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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MORE FACT OR FICTION: North Carolina leads for five-star Travis Shaw
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS WEEK
Monday: Five-star countdown | Arch Manning is new No. 1
Tuesday: Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney's thoughts | Meet the new five-stars | Top player at each position | Could there be five five-stars from Alabama?
Wednesday: Teams with the most R250 commits | QB rankings released | RB rankings released | WR/TE rankings released | OL rankings released | Will Dante Moore remain among top 3 QBs?
Thursday: DL rankings released | LB rankings released | DB rankings released | ATH rankings released | Is Matayo Uigalelei underrated? | Who will be the first five-star LB?
Friday: Recruiting updates on top players in 2023 | State rankings released
Saturday: Rivals Roundtable
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1. CJ Stroud will be the man at Ohio State.Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. I believe Stroud won the job in the spring, but Ryan Day wanted to keep the QB competition open so he doesn’t lose anyone (especially Kyle McCord), but early returns out of Columbus are that Stroud is the man. And he could put up monster numbers, which would be interesting because he’s two years from NFL eligibility and a guy named Quinn Ewers is on campus. An embarrassment of riches for the Buckeyes, as usual.
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2. The best QB battle out there is at Texas A&M.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Cameron Rising vs. Charlie Brewer is intriguing at Utah, but to me with Myles Brennan injured at LSU and CJ Stroud emerging at Ohio State it comes down to the Aggies' battle between Haynes King and Zach Calzada. And I don’t really know who’s going to win the job. Both bring different skills to the table, and I like King’s ability to extend the play a bit better but Calzada is smooth in the pocket. Jimbo Fisher could have a two-QB approach early this season as the defense allows the Aggies to figure out which signal caller is better.
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3. Arik Gilbert will surpass 1,000 yards this season at Georgia.Â
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Why did this come into my head? I mean Gilbert had fewer than 400 yards receiving last season in eight games before leaving LSU. So a jump to 1,000 yards would be huge. But he is playing wide receiver in a Georgia offense that should be more wide open with an established QB in JT Daniels. I can see 800 yards in the air for the talented WR/TE, and maybe double-digit touchdowns if they open it up, but he will be short of 1,000 yards.
