Our weekly Twitter Tuesday mailbag continues this week where you ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell your football questions via social media. Here are several questions, including one about the most disappointing teams of 2018.
1. Auburn – I thought the Tigers would contend for the SEC West and they have been such a disappointment that they top my list. With Jarrett Stidham back at quarterback, I thought they would be dangerous but they haven’t been.
2. Florida State – The Seminoles have become an embarrassment overall in the college football world and appear to be years away from contending in the ACC. It’s sad.
3. Miami – The ‘Canes were supposed to be taking the next step this season and have apparently taken a step backward. They look very average.
4. Louisville -- Okay, maybe I didn’t have high hopes for the Cardinals this season, but I still expected better than this.
5. TCU– Losing to Kansas? That’s really bad and TCU was supposed to be a team that could challenge for the Big 12 this year. What a joke.
6. Wisconsin – Remember when Wisconsin was a preseason playoff pick by many? The Badgers have been a massive disappointment this season.
7. USC – Clay Helton is on the hot seat for sure as USC has played down to opponents in many ways.
8. South Carolina – I expected more from the Gamecocks this season, much more. I thought they’d be the team challenging Georgia for the SEC East.
9. Missouri – I picked Mizzou to be the surprise of the SEC this season but the offense has struggled more than I expected.
10. Nebraska– The team's 2-6 overall record is much worse than expected for the Scott Frost-led Huskers as many expected a possible bowl season this year.
I like Wandale Robinson a lot as a playmaker who can be hard to handle when it comes to defensive game planning. I think it’s clear he’s headed to Nebraska and will be a huge addition for the Huskers, who need some help on offense. Every team needs catch-and- run playmaker like Robinson who can take a short pass and turn it into a long touchdown and Nebraska is getting a real weapon here if he decides to commit.
After the loss to Georgia, I don’t see another loss on the schedule. Missouri should be a win, South Carolina isn’t that good and Idaho is not a challenge. The rivalry game against Florida State would be interesting but the Seminoles are so bad this year I don’t think it’s very competitive. Florida could finish with a 10-2 season, which would be very impressive but still short of the Gators' goals.
Things are not going well with Miami right now on the field. From a recruiting perspective, the Hurricanes have the No. 19 class in the Rivals.com Team Recruiting Rankings with 18 commitments, so that’s a little below par as well. Many recruits expected Miami to take a step forward this season and the 'Canes just didn’t. Or at least they haven’t so far. Back-to-back losses to Virginia and Boston College appear below the level Miami expects and they are trending in the wrong way at 5-3 and 2-2 in the ACC . Eventually, and it might not be this recruiting cycle but maybe the next one, the Hurricanes will suffer off the field. If I’m a Miami fan I’m worried about the direction of the program after a good season last year.
This is a hard question to answer as both Alabama and Clemson are playing at such a high level. There's not a big gap there, but I’d give Alabama the nod because the Crimson Tide have dominated every opponent they’ve faced while the Tigers have struggled here and there. Who would win if the two played for the national title? Alabama would win right now, but that margin will grow smaller and smaller with each game that Trevor Lawrence plays. It would be a matchup of the top two quarterbacks in college football and a great shootout despite the good defenses.
I like the way Notre Dame schedules and wish more teams did it this way. The tough schedule prepares the Fighting Irish for tougher games at the end of the season. If I’m a Notre Dame fan, I’m happy with the challenging schedule and want my team to be tested as much as possible for the right to earn a playoff spot. If Notre Dame runs the table, the Irish will be well prepared for the playoff and that’s all you can ask.
This is a tough question because there wont be as many moves this offseason as there were last year. The following guys are on the hot seat:
1. Clay Helton, USC – USC (4-4, 3-3 in the Pac-12) has been horrible and need to make a change here. He might be forced to make some staff changes before he gets fired but he’s on a very hot seat.
2. Larry Fedora, North Carolina – North Carolina has one win and a change seems ready to be made soon. The Tar Heels can’t compete in the ACC anymore.
3. Chris Ash, Rutgers – After a glimmer of hope in 2017 when the Scarlet Knights won three Big Ten games, RU is 1-7, 0-5 in the Big Ten, and a change might need to be made despite all the years remaining on Ash's contract.
4. Bobby Petrino, Louisville – Louisville has become an embarrassment and there are some great candidates out there (Jeff Brohm) so a move now might make sense.
5. Gus Malzahn, Auburn – The buyout is ridiculous, but Auburn has been such an underachiever that the Tigers might want to part ways anyhow.
