Mike Kern’s Fraud Five – Week Two

September 10, 2023 –

MIKE KERN’S Fraud Five

It’s back. Because it’s time, and you demanded it. So here we go. The first of the season. Time to see how many times in the next three and a half months that your favorite team can earn its way onto the weekly list. This week there actually wasn’t enough worthy candidates, but the good thing is we can go back to last week when we didn’t have one to make up for it. Don’t think you can get away with egregious behavior simply because we weren’t up and running yet due to a Myrtle Beach vacation. Thanks for understanding.

Texas A&M — Silly me. I thought Jimbo Fisher was supposed to be all that. And maybe he still can be once again. But not this time. Aggies lost to Miami, which should be better in Mario Cristobal’s second season. But maybe 48-33 is a bit much. Just saying. Hey, I give credit for even playing at Miami, which a lot of non-ACC teams won’t do. But in the future you may want to think twice.

Alabama — Hey, I’m not one of those guys who want to be the first to say that Nick Saban doesn’t have it anymore. I mean, last year the Tide wasn’t vintage and they still only lost twice, both on the road on the last play, at Tennessee and LSU. Nothing too wrong with that. And they almost lost at Texas last year, until Bryce Young bailed them out. They don’t have him any more. So you could almost see this one coming. Texas 34, Bama 24. And Bama led late in the third quarter. It happens. It just doesn’t happen to Bama at home very often. Biggest win for Texas in forever. And they will be in the SEC in 2024.

Now, about some of last week’s openers …

TCU — Hey, Colorado might be better than anticipated under Deion. But the defending national runner-ups, who had to replace some good people, were favored by three touchdowns at home. The final was 45-42, Prime Time. Enough said.

Clemson — Sorry, you can’t be losing 28-7 at Duke. Oh well. Dabo still has those two national titles, and nothing can ever change that. He also doesn’t have DeSean Watson or Trevor Lawrence any more. Or any of those other studs they annually produced. Maybe it’s time to embrace that transfer portal. But the Tigers did score 66 this week in Death Valley against Charleston Southern. So there’s still plenty of hope.

LSU — Holy Brian Kelly. Lost in Orlando to Florida State, 45-24. Not the look they were hoping for in Baton Rouge coming off last year. And hey, FSU is good. Maybe even real good. But if you want to be a national story you probably needed to win this one. But the Tigers did score 72 at home Saturday against Grambling.

Baylor — Probably shouldn’t be losing at home to Texas State (42-31), the visitors first win over a Power 5 program. Who, incidentally, had 71 new players via transfer, second only to Colorado. Maybe that’s the new way to go. And whatever happened to Matt Ruhle’s Baylor anyway? Just asking.