The Fraud Five by Mike Kern – Week One Edition

Mike Kern’s Fraud Five

September 3, 2024

The return. Finally. About time. Because it’s been like nine months, and that’s just way too long.

Florida State — And you thought losing to Georgia Tech in Dublin last week was bad enough. Oh well. Losing to Boston College and new coach Bill O’Brien at home in prime time as a two-touchdown favorite is a lot worse. The folks in Tallahassee would concur. And BC ran for 263 yards.

Clemson — Losing big to Georgia in Atlanta is never too egregious of a sin. The Tigers, after all, were double-digit underdogs. It was more the way they went down. Meekly. Not much of anything. And now Dabo Swinney is feeling more heat. Those national titles will always count, but in today’s world they were a relatively long time ago. Maybe it’s time to hit the transfer portal. Just saying.

Virginia Tech — Lost at Vanderbilt, as a double-digit fave, in overtime. The Hokies were down 17-0 in the first quarter. It happens, or else there wouldn’t be any need for a weekly Fraud Five, but it probably shouldn’t.

Houston — Lost at home to Nevada-Las Vegas, 27-7, in Willie Fritz’s debut as coach. Good thing the Cougars scored with a minute left to avoid the doughnut. It was UNLV’s first win over a Big 12 team, albeit a new one, since 2008. Not the kind of welcome they hoped for. And it wasn’t that long ago that the Cougs were, well, pretty good in the American Athletic.

Florida – It’s OK to lose at home to Miami. Or maybe not. But certainly not by 41 – 17. Calling Urban Meyer. Or even Steve Spurrier. And the Gators still have to face what has been rated as the toughest schedule in the country. Can you say ugh.

Dishonorable Mention

Minnesota’s logistics personnel — The Gophers missed a field goal as time expired that would have beaten North Carolina. Apparently it didn’t matter. They set off a fireworks display that was supposed to signal a victory. Oops. Earlier in the game, they had also set off some fireworks when a Minny runner got stopped just short of the goal line. So no touchdown to celebrate. I guess they better work on coordinating that stuff.

And we’re off. Keep those texts and emails and tweets coming. See you again soon. Will try to do better then. In the meantime, enjoy.