Fact or Fiction: If Huskers could return to Big 12, they would
In today’s Fact or Fiction national columnist Mike Farrell looks at three topics in college football and decides whether each statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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1. LSU is DBU in the SEC.
Farrell’s take: FACT. This is a tough call with Alabama doing so well producing elite defensive backs each year and Florida’s tradition as well but I’m going to stick with FACT. Based on the impact players like Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Matheiu and how well players like Tre'Davious White are coming along I take LSU slightly over Minkah Fitzpatrick, Landon Collins, Marlon Humphrey and some others from Alabama.
Derek Stingley Jr. and Elias Ricks will keep it rolling for LSU, while Patrick Surtain Jr. will be a top 10 pick this year. To get another unbiased opinion, I asked the Ohio State fans on The Horseshoe Lounge at Buckeyegrove.com and it was pretty split. I still say Ohio State is DBU overall, based on the exceptional number of first-round picks.
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2. The Vols will win 10 games in Josh Heupel's third season - but not before.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I asked this question at The Generals Quarters on Volquest.com and the fans that didn’t say it was a dumb question felt it was FICTION. And of course it can be considered a dumb question since Heupel has just taken over the program, but I wanted to get a feel of the hope for this staff compared to the high hopes under Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt at first. And things are a bit more tempered in Knoxville.
Potential NCAA sanctions and a cross-conference game against Alabama every season do not lead to such a prediction, especially with UGA and Florida as strong as they are in the SEC East. However, 10 games can be won with a bowl game, and both Jones and Pruitt came close. But things are a tad bleaker at the moment.
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3. If the Huskers could go back to the Big 12 they would.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I ask this because I was looking at conferences and teams that seem to be out of place and Nebraska kept crossing my mind. And with the way things went last August with the cancellation of the football season (I’m sorry, “postponement”) and how irate AD Bill Moos and coach Scott Frost were, I thought it was an interesting topic.
I asked the fans on the Red Sea Scrolls at HuskerOnline.com and many who wanted to bolt the conference last August also understand it’s not going to happen. The overwhelming answer was FICTION, and I agree because of money, academics and the preferential treatment Texas was getting. But I’d still rather see Nebraska play Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and others, just for nostalgia purposes.