florida helped the conference avoid the SEC East’s worst-case scenario. That’s good enough for now.
Good enough is always better than total disaster.
