The Tennessee Volunteers are having one of their strongest seasons in years. Hendon Hooker and the rest of Tennessee football are considered now legitimate contenders for the National Championship, even more so as a threat to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC East division. The Volunteers are currently trailing the Bulldogs, but here are three reasons why Tennessee can still end up winning the SEC East.

3. Georgia can still step on a landmine

There is no such thing as a sure thing in college football and even Tennessee could falter one of these days. But the same could also be true even for a team that's built like a tank — like Georgia. The Bulldogs' remaining schedule in the regular season has potential traps they could walk into.

Take for example this coming weekend's game against the Florida Gators. The Gators are unranked and had just lost to the Jayden Daniels and the LSU Tigers in Gainesville last week, but this is also the same team that beat the Utah Utes and kept in step with the Volunteers for most of their five-point loss to Tennessee back in late September in Knoxville. Florida has more than just a puncher's chance to take out Georgia in Week 9 in Jacksonville. And even if they survive Florida just as most people expect them to, the Bulldogs will still have to deal with the Volunteers, the South Carolina Gamecocks, and the Florida State Seminoles, who gave the Clemson Tigers a run for their money recently, in Tallahassee.

2. Tennessee football is  grounded in perfection

The Volunteers would rather have their fate in the SEC East in their hands than rely on Georgia to lose games because that is really even Tennessee isn't expecting to happen. But Tennessee definitely believes it can crush the Bulldogs. The Volunteers have already climbed Mt. Alabama when they took down Nick Saban's boys in a 52-59 win back in Week 7 at home. There is not a team out there that the Volunteers think they can't beat — even Georgia — a thought that is further amplified by that success over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Volunteers will get their chance to score a ground-shaking win over Georgia on Nov. 4 in Athens, no less. Speaking of which, the Tennessee football has the ground attack and the defense against the run to quell Georgia.

Tennesse has the second-highest scoring offense in the nation, as the Volunteers are averaging 47.7 points per game. Behind that attack is a spectacular rushing offense that is burning the turf for 202.86ards per contest — 24th in the nation and better than Georgia's. The Volunteers' passing game is even deadlier, but the team's abilities in generating lots of yards on the ground and stopping the opponents' rushing attack have a much superior balance than how Tennessee's passing offense and passing defense look when juxtaposed with each other.

Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small are absolute studs in the backfield for Tennessee football. Wright leads the team with 405 rushing yards with four rushing touchdowns, while Small has 395 rushing yards to go with eight rushing touchdowns. And then there is Hendon Hooker, who is playing at a Heisman Trophy level. His Heisman stock is being boosted by his dual-threat ways, and he could be a massive headache for Georgia which might still not have defensive tackle Jalen Carter when Tennessee and the Bulldogs cross paths soon.

No team has been able to stop Georgia's offense so far. No team has also done much against the Bulldogs' defense. The Bulldogs break bones on both sides of the field, but remember, even when Georgia was punishing the Oregon Ducks way back in the early goings of the season, the Bulldogs still allowed Bo Nix and company to rush for 140 yards on 31 carries. You can bet that Hendon Hooker can do better in converting those rushing yards into end-zone celebrations.

1. Hendon Hooker

Hooker might be the best quarterback in the nation today. There is not a few out there who believe that Hooker is not just the best quarterback in college football today but the best player nationally, period.

It is still just October but with two major games ahead, first against Kentucky and then against Georgia, Hooker has a golden chance to overcome the hurdles that stand between him and the status of becoming the consensus favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Regardless of Hooker's Heisman chances, he is still the leader of Tennessee football and its most lethal weapon this season. As long as Hooker is healthy, the Vols have a reason why they can expect to be on top of the SEC East, the SEC, and the FBS when it is all said and done.