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. Clemson is no longer the next Alabama.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Many are down on the Tigers based on their early start, but as recent national champions (twice) and constant playoff competitors they are still the closest thing to Alabama you can find out there.
Just because DJ Uiagalelei isn’t lighting the world up like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence did from the jump doesn’t mean Clemson is going to fall back into being another fringe contender.
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2. Arkansas is underrated.Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. Arkansas should be rated ahead of BYU and Iowa State, and you could make a case the Razorbacks should be ahead of Notre Dame and others in the undefeated ranks.
Rice and Georgia Southern aren’t great wins, but you could argue their win over Texas is better than the best win from the Irish, Ole Miss, Cincinnati and others.
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3. Notre Dame can go undefeated.
Farrell’s take: FACT. This could happen. And the Irish could also lose four games. That’s how interesting the schedule is for Notre Dame moving forward. Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, USC, North Carolina, Navy, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Stanford are all solid teams, but many of them have proven they can also lose on any given Saturday.
It’s unlikely that this Irish team we see – one that struggled against Florida State and Toledo – could run the table. But let’s put it this way: If the Irish get past the next three games without a loss they could really make a run.
