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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MORE FACT OR FICTION: Penn State is most underachieving team
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. Scott Frost should be on the hot seat.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Scott Frost is the perfect fit for Nebraska and eventually will turn things around. Will he win a national title? Likely not. Can he win the Big Ten West? Eventually he can and that should be the height of expectations for Nebraska as we live in a new world from when the Huskers were dominating.
They are in a much harder conference and recruiting has gone national and the rich get richer every year. Get to the Big Ten title game every few years and that’s great and Frost can do this.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Nebraska fans and decision-makers have a tough choice to make here and it’s this: Should the Huskers stick with Frost through the lean years, confident that on the other side this program will be conference contenders again but running the risk that maybe Frost is not the best coach for this program? Or should Nebraska expect the same thing from Frost that it did from Mike Riley and Bo Pelini and Bill Callahan and Frank Solich before him - and that’s to get the Huskers back to national relevance quickly?
The year before Riley got fired, Nebraska won nine games. Pelini won nine or 10 games every single season he coached in Lincoln. In four years, Callahan had an eight-win season and a nine-win season. Solich went 58-19 at Nebraska and got fired.
Why do we think Frost is the perfect fit at Nebraska? Because he’s from the state, played for the Huskers and had one incredible season at UCF? That makes sense, no doubt about it. He very well could make this program contenders again. But so far he’s 9-17 as coach and hasn’t fared better than fifth in the Big Ten West, not exactly a division loaded with top teams. Bigger winners at Nebraska have certainly received less patience.
2. A two-loss Oklahoma team should make the playoff.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. The losses to Kansas State and Iowa State are just too much to overcome as the Wildcats have fallen flat. And they just won’t have enough quality wins to overcome those losses as Texas is a solid but not spectacular win and Oklahoma State has lost its high ranking after losing to the Longhorns. I don’t see a way this happens.
Gorney’s take: FACT. There are still so many variables and so much to consider. Just look at how many games are being cancelled just this weekend because of COVID-19, but I will say that if Oklahoma wins out and some other things fall into place then the Sooners should be heavily considered.
Losing early is supposed to matter and Oklahoma lost both of those games by a touchdown or less. Since then, the Sooners have dominated their competition and to get into playoff contention, they’ll have to beat Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Baylor and then win the Big 12 title game. If certain things happen ahead of them in the rankings, then absolutely Oklahoma should be considered.
3. Florida State will finish in the bottom half of the ACC in recruiting.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Right now the Seminoles are No. 9 in the ACC behind programs like Georgia Tech, Boston College and Virginia. That's ridiculous. The Seminoles have a small class right now and they will add enough talent to finish in the top half. I expect them to land at No. 4 in the ACC behind Clemson, Miami and North Carolina by the end of it all despite the struggles on the field.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Florida State should have a smaller class but its average star ranking will still be better than some teams higher in the rankings and the Seminoles could close with some nice commitments even with the disaster that is this season.
Four-star wide receiver Destyn Hill and three-star running back Ke’Travion Hargrove, who could be a real sleeper in the 2021 class, are two top targets. Others will emerge as well. The Seminoles still have the ability to land some top players who see an opportunity to contribute early even though in-state recruiting of top prospects has been pretty bad this cycle.
