Fact or Fiction: Penn State will go winless
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. Penn State will go winless this season.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I have hope for you Penn State fans. Despite losing to Nebraska, which looks hard to do these days, you have Michigan, Rutgers and Michigan State left on the schedule and they are all very bad. The problem? Penn State is very bad as well, but the Nittany Lions will win at least one of these games before they say goodbye to an historic 2020 season.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. It’s hard to fathom just how bad this Penn State football team is, so there is a chance the Nittany Lions could lose out. I don't see an area of strength. The two leading rushers against Iowa were their quarterbacks, the offensive and defensive line got pushed around like rag dolls by the Hawkeyes and now star tight end Pat Freiermuth is out for the rest of the season.
There seems to be a major disconnect between the players and new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. I get they have injuries at running back, but these backups aren’t scrubs. Penn State could lose every remaining game, but they’re also good enough to win the rest as well.
2. Northwestern should be in the playoff discussion.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The Wildcats are undefeated and that might be the case if they take on Ohio State for the Big Ten title. And after seeing how difficult a time Indiana gave the Buckeyes, there’s reason to hope for Northwestern fans if the Wildcats can slow down the Buckeyes' passing offense and attack that weak secondary. Northwestern is ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 behind four teams with losses (Miami, Texas A&M, Florida and Clemson) so if the Wildcats keep winning they could keep climbing. How 2020 would it be for Northwestern, a 3-9 team last season, to make the College Football Playoff?
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I love the story and really admire the job coach Pat Fitzgerald has done with this team but let’s be honest: Northwestern beat a banged-up Wisconsin team without any of its receivers and it narrowly defeated Purdue, Nebraska and Iowa. It’s been an impressive run and the Wildcats could definitely finish the regular season undefeated with Michigan State, Minnesota and Illinois left. But if and when Northwestern plays Ohio State, the Buckeyes would win big as Indiana is far better than Northwestern.
3. USC should be higher than No. 19 in the AP Top 25.
Farrell’s take: FACT. I’ve been critical of USC because the Trojans played poorly against Arizona State and Arizona but they beat a solid Utah team and they are 3-0. So why are they so far behind Oregon, who is ranked No. 9? It makes no sense.
Oregon hasn’t beaten anyone either yet and the disparity is based on preseason expectations, which should be thrown out the window this year. After all, Penn State was ranked in the top 10 during the preseason. USC should be ahead of teams with two losses like Georgia, Oklahoma and Iowa State at least.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. USC needed a miracle comeback to beat Arizona State in the season opener. The Trojans looked horrendous against Arizona and needed a game-winning drive in under two minutes to beat the Wildcats. USC looked good in a convincing win over Utah on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, but it was also the Utes’ first game of the season because of COVID-19 issues.
An undefeated record is deceiving for USC but the Trojans have all the talent in the world to end up undefeated and in the Pac-12 championship game. Win that, and USC has at least an argument to get in the playoff.