In today’s Fact or Fiction I look at three big recent topics in college football and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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1. The Big 12 will remain a Power Five conference.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. With Texas and Oklahoma gone there is not enough value left in the league to remain a Power Five conference for the long term. And I don’t see any teams it can add to the league that will change that. The loss of the revenue that Texas and Oklahoma bring and mainly the perception of the Big 12 without them is too much to overcome.
Who’s the giant in the Big 12 now? That’s the question that has to be asked and there is no good answer. The league will lose Power Five status by 2025.
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2. Max Johnson can lead LSU to the playoff.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I like Max Johnson as a leader even if I’m not a fan of lefty quarterbacks overall at the professional level. In college they can do just fine as Tim Tebow and others can attest.
LSU has some young talent on offense and I’m excited to see Kayshon Boutte take the next step in his development. But with no option now as Myles Brennan’s injury assures Johnson of the job, it’s a tall task to ask him to lead LSU back to the playoff.
Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M will all be formidable this season and LSU still has holes to fill on offense. I don’t see it happening.
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3. Quinn Ewers will play this season at Ohio State.
Farrell’s take: FACT. With Quinn Ewers accelerating his enrollment and eligible to play this fall, Ryan Day is in a tricky situation as I wrote Tuesday. But there is no way Ewers just sits. CJ Stroud is the expected starter or perhaps Kyle McCord in a surprise but Day has to develop Ewers as he is a surefire three and out talent to me.
There will be a few blowouts on the schedule but what will be interesting to me is to see if Day uses Ewers on schedule in each game to get him reps. But trust me, he will play.
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