Tennessee has the inside track to the SEC Championship Game with arguably its toughest test looming.

The No. 7 Vols, who will undoubtedly improve their ranking in the next College Football Playoff Top 25 this week, now sit atop the SEC standings after beating Mississippi State Saturday.

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Tennessee’s 33-14 victory at Neyland Stadium capped an eventful day in the league, one that helped clear a path for the Vols (8-1, 5-1 SEC) to Atlanta with two games left on their conference schedule.

The most notable of those games is No. 3 Georgia next Saturday at Sanford Stadium in Athens (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The Bulldogs, who have made appearances in six of the last seven SEC title games, took a hit to their resume on Saturday, falling at No. 16 Ole Miss, 28-10 and tumbling to fourth place at 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the league.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Josh Heupel said after Tennessee beat Mississippi State

Tennessee holds the top spot over Texas A&M (7-2, 5-1) because of its better overall record, while Texas (8-1, 4-1) is third. Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2) moved up to fifth after beating Georgia.

The standings will resolve themselves over the next three weeks. Texas and Texas A&M play each other at the end of the regular season, while the Vols will finish with Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Though Tennessee’s defense has largely carried it to this point, perhaps its most critical piece of getting to Atlanta for the first time since 2007 is Nico Iamaleava.

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The starting quarterback was ruled out of the second half vs. Mississippi State with an upper body injury and backup Gaston Moore played the rest of the way.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game that the coaching staff “anticipates” having Iamaleava back for the Georgia game.

The Vols’ offense has struggled this season, but showed signs of improvement in each of the last two weeks. Iamaleava passed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard score to Dont’e Thornton Jr. in the second quarter before exiting the game.

“Another SEC win. Good win,” Heupel said. “Proud of the way the guys played for four quarters. Competing hard, played physical.”

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