Vols need to be more resourceful to win SEC East

You would have snickered in 2007 if someone had suggested Tennessee wouldn’t return to the SEC championship game for at least another 10 years. But here we are, 10 years later, and the Vols still without so much as a divisional title.

The unlikelihood of that was based on more than UT’s talent level at the time. In the 2000s, the Vols often were more resourceful than their divisional competition. They delivered whatever was needed.

In 2007, they lost two of their first three games. Worse yet, they looked hopelessly overmatched in a 59-20 loss to Florida in The Swamp. By the time backup quarterback Cam Newton tacked on a late touchdown by running over a Tennessee defensive back, the Gators couldn’t restrain their laughter on the sideline.

From that horrendous start, UT forged a divisional championship and near upset of eventual national champion LSU in the Georgia Dome. Its success came by the narrowest of margins: an overtime victory over South Carolina, a one-point victory against Vanderbilt and a four-overtime victory over Kentucky.

But that team, like UT’s previous divisional champion in 2004, was, above all else, resourceful.

For almost half a season, I thought UT’s 2016 team was just as resourceful.

Outplayed in its opener against Appalachian State, it still managed to pull out an overtime victory.

Down by 18 points at halftime to Florida, the Vols reeled off 35 second-half points for a 38-28 victory.

A week later, Tennessee upstaged that fierce comeback with a Hail Mary victory against Georgia.

The season then turned topsy-turvy. UT wasted yardage in an overtime loss to Texas A&M, was routed by Alabama and upset by both South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

So much for the team’s resourcefulness.

Last season’s flip-flop is still relevant because this team’s success or failure is apt to be determined by its resourcefulness. Never mind that the Vols are a consensus pick to finish third in the East. They look like a close third.

My pick is Florida, based on its resourcefulness the past two seasons. But neither Florida nor consensus favorite Georgia has the kind of talent that will enable it to run away from the field.

Like last season and the one before that, the East is still down – maybe down enough to convince Kentucky that it could win the division for the first time in school history. Also, the division appears as closely bunched as it has ever been.

The disparity is so slight from top to bottom you shouldn’t be shocked by any outcome. While that might read like coach-speak, it’s an indisputable fact in a division that last season saw Vanderbilt beat Georgia and Tennessee, and the Vols beat both Florida and Georgia and fail to win the division.

The Gators did what the Vols couldn’t last season. They overcame a rash of injuries to win the East.

That’s the kind of resourcefulness Tennessee had in 2004 and 2007. And that’s the kind of resourcefulness it will take to win the division this go-round.

Reach John Adams at john.adams@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6284 and on Twitter @johnadamskns.