The capability to determine the winner of the two divisions of the SEC became a lot clearer after last weekend’s games and will become even clearer this weekend. But first let's examine how the results of some of last weekend’s SEC games give us the ability to put some of the final pieces of the SEC puzzle together heading into this weekend.
 
Kentucky traveled down to The Swamp early Saturday afternoon to take on Florida. Florida went on to win the game 63-5, and their offense has been clicking on all cylinders the last three weeks by putting up 38 points on Arkansas and 51 points on LSU, in addition to the 63 they put on Kentucky.

Georgia journeyed down to the bayou of Louisiana for a showdown against LSU. Georgia was able to go into halftime with a 24-17 lead. However, LSU opened up the 2nd half with sloppy play, and allowed Georgia to go up 38-17 late in the 3rd quarter. LSU never gave up, but could never catch up to Georgia as the Dawgs cruised to a 52-38 win on the road.
 
The final important SEC game of last weekend paired bitter rivals Alabama and Tennessee. The story of the game was the complete domination of Alabama’s defense, which held Tennessee to 36 rushing yards and a total of 173 yards as Alabama cruised to a 29-3 win.
     
How did these games affect the two division races in the SEC? Florida’s win pushed their record in the SEC East to 4-1. Georgia was able to achieve a 4-1 record in the SEC East as well. The greater effect of Georgia’s win could be the loss to LSU that dropped their record in the SEC West to 3-2, and as a result puts LSU in a deep hole. Finally, Alabama remained undefeated in the SEC West at 5-0.
     
In the SEC East, Georgia and Florida are set for a collision course in Jacksonville tomorrow, where the team that emerges victorious will control their own density within the SEC East. The winner of this game will only have 1 loss with 2 games to play. If Georgia wins, then they can lose one of their 2 remaining conference games (at Kentucky and at Auburn), and still win the SEC East because they would hold tie breakers over both Florida and Vanderbilt (Georgia beat Vandy 24-14). On the other hand, if Florida beats Georgia and follows up the following week with another win against Vanderbilt, then they will win the SEC East.
     
However, there is a small chance where Vanderbilt could win the SEC East if they win their final 3 SEC division games (vs. Florida, at Kentucky, vs. Tennessee) to finish at 6-2, and receive some help. Georgia would need to lose 2 of their final 3 division games, thus winding up with a record of 5-3. If Georgia finishes at 6-2, then they would own the tie breaker over Vanderbilt because they beat them earlier in the season. On the other hand, if Florida beats Georgia, and Vanderbilt wins their final 3 games, which would include a win over Florida, they would win the SEC East with a 6-2 record (the latter still assumes Georgia finishes 5-3). To quickly summarize the last paragraph, Vanderbilt has to win their final 3 games which would include a win over Florida, and if Georgia looses two of their final 3 division games, then Vanderbilt would win the SEC East.
     
Alabama benefited the most out all the SEC teams last weekend. Alabama now holds a 2 game lead over LSU in the SEC West. There are multiple scenarios on how Alabama can win the division. First, if they beat LSU, then The Crimson Tide will be at 6-0, and the worst they could finish would be 6-2. LSU would have received their 3rd conference loss, and the best they could finish would be 5-3. However, if LSU beats Alabama, but loses either of their other 2 division games (at Ole Miss and vs. Arkansas), and Alabama wins either of their final two games (both home games against Mississippi St. and Auburn), then Alabama still wins the SEC West with only 2 conference losses and LSU would have at least 3 conference losses. In summary, if Alabama wins at least 1 of their final 3 games, and LSU loses at least 1 of their final 3 games, then Alabama would win the SEC West.

LSU has a much tougher road to win the SEC West. If LSU wins all 3 of their final games (vs. Alabama, at Ole Miss, and vs. Arkansas), including the win over Alabama, and Alabama looses 2 of their final 3 games, including a loss to LSU, then LSU would win the SEC West at 6-2 holding the tie breaker over Alabama. 

At the beginning of the final month for the regular season of the 2008 College Football Season, the puzzle within the SEC is becoming very clear. The SEC East is up for grabs this weekend between Georgia and Florida, and Alabama clearly controls their own destiny in the SEC West. I will leave you with this to think about. There is a scenario where Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss could all finish at 5-3. Alabama has already beaten Ole Miss, but for the latter to occur, then LSU would have beaten Alabama, and Ole Miss would have beaten LSU.

Personally, I believe Georgia will continue to have success away from home, and beat Florida in a very close low scoring game. There are quite a few interesting matchups. Georgia’s Matthew Stafford leads the best passing offense in the SEC against Florida’s #1 rated pass defense in the SEC. On the other side of the ball, Florida’s #2 rated rushing offense in the SEC will face Georgia’s #2 rated rushing defense in the SEC. This game will come down to field position, and Georgia’s Brian Mimbs is one of the best punters in the country averaging 44 yards per punt. After Georgia takes care of business against Florida, they should at least win one of their final two games, thus winning the SEC East.

Alabama, meanwhile, will blowout LSU. Jarrett Lee, a red shirt freshman, has already thrown 9 interceptions this year. This does not setup well against Alabama’s secondary who already has 10 interceptions, which is tied for 7th in the country. As a result of an inconstant passing game, LSU’s offense has become one dimensional and forced to run the ball at times. I do not think LSU’s rushing game will do much against the best rushing defense in the country. On offense, Alabama should be able to establish their rushing game early, which will help setup the passing game. Recently, LSU has had trouble stopping the run, allowing 194 rushing yards against Georgia, and 265 rushing yards against Florida. John Parker Wilson has been efficient all season, and as long as he manages the game, Alabama should win this game and the SEC West.

Therefore, I am predicting a rematch of Georgia vs. Alabama in the SEC Title Game. What do you think will happen?