Fact or Fiction: Miami will be playoff contender next season
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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FACT OR FICTION: Will Muschamp would be a good fit as DC at Michigan
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1. Miami will be a playoff contender next season with D’Eriq King back.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Clemson will still be great, so there’s that problem and UNC will also be much improved. Those are just the conference worries for Miami. Add in Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and the other elite teams, and it seems impossible for Miami right?
Not quite. King is a difference-maker and the skill position players are young and improving. The losses on the defensive line will hurt, but in college football anything can happen with a great quarterback. And King could be the best in the land next season with some work.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Miami will be an outstanding team, but King can only do so much. Also, with King as the quarterback this season the Hurricanes lost to Clemson by 25 and North Carolina by 36. There were also some unnecessarily close games like Miami’s victories over Virginia, NC State and Virginia Tech.
Miami will be improved and could make things more interesting, but let’s also not forget that Miami opens against Alabama next season. A playoff run could be stifled before it even gets started.
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2. Trevor Lawrence will be better off in Jacksonville than with the New York Jets.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The Jets are a wasteland. New York is a bigger market, but there is zero talent on that football team. At least in Jacksonville, he can be helped with a young running back in James Robinson and more receiving talent. And the defense has some bright spots as well with Myles Jack and Josh Allen. You don’t earn the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft by being a good team, but the Jets are just beyond awful.
Gorney’s take: FACT. The young talent in Jacksonville is definitely better and I actually think Lawrence would thrive better in a small media market than in New York, where he’s a hero when he arrives and then booed by his third interception. The Jets just have absolutely nothing going for them.
Also, if Urban Meyer goes to Jacksonville… OK, I had to say it. I almost felt bad that Lawrence was going to end up with the Jets because that would have been a shame. There’s hope for him in Jacksonville.
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3. Coastal Carolina could have hung in the playoff.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Not a chance. Let’s say Notre Dame is the worst of the four playoff teams. The Irish would beat Coastal by 20 based on the defensive performance I saw against Liberty and the inability to control a running passer. Ian Book would run all over them. And Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones would post monster numbers. It’s a nice little story in a horrible 2020, but let’s be realistic. This probably is not a top 25 football team.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Hung around for a quarter? Used that offense to fool some people and keep it close for a little while? Sure. And Liberty is a very good team that flies around the field on offense and keeping quarterback Malik Willis contained is difficult.
But Coastal Carolina against the four playoff teams? Let’s be real. Jamey Chadwell did a fantastic job as coach, the team is fun to watch and I love the grit and determination to never stop competing. But this is an overwhelming case that those four teams just have better Jimmys and Joes.