National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
*****
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
*****
1. Will Muschamp is off hot seat with win over Auburn.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Yep. In a COVID-19 year, there is no way Will Muschamp gets fired now after a win over a ranked Auburn. The Gamecocks are 2-2 on the season and that’s better than expected. Muschamp is earning himself another year.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. There might not be a ton of coaching changes because of COVID-19 this season as teams are just trying to safely navigate through their schedule, but I definitely think Muschamp is still in danger.
I give him and the team credit for blasting Vanderbilt and then beating an Auburn team that can’t get its act together (with another coach who might be on the hot seat), but 2-2 speaks to Muschamp’s time in Columbia - average seasons, What kind of traction are the Gamecocks getting in the East? I don’t want to rain on South Carolina’s parade after two straight wins, but the schedule is brutal from here on out: At LSU, Texas A&M, at Ole Miss, Missouri, Georgia, at Kentucky.
Still, I’m not completely sold this will be a football decision since Muschamp’s buyout is more than $15 million and universities are trying to scrape together money for budget shortfalls.
2. Kentucky is the third best team in the SEC East.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Okay here’s the real debate. With losses to Auburn and Ole Miss, two very average teams, there is no way we can say that BBN is better than Florida or Georgia. But they beat Tennessee soundly and they are clearly better than Missouri and Vanderbilt. South Carolina has been a surprise at 2-2, but Kentucky is clearly the third best team in the SEC East with an underrated defense. But what do you get for being third? Not a ton.
Gorney’s take: FACT. This debate was probably between Tennessee and Kentucky and the Wildcats clearly emerged as that third-best team in the East after walloping and embarrassing Tennessee, 34-7, this past weekend. South Carolina is playing a little better and Missouri has the win over LSU, but I’ll take the Wildcats. They’re patient grinders on offense, they have an excellent defense and you can tell the team is taking to great coaching by Mark Stoops and his staff.
3. Tennessee was better off under Butch Jones
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Butch Jones had a quite a bit of success at Tennessee before the wheels fell off as he was 9-4 in season three and 9-4 again in season four before being fired after an 0-6 SEC start in season five.
So far Jeremy Pruitt is 2-1 in season three with a bad loss to Kentucky this past weekend, but this is a Vols team that is just a few pieces away from being very good. And a team that is playing harder than they were under Jones with players being developed better. Fret not Vols fans, this is just mainly a quarterback issue. Jarrett Guarantano needs to sit.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Pruitt has coached 28 games at Tennessee so far and he’s 15-13. That’s one win better than Jones during that same stretch, but Jones did have the Vols at 9-4 twice (including the year prior to his firing) and he tied for second in the SEC East during both of those years.
Jones was quirky and his teams were frustrating to watch sometimes and so I’m leaning toward Pruitt here because his Tennessee teams play hard, battle and look like they’re going in the right direction. There are still pieces badly missing - quarterback for one right now - but Pruitt is building something in Knoxville albeit slowly. I’m convinced of that even after a terrible loss to Kentucky this past weekend.
