Our weekly Twitter Tuesday mailbag continues this week where you ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell your questions via social media.
It's too early to tell at this point. Is USC just a bad team? Is Texas much better than the team we saw lose to Maryland and struggle a bit with Tulsa? I do know this, Texas has a lot of talent on its roster and we saw many players impact against USC so I’m leaning towards this being a big, momentum-building victory for Texas.
But, and it’s a big but, the Longhorns now have TCU at home, Texas-killer Kansas State on the road and then the showdown with Oklahoma. Those are three tough games right there. Texas looked very good against USC and looked as they should look – talented and hungry – but it could lose two of its next three games which would kill all that momentum.
I will go out on a limb again for Tom Herman and say this win boosts the Longhorns to a 2-1 record in their next three games and a strong finish to the season as well.
This is a great question because there seems to be a drop off nationally after Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma. LSU is ranked No. 6 but are they the next-best team? Wisconsin was supposed to be that team but the Badgers fell to BYU in a horrible loss.
So after the big five, who is No. 6? LSU has made the best early case with wins over Miami and Auburn but what about Stanford, Notre Dame and Penn State? Nope. Stanford has a marquee win over USC and we all know the Trojans stink. Notre Dame has struggled with Ball State and Vanderbilt, so that eliminates the Irish. Penn State struggled with Appalachian State.
I’m going with Coach O and LSU even though I’m still not convinced he’s the right coach for the job in Baton Rouge. But this shows exactly how big the drop off is from those five teams. But in the end, give me LSU with West Virginia as a dark horse.
I’ll give you a few simple reasons. First, Alabama plays true freshmen. We saw this last season in the national title game. Secondly, the lure of the NFL Draft is so big to recruits that they are willing to wait their turn as many have done just to get that chance. Finally, the Crimson Tide win championships, bottom line.
So for a five-star high school prospect, he can go to Alabama, earn early playing time and win at least one national title in his three or four years in Tuscaloosa. Who wouldn’t want to do that? That’s the reason Alabama out-recruits everyone, period.
Recruits are remaining optimistic as recruits tend to do, but if this continues, Florida State will lose some guys and struggle on the recruiting trail. You can’t lose to teams like Syracuse and look that badly without having some recruits question the direction of the program. If the Seminoles continue to lose to programs they should beat, recruits will find other options and that would be my biggest worry right now as a Florida State fan. That being said, the Seminoles will likely never finish outside the top-15 overall in recruiting so clearly the struggles on the field are not directly related to talent.
Dwayne Haskins should be way up there, that's for sure. He has has been very impressive under center for Ohio State and is up there with Kyler Murray from Oklahoma, Will Grier from West Virginia and Tua Tagovailoa when it comes to Heisman leaders. With only 25 percent of the season in the books, it’s a little early to have a front-runner, but Haskins is in the lead group for sure.
I’m afraid the defense is going to get Missouri this weekend. I love the offense and think the Tigers can put up points against Georgia, but the defense is suspect and should have trouble with the balance that the Bulldogs present. Georgia is one of the most balanced teams in the country and so efficient n the pass and run game that I don’t think Missouri can hang for all four quarters.
I have Missouri as a sleeper in the SEC, so the Tigers can pull some upsets, but Georgia is not one of them. But can Mizzou cover? I think the Tigers can keep this game within two touchdowns and make it competitive.
First, the offensive line recruiting and especially coaching has been horrible. That's the biggest problem on the team and it’s killing the offense. The second reason? Last year Jimbo Fisher quit on this football team and as a result the Seminoles became used to losing and accepted it. And it’s clear that that culture has not changed yet under Willie Taggart. Talent doesn't make much of a difference when the team starts to accept losing, no one steps up as a leader and people start pointing fingers at each other.
The offense is a bigger problem than the defense, but there is a clear divide between both sides and on this team that makes a seven-point lead seem insurmountable. Right now, this is a roster of four- and five-stars that can’t handle any adversity. That’s a recipe for disaster.
