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.
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1. Ole Miss will have the best offense in the SEC.
Farrell’s take: FACT. When it comes to putting up numbers this upcoming season Ole Miss will lead the way ahead of Georgia, Alabama, LSU and some other potentially dynamic offenses. Matt Corral is an exceptional quarterback, the Rebels have a ton of depth at wide receiver to replace Elijah Moore and I love Jerrion Ealy as a runner and a guy who can work out of the backfield.
UGA gets a lot of the offensive attention for next season, and of course Alabama will, too, but give me Lane Kiffin’s offense.
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2. Nebraska transfer WR Samori Toure will be on an All-Big Ten team next season.Â
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Nebraska fans were heated and angry when FCS star Samori Toure didn’t make my top 10 wide receiver transfers last week. In 2019, Toure had 87 catches for 1,495 yards and 13 touchdowns and broke Randy Moss’ record for yards in a game with 303 for FCS Montana. He didn’t play this past season and is in spring ball with Nebraska instead of playing in the FCS season this spring.
So far the reports are very good on Toure and if you watch his FCS highlights he is just too quick for that level. However, the Power Five is a huge jump in talent. The hype around Toure is immense, and the Big Ten is loaded with wide receivers like Ty Fryfogle, Jahan Dotson, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and David Bell, to name a few.
Toure will make a difference, but I don’t think he’ll garner national attention as Nebraska’s offense is rough. I went on the Red Sea Scrolls message board at our Nebraska site HuskerOnline.com to get the pulse of the fans there, and they all feel confident about either Toure or Omar Manning will make one of the three All-Big Ten teams.
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3. Maryland is the sleeper team to watch in the Big Ten East. Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. One could make a case for Rutgers, but it’s a year too early for it to stun people. And to me, Maryland is scary with quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, wide receiver Rakim Jarrett and others on offense, but keep an eye on this defense.
Cornerback Tarheeb Still is a star in the making and there is a lot of young talent. And it will be key as the Terrapins only play one outstanding offense in Ohio State and could hold their own with the rest. Could they be next year's Indiana? I wouldn’t go that far, but they will be much improved.
