Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - ACC Football UNDERDOGS to watch in Week 9: Florida State? Duke? Georgia Tech?
Episode Date: October 25, 2024Can the Florida State Seminoles pull off a stunning victory against the Miami Hurricanes?? Dive into the latest ACC football predictions with expert insights from professional sports handicapper Lee S...terling.This episode unpacks the Miami Hurricanes' chances against their rivals, with predictions for other key matchups like Duke vs. SMU and Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech. The discussion also covers Grayson McCall's courageous decision to retire due to head injuries, with Kenton Gibbs reflecting on the emotional impact of such career-ending injuries. Alex Donno shares a heartfelt segment on the passing of Mark Fletcher Jr.'s father, emphasizing the deep bonds between players and their families.Join us for an engaging analysis of potential underdog victories in upcoming ACC games. Don't miss out on these compelling insights and predictions—tune in for a deeper understanding of the ACC football landscape.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!ROYDownload Roy for iOS or Android and enter referral code LOCKED ON and you’ll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000 cash. Visit JoinRoy.com for additional details. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Get off the sidelines and into the NIL game with Roy.ZBiotics Pre AlcoholGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEto learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONCOLLEGEat checkout. ZBiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee so if you’re unsatisfied for any reason, they’ll refund your money, no questions asked.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
We got some big point spreads in the ACC this week.
Who's on upset alert?
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Alex Dono alongside, of course, Kenton Gibbs, as always.
And we are also joined by professional sports handicapper,
Lee Sterling at Paramountsports.com.
And Kenton, I think you've done all right.
Some of my picks this year have been so bad.
I wanted to bring in a pro, which is why we have Lee Sterling with us.
We're also, Kenton and I later on this episode, we'll talk about the retirement.
Yeah, you heard me correctly, the retirement of former NC State quarterback, Grayson McCall.
But Lee, you and I, we share an allegiance to the University of Miami.
It's very obvious by my background, a little bit less obvious by yours.
Have the rivalry game against Florida State this Saturday at 7 p.m. Miami favored big by about three touchdowns.
Do you think Miami covers or is Florida State?
state at least going to cover that spread?
Well, if you remember two years ago, Miami was embarrassed.
I mean, that was an absolute blowout.
I believe it was like 45 to 3.
And they just kept piling on.
They did not take their starters out until very late in the game.
It's crazy how in two years everything has turned.
I mean, every guy that they got in the transfer portal, they hit on.
Quarterback was amazing last year.
and then all of a sudden the injury and everything, you know, has gone down the drain for them.
What's crazy is not only the quarterbacking, even the wide receivers,
they have the second most drops in the last decade.
I mean, you have to go back to when Josh Allen was at Wyoming, averaging over two drops a game.
Josh Allen's receiver course was terrible.
These guys might be almost as bad.
So, you know, we know that the Miami weakness is their secondary.
and I just don't think that I was watching the game last week against Florida.
They even watch it twice.
I don't know if they pushed the ball down the field and threw a takeoff or a nine route the entire game.
And you got to stretch the field if you're going to beat Miami here.
And I just don't think they have that in them.
And I look for Mario to keep his starters in late.
I mean, they could be up 30, 35 points.
And I don't think he's going to take him out until maybe four or five minutes to go in the game.
If you remember going back to 2001 season, Miami had lost the year before, two years before,
had two revenge games, the end of the year.
They had Syracuse, lost 59 nothing.
It was an absolute blowout.
And they had also lost big to Washington.
In Washington, they had lost.
I think they only ended up losing by seven or eight points.
But that revenge tour, those two games, think about it.
Miami now has Florida State.
And in those two games where they paid those two teams back,
they beat Syracuse 59-0, and then Washington, 65-7.
124-7 combined scores.
I think Miami's going to lay one on Florida State.
Remember, still a bunch of guys are going head-to-head recruiting-wise with,
and maybe they steal a few more guys.
I think they're going to lay one on them and win this game 45 to 10.
and then they've got Duke next week.
So Manny Diaz up on deck.
Remember, they lost that game.
So I think Miami's going to be ready.
So I know the defense isn't great for Miami the secondary,
but I think the matchups, two teams that they're playing,
just perfect for them.
So I think Miami lays one on Florida State this weekend
and Duke next weekend at home.
Well, you know, in order to take advantage of a bad secondary,
you need a good passing.
Right.
Well, that's something Florida State doesn't have a feature.
And we're talking about a team that beat Florida State last week in Duke,
first time ever beating Florida State in program history.
Anytime you said it before,
you'd have to be talking about basketball or an Olympic sport.
Now, Duke has a tough test of their own with the Pony Express,
the guys with the D on the side of their helmet,
those SMU Mustangs coming to Wallace Wade,
Lee, tell us what you got.
So here's the thing with SMU.
They thought that Preston Stone was going to be their guy.
If you watched him last year, he looked like the real deal.
And then all of a sudden the season starts, he couldn't throw the football straight.
I've never seen a quarterback go so south that quickly.
They realized after a couple games, they were going to have to make the move, go to the backup Jennings.
He's been really good.
SMU is like Miami Light.
I don't know what it is here.
They've got like five or six starters that were formally in the Miami program.
A lot of people have all of a sudden, they think it's going to be Clemson and Miami in the ACC championship game.
SMU and Pittsburgh are still undefeated in conference play.
So this is going to be a pretty good test for SMU.
Duke likes to go to their tight ends a lot.
They've got two of their starting three best tight ends that will be out.
but they have not given up more than 24 points in a game this year.
You give me the better defense playing at home.
I'll take Duke.
I think SMU wins the game here, 2316,
but I'm going to go down to the wire.
I think Duke's going to slow down the game,
going to try to muck it up,
underrated defense here.
I don't think SMU's on the elite level yet to be laying double digits on the road.
Also, their third straight game on the road.
Yeah, and I know Kenton and I felt the same way.
We were looking at that number being double digits earlier this week.
We thought a little bit too much.
I'm looking at 11.5.
Right now.
Lee Sterling from Paramountsports.com is with us.
What about the Battle of the Techs at noon on Saturday at Lane Stadium?
Georgia Tech going into Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech, red hot, blowout, a big wins their last couple of games.
Bayshal Tootin is still running for touchdowns after what he did to Boston.
in college last week and the hokey's are 10 and a half point favorites at home against Georgia Tech.
What do you like in this one?
Well, eventually Virginia Tech's going to run up against someone that can hold down that offense.
But ever since that Miami game, I mean, the first couple games, they showed nothing.
I mean, this looked like a team that was lost, rudderless.
But since that time, they've been on a role here.
Georgia Tech with Haynes King, I think, can play with almost anyone.
Without him, Zach Pryoran, they just don't have a pass.
game. I mean, I think they're landlocked here. So that's a big problem. Their special teams also
has not been special. Just think Virginia Tech just too much class, too much speed here. And
Georgia Tech, the difference from their starter to their backup, just too much. And when they fall
behind, Georgia Tech has real problems throwing the football. So sometimes you got to lay it if you
want to play it. I like Virginia Tech here, 3717. See, the phones are ringing off the hook at Paramount.
I was just about to say. I know they call it your lead. So let me give one more thing out of you before you go.
What underdog is going to outright win it? What underdog are you saying put it on the money line?
Lee Sterling's here to give you a sterling reputation with your bet. So you're looking for the Kennesaw State special.
Exactly. I'm looking for the Kennesaw State. The hell with the Liberty Flames. You know what's going on around here.
What was that money line? It was 20 to one. For every $100 you could have returned two things.
$1,000. I mean,
Wow. Yeah. If only I knew.
Yeah. I mean, I like Kennesaw State, but no one saw them winning this game.
No, that came out right.
No. So I'm going to give you a game. It's going to be Navy.
So Blake Corvath, quarterback for Navy, they can run the football.
Ten touchdowns he has rushing.
When was the last time you ever saw Navy have more than five touchdowns in a year?
Never.
Probably going back to Rye's.
Stalback. In fact, the kid, Horvath, already has 10 touchdown passes on the year.
He's accurate. They got a couple of receivers that are good. Do I think their defense is great?
No, but they're much better than last year playing with revenge for last year when Notre Dame
wiped them out in Ireland. I don't think Notre Dame is anything special. I know the games
being played in Heath Rutherford and the Jets in the Giants Stadium, but 13 points. I'm going to put
half my wager on Navy, another half on them at six and a half to one as an underdog.
I think the wrong team's favorite here.
I like Navy.
Yeah.
I love that.
Well, thank you so much.
Lee Sterling, you want to make sure you check out his site, Paramountsports.com.
He's been doing this at a high level for a long time.
Thank you so much, Lee, and enjoy all the games, Friday, Saturday.
And, of course, I know NFL is a busy time for you as well.
So enjoy the weekend.
Appreciate it, guys.
Pleasure being on with you. Take care and be safe.
Love it.
Pleasure is ours.
I mean, awesome stuff there from Lee Sterling.
We have a lot more to talk about Kenton on this episode of Locked on ACC, including now, I guess we call him now former NC State quarterback, Grayson McCall,
making what I imagine was a really difficult decision, but a very mature and responsible decision because they're,
contrary to what I may believe, there is more to life than football.
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I'd like to ask you, Kenton, as someone who, you know,
your former NC State football player, you cover the program very closely,
was this out of left field for you?
Because this morning I see this headline that Grayson McCall,
who, you know, transferred over this season to NC State from Coastal Carolina,
is medically retiring due to head injuries, suffered one this season.
I didn't have Grayson McCall retiring on my bingo card.
Was this something you saw coming?
Absolutely.
After the injury, there was, after that hit that he took against Wake Forest,
multiple hits to the head, one without his helmet even being on.
You kind of, there's no way.
There's no way that you think about him coming back from this.
And the most important thing that I want to emphasize here is there's nothing cowardly.
there's no cowardice in saying, hey, I can't do it anymore because a head injury is the most
dangerous type of injury in all of sports. And I say that for this reason. A head injury.
So I, for example, had three season engine injuries, two Achilles tears, one bicep chair, right?
After each one of those, I knew, oh, look, I can't walk anymore for the next month or two.
I cannot walk.
I cannot physically put one foot on the ground in front of other and move.
When I tore my bicep, I couldn't pick up my knees with my left arm.
I could not do it.
She was a very little girl at the time.
I could not do it, right?
And so I knew there was something wrong.
The biggest and scariest part about head injuries is your body feels fine.
Your mind feels fine enough for you to go on and go out there and do it again.
But it takes a special type of strength to realize I don't want the shakes when I'm 30.
I don't want to be punch drunk before I even go bald.
Like you said, there's more to like the life to football.
And I knew as soon as I saw that hit, I said, that's probably the last play,
Graysen McCall every place.
And we tweeted out from the Locked-on Wolfpack Twitter page,
that's probably how Grayson
Grayson McCall is not just
NC State career, but football career
ends. And it turns out to be the case,
you know, very unfortunate.
Yeah, I mean, like you said, I think it's honestly,
it shows a lot of courage and also,
I think, a lot of maturity to put the rest of
your life before, you know,
Tren, obviously it would have been complicated for him
to continue his football career and all that,
but to make this decision, and he wants to be
involved in coaching. So he's going to be close to the game. But to make this decision, I can't put
my, you know, the rest of my life at risk to play another snap. I think is incredibly brave. And,
you know, as someone who, you know, I, I'm a Miami Dolphins fan and I've covered the dolphins a lot
over the years. Like I have been, obviously every, every concussion is different, every person is
different. The diagnoses may be very different. But I have a lot of concerns about Tua, starting
quarterback of the Miami Dolphins who suffered, you know, multiple concussions, two or three,
probably three, but they said two seasons ago and has suffered a bad looking one this year.
I have those concerns about the rest of someone's life.
And again, it's not my place to tell anyone you should step away.
But in the case of Grayson McCall, it sounds like he made the decision that's right for him.
Here's what he said on his Instagram post about it.
I battled injuries my whole career, but this is one I cannot.
come back from brain specialists my family and I have come to the conclusion that is in my best interest
to hang the cleats up he said as i feel like my whole world is being taken from me i feel some sense
of contentment he said every time my feet hit the grass i left every single ounce of myself on the
field i always played my hardest into the best of my ability because i never knew what play would be my
last i have no regrets throughout my career and that is something i can be proud of i look forward to taking
my passion and love for the game into coaching to serve and lead the next group of kids with a dream,
he said in his post. So I thought that was about as well stated as any retirement post I've ever seen.
And I'm happy for Grayson that he was able to feel comfort in the decision he made.
You know, it gives me emotional thing about this, not because he's an NC state player or because
you know, he had to medically retire,
but the game ends for everybody.
And if anybody can tell you about the warrior mentality,
and I must do what must be done for the team,
it's me.
I can tell you that.
I finished practice.
When I tore my bicep, I finished practice that day.
There were two periods left.
I take my arm up and I'll finish practice
because in my mind I said,
I need to do my part to make sure this defense is best
we can be and I don't feel hurt. I'm good. I know what he is going through in terms of, you know,
the thing that's been you, because I may not have achieved the collegiate success that Grace McCall
did. But if you are at this level nine times out of 10, that is who you are at a high level.
You don't know a ton else about yourself and about the man that, that, uh,
It's staring you in the mirror sometimes.
Football is a gladiator sport.
We know what we're signing up for.
Some of us don't.
Some of us do.
But this is a gladiator sport.
It's violent.
It's physical.
You know, sometimes this is going to be the result and the outcome.
But I'm going to tell you something.
Again, there's no shame in anything that happened with the injury.
and I want to emphasize and reiterate another reason
of why I'm getting so emotional
because something that he said is something I live by.
My time on this field was done,
and I had to walk away from the game.
I had no regrets about my effort.
I wish I would have enjoyed it more.
I wish I would have looked at it like,
hey, this is a game and not a job,
and, like, you know, there's no room for celebration
and, like, live it up a little bit.
Because I kept saying,
oh, when I'm high school,
All-state guy.
I don't need to be an All-American.
If I don't get to All-American, I didn't do good enough.
And then you prepare for college after you win a state championship.
When one, you've got to win a second one.
And all that.
But I'm telling you, these young men, especially guys that lay it all on the line, man.
It's that pain that's there, you feel a little bit of joy in it because you're not like some of these guys that, you know, the game ended for you because you couldn't stop acting the ass.
You couldn't put the bottle down.
You couldn't, you know, respect a young woman when she said, no.
You couldn't drive a regular speed limit or not get drunk, get behind the wheel.
That hurt is also met with, like he said, that little bit of contentment in that I gave it all I had.
I gave it everything I had.
I don't have nothing else to give the game because, you know, that's just it.
That's just it.
I gave it all I got.
Amen to that.
You know, we talked earlier with Lee Sterling about.
some of the ACC games this weekend point spreads.
I'd like to weigh in and I'll ask Kenton if you think there's a there's an underdog who's
going to outright win a game in the ACC this weekend.
And I've also got got something to say before we wrap up a little bit later about,
you know, a member of the Miami family that was lost on Thursday.
So this is like, this is an emotional episode of Locked on ACC.
You guys want to keep it locked right here.
Even when we get emotional, sports is.
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action on these games. And you know, you've got big games in the ACC this weekend. You know,
we didn't discuss Boston College hosting Louisville. Louisville are seven and a half point favorites.
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For your next listen, make sure you check out our other shows.
Kenton and Grayson do an awesome job on Lockdown Wolfpack.
I also host Lockdown Cains.
We are here for you on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
So I'm looking through Kenton, some of the big spreads this weekend.
You know, we talked about Miami at home, 21 point favorites against Florida State, Virginia Tech, 10 and a half point favorites against Georgia Tech.
You know, not a full ACC matchup, but Cal, it's a little Pac-12 reunion.
with Cal hosting Oregon State Cal or 10.5 point favorites and Duke or 11.5 point favorites against SMU.
I think I agree with Lee Sterling's assessment on that last game.
But I don't know.
It would not shock me if Duke at home force a couple of turnovers because that's the Mani Diaz special.
You know, he created the turnover chain after all.
I think out of all of the big underdogs, not saying it's going to happen,
but it wouldn't surprise me if Duke wins at home outright.
against SMU.
I would say Duke is the most likely because they are the best of those teams.
But SMU is the best of all these teams that have really big lines other than Miami, of course.
SMU is the best.
Virginia Tech has a double-digit line.
Would you take them over SMU today?
No.
Cal has a double-digit line.
Would you take them over SMU today?
No.
Okay.
So outside of Miami, those are the two teams in the ACC with double-digit lines.
either one of those teams are are playing a team at the level of a Duke.
So the team that I'm looking at and I'm saying,
hey, they got a shot,
they can find a way they can kind of do this thing.
I'm starting to say it.
There's something about Blacksburg that at,
during the day it's different than it is at night.
That's a good point.
It's a new game, right?
Yeah.
It's just different.
Now, if Pyron is their quarterback, there's no chance.
There's literally no chance.
You know what it's like, it's like New Orleans.
like in the morning versus New Orleans at like 2 a.m.
Yes, yeah.
Bourbon Street at noon feels normal.
It's like this is a normal Dada Street.
It's something, it's like the Stephen King movie, The Mist,
where like all of a sudden, as the, you know,
the lights start to go down a little bit, you know,
it just gets there.
It's the same way in Blacksburg.
And I think if, if and if and only if,
Haynes King is their guy,
they've got a shot.
But another team, I hate to give them credit.
You know, the only team that I'd say,
no if, ads, or buts about it,
the fighting Mac Browns
might show a pulse at UVA.
They might do it.
They have a chance,
because I've talked about Calandria
and how good he's looked all year.
But with that being said,
he still hasn't had those Calandria moments.
We're just like,
what the hell are you doing?
By and large, if he has multiple of them
in the game because, you know, it's just like a volcano.
The longer it takes a volcano to erupt over when it should,
the more intense the explosion is.
If there's an explosion of turnovers from the hooves,
then the hills could find themselves in a good territory
to walk out of there with the way.
I like it.
I wanted to say something before we finish up this episode
because I found out on Thursday afternoon that, you know,
Miami running back Mark Fletcher, Jr., he lost his father on Thursday.
Mark Fletcher, Sr. passed away. And this one, this one hit me like a ton of Bricks, Kenton, not only, you know, being a dad, you know, just thinking about that. And I know Mark, Mark Jr. and Mark Sr. were very close. They had a great relationship. So it hits me hard from that point of view. And then I also, I thought about it. And, you know, when I, when I go out and cover Miami practices, I'm always blown away by the turnout of how many parents show up. Like, it's really.
really a lot of a lot of the players are are very close to their families and I had the privilege of
it was you know one of the early practices during fall training camp of you know walking walking outside
the facility and I see you know two individuals wearing Mark Fletcher jerseys I figured though they might
be relatives and it was you know Mark Fletcher's mother and father and not only did they you know
they said hi to me when I greeted them they both gave me big hugs you know they had
watched, they'd watched me on Locked on Cains before, talked to them a little bit about the team.
And I just, I just remember, like, leaving that, that moment and thinking, these are just
two of, two of the most down-to-earth wonderful people, Mark's parents and just feeling,
feeling the love from them. And it, like, really made an impression on me. And then so, you know,
when I, when I saw the news about Mark Sr., I was, I was just absolutely gutted. And it's one of
these things where, um, I, you know, I, I haven't gone through the loss of, uh,
a parent. So I can't fully relate to what Mark Jr. must be going through. But my prayers go out to him.
You know, he's got an older sister as well. My prayers go out to her and to the entire family.
And, you know, I don't know how this is going to affect, you know, Mark's status for Saturday,
nor do I care. I want him to make whatever decision is best for him. And it's just, man, I just,
I just wanted to put that out there, Kent, and that we, I'm going to be praying for, for
Letcher's family because this is this is just a hard pill to swallow for me.
Yeah, it's always a, it's always a tough moment to see, you know.
At the end of the day, one thing that Donno and I keep the main thing on this show,
these young men are people, right?
We will criticize your play, you know, if you do something outlandish,
really outlandish, sure, we'll criticize you as a person if it's something that's way out there.
But by and large, these young men are just doing their best they can be.
they're doing their best to, you know, do these things.
They're being productive members of society and all that.
And I want to take a second to talk about the young man that Mark Fletcher is.
Because, you know, I have not heard anything other than that.
This is one of the most respectful young men you'll ever meet.
Yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no man.
They're a very respectful young man.
That comes from Fletcher's seat.
That comes from pops and moms instilling those values and still in those morals
instilling that way of being in you.
And you talk about how close their relationship is.
I mean, that's your namesake for Christ's sake.
And you carry him with you everywhere by name.
Every time you see that, J.R., you know, you know, hey, a great man gave me this name.
And so, you know, our prayers are with the Fletcher family.
And, you know, that's pretty much all I got to say, man.
It's like you said, there are things that exceed football.
There are moments that's like, this is beyond ball.
This is, you know, the same thing.
is when I believe it was Tyree from UNC went on to glory earlier this year.
You know, it was a similar moment of I, anybody who knows me knows, you'll find you'll be
hard press to find out by the hate to Tar Heardism as much money.
You'll be hard, hard, hard press to find.
There are things that are beyond football, you know, and so from all the families that are
going through losses, dealing with losses, and, you know, going through those things at this
moment, our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
100%. We appreciate everybody, by the way, for making Lockdown ACC your first listen and your first watch today.
You know, prayers to Grayson McCall after making his difficult decision.
Prayers to the Fletcher family.
Huge thank you to Lee Sterling from Paramount Sports for joining us.
He is Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack.
I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Cains.
We'll have a lot of games to review the next time we talk to you guys on another episode of Lockdown ACC,
part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network.
Your team.
every day.
