Philleo: Fulmer leaves, Kiffin era begins

It was nice to see the Tennessee Volunteers win two in a row to finish off Phillip Fulmer's final season on a high note. I was overjoyed as the players hoisted him up and carried him off the field.

As I've said before, Fulmer was a real class act, and even though it was time for him to go, I'm glad he went out in that style. Cheers to you, coach.

Enter Lane Kiffin. His first day on the job, Steve Spurrier started verbally flogging him over recruiting rules, but it appears Kiffin was one step ahead of him, and no rule was violated.

Let's hope Kiffin can continue to stay one step ahead of Fulmer's arch-nemesis. Granted, it's not as hard at South Carolina, where recruiting has proven to be more difficult for the Ole Ball Coach than it was at Florida, but Spurrier still has some tricks up his sleeve.

And so do Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Mark Richt and the remaining host of SEC coaches Kiffin will face.

I have to admit, I'm excited at the prospect of a new program headed up by a young (33-year-old) coach, but I just don't know that much about Lane Kiffin. I know the basics, but I am looking forward to seeing him in action next year. I hope he can hit the ground running.

Tennessee's athletics program was given some grief over forcing Fulmer out before the end of the season, but in hindsight, it may have given Tennessee a jumpstart at recruiting a coach, as now Tommy Tuberville is out at Auburn and Sylvester Croom is out at Mississippi State. I wonder who they'll get ...

SEC Championship

Well, it all boils down to this one game for the SEC title. I would say that at the beginning of the season, most people expected Florida to represent the East Division, but not as many would have predicted Alabama, with such a young team, to take the West. I know I thought it would be LSU, or maybe Auburn.

Florida speedster Percy Harvin has a sprained ankle, and it's still up in the air as to whether he will play at all or be effective if he does take the field.

But No. 4 Florida (11-1, 7-1 SEC) has a lot more weapons, not the least of which is Tim Tebow. Tebow is the SEC's top-rated quarterback with a rating of 175.46, with 2,299 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns on the season.

No. 1 Alabama's (12-0, 8-0 SEC) John Parker Wilson comes in at No. 4 with a rating of 125.77, with 1,909 passing yards and 9 passing touchdowns.

Tebow is also the 16th-ranked rusher in the SEC, with 137 carries for 507 yards, an average of 3.7 yards per carry and 12 rushing touchdowns.

On the other side of the coin, Bama's rushing attack features No. 2 Glen Coffee, who has carried 199 times for 1,235 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per carry, and 9 TDs. Bama also has the conference's No. 6 rusher, Mark Ingram, who has rushed 127 times for 681 yards, an average of 5.4 yards per carry, and 11 TDs.

Both sides have weapons, but Florida is more explosive offensively, having scored 556 points on the season, compared to Alabama's 385. Points against are closer, with Florida allowing 147 compared to Alabama's 138.

For me it all comes down to Tebow's promise that the Gators would not lose another game this year. I believe he's a man of his word, and he has the capability to back that promise up, with or without Percy Harvin.

Hold your breath, folks, it's going to be a good one. Florida wins a back-and-forth contest with a last-second field goal, 31-28.

Philleo's picks

(Home team in bold; * denotes neutral site)

Pittsburgh 23, Connecticut 20

* Navy 27, Army 17

* Boston College 21, Virginia Tech 17

California 42, Washington 13

* Florida 31, Alabama 28

USC 35, UCLA 14

* Oklahoma 45, Missouri 17

Arizona 31, Arizona State 24

South Florida 28, West Virginia 24

Cincinnati 38, Hawaii 20

Parker's picks

Pittsburgh 24, Connecticut 17

Navy 34, Army 6

Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 24

California 40, Washington 18

Florida 22, Alabama 13

USC 49, UCLA 0

Oklahoma 57, Missouri 30

Arizona State 32, Arizona 23

West Virginia 28, S. Florida 17

Cincinnati 21, Hawaii 9