The Fraud Five by Mike Kern – Week Three

Mike Kern’s Fraud Five

September 15, 2024

Mississippi State — Probably not what first-year Bulldog coach Jeff Lebby needed. Or the fan base. His team was a 10-point favorite against Toledo. It lost, 41-17. It was 35-3 in the third quarter. This was Toledo’s second win over an SEC team, and first since 2015 (Arkansas). At least Mississippi is ranked fifth. Oops, that’s not good news in Starkville. Oh well. At least next week it hosts Florida. Speaking of which …

Florida — Hey, Gators were a four-point home dog versus Texas A&M, which had lost 10 straight road games. They lost, 33-20. It was 33-7 in the third quarter. Third-year coach Billy Napier is 10-6 at the Swamp. Steve Spurrier went 68-5 there. Urban Meyer was 35-5. Just saying. And the Gators still have to play one of the hardest schedules in the land. Good luck with that. A coaching change, at whatever point, seems inevitable.

Florida State — It’s the Noles third appearance already. This, after last season’s near whatever. I mean, can it really get this bad so fast? Guess so. They lost 20-12 at home to Memphis, which got a $1.7 million guaranteed bonus just for showing up. Chop that. FSU was a 6-point fave. They did manage to throw a Hail Mary into the end zone on the final play, which I’m sure made their fans feel better. And they were playing without two starting offensive linemen. Still, they rushed for 37 yards on 24 carries. Next they get to host that longtime ACC nemesis, Cal.

UCLA — Welcome to the Big Ten. Or Big 40. Whatever. I can’t keep up any more. Indiana came to the Rose Bowl and won 42-13. On prime time TV. Yo. Now the Bruins get LSU, Oregon and Penn State. Double Yo.

Georgia — No, not for almost losing at Kentucky. This week they had another player get into trouble for a serious traffic incident. That’s like two dozen in the last few years. Seriously. Which of course is WAY too many. I don’t know what can be done, but there has to be something. Because this is embarrassing. And somebody is going to get hurt. Or worse. Again. I don’t know what more has to happen before this stops. Until then, they’re just flirting with more disaster. And that’s never even remotely an acceptable look. Kirby Smart knows. So what’s the next step?