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 FACT OR FICTION: Michigan, best two teams, LSU
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1. Five-star RB Zachary Evans ends up in the Georgia 2020 class.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. I may be way off here and there are so many rumors that Zachary Evans could pop for the Dawgs any day now. In fact there were rumors he was going to do it last week. I just have a feeling that the longer this goes the better off teams like LSU and Texas A&M are. Kendall Milton shouldn't be a factor but Evans should have popped for the Bulldogs by now right? And if he does commit, does he stick with it or take visits. Honestly no one really knows what the talented running back is going to do.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Guessing what Evans is going to do with his recruitment could be a fool’s errand but there’s a lot of chatter out there that Georgia is going to land the five-star running back. Milton is not an issue at all, in fact he has been recruiting the fellow five-star for Georgia’s class. I do find it a little peculiar that Evans did not commit over the last week or so but I still think the Bulldogs get him.
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2. LSU's passing offense is for real.
Farrell’s take: FICTION. Joe Burrow looked really good against Texas and the talent is there at wide receiver as it always has been at LSU, but I'm not ready to buy in that this LSU passing offense is elite after one game against a very average Big 12 defense. Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist or I've seen way too many LSU offenses crumble after looking good here and there, but it's going to take more than one very nice win over Texas to convince me that this is a well-balanced team.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Very average Big 12 defense? Texas is loaded, especially in the secondary, and LSU carved the Longhorns up with 471 passing yards in a 45-38 win. The more success LSU’s new offense has the more it will snowball, and there’s no question the Tigers have talented playmakers at receiver. Burrow is tied with Purdue’s Elijah Sindelar and Washington State’s Anthony Gordon with nine touchdown passes so far – one more than Sam Ehlinger, two more than Tua Tagovailoa and three more than Jalen Hurts. LSU is for real.
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3. Kentucky can kiss its season goodbye with quarterback Terry Wilson out for the season.
Farrell’s take: FACT. This won't go over well with Kentucky fans but Terry Wilson was so important to what the Wildcats want to do on offense that it's hard to think of them pulling off some key wins without him. Mark Stoops has done a great job building a talented roster and teaching his team how to win after inheriting an awful roster years ago. The defense is still formidable but without Wilson, the offense really struggles.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. In 52 pass attempts this season, Wilson has thrown two touchdowns. In nine attempts this season, Sawyer Smith has two touchdown passes. That’s really a minor point but the larger story here is that Smith is a talented quarterback who put up nice numbers at Troy and should be just fine running Kentucky’s offense. The Wildcats have impressive wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan – actually two tough teams – and they have a solid running attack. If Kentucky should be worried about something, it’s that Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina and other SEC monsters are coming up on the schedule. Those games could definitely derail them.
