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.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: USC is trending for five-star Domani Jackson
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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK
Saturday: Who should be awarded fifth star?
Sunday: Who should be No. 1?
Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars
Tuesday: New Rivals250 revealed | Gorney's thoughts | Who will we regret dropping? | 10 biggest movers
Wednesday: Offensive position rankings | Recruiting updates on all uncommitted offensive players in Rivals250 | Five schools that received boost from new rankings | QB Rankings Spotlight | RB Rankings Spotlight | WR/TE Rankings Spotlight
Thursday: Defensive position rankings
Friday: State rankings
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1. Alabama linebacker Will Anderson should be a Heisman finalist.
Farrell’s take: FACT. When you look at the stats, this is a no-brainer as he dwarfs Heisman finalist Aidan Hutchinson in pretty much every category. Anderson has had one of the best seasons in recent memory with 27.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks, but with Bryce Young already an Alabama nominee Anderson didn’t have a chance. But he should clearly be there.
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2. Mark Whipple is a massive loss for Pitt.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Whipple, Pitt's offensive coordinator, announced his resignation Tuesday. He has long been an impressive offensive mind, from his days at UMass (his first stint mainly) to working with Ben Roethlisberger in the NFL and now with Kenny Pickett at Pitt. He’s had some dud seasons in his career, but the Pitt offense was amazing this year, and much of that has to do with Whipple and how creative he can be.
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3. Jeff Lebby deserves to be the next OC at Oklahoma.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Lebby is a terrific offensive mind and has shown his progression from Baylor to UCF and especially with his work with Matt Corral as the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss. Lebby doesn’t have the offensive reputation of Lincoln Riley, but he certainly can put up points in Norman.
