Week 3 was probably the most boring week of the college football season in quite some time. With that, we did not see any noteworthy changes in SEC Hot Seats. We are roughly a quarter of the way into the college football season, so I will now take the time to rank the top five SEC coaches on the hot seat.

1. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee

Jeremy Pruitt has gotten off to a rocky start, losing his first two games of the season. Tennessee was able to get into the win column last week with a dominating win over in-state Chattanooga.

While things have been bad, Pruitt and the Volunteers get a fresh start in SEC play this Saturday. However, it begins at Gainesville against the ninth-ranked Florida Gators. Tennessee is listed as a fourteen-point underdog in this matchup. While Florida will be without starting quarterback Feleipe Franks, backup Kyle Trask looked very capable leading a fourth quarter comeback against Kentucky.

Tennessee will be playing a heavy underdog role through most of October. Two of the Volunteers’ next three games are against Alabama and Georgia. While some may sympathy for Pruitt, he knew these teams would be on the schedule every year when he accepted the job.

2. Chad Morris, Arkansas

After some early season quarterback shuffling, it appears Chad Morris has settled on Nick Starkel as his starter. Starkel threw for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ 55-34 win against Colorado State.

What is yet to be seen is will it translate into an SEC win? Morris is in his second year at Arkansas and is currently 0-9 in SEC play. His predecessor, Bret Bielema, was 0-13 before winning his first SEC game. Bielema, however, celebrated a “Thicc Boy Fall” and reeled off back-to-back shutout victories over LSU and Ole Miss and got the Razorbacks to a bowl game.

Morris has Arkansas off to a 2-1 start, and another winnable game in San Jose State this weekend. With improved quarterback play, bowl eligibility becomes a real possibility for the Razorbacks. That should give a big boost to Morris’s long term prospects.

3. Will Muschamp, South Carolina

Will Muschamp and South Carolina sit at 1-2, but have seen some promise in freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski. Through two games, Hilinski has thrown four touchdown passes, and that includes a game against Alabama last Saturday.

South Carolina will have a significant challenge this weekend in Missouri. The Tigers have rebounded since their loss at Wyoming. Kelly Bryant has been every bit as good as they have expect, but the biggest bright spot has been their defense. They have only allowed seven points in the past two weeks, a garbage time touchdown against West Virginia.

This Saturday could be a pivotal game for Muschamp and South Carolina. While he has gotten the Gamecocks to bowl games, they continue to lose ground in the SEC East and in their state. If you did not know, that team in Clemson is pretty good. Also, under Muschamp, South Carolina has not beaten a ranked team since 2016, when they defeated #18 Tennessee.

4. Derek Mason, Vanderbilt

After a strong finish in 2018, it appeared that Derek Mason would not find himself here. However, things have not started well for Vanderbilt to begin the 2019 season. The Commodores find themselves 0-2 after double-digits losses to Georgia and Vanderbilt. The quotes that came during and after the Purdue were particularly damning towards Mason.

To make things worse, Vanderbilt ranks near the bottom in the following categories:

• 125 out of 130 in points per game (15.0)
• 115 out of 130 in points allowed per game (36.0)
• 119 out of 130 in rushing yards per game (93.5)
• 126 out of 130 in yards allowed per game (509.5)

Expectations at Vanderbilt will always be lower at Vanderbilt than the rest of the SEC, but Mason is in his sixth year. His record in that span is 24-40 and even worse, 9-32 in SEC play. New athletic director Malcolm Turner has already fired basketball coach Bryce Drew and brought in Jerry Stackhouse. Could Mason be next?

5. Matt Luke, Ole Miss

Matt Luke and Ole Miss have won two in a row, but I am not convinced the folks in Oxford have forgotten about that loss to Memphis. Maybe a win in the Egg Bowl could lessen that blow. If that can get Luke the job, it can also help him keep his job.

OUTTA HERE!