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. Tennessee is in big trouble at the quarterback position.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Normally I’d say yes with the Vols reaching on Joe Milton in the transfer portal and now with the dismissal of Kaidon Salter but I’m making this fiction because of my belief in Harrison Bailey.
Hendon Hooker also transferred in. but I’m not a huge fan of his passing consistency. Brian Maurer is solid but Bailey, the former five-star, is the one who excites me. The question will be if he has enough talent around him to succeed and how big a step he can take in his development. But I still believe you’re as good as your best quarterback, and Bailey is going to be good.
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2. Iowa will win the Big Ten West.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I have Wisconsin winning the Big Ten West, with Iowa up there near the top along with Minnesota. But why not Iowa? Spencer Petras is a huge question mark at quarterback and the Hawkeyes lose so much off the defensive line that I worry about stopping the run (even with great linebackers) and their passing game. Wisconsin is the second-most complete team - after Ohio State - in the Big Ten.
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3. Alabama is a good excuse for Georgia and others to not have won a national title recently.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I heard this a ton when I listed Georgia as the program that squanders talent the most even after I backed it up with clear evidence (an average recruiting class ranking of 6.4 since 2002). The typical response: “But Alabama is in the SEC with Nick Saban.” Tell that to Urban Meyer, Gene Chizik and Ed Orgeron, who all won national titles with Saban at his peak.
It’s not an excuse for Georgia or Texas A&M or anyone else, and certainly not for new coaches at those schools. I believe Kirby Smart and Jimbo Fisher will both win national titles at Georgia and Texas A&M, respectively, and they will do so while getting through an SEC with Saban in it. But let’s not make him an excuse.
