Three-Point Stance: New life for Charlie Strong, but he's not safe yet

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with a look at the teetering Tennessee Volunteers, Charlie Strong's new life and a fun game of what-if.

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Charlie Strong beat Baylor. Yes, I know it was the Texas Longhorns team that beat the undefeated Bears on Saturday. But the media says that this is Strong’s win, defeating both a top-10 team in Baylor and the evil powers-that-be in Austin that want him gone and supposedly have ruined this power program. Guess what? I don’t think the win over Baylor changes a thing when it comes to Strong's job security.

I actually expected Texas to win for a few reasons, so Saturday's result was not a surprise to me. This Baylor team has a poor defense that can’t handle power football and that’s exactly what Texas does on offense. Baylor was very overrated with its best win over Oklahoma State and a near loss to Iowa State.

But with Tom Herman struggling at Houston - the Cougars have lost to Navy and SMU since the second-year coach was penciled in by pundits as the next Texas coach - Strong has to be on better footing now right? Wrong.

Does that win make a current 4-4 season in a horrid Big 12 that much more attractive to those that will determine his fate? Does a win against Baylor make all of the awful coaching decisions he’s made in his tenure at Texas disappear? Nope and nope.

Looking at the rest of the Longhorns' schedule, Texas should beat Kansas but still has Texas Tech on the road next weekend with West Virginia and TCU down the line. If Strong wins out and Texas goes 8-4, there is a chance he will get a reprieve. But a win over Baylor hasn't convinced me that the Longhorns will be able to do that.

What can I say about the Tennessee Volunteers? Do I say this is a team that has been snakebit with injuries and had no chance to win the SEC East after losing players such as Alvin Kamara, Cam Sutton, Jaylen Reeves-Maybin, Darrin Kirkland and about 10 others? Or do I say that this team, once again, underachieved and has been one of the biggest disappointments in the SEC?

I’m going with the latter. While I agree that the injuries have been tough to deal with, there are a few things I just can’t get past.

First, the offensive play-calling has been horrendous for most of the year, trying to make Josh Dobbs a pocket guy and getting away from the run game. Yes, the offensive line has struggled, but when teams don’t play to their strengths, they will lose games they shouldn’t lose.

Secondly, the Vols have a losing record in the SEC, they are behind Kentucky in the SEC East and they just lost to a very average South Carolina team. There aren’t enough excuses for all of that.

Throw a flag on me if you want for piling on here but, like many others, I expected a breakout year from the Vols and felt they would easily win the SEC East.

Now, with Jalen Hurd transferring out you have to wonder if Butch Jones has lost the locker room. The Vols' goal of winning the SEC East is pretty much gone barring a complete meltdown by the Gators. Now it's gut-check time to see if this team still cares.

Can Tennessee once again finish the season on a winning streak, get to eight or more wins and a pretty good bowl, and then beat another overmatched team from another conference? Yes, I think it can. But the question now becomes whether that is good enough for the alumni and fan base? The answer to that, even if Tennessee runs the table but loses the SEC East, is likely a resounding no.

Let’s play what if...

... What if LSU got the snap off in time and its last-second touchdown against Auburn had counted? Would Les Miles still be in Baton Rouge? Would Gus Malzahn, who now has his team in the thick of the SEC West race, be fired? It's amazing to think how one play can change so much.

... What if Tennessee didn't squeak by Appalachian State and Georgia? The Vols would be 3-5 right now and Butch Jones would be on his way out of Knoxville after the season.

... What if Blake Barnett had played well against USC in the opener and a quarterback battle ensued between he and Jalen Hurts? Would Alabama be undefeated still? Would Hurts have eventually won the job?

... What if Florida State's Derwin James didn’t get injured in the second game of the season? Doubtful he makes the difference against Louisville, but would FSU have beaten North Carolina and Clemson with James back there? In that scenario, Florida State would be in the playoff hunt. That’s how important James is to that team.

... What if Kentucky had given up on Mark Stoops after the Wildcats dropped to 2-3 with a blowout loss to Alabama? Despite Stoops' hefty buyout, it could have happened. That’s college football these days. Now Kentucky has won three-straight in the SEC and is a lock to make a bowl game for the first time in the Stoops era. And Kentucky could certainly beat Georgia or Tennessee over the next two weeks. Sometimes it pays to be patient.