With high school sports on the side, a lot of people are turning their attention to college football in its last few weeks.

I've tried not to say much about Tennessee lately, but I can no longer hold my breath.

Those who follow the Southeastern Conference know why I'm saying this. The Western Division appears to be an LSU Christmas wish. No one is better in the entire country, so being better in their conference, much less division, would be an over-accompishment for any team.

The East, on the other hand, is a matrix at the moment. Although Georgia is on top with a 5-2 record, they've played all but one conference game.

Tennessee is second in the East at 4-2. Although they would be tied with Georgia if both teams won their final conference games, the Volunteers sent Georgia home 35-14, making them the winner of the two-way tie.

It's not a breeze. Florida is one loss behind at 5-3, and the Gators are done with their conference games. If Tennessee loses to Vanderbilt, and Georgia loses to Kentucky, the Gators will move to the top, followed by Tennessee and then Georgia.

So I'm really ready for Saturday.

But I can't ignore the local scope as a result of my own aspirations. The Wolfpack deserves a pat on the back after last weekend's last-call home game victory. Running the ball in to go up four with 1:41 left in the game is a pretty big deal, especially when it’s your best friends, the Tar Heels, dropping in for a Saturday afternoon visit.

It's hard to forget about football when basketball season comes in, but the high schools start this week and it's hard not to want to watch some of the state's finest working their skills in a sport so deeply rooted in North Carolina.

Both East Wake and Knightdale have well-trained, experienced players on their teams. With recent successes by both teams within the conference, basketball should be something of high interest to all in the surrounding area.

Of course basketball is as athletically and physically challenging as any sport, but what makes it different from most others is the length of the schedule. No one sits around and worries about watching their season dwindle away, like in football, when one loss comes after another, and they are two of 12 games.

Conference games will matter more, certainly, but with nearly two times as many games to play as most other sports, teams that find themselves in a bind after a couple of tough losses will have plenty of time to do more drills and square their shoulders back for the road ahead.