SEC: First Quarter of the Season Reveals Outlook for Bowl Time

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Though the SEC usually plays a much easier schedule in the first quarter of their schedules than the middle and last three games, what have we learned about each team so far, and what are the chances of them making a bowl game this year?

Usually by now, a team's identity is shown, and that's another thing we'll look at.

Lastly, we'll look at whether the coach will finish the season on a hot seat.

So with all this in mind, we'll start over in the SEC East and work our way West, looking over each team.

Vanderbilt: May Not End Up on the Bottom of the SEC After All

New Coach James Franklin has the Commodores believing that change can happen, and the results are showing. So far, they are undefeated, though that will change this weekend, as South Carolina is sure to come through with a win against them.

Still, the Commodores are 3-0 at this point and have outscored their opponents 99-32, and they have already beaten one SEC team, Ole Miss. That one win may mean that they won't finish on the bottom of the SEC this year.

The running game is clicking along just fine, but the passing game is one of the worst (111th out of 120 teams).

The defense, however, is doing a fine job and shows lots of promise. Presently, they are holding teams to an average of 14 points a game, and that puts them 20th overall out of that same 120 teams.

However, a lot more SEC wins could be a tall order for the Commodores, but they have three winnable games on the schedule, so a bowl is not outside the realm of possibility for Vanderbilt, and at the start of the season, that was not something many thought was possible including myself.

James Franklin may turn some recruits' heads if he can continue such success, and his future at Vanderbilt appears rosy at this point.

Tennessee: Still Trying to Put the Pieces All Together in Knoxville

Is Derek Dooley Tennessee's answer to a problem or the "Mike Shula" approach that Alabama used to at least stop the bleeding until the right man was found?

That is the question.

Tennessee is doing a lot of things right. They're cleaning the closet of any NCAA problems, they've found a good signal caller and recruiting, though not what it could be, is not as bad as it was.

With the first quarter in the books, Tennessee is 2-1. They beat the cupcakes, as any SEC school should have done, and they did it rather convincingly. But they were thoroughly beaten by another SEC East school also going through the pains of rebuilding, Florida.

Florida showed the problems the cupcakes couldn't, and that was gaping holes in the defense that need to be fixed.

The Volunteer offense looks like it can go out and compete with anyone, but the defense, in the bottom half of all defenses, looks like that could be reason the Vols will struggle just to make the same 6-6 record they did last year.

That lack of improvement may not kindle a warm feeling for Derek Dooley and his place at the table of SEC head coaches may start to warm, but remain secure for at least another year.

South Carolina: Are They Finally Living Through Their Glory Years?

With the first quarter in the books, many believe that South Carolina, after many frustrating years of life in the SEC, are finally living out their "Glory Years."

They had high hopes with Lou Holtz, but all he brought were nice speeches and NCAA problems. Like everyone else at South Carolina, he couldn't get them to a championship game.

But Steve Spurrier looks to be on path to putting the Gamecocks back in the SEC Championship game for the second straight year and is pulling in so many top recruits that the party may not be stopping any time soon.

But if you're a Gamecock fan, you have to wonder what has happened to that always reliable Ellis Johnson defense? So far this year, they are ranked 100 out of 120 teams on defense, and that statistic alone leaves many experts with their mouths open in shock.

Yes, they're 3-0 right now, but they had closer games than they should have against much lesser schools. Until they can fill the holes in that leaky defense, upsets are certainly possible.

Steve Spurrier's job has never been so secure, nor has South Carolina's future.

Kentucky: Has the Downward Slide Begun?

Kentucky has been living the high life for several years, at least according to Kentucky standards in football. Those goals were to make a bowl and put a competitive team on the field that others had better respect.

Those days may be over, as Joker Phillips has just not kept the team as ship shape as when he took over command.

In losing last week to a Louisville team that's really not that good, that sent a signal that the Wildcats couldn't even finish the cupcake part of their schedule without a loss, and that doesn't herald good things to happen in the weeks to come.

The defense may keep them in some games, as it is clearly better than the offense, which is 100 out of 120 teams in Division I, but you can't look at the schedule now with that loss to Louisville and see them making a bowl game this year.

Will this first stay at home for the holiday season signal the end of the good days of Kentucky football?

That remains to be seen, but Joker Phillips will begin to feel the heat if that is indeed the case and they don't make a bowl game next season as well.

Georgia: More Mediocrity from These Maligned Mutts

If I hear one more Georgia fan say that Mark Richt is a great coach, I may throw up. He may have once been a good coach, but now he's simply a check casher and a worn out coach riding his own old coat tails.

Stick a fork in Georgia football; it's done as long as Mark Richt is running the show.

With the first quarter of the season gone, it's evident that the Dogs will be lucky to have the same pitiful record they did last year and that they should celebrate winning seven games and hail that as an achievement.

Yes, he's a nice guy, but you have to really try hard, very hard, to be this mediocre a coach at the flagship school of your talent rich state and still do this badly.

If he's still cashing checks next year in Athens, then I'm convinced he has pictures of the school president naked with six-year-old boys.

They've fired every other coach who has turned in three years of crap work like this.

He can thank God he's playing the weakest SEC schedule of any coach this year, and maybe, just maybe, he can scratch out that seventh win this season.

Look for Richt to be gone after this season if there is any sanity or balls left in the Georgia administration.

Florida: A Team Rebuilding with Fast Setting Cement

Many people were willing to give new head coach Will Muschamp a season or two before expecting them the compete for another SEC title, but Florida seems to be rebuilding with some fast setting concrete and is ahead of where many thought they would be at this time.

Right now, the running game is carrying the offense, as the team still is getting used to Charlie Weis' passing game, and once they do, look for that offense to go far higher than their 25th best scoring margin of all 120 schools.

On defense, the Gators are rated as the sixth best team in the nation in holding opponents' scoring down, but just as the offenses numbers will get better, that number will get worse as they start playing better competition.

Still, the Gators are looking like a team that could go far and even rival South Carolina for the division crown this year.

If you're a believer in trends, Florida is looking really hot, while South Carolina appears to be struggling.

Ole Miss: What a Mess

Stick a fork in Old Miss, this season's over. Ole Miss will be staying at home again this year and it may not be chestnuts roasting over an open fire this holiday season, but Houston Nutt.

I never thought I'd hear Ole Miss longing for Ed Orgeron to come back, but Houston Nutt has done little to inspire any goodwill since that first season at Oxford.

His gamble on bringing in quarterbacks from other schools for one year rather than developing his own players who would be there for a while is biting him in the butt.

His 95th-rated offense is just awful, and the defense is barely in the top half of all teams in the country.

Right now they're 1-2 with a loss already to the usual cellar dweller of the SEC, Vanderbilt. That could only mean that the rest of the SEC is ready to trample the lowly Rebels, who are clearly without a cause this season.

There is no way the Rebels make it to anything but a cereal bowl this season, and Houston Nutt may be gone by season's end.

Mississippi State: High Hopes Turning into Bad Dreams

No one was more on the Mississippi State bandwagon that I was at the start of the season. Dan Mullen had done such a good job with such a bad team in such a short time, I just expected the same giant strides would continue.

But Chris Relf did not turn out to be the senior quarterback I had envisioned him to be. My wife throws a tighter spiral than Relf, and the passing game shows it. He's averaging just 163 yards a game throwing, including only 195 against Auburn, the 117th defense out of 120.

That loss to Auburn threw a monkey wrench into the Bulldogs' season and cost them a shot at a really top-tier bowl this season.

They should end the regular season with seven wins and easily make a bowl, but if Relf had lived up to his promise, they could easily have had a 10-win season and a major bowl.

Give Mullen enough time and a quarterback of his own choosing and he'll eventually turn these dogs around. Then the people of Mississippi State can start worrying about losing him to a better school with a bigger payday.

LSU: Back in the Hunt for National Titles

There's an old mantra that you fill the seats with offense but win championships with great defense. Maybe that's why LSU is back in national contention for another title.

Les Miles' year in and year out great work in recruiting is paying off as his team keeps rolling along even without the services of the quarterback many expected to lead the team this year, Jordan Jefferson.

At the end of the first quarter of the schedule, LSU is looking even more impressive than many thought possible after the dismissal of Jefferson. Senior quarterback Jarrett Lee is doing much better than expected and has proven he may take them all the way.

The biggest hurdle for LSU will be Alabama in the ninth game of the season. Each team is expected to be undefeated at that time, and the winner will have the inside track to not only the SEC Championship Game, but a national title as well.

Auburn: The Luck Has All Gone and Now so Are the Bowl Hopes

The first quarter of the season shows that Auburn has fallen hard from the top and doesn't have much talent left over from the championship season of just last year.

The Tigers end the first quarter with one of the absolute worst defenses in the nation and an offense that's been left to carry the load alone.

Auburn was the luckiest team in the country so far in being able to pull off a last-second win over a pathetic Utah State team, but the luck finally ran out last week as they were simply outmuscled by Clemson.

The only sure wins left on the schedule are against FAU, the worst offense in all of Division I, Ole Miss, the worst school in the SEC and Samford, one of the worst schools any Division I team will play this season.

Only a super cupcake season will get them to five wins this year and they'll have to hope for another SEC upset like they somehow managed against Mississippi State just to make the worst bowl out there.

Winning a national championship will keep Gene Chizik off the hot seat, but if they don't turn it around soon, they won't wait be patient for very long.

Arkansas: We Find out This Week Just How Far They've Come

Last season, the Arkansas Razorbacks made the step up into the top tier of SEC teams and went to the Sugar Bowl for the first time in a very long time.

This season, we see just how far they've come and we'll find out fast as they come into the game with the Crimson Tide this week with a similar 3-0 record.

This year they're the eighth-best scoring team in the country and are 17th best in holding down the points on their opponents.

That lack of defense is what cost Arkansas in the past, but this year, that defensive muscle could carry them far.

It is going to be tough for Arkansas to match their 10-win regular season of last year, but it is something certainly within reach for the Razorbacks.

Bobby Petrino could be elected Governor of Arkansas with a win over Alabama and LSU this season and a shot a national championship, but no matter how this season goes, Petrino has this team on the right track and is there as long as he wants to stay.

Alabama: Have We Really Seen the Real Tide Yet This Year?

Yes, they played Penn State, but Penn State is not the measuring stick they have been in the past. So have the Tide fans really seen what the team is capable of?

The answer is not really. They still haven't settled the offensive line, the young quarterback, A.J. McCarron still hasn't shown that he fully has his legs underneath him, and the running game hasn't clicked except for one game against a pathetic North Texas team.

Arkansas is a great team to measure another SEC team against. This year they have a much more solid SEC-type defense and they field an offense that that creates nightmares for all the SEC defensive coordinators.

They both enter the game with identical 3-0 records.

If the Tide handles Arkansas convincingly, then they should be fine until the battle with LSU that could determine a national champion.

(Larry Burton is a syndicated writer whose work appears online and in print. If you'd like to keep up with all his articles, follow him on Twitter and sign up as a fan on his Bio Page.)