In today’s Fact or Fiction national columnist Mike Farrell looks at three big recent topics in college football and decides whether each statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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1. Charlie Strong will be a difference maker at Miami.
FACT. Landing Charlie Strong as the linebackers coach at Miami is a big deal for Mario Cristobal. Strong is a former defensive coordinator in the SEC, did an amazing job recruiting the state of Florida at Louisville and has strong ties to the Sunshine State in addition to his head coaching resume. Cristobal needs to recruit like a super team — on the Alabama and Georgia level — and adding an ace like Strong is a major move in that direction.
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2. Tabling expansion of the College Football Playoff is the right move.
FICTION. This is dumb. The coalition ("The Alliance") between the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC is a joke and was made out of panic after the SEC poached Texas and Oklahoma and so far it has done nothing but try to slow progress. The ACC and Pac-12 TV deals stink and they’re using the Big Ten to help them add value while the Big Ten is simply afraid of losing a major player like Ohio State to the SEC. So to keep the SEC at bay, the idea is to push the playoff expansion talks? It makes zero sense. The SEC will get two in the playoff many years when it’s four teams (we’ve seen that) and likely three in an eight-team format and four in a 12-team format. That’s life. Delaying expansion won’t help that. What it will do is push the date from 2025 back to likely 2027 because nothing ever gets done on time when the NCAA is involved and university presidents have to agree. And in this delay, the SEC will only get stronger each year as we saw this season with a UGA-Alabama rematch for the national title. Delaying things will make it worse for The Alliance and not better.
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3. Kyle Hamilton will be a top-five pick.
FACT. I see Kyle Hamilton with the Houston Texas even though they need help everywhere. The talented safety from Notre Dame is a ballhawk and covers so much ground he could impact take that defense immediately. The Texas pick No. 3 overall and if they pass on Hamilton it will be interesting as the NY Jets and NY Giants need big men more than defensive backs, but watch for someone to possibly trade up for Hamilton as well. There’s no way he slips past the top five.
