According to Scout.com (subscription required), Tennessee is losing the recruiting season, ranking 33rd nationally and ranking below No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Georgia, No. 9 LSU, No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Mississippi, No. 21 Alabama and No. 27 Kentucky. (!)

The game’s not quite over yet, though, as the Vols could finish in the top 20 or top 15 if they get some of the prospects still on their list.

Tennessee Volunteer running back Arian Foster and offensive lineman Ramon Foster have been selected by SEC coaches for the all-freshman team.

Arian got his first start on October 29, 2005 after Gerald Riggs’ injury and gained 879 yards over the Vols’ final five games. Despite not getting much playing time until then, he finished the season with the fifth-best total in Tennessee freshman history, averaging 148 yards per game.

Ramon Foster won Tennessee’s Harvey Robinson Award for most-improved offensive performer during spring drills. As a freshman, Ramon played in seven games, starting at left guard against UAB and starting at right tackle at Kentucky.

John Pennington plays the part of both optimist and pessimist and breaks down the expectations for the Tennessee Volunteers next season:

The Defensive

Optimist: There’s no need to even break this down by individual groups. Suffice to say, the defense will be just as good next year, if not better. “In Chief We Trust.” When was the last time John Chavis didn’t have a top notch defense on the field?

And before you point out all the guys who have graduated, just remember that UT played A LOT of guys on defense this year. That’s experience. And experience talent Chief = many wins.

Pessimist: Forgive me, but I’ll say it anyway. Six of the front 7 will definitely be gone, and it could be all 7 if Justin Harrell decides to go pro early. That dominating front 7 helped to hide some holes in the secondary this year, especially once Jason Allen went down (add him to the list of guys who won’t be back).

Chavis is good, very good, but he’s not perfect. In 2004, his D gave up 28 to Florida, 29 to South Carolina, and then Kentucky and Vandy scored in the 30s. He’s human. And “human” – a dominating front 7 – depth (who knows if next year’s team will have the quality depth on D that this year’s squad had) = a drop-off on defense.

Pennington’s internal debate extends also to the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, offensive line, and intangibles.

I’m traveling today, so I won’t have time to read the coverage of yesterday’s Volunteer victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, but I did notice that GoVolsXtra’s headline for its coverage is End of an Error, which was so good I had to pass it along before I got in the car.

John Pennington has some advice for Coach Phillip Fulmer:

Run, Forest Foster, run!

And don’t let Ainge throw the ball unless absolutely necessary. When it’s necessary, don’t roll him out, and make him throw quick and short until he gets his confidence. Oh, and pray the receivers catch the thing.

Pennington’s gut is telling him the Vols will win today, but his head is no longer listening.

The Tennessee Volunteers must beat the Kentucky Wildcats today to avoid last place in the SEC East:

Everyone knows how dark and eerie it can be down there.

When you’re 8 years old, a trip to the depths of grandma’s cellar was about as welcome as ringworm.

When you’re 22, and a senior football player at the University of Tennessee, a trip to the SEC East cellar is just as frightening. It means “Rocky Top” has truly found “Rock Bottom.”

That’s what lies at stake today.

Tennessee (4-6, 2-5 SEC) travels to Kentucky (3-7, 2-5) at 12:30 p.m. (TV: WVLT) with the loser a guaranteed cellar-dweller in the East Division.

The Vols have lost to the Gators. Lost to the Bulldogs. Lost to South Carolina. Lost to Vanderbilt.

Kentucky?

Tennessee Volunteer offensive lineman Rob Smith is treating this Saturday’s game at Kentucky as more of a bowl game than the last day of class:

UT offensive guard Rob Smith may be the only Vol treating Saturday’s game at Kentucky like a bowl game. Smith is from Fort Thomas, Ky., which is less than 90 miles from Lexington.

“If we lose, I can’t go home,” Smith said with a chuckle. “We’re not in a bowl this year so I’ll be home for awhile. Everybody in my town are big Kentucky supporters.

“I’ll be driving around with Tennessee stuff all over my truck. It would be bad if we lost to them. Usually I can beep and wave at them. This time they’ll be waving at me with big smiles on their face if we lose.”

Go Vol!

John Pennington has thoughts on Tennessee basketball, the Beer Barrel, the Cutcliffe hype, Erik Ainge’s earrings, Coach Fulmer’s tenure, and the odds of Tennessee beating Kentucky this weekend.

The Tennessee Volunteers play their final game of the season this Saturday against the Kentucky Wildcats. The measuring stick for this game is, believe it or not, Vanderbilt.

The Volunteer offense scored 24 points against the Vandy defense.

The Wildcats, just one week earlier, put 48 up on Vandy.

The Kentucky offense appears to be twice as efficient as the Vols’.

Uh-oh.

John Pennington is not having fun:

When I started working in sports full-time, I thought it would be a pretty carefree existence. After all, it wouldn’t be life and death I’d be covering, it would be games. The passion, the pageantry, the excitement of sports. Nothing could sour that.

Of course, I never dreamed that I would see Tennessee’s football team lose to Vanderbilt… at home… in a year that started with a #3 national ranking… to guarantee a losing record… and snap a 16-year bowl streak… and fall to within one more loss of finishing dead last in the SEC East.

Heck, if this team doesn’t beat Kentucky (and I’ll say it now… they won’t), they will not only not win the SEC East as was predicted back in August, but they won’t even beat an SEC Eastern Division TEAM during 2005!

Think about that.

No thanks.