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. Alabama gets preferential treatment in the polls.
FICTION. Now I know what you’re thinking — Alabama gets preferential treatment from everyone. And the fact that the Crimson Tide moved ahead of Oklahoma to No. 3 in the latest AP Top 25 despite the Sooners being undefeated and Bama holding that one loss is an example. Right? Wrong. Answer this question for me honestly — would Alabama destroy Oklahoma right now? The answer is yes. In fact they should have leapfrogged a Cincinnati team that struggled with a bad Navy team as well and been moved up to No. 2. Only Georgia can stop Alabama this season. Sorry to burst everyone’s bubble.
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2. Clemson has been very slow with the hook for DJ Uiagalelei.Â
FACT. This is puzzling to me. The former five-star quarterback has been awful all season long and finally got pulled after a bad pick-six against Pitt only to return to the game and finish the loss. His backup, Taisun Phommachanh, threw seven passes and completed three before he was replaced for the final Clemson drive. Uiagalelei has a QBR rating of 38.6 and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. And yet Dabo Swinney continues to say the offense is under evaluation? It’s a good thing Lincoln Riley didn’t play things this way or he wouldn’t be undefeated right now.
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3. James Franklin’s stock has tumbled with loss to Illinois.
FICTION. It’s a bad, bad loss. A 9-overtime loss to a bad Illinois team is not a good look for the Nittany Lions as they lose all hope of a Big Ten title for the most part. And James Franklin has been a hot name linked to USC and LSU in the coaching replacement rumors. And please, make no mistake about it, this loss will do nothing to slow those rumors down. He’s a very good coach and sought after constantly so despite this poor performance his stock remains as high as ever.
