FAYETTEVILLE — Chris Fallica is described as a research producer for ESPN College GameDay, the celebrated pregame show that is must-see for fans around the country.
That really doesn't do Fallica justice. The man Lee Corso dubbed “The Bear” in 1998, Fallica's role has evolved into Friday night spots with a look at betting lines along with writing a column for ESPN.com. He travels with Kirk Herbstreit to the Saturday night featured games, too.
Fallica professed his love for what he's doing, along for his love of Corso during his Wednesday talk at the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club. Corso, the former Indiana coach, has battled back from a stroke in recent years and is considered to be grandfather-like by the rest of the show's crew.
“I think that would be accurate,” Fallica said. “We are protective of Coach Corso. We were glad that the company stayed with him after his stroke. I think Herb and everyone else goes out of their way to make sure everything is fine for Coach. If you get that we love him, then you see the genuine way that we feel for him. That's real.”
Fallica said it's the way Corso handles every day that makes it genuine.
“It's the routines, the way he handles birthdays, anniversaries and everything else,” Fallica said. “I get calls from him year-round. He doesn't miss any of those dates and he leaves his number every time he phones. I have told him, 'Coach, I have your number, but he keeps leaving it.'
“I do laugh sometimes. I'm in Europe. I don't want to pay the $90 international roaming charge for one of his calls. I don't take it, but he keeps calling.
“He's a really, really good man.”
Fallica loves numbers. He has a knack for picking games after scouring the stat sheets.
There were some interesting numbers for the NWA TD Club when it comes to Arkansas coach Bret Bielema.
“Bret is 5-12 in games decided by one touchdown or less in his time at Arkansas,” Fallica said. “That ranks 63rd among the 65 Power 5 teams. That's ahead of Iowa State and Purdue, not exactly the company you want to keep.
“What I will say about that, it doesn't take but a couple of scores to turn that around. That's the way one-score games are defined.”
However, Fallica did not include Bielema among the coaches in the SEC facing the toughest challenge to keep his job. That would be Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin, Missouri's Barry Odom and Tennessee's Butch Jones.
“Something is off at A&M with Sumlin,” he said. “Odom is in a bad situation.”
Fallica actually left Jones off his initial list, but came back to what is going on at Tennessee, then added, “A lot of people have unrealistic expectations.”
Fallica's expectations for Arkansas this season were not high.
“They lost all of the wide receivers and also had the injury to Rawleigh Williams,” Fallica said. “Plus, I think you have a transition to a 3-4 scheme on defense. That's just not easy. I am not sure they have any outside linebackers. You can't turn 4-3 ends into 3-4 outside linebackers. That's an issue that recruiting has to fix.”
In no surprise, Fallica had done the research on the Arkansas defense.
“The Arkansas defense is 12th in the SEC in forcing disruptive plays,” he said. “They are 12th in forcing sacks. They are 12th in average yards per rush allowed. I didn't think they would have a good year on defense.”
That doesn't mean there aren't concerns at Arkansas.
“I thought Bret was a really good fit for Arkansas and this community,” he said. “Ultimately, he has to develop young players. The line play has been a concern.
“I did think losing Rawleigh and those receivers, there would be a step back.
“What will it be this year? I thought they would split the games with TCU and A&M. I thought with that, it could be 7-5. I do see some wins left. I think you can win games with Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU on the schedule. So I think 6-6 is doable.”
Fallica warned about this week's foe. New Mexico State will be more of a challenge than many expect.
“Arkansas should win, but you will need to play well,” Fallica said. “New Mexico State is going to score some points.”
As far as his travels in college football, Fallica said there is “nothing like the SEC. It's on a different level as far as passion. Nothing is even close.” He's been to every SEC campus.
“When you talk about Baton Rouge, that's unique,” he said. “I've seen people circling to prepare for a fight at a bar. Like I said, you have a different level in the SEC.”
Fallica's playoff favorites are no surprise: Alabama and Clemson. He likes Penn State along with possibly Oklahoma or TCU.
“Oklahoma winning at Ohio State was really big,” he said. “And, the Big 12 also has the TCU victory at Arkansas. I expect there to be some losses for USC and Washington in the Pac-12.
“I know some probably are ready for a different matchup after having Alabama and Clemson playing the last two years, but I think they may still be the best two teams.
“Clemson has a big one this week with Virginia Tech. Clemson has a great defense, but they have some defensive backs out this week. This is a big week for Clemson because I'm not sure anyone they have left can beat them.”
That's from someone who has done the research.