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. Tom Herman needs the win over LSU more than Ed Orgeron needs the win over Texas. Â
Farrell’s take: FICTION. While Tom Herman could use this win in a big way for Texas on a national stage, this is a much more important game for Ed Orgeron. Orgeron wasn’t a very popular hire at LSU, and while he’s done a great job so far on the field and in recruiting, the critics are watching. A loss, especially a poorly coached loss, would start to give his critics more and more ammunition well before the annual disappointment against Alabama.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Farrell seems to think Orgeron is on the brink of being on the hot seat with any loss, but I just don’t see it. He’s loved by his players and he’s doing a phenomenal job recruiting. Going on the road and getting a big win at Texas would be really important for the LSU program, but I still think this is a bigger game for Herman. To build upon that win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and continue to cement Texas as back on the national scene is important. A win over LSU this weekend - and maybe even a convincing win - would also help recruiting in a huge way as elite recruits would believe more and more in Herman and the program.
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 2. LSU will hold onto all its Mid-Atlantic commitments. Â
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Orgeron and company have done a great job recruiting nationally this cycle and landing guys like Antoine Sampah, Rakim Jarrett and company is a big deal. The Mid-Atlantic is loaded with talent and the Tigers have some very good ones on board, but at least one will de-commit to stay closer to home or land at a program that recruits the area more regularly.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. Recruiting is just too fluid nowadays to believe all those players from so far away are going to stick, even the Early Signing Period. I could easily see Jarrett going somewhere like Ohio State. I could see Clemson not giving up with Sampah. It probably does help that Jordan Toles and Demon Clowney are teammates and committed to the same school, but there are always so many changes in the recruiting world that even though the Tigers are recruiting really well I can’t see all of those players sticking.
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3. Kellen Mond will join the Heisman discussion after this weekend. Â
Farrell’s take: FACT. OK, everyone knows I’m the biggest Kellen Mond-backer in the recruiting industry and I was the one who pushed for him to be a five-star. But I’m not letting that play into this answer. While Clemson wins the game, Mond has another impressive performance against the Tigers defense and gives them fits at times. If he puts up big numbers even in a loss, he’ll shoot up the Heisman odds boards.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. This is not a rip on Mond’s game - but let’s not get ridiculous here. If he goes out and beats Clemson by throwing five touchdowns, then maybe Mond joins the Heisman conversation, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
There are too many other players out front. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor are leading the Heisman boards. Texas A&M battles this weekend and keeps it relatively close, but I don’t see Mond in the Heisman chatter yet.
