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football Edit

Fact or Fiction: Hot seat for Harbaugh; Texas solves problems

National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.

MORE FACT OR FICTION: Michigan is not closing gap on Ohio State

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1. Jim Harbaugh should be on hot seat.

Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh

Farrell’s take: FICTION. Yes, it has been pointed out that Harbaugh’s conference record is very similar to that of Clay Helton and we all know Helton is on the hottest of seats at USC. But the question remains — who is a better fit at Michigan? Harbaugh can’t beat Ohio State it appears and thus won’t make the playoff until he does, but he’s good for 9 or 10 wins a year and that’s good enough at Michigan.

Gorney’s take: FICTION. Harbaugh is recruiting well and he has three 10-win seasons already and a fourth could be coming if Michigan wins the bowl game. It’s ridiculous to think that Harbaugh should be on the hot seat just because the Wolverines cannot beat Ohio State.

The real question should be posed to defensive coordinator Don Brown on why the Buckeyes have scored 62 and 56 points in back-to-back games. He largely gets a pass because of his reputation, but Brown’s defense has been torched by Ohio State recently and he needs to figure out why.

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2. Steve Addazio should not have been fired at Boston College.

Steve Addazio
Steve Addazio (AP)

Farrell’s take: FICTION. While BC went 6-6 this year and will go bowling again, Addazio has become way too predictable on offense and this was supposed to be the year they make a push for 8 or 9 wins. This team underachieved and based on some of the comments of former players under Addazio, he was not well liked by his players. It was time to move on.

Gorney’s take: FICTION. Part of me really wants to defend Addazio here because in seven years he’s only had one losing season, but every one has been 7-6 or 7-5 and that just smells of average. This used to be a program that would win eight or nine games a year, it would be a tough place to play, the Eagles would upset some teams and that’s just not happening anymore.

I get that BC’s quarterback went down, but losing to Kansas is inexcusable. However, the Eagles almost beat Wake Forest and Louisville and were right there against Florida State. A win here or there and this is a different conversation. Still, a fresh start is needed because this could be a better program.

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3. Tom Herman's coaching changes will make the difference at Texas.

Farrell’s take: FICTION. Chris Ash as your defensive coordinator? He did okay at Ohio State with all that talent, but is this a huge step up from Todd Orlando? Offensive changes are coming as well but the more I think about this, the more Tom Herman will be gone next year. And I was one of those tooting his horn when he was hired. I’m shaking my head.

Gorney’s take: FICTION. Sam Ehlinger is getting ripped for his comments after Texas beat Texas Tech, but he’s far more accurate than many fans want to believe. Over the last decade, the Longhorns are 70-57 (an average of seven wins a season) with one 10-win campaign and four losing seasons.

By comparison, Oklahoma has had nine double-digit win seasons during that stretch and its worst record was 8-5. Ohio State has also had nine double-digit win seasons. Alabama has won 10 or more games in every season of the last decade.

This is all to say Texas fans are living in the past and some coordinator changes are not going to make all that big a difference. Until Herman can recruit at an elite level nationally (and that means getting multiple five-stars every recruiting cycle and elite four-stars that he can develop on both sides of the ball) then things aren’t going to change.

Texas should be better next year because the Longhorns should have Ehlinger back and the defense should be a year older and a year better but look at Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and others play football. Do you see the same product from Texas? Not at all.

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