Jake Russell
@oreojakesters
There is enough sports coverage now that there is no such thing as a “dark horse.” Every take has been passed around one way or the other because we love constantly having something to talk about so that we’re ahead of it before everyone else.
However, there are always a group of takes that everyone merely ASSUMES are correct. The reality of college football, especially in the new age of the transfer portal and the expanded playoff is that we know nothing. Takes that are widely assumed or passed around are going to inevitably be wrong and prominent people on Freezing Cold Takes.
Here are a list of some of the popular hot takes that are no longer hot or the assumed knowledge that we think we have going into a sport that we love BECAUSE of the mayhem.
- “Clemson is the presumptive, miles away favorite of the ACC!”
- Clemson was in turmoil last season but ended with a come-from-behind victory in the ACC Championship and, showed some life, against Texas in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Texas. That is our lasting memory of them, that they were trending upwards. Cade Klubnik is a familiar face, they have a defensive line full of NFL-ready pass-rushers, and Dabo is a National Championship winning coach. Does that mean they’ll cake walk the rest of the conference?
- “Penn State’s entire season swings around if Drew Allar can make the leap.”
- Allar had an ugly end to his season as our lasting memory against Notre Dame, one of the best defenses in football, but did we just forget that they’ll have two of the best runningbacks in the nation that decided to stay in Kaytron Allen and Nic Singleton?
- “The Arch Manning sweepstakes is going to be the story that determines if Texas is back.”
- Texas is ranked #1 presumptively. With NFL Draft scouts already foaming at the mouth for whether or not he’ll enter his name or return to school, he may not actually have to be Superman this year. It could be because they have Colin Simmons and one of the best defenses in the nation with returning talent that Texas is a defense-first team.
- “Florida, Oklahoma, and Auburn all have schedules that are far too difficult in the SEC to actually be taken seriously.”
- The conference has become the most dog-eat-dog test case in history going back to the Alabama, SMU, South Carolina playoff spot debate last year. Florida pre-fired Billy Napier because the schedule was a murderer’s row, and the emergence of DJ Lagway effectively revived his career. The same story is going to be said about these three powerhouse programs that are at a crossroads. There are enough coin flip games where one of them has to break through.
- “Texas Tech has spent enough money on their roster that they’re too big to fail and are championship or bust.”
- Lubbock, Texas suddenly becoming a recruiting powerhouse spending more money than God to assemble a roster in a Big 12 with a mantle to claim after OU and Texas left is an interesting test case to simply see if you can buy a championship in this age of college football. It remains to be seen under Joey McGuire, who has a 23-16 record, but an estimated $55 million helps.
At least one of these has to be wrong. The unpredictability of College Football is what makes the mayhem why we watch every Saturday.