In today’s Fact or Fiction national columnist Mike Farrell looks at three big recent topics in college football and decides whether each statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
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1. Michigan is a Big Ten title contender.
FARRELL'S TAKE: FICTION. I have been impressed with what I’ve seen from Michigan so far. I thought the Wolverines would struggle out of the gate and they haven’t. I love the defense and the energy they bring and the running game looks good led by Blake Corum.
But the passing game still scares me and this offense reeks of Jim Harbaugh and his conservative, pro-style ways. When Michigan faces a team that can score, and it will soon, Big Blue could be in big trouble.
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2. Oregon is better than UCLA.
FARRELL'S TAKE: FACT. UCLA and Oregon both look great. They are fast and their offensive lines are nasty. The difference? The defense. When fully healthy, the Ducks' defense is simply better and with Justin Flowe and Kayvon Thibodeaux back in the lineup I have them beating UCLA twice — once in the regular season and again in the Pac-12 title game.
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3. Michael Mayer is the best TE in football.
FACT. He’s a monster. Perhaps Arik Gilbert would be better if he didn’t have off-field issues but that’s about it. I recently named my top-10 tight ends in college football and had Michael Mayer at No. 7 at the start of the season because of some drops last year. Now he’s ahead of Jalen Wydermyer and the rest and it’s not close. Mayer is NFL-ready now as a sophomore.
