Mississippi State Bulldogs

SEC Notebook: Can Tennessee finally deliver signature win?

Published Sep. 22, 2015 10:30 a.m. ET

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Tennessee once again in position to reverse their losing culture

Florida extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 29 by winning at Kentucky and now faces the challenge of defending its 10-game streak over Tennessee Saturday in the Swamp.

The Florida hex is real for Tennessee fans as the Gators not only have swept the last decade, they’ve won 18 of the last 22 in the annual series. Perhaps the most crushing of those defeats was suffered last season, as Tennessee let a nine-point lead slip away at home, losing 10-9 in the first Checkerboard Neyland game.

Butch Jones is doing his best to keep his team focused and eliminating the pressure this game brings on his program.

“Before you want to talk about this is the most important game and everything, it's not the most important game,” Jones said during his Monday media session. “It is the most important game in terms of it's the next game, and that is the way it is. We live in a week-to-week season. It's a 12-game season, and we are working to get to 13. This game is important because it's the next game.”

That’s going to be a tough sell to a fan base dying to climb the SEC East ladder. Vol Nation has been anxiously awaiting a signal that all the work Jones has put into the program is finally paying off, and after failing in close calls against Florida and Georgia in recent seasons, not to mention the historic collapse against Oklahoma - Tennessee lost for the first time in Neyland when leading up 17 in a home game - it’s time Tennessee goes out and beats a good team in its division.

Tennessee’s quarterback will also have an opportunity to shed any criticism of his play by once again winning on the road in a hostile SEC environment.

“It’s a business trip,” Joshua Dobbs said. “I think they got a little sense of that when we went to Nashville for our first game. Obviously, Florida is a whole different animal. We have to go do there locked in and ready to get the win, play hard, play string and come home with a victory.”

Arkansas going backward under Bielema?

Despite being favored by double digits, Arkansas lost at home by two scores to a team it beat on the road by 21 just last season. What exactly is going on in Fayetteville?

Injures and a lack of identity is killing Arkansas at the moment. The Hogs were supposed to be the bullies of the SEC this season, and yet Toledo and Texas Tech dominated them physically on both lines of scrimmage.

The Razorbacks will have to find their mojo before facing Texas A&M in Arlington Saturday. After that comes road trips to Tennessee and Alabama. So far they have relied on inconsistent senior quarterback Brandon Allen and have gone away from their run game, which currently ranks 10th in the SEC.

While Allen leads the SEC in passing, his failures to deliver in the clutch have yet to be solved.

Despite the last two weeks of being served humble pie following his remarks on Ohio State’s schedule, Bret Bielema continues to talk. Responding to Kliff Kingsbury’s quotes from over the weekend, Bielema delivered this gem from his Monday press conference:

"I realize we haven't won in two weeks and it's an opportunity to jump on and have some fun with it,” Bielema said. “If that was an ass-kicking, I'd love to see what last year was [Arkansas won 49-28]. Obviously, it's all, 'What you've done for me lately.'"

If Arkansas doesn’t bounce back in league play, Bielema and the Hogs may quickly become the joke of the league.

Of note this week:

Mississippi State @ Auburn 4:30p.m. ET – the loser will see an end to its division title hopes, as no team has won the West with two SEC losses since LSU in 2007.

Missouri @ Kentucky 4:30p.m. ET – Despite a couple underwhelming performances, Mizzou remains undefeated and has won eight consecutive SEC road games

Quick Hits: Georgia’s Greyson Lambert set the NCAA record with a completion percentage of 96 against South Carolina, the Bulldogs have a laugher against Southern this week… Alabama fell from the top 10 for the first time in 69 weeks, the seventh-longest top 10 streak in NCAA history…. Tennessee’s 138 points scored are the most in their first three games since 1914

Michael Wayne Bratton covers the SEC for FOX Sports. You can follow him on Twitter at MichaelWBratton