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. Mike Norvell is on the hot seat.
Farrell’s take: FACT. This may sound like a dumb topic for FACT or FICTION because it’s assumed Norvell is on the hot seat with a 3-10 record as head coach of the Seminoles, but it’s actually not. I mean he’s only 13 games into his tenure and Florida State is still paying a ton of money to Willie Taggart after his 21 games at FSU, so the assumption should be that Norvell is safe for now.
But let’s be realistic. Say FSU goes 1-11 this season, with its only win against a horrible UMass team. Unlikely? Sure. You’d think the Seminoles would beat Syracuse, Miami or Boston College, even if by mistake, but they could easily lose those games by 20 as well. The boosters and powers that be at FSU would likely find a way to jettison Norvell if it finishes a season with a record reserved for Kansas or Duke or Vanderbilt most years. Norvell is on shaky ground.
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2. Miami needs more of a focus on football.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Miami head coach Manny Diaz came out and defended the Canes' commitment to football after comments by Kirk Herbstreit to the contrary on "College GameDay," but let’s be honest: More needs to be done. It took forever for the Canes to get an indoor practice facility and their recent facility upgrades fall short of others in the Southeast or will be surpassed by most in a couple of years.
An off-campus stadium is still a massive issue for recruiting and for fan support. Diaz can say that Miami president Julio Frenk supports the program and fought for the football season last year during COVID, but I have a feeling if Donna Shalala were still in charge things would look very different at Miami.
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3. Three top 10 teams will fall this weekend.
Farrell’s take: FACT. OK, so two teams will certainly fall as something has to break when No. 7 Cincinnati plays No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 2 Georgia plays No. 8 Arkansas. But I have a feeling a third top 10 team will fall. My best guess? No. 5 Iowa to Maryland or perhaps No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas State. Neither top 10 team is playing great offensively, and a low-scoring game could get them.
