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Fact or Fiction: Dabo's Sensitivity, Kirk Ferentz's Culpability, Who Should Be Ranked First

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mike Farrell | Last updated 11/1/23

In today’s Fact or Fiction, I look at three big recent topics in college football and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.

1. Dabo is too sensitive.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Dabo is a great coach and deserves every penny he earns. But he keeps allowing the trolls to get to him when things are going wrong and it makes him look like he’s unraveling. Dabo Swinney has won and won big at Clemson, but now that he’s having a tough stretch, he needs to learn to shut out the noise which is exactly what I’m sure he tells his players when they are criticized. Trolls want one thing — attention. And Dabo is giving it to them and feeding into exactly what they seek. He needs to ignore the noise and not feed into it as it’s only going to get worse if he continues to do so.

2. Kirk Ferentz committed fraud.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Maybe not from a legal aspect but ethically I believe this was fraud against the University of Iowa and their fans. Brian Ferentz had zero qualifications to be the OC at Iowa aside from his last name, and his performance has been an abomination. Even after being called out last season and a contract of incentives put in place his offense is 118th nationally in scoring and everyone knows why he kept his job — his dad was the head coach. The decision came from interim Athletic Director Beth Goetz who was overseeing Brian Ferentz because of nepotism laws. The fact that he wasn’t fired much sooner and was retained is a fraud to those who paid his salary and to the Iowa fans who pay for tickets. This farce has finally come to an end but it’s one of the most embarrassing situations I’ve ever seen in college football.

3. Ohio State should be No. 1.

Farrell’s take: FACT

They beat Notre Dame and Penn State and no one else has two wins better than the Buckeyes so why not? The style points people will focus on the lack of offense in each win but who cares? Ryan Day has won with defense this season which shows he’s an elite coach. And the other teams in the top four could all get a shot at proving people wrong. Michigan is obviously a huge game and if OSU wins that one, they will possibly face Georgia and FSU. This will all play out but they are my No. 1 as well.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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