Building a contender is a daunting task

And that is more true these days in the Southeastern Conference than ever before.

Florida, LSU and Alabama are riding high. Georgia, despite a disappointing 2009 season, is right there with them. Really, there are only two SEC programs that history says have the wherewithal to join that foursome on a consistent basis. Those are Auburn and Tennessee, and they are on similar paths.

Both the Tigers and the Vols have some players. Neither has enough. With first-year coaches, both have had Saturdays this season when it looked like they were turning the corner. And both have had some disappointing Saturdays.

Both are doing the first thing you have to do, which is recruiting well. Both will have better records this season than last. Assuming Tennessee doesn’t have a total meltdown and lose to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, both will go to bowl games after staying home last season.

That they seem on the right path doesn’t make the present any easier for those who support and love the programs.

If Auburn doesn’t upset Alabama next Friday, it will be an entire year before there is another opportunity. It’s hard to be patient – for coaches, for players and for fans.

It might happen in a year or it might take longer, but history is on the side of both programs. They will come back. They always do.

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