Any other Tennessee fans watch big games in other conferences for the first time this season? If so, you might have noticed something.

Offense.

Big plays.

Both Texas and USC dominated their opponents with exceptional, exciting offense.

The LSU-Georgia game was . . . different.

More defense.

Some, but not a lot, of big plays on offense.

It really shows the difference in parity in the SEC and in the Big 12 and Pac 10. John Pennington has noticed, too, and has some facts and figures to back it up.

Just comparing SEC records from 1994-99 with the records from 2000-05, you can see a real shift in power among the league’s top seven programs.

From ’94-99, Florida (43-5) and Tennessee (40-8) were far ahead of Alabama (32-16), Georgia (26-22), Auburn (24-24), LSU (22-26) and woeful South Carolina (13-35). Two teams had more than 40 wins in that six-year span. Most of the other “good” programs were around .500 or worse. The difference between the best of those teams and the worst was an enormous 30 wins.

But look at the stretch from 2000-05 Auburn (36-12), LSU (35-13), Georgia (35-13), Florida (34-14) and Tennessee (33-15) are all separated by just three wins over a six-year span. And while Alabama (like Florida and UT) has fallen back to the pack (24-24), South Carolina has shown a huge improvement (24-24).

It’s getting much more difficult to win in the SEC.

Okay, so the season has lost some appeal. But there is the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game today, and a 22-year winning streak and a 16-year bowl game streak is on the line. And it’s Senior Day, so that’s a good reason to watch.

But usually at this time of the season, Vol fans are not only watching their team, they’re watching other teams and games that might impact where Tennessee goes bowling.

No such luck today, but there are still good college football games to watch:

• Ohio State at Michigan. 1:00 p.m., ABC. College Football News’ take on the game:
  

  As it’s supposed to be in a Midwestern-karma kind of way, this game could, again, be for a share for the Big Ten title. With a Penn State loss, the winner of this game picks up a share of the title. Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The one key not mentioned is how QB Chad Henne handles the heat and the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes will miss Donte Whitner at safety, but it won’t be enough to knock out the Buckeyes. Michigan has played well lately, but Ohio State is catching their stride on offense. And, that’s scary with a capital S-C-A-R-Y. It hasn’t happened lately on the road in this rivalry, but the Buckeyes will party like it’s 2001. Ohio State – 29 vs. Michigan – 26

  Get the fans’ perspective from Michigan blogger mgoblog and Ohio State blogger Around the Oval.

• Alabama at Auburn. 3:30 p.m., CBS. College Football News’ take:
  

  Could you make an argument for Auburn as the best team in the SEC? They ‘booted’ every opportunity imaginable at Baton Rouge, but arguably outplayed LSU on their turf. They manhandled a dysfunctional South Carolina team (at the time that is). They beat Georgia and outplayed them for the most part in every facet of the game. But, all that being said, it’s all moot if they don’t keep that level of intensity against Alabama. Not intensity from a “get-ready-to-play-your-rival intensity”, but a focus on offense that has helped get them to this point. This is the perfect position for Alabama – underdog, no one giving them a chance, seeking revenge for last year’s tough loss at home. However, Bama may have run out of juice after the crushing loss to LSU. War Eagle, one more time. Auburn – 21 vs. Alabama – 17

UPDATE: This is Week Eleven. If you’re looking for the latest, see the Animated BCS Race to the Rose Bowl: Final Bowl Selections.

---

Only a few weeks left to go, and the Race to the Rose Bowl is tightening:Alabama’s loss to the LSU Tigers left the USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns as the only remaining unbeaten teams. Miami moves up to the third spot behind the unbeatens, and LSU vaults over the Hokies to the fifth position behind number four Penn State. Georgia dropped out of the top ten after a loss to Auburn and is replaced by Notre Dame.

Games remaining that either will or could impact the Race:

• Texas at Texas A&M, November 25, 2005 (12:00, ABC)
• UCLA at USC, December 3, 2005 (4:30, ABC)

---

See the Race to the Rose Bowl from the beginning:

• Week Ten
• Week Nine
• Week Eight
• Week Seven
• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Preseason

Mike Strange takes a look at the upside of a losing season:

The four-game losing streak is the first in the program since the infamous 0-6 start in 1988.

“It was kind of like a tale of two seasons,” said Eric Still.

“Everyone calls the ’88 team the 0-and-6 team. People forget we won those last five games.”

The guys on that team haven’t forgotten that they picked themselves up off the mat and ran the table. Hobby was a defensive tackle. Still was an offensive guard.

And it mattered that they did because of what happened next.

“We all felt like we had our backs to the wall big-time from ’88 to ’89,” Still said. “And we came out swinging.”

In 1989, the Vols came out swinging and connected.

They were, in fact, one bad defensive day — a 47-30 loss to Alabama — away from being in the national championship race. They finished 11-1, shared the SEC title and won a thrilling Cotton Bowl battle over Arkansas.

John Pennington likes the Tennessee Volunteers over the Memphis Tigers this Saturday:

This game will PROBABLY be UT’s first semi-easy win of the year. Memphis is just too banged up to even hang with a mistake-prone bunch of Vols.

I expect UT to “pound the rock” successfully, connect on at least one deep pass, shut down Memphis’ already one-dimensional offense, and have many delusional Vol fans saying, “If we’d just played like that ‘gainst Bama!”

Barring 4 turnovers… UT 28, Memphis 13.

Rounding the final corner:

Virginia Tech drops, but not by much, after getting thrashed by Miami, Georgia re-enters the Race, and Oregon’s putrid yellow and green breaks the top ten.

Games remaining that either will or could impact the Race:

• USC at California, November 12, 2005
• LSU at Alabama, November 12, 2005 (3:30, CBS, maybe)
• Texas at Texas A&M, November 25, 2005 (12:00, ABC)
• UCLA at USC, December 3, 2005 (4:30, ABC)

College Football News’ Run to the Rose Bowl has Three Unbeaten Contenders — USC, Texas, and Alabama — and eight No Margin for Errors — Miami, Penn State, Virginia Tech, LSU, Georgia, Oregon, Texas Tech, and UCLA.

---

See the Race to the Rose Bowl from the beginning:

• Week Nine
• Week Eight
• Week Seven
• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Preseason

Lots of good SEC matchups this weekend:

• LSU at Alabama. 3:30, on CBS. Alabama’s looking for an SEC title and some national championship consideration, and LSU’s wanting to show the world that its early loss to the Tennessee Volunteers was an aberration. Heck, we can tell them that.
• Florida at South Carolina. 12:30, ESPN Gameplan. College Football News’ Matthew Zemek has some context:
  

  To capture the extraordinary nature of this game on Saturday in Columbia, one must merely mention two realities that defy the laws of gravity, human nature, and the cosmic balance of existence:

  1) Florida fans will be rooting like hell against Steven Orr Spurrier.

  2) Georgia fans will be rooting like hell for Steven Orr Spurrier.

  Holy body snatchers, Batman! This has the sick and twisted plotline of a sci-fi cult classic.

• Auburn at Georgia. 7:45, ESPN. An SEC pecking order game.

And no, Tennessee’s game against Memphis is not a “lock-yourself-in-a-room-to-watch” game. It’s a 2:00, ESPN Gameplan game.

Even as the Tennessee Volunteers have come up lame, stumbled, fallen, fallen, and fallen out of the Top 25 altogether, the Race to the Rose Bowl goes on.

Georgia drops out of the top ten after losing to the Gators, and USC takes over the top spot it lost last week to the Longhorns.

Tonight’s game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Miami Hurricanes is huge. Plus, there are still a lot of games that either will or could impact the Race:

• USC at California, November 12, 2005
• LSU at Alabama, November 12, 2005 (3:30, CBS, maybe)
• Texas at Texas A&M, November 25, 2005 (12:00, ABC)
• Florida State at Florida, November 26, 2005 (3:30, CBS)
• UCLA at USC, December 3, 2005 (4:30, ABC)

College Football News’ Road to the Rose Bowl has Five Unbeaten Contenders — USC, Texas, Virginia Tech, Alabama, and UCLA — and eight No Margin for Errors — Miami, Penn State, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Texas Tech.

---

See the Race to the Rose Bowl from the beginning:

• Week Eight
• Week Seven
• Week Six
• Week Five
• Week Four
• Week Three
• Week Two
• Week One
• Preseason

Tennessee Volunteer quarterback Rick Clausen had strong words for the media concerning the resignation of Offensive Coordinator Randy Sanders:

It’s unbelievable. That’s the easiest way to describe it.

* * * *

It’s a bunch of crap that fans blame coaches and media blames coaches for the fact players can’t go out and make plays.

* * * *

It’s just disheartening everyone claims to be in the Tennessee family and the Vol nation, but at the first sign of adversity everybody decides to blame Coach Sanders. I’m pissed at the whole situation. I’m pissed at everybody. I’m pissed at myself. I feel like I let him down.

* * * *

His job, his wife’s and daughters’ livelihoods, were basically in my hands. If I go out and don’t throw an interception, we probably beat South Carolina.

* * * *

If I don’t throw an interception against Georgia, we probably beat Georgia. If we don’t fumble twice inside the 10-yard line against Alabama, we beat Alabama. And nobody’s talking about that right now. That’s the most upsetting thing.

The players have done it. The players have basically forced Coach Sanders to resign, and that’s an awful feeling.

* * * *

Coaches don’t fumble. Coaches don’t throw interceptions. Coaches don’t miss blocks or miss passes.

* * * *

You use coaches as scapegoats. Apparently, that’s what college football has come to now days. You blame coaches rather than players.

* * * *

He said the offense was his ship. Yeah, it’s his ship, but I felt like as the quarterback of this football team I was first in command. And I feel like I let him down.

If people want to blame somebody, then they can blame me.

* * * *

Players have come and players have gone. There have been good years and there have been bad years, but the one constant has been the coaching staff.

They know what to do. They know what a national championship team looks like. They need a little luck along the way.

* * * *

We’re the ones people come to watch. There are 100,000 people in that stadium every Saturday to watch us. They don’t watch the coaches make calls.

They watch us go out and play, and we haven’t put on a good show at all this year.

* * * *

[The crowd at Saturday night's game] should have been saying, “Take out Rick Clausen,” [instead of "Fire Randy Sanders."] Because I played awful and I ultimately cost that man his job.

* * * *

That’s a horrible feeling to have. There’s not enough I can say, and not enough respect I can show the man.

John Adams ranks the best 3-4 teams in the nation:

After a last-minute loss to the University of Alabama last week, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said the Vols were the best 3-3 team in the country. So, one loss later, you’re probably thinking: Are the Vols the best 3-4 team in the country?

With that in mind, I give you my first Top 3-4 Poll:

According to Adams, the Volunteers lead North Carolina, North Carolina State, Alabama-Birmingham, and Louisiana-Monroe.

All in fun.