The way I see it from a perception standpoint, this weekend is a win-win for us. If Florida loses, and UT wins out, we can wave the flag of SEC East champions. If Florida beats LSU, the mantra of how bad the east is starts to really take a ding. For instance, Georgia whom we beat, beat Auburn. Florida, whom we beat, beat LSU. Kentucky, whom we beat, beat Mississippi State.
None of those are unassailable positions (if UT wins the east, the idea that the east is really weak will continue with only UT left with the ability to silence that with an extremely unlikely win in Atlanta). If, on the other hand, Florida beats LSU there is a cry of "missed opportunity" and "Butch can't get it done" that hurts UT's perception.
I guess you could say it's also a lose-lose for UT this weekend.
I find that the reality is, perception aside, the east isn't as down as people like to believe (it's actually relatively stable in relation to talent, and extremely talented as a group compared to all other conferences not SEC West). UT is also not under-performing in any meaningful way, even with the rash of injuries. Insofar as wins and losses go, UT is on schedule for the second year in a row to perform exactly as talent predicts.