Fact or Fiction: Tom Herman should be on the hot seat
National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
MORE: Can Alabama lure Auburn commit Javion Cohen?
1. Tom Herman should be on the hot seat.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Just last week, I was saying Herman still had Texas moving in the right direction and I do believe that is the case in recruiting at least. But another loss makes the Longhorns 6-5, the same record as Tennessee but with much more talent. And let’s face it, they have a lot more talent than Baylor and still lost by two touchdowns. The heat should be raised on Herman now and he will have to make some staff changes. If those don’t work and we see a season like this again next year, he should be gone. This is puzzling. I thought he was a great fit.
Gorney’s take: FACT. When Herman smashed his bare head against a player wearing a helmet in the pre-game leading up to Baylor on Saturday afternoon, he didn’t look like a fired-up coach trying to inspire his team. He looked like a third-rate high school coach trying to pull out some motivational tactic he got at some bad coaching clinic. It was embarrassing to say the least.
What was even worse was his team’s loss to Baylor, where Herman called a timeout with five seconds left so the Longhorns could score a touchdown and make the defeat a little less worse. Texas - Texas! - has the same record as Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Cal and others. And this is with one of the best quarterbacks in college football in Sam Ehlinger.
Of course Herman should be on the hot seat. Why is Herman some irreplaceable coaching genius? Because of a couple good years at Houston? Give me a break. If it wasn’t for Charlie Strong’s disastrous tenure at Texas, Herman would already be on the hottest seat in college football.
2. Miami recruiting will suffer after this season.
Farrell’s take: FACT. The loss to FIU was an embarrassing one and will ring loudly in South Florida. I’m not worried about 2020 as most of that class is done, but 2021 and beyond will suffer as this has been a horrible year overall for Manny Diaz and staff. The U appears to be a long, long way from being back and there are so many options for prospects that this loss takes away a very strong recruiting week overall.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Not only did Miami lose to FIU which was embarrassing enough but the Hurricanes were held scoreless for nearly three quarters and had to stage a late comeback to make the game even close.
I can’t imagine 2020 prospects who are now hearing from other national programs or especially 2021 recruits are thrilled by this outcome or how the team has looked at times this season. One week, the Hurricanes look great and the next they look terrible and that inconsistency is on Diaz.
Long way from being back? Back to what? Since 2004, Miami has had one 10-win season. Antiques like Farrell remember the good old days, but 2020 and 2021 prospects were infants the last time Miami was a dominant program. They’re just hearing stories from their fathers, not seeing it for themselves and Saturday was more evidence of that.
3. Georgia proved that it's a playoff team.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I just don’t see it Quarterback. Jake Fromm has regressed and the offense just sputters despite four- and five-stars along the offensive line and in the backfield. Texas A&M is not a good team and the Aggies gave Georgia everything they could handle. The Georgia defense is good but LSU will run over them in the SEC title game.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m torn on how to answer this because my opinion is that Kirby Smart is not showing all his offensive guns until he has to - and he won’t have to until he has to go score-for-score in the SEC Championship. I look at Lawrence Cager, George Pickens, Dominick Blaylock, D’Andre Swift and Demetris Robertson and those are some elite pass-catchers. The running game should be outstanding. Fromm is one of the best QBs in college football.
But then I watch them play and very little happens on offense, there is no juice on that side of the ball and it’s befuddling. Are they just not as good as they should be or are they being held back like a thoroughbred until it goes down the back stretch? Right now, I’d pick LSU to beat Georgia by 17 in the SEC title game. Utah has a very interesting argument to be in the Final Four if it wins out, but until somebody beats Georgia, I have to side with the Bulldogs being ranked that high - even if it’s not pretty.