Butch Jones’ imminent dismissal was likely a foregone conclusion weeks ago.

Saturday’s 15-9 home loss to South Carolina was merely the final nail in the coffin. Next week’s annihilation by Alabama will serve as the final shove to put his Tennessee tenure 6 feet under.

And at this point, all we’re really doing is piling more dirt on the metaphorical coffin.

Barring unforeseen circumstances arising — the Volunteers winning out and having Georgia collapse to allow Tennessee to somehow sneak into the SEC Championship Game — there is nothing Jones would have been able to do this season to save his job. Even so, Saturday was an ugly defeat for his program.

The Gamecocks, who entered Neyland Stadium as an underdog, didn’t force a single turnover. And they scored just one touchdown. They even trailed at the half, 9-3.

But still, Tennessee was not able to taste victory, as it was shut out in the second half 12-0. The Vols had one last opportunity to walk away with a win, as it got down to the Gamecocks’ 2-yard line in the closing moments. But quarterback Jarrett Guarantano closed the game with a trio of errant throws to send the hosts to yet another defeat.

With the win, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp remained undefeated in his career against Tennessee. Including his time as Florida’s coach from 2011-14, Muschamp improved to 6-0 versus the Vols — and, of greater import Saturday, 4-0 in matchups where Jones is on the opposing sideline.

The Vols, who fell to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the SEC, haven’t found the end zone in their last 10 quarters of play.

But if misery loves company, Jones and Tennessee can take solace in the fact they weren’t the only SEC East squad to struggle Saturday.

Vanderbilt gave up 35 points in the first half on its way to a 57-35 defeat to Ole Miss. Florida couldn’t hold serve at home, losing to Texas A&M 19-17. And even Georgia’s vaunted defense faced some adversity: after entering Saturday allowing just 10 points per game, Missouri erupted for 21 first-half points. But the resourceful Bulldogs responded with an offensive explosion, gaining 696 total yards, including 370 on the ground, to put away from the Tigers 53-28.

Kentucky, then, was the only team that walked away from Saturday unscathed.

That was because the Wildcats had an open date.

Jones can relate, as he will have plenty of open weekends on his schedule soon enough.

Now let’s take a look at what else is going on around the SEC East:

Florida

After yet another close defeat, Matt Baker, the Tampa Bay Times’ college football reporter, pulled no punches in his game story.

Take a look at his lede:

GAINESVILLE — It took a month, but Jim McElwain’s house of cards has started to fall.

The crumbling continued Saturday with Florida’s 19-17 home loss to Texas A&M.

Perhaps most pertinently, Baker pointed out this stat: McElwain started his career at Florida with a 9-1 record in one-score games. After Saturday’s defeat, he’s now lost two in a row.

And with yet another abysmal showing offensively, Saturday Down South colleague Neil Blackmon, who was on-site at The Swamp, asked a pressing question: What’s next for this unit?

Georgia

We mentioned the Bulldogs’ less-than-stellar first-half defense above. But Brandon Sudge of The (Macon) Telegraph has further insight, with the unit saying it was a much-needed “wake-up call.”

Sophomore receiver Mecole Hardman, an all-purpose threat, had the type of breakout performance Saturday that people had been waiting on since he arrived in Athens last season.

Kentucky

With the Wildcats off this weekend — and a little thing called Big Blue Madness, the annual preseason showcase for the men’s basketball team — we had to search high and low for news of any sort.

But thankfully, Kentucky’s 247Sports came to the rescue, rolling out a “bye week” notebook Friday.

Kentucky jumps back into SEC play Saturday, as it heads to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.

Missouri

Benjamin Hochman, a sports columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, focused little on the result of Saturday’s game and more on the bigger picture of where things stand in Year 2 of the Barry Odom era. It’s a column that’s definitely worth a read.

As for the actual happenings from Saturday’s game, Post-Dispatch beat writer Dave Matter noted the Tigers’ struggling defense changed things up … with little success.

South Carolina

After some trash talk from Tennessee’s receivers earlier in the week, South Carolina cornerback Rashad Fenton and the rest of the secondary got the last laugh.

And after having little luck running the ball in the first half, The State’s Ben Breiner details how the Gamecocks’ ground game kicked it into gear in the final 30 minutes.

Tennessee

Joe Rexrode, a columnist for The Tennessean, sees good things in store for the Vols despite Saturday’s loss … even if those brighter days come without Jones at the helm.

Wes Rucker, the senior writer at 247Sports’ Tennessee site, was … not quite as upbeat.

Just check out the subhead from his postgame column:

The more opportunities Butch Jones squanders at Tennessee, the more you wonder how many more opportunities he’ll get.

Vanderbilt

Last week, coach Derek Mason said his team’s confidence had “not eroded” in the wake of three consecutive defeats.

He changed his tune Saturday, noting how “fragile” his team’s psyche had become.

Also, Commodores beat writer Adam Sparks of The Tennessean handed out his weekly “bests” and “worsts” from the team’s latest loss.

Quote of the week

Remember the story about USC’s DBs “getting the last laugh” against Tennessee? Well the receiver in question was Tyler Byrd. After the Gamecocks’ victory, Rashad Fenton went for the kill shot.

“It’s just funny because he didn’t even play today. That’s kind of amazing.”

Tweet of the week

It’s been that type of season for Tennessee.