Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BOYCOTT: Athletic Directors want to FREEZE OUT Notre Dame | Will the Irish have NOBODY to Play?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Athletic directors want to freeze out Notre Dame. Oh, this is getting spicy. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone, and welcome in a locked on ACC. I'm Jackson Holeser, the host of Locked on Syracuse, and thank you for making Locked on ACC, your first listen of every single day here on the Locked On Podcast Network, now the number one.

Starting point is 00:00:35 sports podcasting network. Of course, it's your team every day. And of course, we're always free and available wherever you get your podcast. And on today's show, we're talking some ACC hoops. That's right. We are doing an early power rankings for ACC basketball so far this season. But we've got to start this podcast, your daily update regarding Notre Dame's temper tantrum after being left out of the college football playoff with a surprising plot twist from the other teams. All that and more coming up here on today's edition of Locked-on ACC. And before we get to everything, this episode is brought to you by Fandul. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit Fandle.com and place your NFL live bets all season long.

Starting point is 00:01:23 Notre Dame's temper tantrum is kind of sort of being met with a response. The latest reporting from Yahoo Sports's Dan Woken, athletic directors are now attempting, or at least threatening, to freeze out Notre Dame from their future schedules. Now, before we really break down what this means for the ACC and what this means in general, we got to set the stage. So let's provide context for you all, ladies and gentlemen. Yahoo Sports's Ross Delinger reported just a few days ago that starting next season, Notre Dame will receive preferential treatment for the college football playoff.

Starting point is 00:02:14 That's right, ladies and gentlemen, preferential treatment. Apparently last year, Notre Dame and college football playoff officials signed an agreement where if Notre Dame in the 2026 season finishes top 12 in the college football playoff standings, they would essentially be guaranteed a college football playoff bid. That doesn't exist for any other team as far as I'm concerned where, hey, if this team finishes top 12, they are automatically in the college football playoff. No if fans are butts about it. They're in no matter what, even though, you know, you have a group of five teams and

Starting point is 00:02:55 conference champions that are going to take up slots in that top 12. Kind of weird, right? And if the college football playoff were to, say, expand to 14 teams for next season, well, if Notre Dame were to finish in the top 13, they would also be assured a college football playoff bid. Aside from the fact that I don't understand how that deal was even remotely signed, I mean, I get it from Notre Dame's perspective. I mean, of course, you're going to sign that deal if someone is offering that to you,

Starting point is 00:03:29 a free trip to the college football playoff. If you automatically finish top 12, I mean, of course, you're going to take it. From the other side, it's not fair at all. But that is not the point of this podcast. The point of this podcast is the response from athletic directors, which goes back to the report I mentioned earlier in this show, which is Yahoo Sports as Dan Wilkins saying that athletic directors are threatening to free out Notre Dame from their future schedules.

Starting point is 00:03:58 First off, actions speak a lot louder than words. It's one thing for these athletic directors to hide anonymously through a reporter saying, yeah, beef, fee, five, fo, we're going to stomp out Notre Dame. We're not going to play them next year or in future years because of this stupid agreement that was agreed upon by these college football playoff officials. this is dumb, this is wrong, we're not going to play them. I get the sentiment, totally agree, but actions speak louder than words. We know that Notre Dame is an attraction.

Starting point is 00:04:39 People want to see Notre Dame, whether they're going in person to games or they are watching them on their television. Notre Dame is a big draw. So those schools and those athletic directors saying we're three, threatening to stomp them out to keep them off our schedule. I'll believe it when I see it. As far as the ACC is concerned, right now, the conference and Notre Dame, as many of you guys are aware, they have an agreement where Notre Dame will play at least five ACC games every season.

Starting point is 00:05:12 In 26, Notre Dame will actually play against the ACC six times. Those games are at UNC, Miami, Boston College, SMU at Syracuse, and Stanford. That's TBD. I don't know what is going to happen between now and next college football season because Notre Dame is still throwing a temper tantrum and still throwing the ACC for missing the college football playoff. Even though, ladies and gentlemen, let's be real here, the reason why Notre Dame isn't in the college football playout is simply because they did not win their games. That is why they are not in the college football playoff, but they can make whatever excuses they want. They play two good teams all year. They lost them both.

Starting point is 00:05:52 one of which had them head to head in Miami, throw whatever temper tantrum you want, Notre Dame. And it might work out for them to be honest with you because they could do essentially whatever they want. Here's the deal, though. I'm struggling to figure out what a freezeout would honestly do. I guess the end goal for these athletic directors is to get Notre Dame to ultimately join a conference. their goal from my understanding is, hey, if we force Notre Dame to play 12 cupcakes a year, then A, if they have any sort of trip up, then they're not going to have a good enough resume for the college football playoff to be considered top 12.

Starting point is 00:06:35 And B, even if they were to go 12 and oh, they have no impressive victories. So how could you put them top 12, right? Problem is that I don't see that really happening where they would be. left out of the college football playoff if they were to go 12 and 0 with cupcakes. Because let's say the teams in the power conferences that are playing Notre Dame next year, which are Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, and USC, they all say no to Notre Dame. And I'm not even talking about the ACC right here. Notre Dame is probably going to just fill their schedule with more cupcakes.

Starting point is 00:07:12 That's what they're probably going to do. And so I just don't understand how this is going to be. to prevent Notre Dame from getting in the top 12 and getting that stupid deal that was signed to trigger. It seems like it could be a good idea because if Notre Dame were to go like, let's say 10 and 2 with a paper soft schedule or 11 and 1, maybe it would force them to join a conference, but I don't really see that happening. I think Notre Dame right now is perfectly content not being in a conference and not having to share any of their revenue, which by the way, How much of their revenue did they share when they were in the college football playoff last season with the ACC?

Starting point is 00:07:55 Oh, that's right, zero. So, yeah, the ACC owes Notre Dame absolutely nothing here. My suggestion for these athletic directors is to gather up the world's best scientists, try to find a way to build a time machine so you can go back in time and undo that stupid deal. that was signed, which would guarantee Notre Dame a playoff spot if they were top 12 starting in the 2026 season. That's what I would do because you could throw a temper tantrum all you want in response to Notre Dame throwing a temper tantrum.

Starting point is 00:08:32 But a freezeout, that's not going to work. What will work is actually beating Notre Dame. If you are Michigan State, beat them. If you are USC, beat them. If you are an ACC team, as we saw this season with Miami, beat them. Leave no doubt. Because a freeze out, you think the committee and the college football playoff officials who just signed that deal to have Notre Dame be top 12, they're automatically in,

Starting point is 00:09:03 you think they're going to leave out a 12 and 0 Notre Dame that's played a Cupcake schedule out of the college football playoff entirely? You don't really think so. But comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below. What do you make of this report from Yahoo Sports that athletic directors are threatening a freeze out of Notre Dame? Comment in the comments section below. Because coming up, no more coverage for now of this Notre Dame and this response in the college football playoff and all the politics behind it. We're talking some hoops.

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Starting point is 00:11:16 enough with the Notre Dame drama. Who cares about Notre Dame? They can sit and cry and watch the college football playoff like the rest of us. Let's talk about some basketball, shall we? Because the ACC, as I mentioned last week here on this show, is in a much better place than it was last season. Last season, the conference only had four teams reached the NCAA tournament. And only one of those teams got past the round of 64.

Starting point is 00:11:42 Of course, that was Duke going to the final four. This year, according to ESPN's latest bracketology, which I'll admit is a little bit dated. It's coming from December 9th from Joe Lenardi. It has eight ACC teams currently in the field in no particular order. Those eight teams are Duke, Clemson, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, SMU, NC State, and Virginia. So let's power rank them, shall we? Not just those eight teams, but the entire conference. And starting with number one, let's start.

Starting point is 00:12:17 go with let me get a little time to think about this one oh yeah duke is duke gonna remain number one all year when we do power rankings here on locked on acc comment your thoughts right now in the comment section below they are a perfect 10 and no they have beaten kansas they've beaten arkansas they've beaten florida they have a road win at michigan state cameron booser is amazing he's averaging 23 and 10 they got a top five offense in the acc the number of one defense in the ACC. They have played a tough schedule. They have passed every single test thus far. They are ranked third in the latest AP poll. Duke basketball, they have not won the NCAA tournament since 2015. Last year was a great opportunity to change that. This year might be an even better

Starting point is 00:13:06 opportunity to change that. Are the Duke Blue Devils going to win the national championship this season? Comment your thoughts right now in the comment section below, regardless of how you feel They are certainly amongst the favorites in all of college basketball, and they are rightfully number one in the ACC basketball power rankings. Second and third are pretty close together. I had a hard time differentiating between these two teams. Louisville and North Carolina, both of these teams are certainly capable of challenging Duke and ultimately winning the ACC, but actually both of them have a loss.

Starting point is 00:13:45 And so that's really what's holding them back. Duke is perfect. Duke has played a tough schedule and they have gone through everyone. These teams have both lost games even with tough schedules. Louisville, they lost at Arkansas, but they do have a good win against Indiana. They might have a good win against Kentucky. We'll see if they can get their act together, but it doesn't really look all that good in Kentucky land right now. You can go check out locked on Kentucky when you are done with this podcast to find out more because, yeah, it's not going to be. good over there right now, but maybe they turn their season around. McKell Brown Jr. Star freshman for Louisville. He's been a little bit struggling as of late.

Starting point is 00:14:24 He has shot under 40% from the field in five consecutive games. Now, as Belton Pence will tell you on Locked-on, Louisville, he still can impact the game in a variety of ways. So I'm not really criticizing Mikkel Brown Jr. Too much here on this show. I'm just pointing out that fact for you all. He has shot below 40% in five consecutive games from the field. Once he gets going, once that shot starts to fall, Louisville becomes that much more dangerous because they're still winning, but they need McKell Brown Jr. to start hitting his shots.

Starting point is 00:14:58 Then he got North Carolina. Their only loss is to Michigan State. It was by 16 points. Duke just so happened to beat Michigan State on the road. But they've also got some good wins. They also beat Kentucky. That was a road game. And they did beat Kentucky. Kansas. I believe that was their second game of the season. In Kansas, in that game, they did have Darren Peterson. It's one thing to beat Kansas when they didn't have Darren Peterson, and some teams were able to take advantage of that. North Carolina beat them at full strength. So pretty impressive stuff from North Carolina. They're one weakness, and I think it's the one thing that right now might be holding back North Carolina, is they are shooting less than 32% from the three point line that is bottom five in the ACC.

Starting point is 00:15:45 If they want to make a run this season, they certainly need that three point shot to start falling. And then you got what I would like to call teams four through seven, which is a clump of good. All of these teams have looked pretty solid to start this season, but there is just something that is holding them back from being, in my opinion, a top three team in the ACC. He got Virginia, who I have at number four in the power rankings, new head coach and Ryan

Starting point is 00:16:14 Odom. They are 21st in the net at the time of this recording, nine and one record overall. What's holding them back for a lot of these teams, including Virginia that we're about to talk about, it's their schedule that is holding them back. Virginia has not beaten a single team that is currently projected to make the NCAA tournament per the latest ESPN bracketology. So while Virginia has done an excellent job so far, taking care of business with their schedule, what are they going to look like when they start playing some of the top teams in the ACC

Starting point is 00:16:49 come conference play? You got Clemson. Clemson is only seven and three, but they have dominated in most of their wins. And the one win that they did not dominate against just so happened to be against Georgia, who is a projected eight seed in the NCAA tournament. they've also lost close games to BYU and Bama. Both of those teams are top three currently projected seeds in the NCAA tournament right now. One problem with Clemson isn't necessarily their schedule.

Starting point is 00:17:22 It's the fact that they lost to Georgetown, rank 121 in the net. Hmm, maybe that was just a one-off. I'm inclined to believe that it was a one-off game for them, but nevertheless, that's a pretty bad loss for Clemson. So they have shown that they can compete with anyone in college basketball. Close losses to BYU and Bama. Yeah, you're a pretty good team. Even though you didn't beat those teams,

Starting point is 00:17:51 you're pretty good just being able to hang with those teams. But also they showed in a loss against Georgetown that their floor, well, is pretty low. So that's what's holding them back a little bit. But I still have them fifth currently in ACC power rankings. and they are right now projected to make the NCAA tournament pretty comfortably. In sixth, I got SMU 9 and 1. So like Virginia, credit to them for being able to handle their competition so far,

Starting point is 00:18:19 taking care of business. Problem? Who have they beaten? Who has SMU beaten this season? They got Butler. They're 43rd in the net the time of this recording. I guess that is a quality win for SMU. They beat Mississippi State in overtime, but Mississippi State is ranked one.

Starting point is 00:18:37 53 in the net. So not exactly impressive. Texas A&M also in overtime. Texas A&M is 88th in the net at the time of this recording. And in SMU's toughest opponent that they have faced so far this season, Vanderbilt, they got absolutely destroyed in that game. And finally, to round off the clump of good, the Miami Hurricanes with new head coach Jay Lucas, their eight wins that they have this season are already more than what they had all of last season, which was seven. And if you recall, a few weeks ago, maybe it was over a month ago when we were doing an ACC squad. I actually mentioned Miami as a team that could finish top four in the ACC this season. And so far, they're not top four, but I might not be wrong about that tape

Starting point is 00:19:26 because Miami looks pretty good. But what's holding them back right now is, again, their schedule and who they have beaten. They have lost to Florida and BYU by a combined 24 points. Those are the top opponents that they have played. They did win at Ole Miss. That's a decent win, but Ole Miss currently is ranked 106 in the net. So it's not the most impressive resume so far for Miami,

Starting point is 00:19:52 but still a team that right now is significantly better than where they were at last year. Comment your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you have the same top seven teams as I do? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Now coming up or rounding off the ACC basketball power rankings. We'll talk about that next on locked on ACC. The holidays are officially here, which means gift hunting season is on.

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Starting point is 00:21:20 In order, you got Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, SMU, and Miami. Now, coming in at number eight is where we start to, or, where I start to deviate a little bit. I'm going to go with Cal here at number eight. Cal is a team that we have not talked about really at all here on Locked on ACC, because we have been not really talking a lot about basketball, but that is going to change, obviously. Cal is currently nine and one overall.

Starting point is 00:21:52 They have a quad one win against UCLA. Their only loss was at Kansas State, which right now is quad two, and Cal shoots really well from three point land at 37%. That is fourth in the ACC. And when you're a team that can shoot the ball at a high level, it makes it so that you can hang with some of the best teams in the country, even if you have less talent than them. I always use this reference or I go back to this game here on Locked on Syracuse.

Starting point is 00:22:23 When talking about upsets in college basketball or in basketball in general, it comes a lot down to three point shooting sometimes. I mean, go back to a couple NCAA tournaments ago with Kentucky taking on Oakland and Jack Goki hits 10, three-pointers in one game, and there's nothing that Kentucky can do about it. Kentucky was by far and away the more talented team, but one guy gets hot and next thing you know, it can completely change a game. And so when I look at Cal, Cal could be that type of team this year where I don't know exactly where they are going to end up. Chances are they're going to be average to above average this season. but if they can maintain this really good shooting from three point land, I would not be surprised if they can pull off more upsets like we saw them do against UCLA.

Starting point is 00:23:10 Now here's where we got a little tricky. NC State at number nine. The Will Wade era has been a mixed bag so far. Is that fair to say NC State fans? I'm not trying to pick on NC State too much, but it's been a little bit underwhelming. They haven't been awful, but I'm kind of left wanting a little bit more from NC State. Obviously, they are better than last year, a team that did not make the ACC tournament.

Starting point is 00:23:42 But right now, NC State is a team that is a big beneficiary of preseason expectations. Because I'm not sure with their resume right now that they would be in the projected NCAA tournament field if they were not projected to be in the NCAA tournament field in the preseason. And also, I think their net ranking is pretty high too. It's like top 30 in the nation. I don't really understand it. They have seven wins. Their most impressive win, it's quad one, just so happens to be Boise State. That same Boise State team that lost to a division two team to start the season, which doesn't count to the net. And that's a whole separate conversation. They've also lost to Seton Hall by double digits. They lost to Auburn by double digits. They

Starting point is 00:24:29 also have a loss to Texas. I'm not burying NC State because they do have talent and they do have time to figure it out. We even saw last year with a team like Louisville and Pack Helsie, they were not perfect to start the season. And then as the season kept going, that team got better and better and better. So maybe that is the case with NC State. and Will Wade. Right now they are projected to make the NCAA tournament, but I have not been that impressed with NC State. Still have them in the upper half of the ACC power angles.

Starting point is 00:25:04 Next we get to this clump right here, 10 through 14. Maybe these teams can do something. These teams have a shot, but I need to see a lot more from them. You got Wake Forest at 10. They're pretty sneaky. They don't have any quad one or quad two wins. this season. So they have beaten nobody. That's what really holds them back. But hear me out for a

Starting point is 00:25:30 moment on Wake Forest and their resume so far. A one point loss in overtime to Michigan. You know that same Michigan team that went to Vegas and curb stomped everyone into the ground? Yeah, that team. Wake Forest took them to overtime and lost by one. They also have a one point loss to Texas Tech. another team that is comfortably projected to make the NCAA tournament. So Wake Forest is a little bit sneaky, a little intriguing. Is Wake Forest a team that could maybe make a run and go to the NCAA tournament this year? Comment your thoughts right now in the comment section below. Virginia Tech, another team that is tracking to be a lot better than where they were at last year,

Starting point is 00:26:13 eight and two overall. My question for Virginia Tech is very simple. Do they plan on playing defense this season? because currently Virginia Tech is third worst in the ACC in Points of Lab per game. Maybe if they start playing some defense, that team could, you know, start to go up in the power rankings. Number 12, Syracuse. Hey, that's my team that I cover. I'm sure Syracuse fans are going to be thrilled that I have them at number 12.

Starting point is 00:26:41 And I should mention that I'm recording this before Syracuse plays St. Joseph's. Take that for what it's worth. I hope they win, but I'm not, they should. Let's just put it that way. I hope by the time you're watching and listening to this, you know the outcome of the Syracuse game, and they won pretty comfortably. They're on their home floor.

Starting point is 00:27:02 Now, they have a nice win against Tennessee, and they do have three losses, but those three losses were to Houston and overtime, Kansas by double digits, and an embarrassing loss to Iowa State. But the reason why I mentioned that is because, while they have three losses versus other teams on this list that have less than numb,

Starting point is 00:27:20 Syracuse has played at tough schedule. So it makes sense why they would have more losses. Problem with Syracuse right now. And it's very, very simple. They can't shoot. That's it. They can't shoot. Prior to the game against St. Joseph's, and hopefully it changes.

Starting point is 00:27:41 Second worst in the ACC in three point percentage. Okay, that's not very good. How about their free throw shooting? By far and away, last in the ACC. They shoot less than 60% from the free throw line as a team. And that's why they lost to the Houston Cougars in Vegas. Did you imagine where Syracuse would be on this list and in brackatology boards and all that fun stuff?

Starting point is 00:28:07 If they had beaten Houston, all they had to do was make their free throws. And at 13, and this one, this one stinks. I'm not going to lie, Notre Dame. Because Notre Dame should probably be a little bit higher on this list. but for the second straight season, unfortunately, their star guard and Marcus Burton is going to miss significant time. And if Notre Dame does not have Marcus Burton, they're screwed. They are not going anywhere without him.

Starting point is 00:28:36 Yeah, they can probably beat the cupcakes on their schedule, but once they get into ACC play, if they don't have Marcus Burton, they're not going to win many games. They can still be competitive. They can still pull out some wins, but they're not doing anything. So it stinks, but I have to rank them lower because of an unfortunate injury to Marcus Burton. And finally, you have the bad tier. These teams are just not very good.

Starting point is 00:29:03 Stanford, their record's good. Look at their schedule. Not good. Florida State, not good. Pitt, not good. Georgia Tech, bad. Boston College is Boston College. So that's it.

Starting point is 00:29:17 for ACC basketball power rankings. Comment your power rankings right now in the comment section below. As far as what's coming up on Locked on ACC, the next episode will be with your regular host, Alex Dono and Kenton Gibbs. I will be back next Friday to discuss the college football playoff because the Miami Hurricanes are set to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Thank you all so much for watching. Thank you all so much for listening.

Starting point is 00:29:45 If you like this podcast, be sure to hit that like. button. If you really enjoy the podcast, be sure to hit subscribe. It's all your friends by Locked On ACC, and I will see you all again next week.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - BOYCOTT: Athletic Directors want to FREEZE OUT Notre Dame | Will the Irish have NOBODY to Play?

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