National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
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1. Kyle Trask is the Heisman front-runner.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Trask has thrown for more touchdowns through the first six games of the season than any other SEC quarterback in history and that includes Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow. And this is an All-SEC schedule he’s facing, so no padding of stats.
Mac Jones is also having a great season, but Trask has 12 more touchdowns and less of a supporting cast when it comes to running backs, offensive line and receivers. Justin Fields is up there but he’s only played three games and Trevor Lawrence has missed two so right now it’s all Trask for me.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Trask deserves to be at the top of the Heisman list especially after Saturday’s awesome performance in a 63-35 win over Arkansas where the Florida QB threw for 356 yards and six touchdowns without star tight end Kyle Pitts.
Trask is outpacing Tagovailoa and Burrow which is just amazing considering the year Burrow had for LSU last year and even if Trask doesn’t continue at this torrid rate, it’s still impressive. Fields will keep padding his stats and Sam Howell’s numbers are great as well, but Trask leads the Heisman race.
2. Michigan is consistently getting outcoached.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. This isn’t a coaching problem, believe it or not. Jim Harbaugh knows how to coach, Josh Gattis knows offense and Don Brown has forgotten more about football than all of us.
No, this is a belief issue. The players don’t seem to believe in the coaches anymore and that’s much worse. The body language is bad, the effort has fallen off since the Minnesota blowout and it appears these players aren’t listening to some of the most intense coaches you’ll find.
I can’t come up with any other explanation for the loss to Michigan State, the horrible effort against Wisconsin and the drubbing by Indiana. I am consistently seeing players on the other team play harder and hustle more often and Harbaugh has lost this team. I never thought effort would be an issue under guys like Harbaugh and Brown but it has become one.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I have no doubt Harbaugh, Gattis and Brown are all fine coaches, but when I watch Michigan’s dismal performance against Wisconsin, I see four defenders all standing around each other or receivers all in the same place and I have to think that either Harbaugh and his staff are not teaching it so the players understand what to do - or the players have just stopped listening.
There is just absolutely no excuse for losing to Michigan State, which is just not a very good football team right now. Harbaugh said Saturday night after getting blown out by Wisconsin that the team is not in a good place in execution, in adjusting and schematically. Again, all these coaches are smart and capable people but if that last sentence is true then it definitely sounds like Michigan is getting out-coached, among other things.
3. Brian Kelly is the perfect coach for Notre Dame.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Notre Dame fans, the minority of them I’m sure, still complain about Brian Kelly and I don’t get it. I hear things like “he’s a solid coach if you want to win 9 games and every once in awhile lose in the playoff” or other dumb statements.
Kelly has 100 wins as Notre Dame head coach and once again has them solidly in the playoff mix and Notre Dame fans should be thrilled. These aren’t the days of Lou Holtz when academics could be slid aside a bit for recruits. This is 2020 Notre Dame showing the world they don’t need to join the ACC or any other conference. They will just kick butt as an independent.
Gorney’s take: FACT. If you’re a Notre Dame fan and don’t throw your complete support behind Kelly, then that’s your issue because he has been incredible in South Bend and this year might be his most impressive work.
This was an offense that was supposed to be lacking in playmakers, yet the Irish just went to Boston College on what could have been a letdown spot and posted 45 points. The week before, Notre Dame beat Clemson in a thriller. The team is averaging nearly 38 points per game and they’re running the heck out of the ball.
In his 11th year, Kelly has coached at Notre Dame as long as Holtz. They both have one losing season and five double-digit win seasons and Kelly should get his sixth this year. He’s been phenomenal in South Bend.
