Take Two is back this week tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape.

Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

RELATED: Farrell Forecast: Week 6 | Rivals.com Five-Star Club

Storyline: Unless a miracle happens, it looks like Charlie Strong will be out of a job at Texas and that Houston coach Tom Herman is absolutely the top target to replace him.

A report out this week on SI.com stated that Strong is “very close” to losing his job after the season. It’s possible the Longhorns completely turn things around, but Strong’s job performance is under an even bigger microscope heading into the Red River Rivalry this weekend.

Texas has recruited well in recent years and landed some outstanding prospects, so if Strong leaves then the cupboards are certainly not bare. But what happens, if for some reason or another, Herman turns down the Longhorns?

Is it Herman or bust in Austin?

First take: “The opinions on whether Charlie Strong can save his job - or should even be given the opportunity to save his job - are all over the place. The tone from most of the fans is that they’re ready to move on after what is looking like yet another season of mediocrity for the Longhorns under Strong. But from what I’ve gathered, and my instincts tell me the same, Strong can still salvage things if the Longhorns can stack up some wins over the remainder of the season. If Texas wins eight games and heads to a bowl game, it’s going to be very tough to fire a coach who has recruited well and is showing signs of improvement. Of course, getting to eight wins may be tough, and an embarrassing loss or two along the way could play into things as well.

“If Texas does make a move for Herman, and he accepts, he’d have to really hit the ground running on the recruiting scene, but he and his staff do a good job and his reputation would immediately open some doors. I think he’d be just fine in terms of recruiting, but we’re getting about 10 steps in front of ourselves to worry about that. There’s still a lot of football to be played in 2016, and Texas should be competitive pretty much every week in a pretty mediocre Big 12.” – Jason Suchomel, Orangebloods.com

Second take: “It’s Tom Herman or bust. It’s such a big job they could get another big name interested that currently has a Power Five position. They could get an NFL guy. What Herman brings to the table is he was a graduate assistant at Texas, he’s considered an offensive genius and he recruits the state of Texas extremely well, landing the first-ever five-star for the Houston program in Rivals history and being competitive for all those kids at a lesser program. If you give him the keys to Texas you would expect things would take off. The interesting thing is, what if they don’t get Tom Herman? Then who do they get and how many people freak out? It’s got to be Herman or bust.” - Farrell

Storyline: Florida State’s defense is loaded with five-and four-star prospects, so it’s a head-scratcher as to why the Seminoles can be so bad on that side of the ball.

The offense is chugging along, averaging more than 41 points per game, but Florida State finds itself at 3-2, lambasted by Louisville and knocked off by North Carolina last week on a last-second field goal.

This defense is just not playing well. Sure, star Derwin James is sidelined with an injury, but where’s the leadership? Where’s someone stepping up and demanding better?

It’s just not happening right now heading into the Miami rivalry. Will recruiting take a hit because of the poor performances? Or will top five-stars see this as an even bigger opportunity in Tallahassee to get on the field early and turn this thing around?

First take: “I think it is a mixture of getting on the field early with defensive recruits and also seeing what will also happen with the defense going forward with improvements and seeing how things go from there. Defensive recruits feel Fisher will get it fixed it, but performance of the defense so far is something they are taking notice of both as an opportunity and also what will happen next. So it is kind of a wait and see approach so far.” – Michael Langston, Warchant.com

Second take: “With Derwin James gone it would be like losing Jalen Ramsey last year. You’d really struggle. But these are very, very gifted guys who are just not making plays. There is a lack of leadership. You saw a little of what they could be against Ole Miss in that second half, and then James goes down and everything falls apart. The great part about recruiting is if you’re winning, you can sell that, and if you stink, you can sell playing time. There’s never a bad pitch. If things keep going this way, they’re going to allow the gap to be closed between them and Florida and Miami. Florida State has ruled the roost for a few years, but a bad season could open up a window.” - Farrell

Storyline: Clemson has to love its position right now. It dodged Louisville last week and has a very realistic opportunity to return to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row, especially with Florida State’s defense fumbling around the field.

Plus, recruiting is going really well with the 2017 class – No. 11 nationally with two five-star commitments already – and the 2018 class could be a blockbuster one as well.

The Tigers are one of two favorites along with Georgia for No. 1 prospect Trevor Lawrence, a five-star quarterback, and a major player for third-ranked Xavier Thomas, a five-star defensive end. Let’s also not forget they’re involved with No. 5 Zamir White, a five-star RB from Laurinburg (N.C.) Scotland County.

It’s good to be Dabo Swinney these days.

First take: “Tough to quantify Clemson’s chances with the nation’s No. 1- and No. 3-ranked prospects next class, other than safe to say the Tigers are legitimate contenders and arguably in the top two for both.

“Lawrence has already expressed as such, of course, with Clemson battling Georgia. Time will tell if or to what degree Saturday’s visit made any differential impression, as Lawrence still plans to take in at least one Georgia game and doesn’t appear in any rush for a decision. But the Tigers have to feel at peace that there isn’t much more they could do; Clemson’s best foot was forward in that performance and production, and Lawrence and his family spent a full day on campus soaking in all the staff wanted and hoped they would experience.

“Thomas is different in that he publicly lists several in his top group, including Ohio State, a sentimental favorite, and Florida State, his longest suitor. The feeling here has remained, though, that his recruitment figures to dissolve into an in-state battle. South Carolina does own a couple of inherent and important advantages, such as proximity and childhood fandom and doors those can open. But Thomas has shown the propensity to be so impressionable that this observer believes we’re a long, long way from the needle moving distantly in either school’s direction. Clemson has a few edges of its own, none the least of which might be the contrasting and elite state of its program, as he just witnessed on display.” – Paul Strelow, TigerIllustrated.com

Second take: “They have to have a good shot with Trevor Lawrence. I know they have Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice in this class, but it’s different for a quarterback to look at recruits than it is to look at who’s playing on the field. When he looks at Georgia and he sees Jacob Eason making key plays and winning the starting job - I know he’s a couple years removed and the assumption is if Eason turns out to be great he could be a three-and-out - but the perspective of a quarterback is what he sees on the field. And what he sees is Deshaun Watson, who will be gone, and nothing else. They’re in good shape for Lawrence. Thomas has long been considered a South Carolina lean. There seem to be more ties there for him. But he was at the game against Louisville and looking at how that defensive line played and looking at Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins and all those guys and how Brent Venables lets those guys go at it, it’s a lot closer than people think it is. A lot of people in the state think he’s already a done deal for South Carolina. I don’t believe that.” - Farrell