Three-Point Stance: SEC grades, teams with targets, Rhule

Today's edition hands out grades for SEC coaches, looks at pressure mounting on five teams that had great seasons and examines Matt Rhule’s curios decision.

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Professor Farrell is back and it’s time to grade the job the Power Five coaches did this season, starting with the SEC.

SEC EAST

Kentucky - A: Mark Stoops started off the season horribly, made the right adjustments and finished with a win over Louisville, a winning record and the first bowl for Kentucky since 2010. Things could have spiraled out of control and he didn’t let it happen.

South Carolina - B+: From 3-9 and awful to 6-6 and respectable is a big deal for first year head coach Will Muschamp. The win over Tennessee was huge.

Florida - B+: Winning the SEC East again, Jim McElwain has the Gators headed in the right direction despite quarterback and offensive issues. Fans might not be happy with the thumpings by FSU and Alabama to end the season, but a division title deserves a high grade.

Georgia - B: People freaked when I gave Kirby Smart his B grade in early November because of some close calls and the Vandy loss, but the win over Auburn helps takes the sting out of the loss to Georgia Tech to finish the season. Plus, first-year coaches get a grading curve (see Muschamp above).

Vanderbilt - B: 6-6 is not easy task at Vanderbilt and I thought Derek Mason was in over his head. But if you told me he would beat Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee this season, I’d tell you to stop drinking.

Tennessee: C: A big drop down here because of expectations. Injuries certainly played a part and 8-4 is not bad at all, but this was the year Butch Jones and the Vols were supposed to win the SEC East and losses to South Carolina and Vandy are inexcusable. He did shake off the Florida curse.

Missouri - C: Even with a grading curve for first year coach, this is a very average grade for Barry Odom. Beating Arkansas was nice and the Vandy win looks better than it did at the time, but there’s a long way to go.

SEC WEST

Alabama – A+: Nick Saban is Nick Saban. No need to waste words.

Auburn – B+: The loss to Georgia wasn’t great and the early quarterback indecision was annoying, but Gus Malzahn’s team was projected to finish behind everyone but Mississippi State in preseason polls.

LSU – B: Ed Orgeron did enough to earn the full-time job and the team was competitive with Alabama and a yard away from beating Florida, so a good grade is warranted, but this is a bad SEC.

Texas A&M – C: After being one of the first playoff teams in the CFB rankings, the Aggies fell apart again under Kevin Sumlin. Losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss are inexcusable despite the injury to Trevor Knight.

Arkansas – C: Try to figure out this team under Bret Bielema. Expectations weren’t that high in the SEC West, but the maddening inconsistency makes this a not-so-great recruiting year.

Mississippi State – C-: Dan Mullen destroyed Ole Miss and beat Texas A&M, but other than that it was a bad season for the Bulldogs.

Ole Miss – D: Hugh Freeze had a tough year. Ole Miss was projected to finish No. 3 in the SEC West and finished 2-6 in the league, finishing with a blowout loss to rival Mississippi State.

Surprisingly great seasons bring expectations and then the hunters become the hunted. Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but here are five teams who have set the bar high (maybe too high?) who haven’t been used to being the target.

Penn State – In the country’s best division, Penn State won not only the Big Ten East over Ohio State and Michigan but won the whole darn league. Now Penn State fans, and the country, will be expecting a repeat because the team was so young this year.

Washington – The Huskies are in the playoff and regardless of what happens against Alabama, they will be the team each and every one of their opponents circle on the schedule.

Colorado – When was the last time the Buffaloes were a target? They’re one now and won’t be sneaking up on anyone next season.

Louisville – With Lamar Jackson, Louisville will be the favorite to win the ACC next season most likely, and the pressure of a repeat Heisman performance and an undefeated season will be real.

USC – OK, I lied, USC is the exception to the rule as they are always the hunted. But after a horrendous start and a dominant finish, people will be expecting USC's first Pac-12 title since 2008 from Clay Helton and Sam Darnold next year.

Why, Matt Rhule, why?

Maybe he has stock in Excedrin or something we don’t know about, because he sure took on one heck of a headache taking the Baylor head coaching job.

After Art Briles turned a blind eye to all sorts of awful transgressions by his players, recruits ran for the hills and the program is right up there with Kansas in the Big 12 as far as attractive destinations. And that’s probably being unkind to the Jayhawks.

Rhule is a very good coach and I had him tagged as the next guy up at Penn State, his alma mater, before James Franklin had an amazing season this year. Or at the very least I felt Rhule would be in the discussion for some jobs possibly coming open next year in the Power Five ranging from high profile Notre Dame down to ACC-middling Boston College.

But obviously Rhule saw this as an opportunity to make more money, get out of Temple as Al Golden and Steve Addazio did before him and get into the Power Five. But if he thought Temple was a tough build after Addazio’s 4-7 year in 2012, he had better be ready to move mountains.

Yes, Baylor won 10 or more games under Briles in three seasons and became a hot name nationally, but after all the sexual assault allegations and the dismissal (or resignation, whatever you want to call it) of most of the major players involved, Baylor football has become a pariah to many.

They have one commitment for the class of 2017, Stafford, Texas, three-star athlete Jalen Pitre, which is unheard of just two months before Signing Day, and the roster talent is not good or deep with all the transfers and recruits being let out of their Letters of Intent. Add in Tom Herman at Texas, the continued success of Oklahoma and good coaches at TCU, West Virginia, Kansas State and Oklahoma State and you have formidable competition in the conference.

Baylor started off the season 6-0 but have since lost six straight; seeing them near the bottom of the Big 12 next year would not be a stunner.

Rhule by all accounts is a good guy and he will run a tight ship and do things right at Baylor, but this isn’t a program that can simply bounce back from what has happened. You have to go back to 1995 to find the last winning season without Briles in charge.

But heck, I said Penn State would be dead for a decade and reach Villanova status before rebounding, so maybe Rhule can do a Bill O’Brien salvage job on the program and move onto even bigger and better heights. He obviously took the job for the money and long-term security that has been promised with rebuilding Baylor, but he may have walked into a nightmare.