Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Can Clemson Tigers Upset Texas Longhorns in the Playoff?
Episode Date: December 20, 2024Can Clemson Tigers upset the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff? With Dabo Sweeney at the helm, the Tigers are poised to challenge Texas, leveraging Cade Klubnik's skills and Phil Mafa's ...potential to surprise fans and analysts alike. This episode dives into the ACC football landscape, exploring Clemson's prospects for next season and the impact of player transfers like Chris Johnson Jr. moving to SMU. Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs provide expert analysis on how Bill Belichick's influence might reshape college football recruiting, while also highlighting key matchups and strategies.Join us for an engaging discussion on the Clemson Tigers' playoff chances and the evolving dynamics of ACC football. Don't miss out on these insights and predictions!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!College Football PlayoffsThe College Football Playoff is here, and you don’t want to miss a moment of the action. The College Football Playoff presented by Allstate begins with FOUR first round games, December 20 & 21st on ESPN, ABC, TNT and Max!Rocket MoneyCancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/lockedon today. 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/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEGametimeDownload 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. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! 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.
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Discussion (0)
The media and the sports books are basically giving Clemson zero chance against Texas.
Are the Tigers going to pull off the upset?
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On this episode of Lockdown, ACC, we'll talk about another Miami player transferring to SMU.
Are they going to turn him into a superstar?
We'll talk about who's going to be in the best position to win the ACC in football next season.
but let's talk about another one of these CFP games, Kenton.
We've spent a lot of time this week talking about SMU versus Penn State.
So we're going to put that one off to the side for right now.
Let's talk about Clemson at Texas.
Now, you know, KG, I've been watching some other channels previews of that game.
And I've noticed that a lot of these national college football channels,
they'll do what's supposedly a Clemson at Texas preview.
They'll spend nine minutes talking about everything going on with the Longhorns.
Then they'll mention it.
Oh, yeah, they're taking on Clemson.
Boom, that's the preview.
It's like no one's talking about Clemson.
The fan dual odds have the tigers at 11.5 point underdogs against Texas.
Texas, I wonder, Kenton, if they can be upset in Austin.
Now, they played somehow the easiest SEC schedule.
So compared to the rest of the conference, less battle tested.
The team that they don't want to see anytime soon again was Georgia,
who beat them twice this year.
Cade Clubnick is going to be going home to Austin.
that's where he played his high school ball.
How much of a chance do you give Clemson to pull this off?
You know who believes that Clemson has a good chance to pull this off?
The Sharps, the line came in at 12 and a half for 12 points.
I know for a fact it was either 12 or higher.
And now it seemingly dropped a point or so.
Hmm, interesting.
Very interesting there.
But can Clemson pull this game off?
Let me give you another interesting fact toward about,
the University of Texas under coach Sark
that many people fail to realize
do you know how many games
Sark has won in the postseason
while at Texas in his entire tenure?
One. He won one.
I bet. My bad. A big 12 championship.
He won one Big 12 championship.
Other than that, he has not won a single,
a singular playoff game
nor conference championship that he's played in.
coincidence i think not lose to washington one year come back lose to washington to playoff the next
year lose to georgia the year after that i am telling you he gets the case of the yips in these big
games because they were favored against washington last year last year everybody said oh this is the
team you know pennix's had his fun he's put up his numbers oh they can't stop sweating company
up the middle against when you when you try to play texas you if you can't contain those big fellas
it just ain't going to go well for you.
Lo and behold, at the end of that game,
they weren't going to play Michigan
and the national championship.
Hmm, interesting.
Very interesting.
Do I think that Clemson can pull this game out
out right?
Absor damn lootly.
But with 11 and a half for 12 points,
give me, I'm putting a mortgage on Clemson.
I'm putting everything on Clemson in that case.
Because, again, somebody should,
show me the good team the Texas has beaten by two touchdowns or more.
Show them.
Show them.
A Texas A&M team that could have had you or me at quarterback on every passing play, Donnell,
because Lord knows, them boys didn't know what the hell they were doing in terms of a passing game.
Only lost to them by 10 points.
So to tell me now all of a sudden, oh, this team is, they're such world beavers.
Or Clemson is so bad, I am telling you, nobody circles the wagons like Dabo Swindon.
in terms of this late season.
Nobody, I think, is a better big game coach than Davosweeney.
He's like the antithesis of James Franklin.
He is in those games where it's like, hey, you should probably beat them by 100.
Dabo may find a way to make that one closer than it should be.
Might even lose it.
But you know what he's going to do when that big game come around?
Oh, baby, it's belt going to be high.
It is, hey, you're going to get Clems's best game in the biggest moments.
And I'm going to tell you something.
those young guys that they had early in this season,
there were points this season where if you watched Sam Brown early,
it looked like he was just running around up there,
a very explosive linebacker,
but it looked like he was all over the place, a little bit on this one.
As this season went on, he got better and better and better.
And I'm telling you, this team can do it
because Sam Brown is the key to stopping that run game.
The Texas run game is the key to them winning this game.
Because I don't believe that they have the type of passing attack
that I feel good against this Clemson secondary.
There's no way under guys green there.
That happens, especially with their O line against Clemson's D line.
Good luck there.
So you have to run the ball.
And then I'm saying, do you have backs that I feel like, oh, they'll run all over,
Sam Brown?
I'm not sure.
I'm not sure about that.
So while I may not have given Clemson their respect early in the season,
I'm not against changing my opinion if new information presents itself.
And the information that's presented itself in a way that Clemson can definitely keep this game.
and may even win it already.
Well, the big question for me,
and I definitely, I believe
Clemson's defense can play at a high enough level
to win this football game.
All of my questions are on the offensive side of the floor.
Fair enough.
There are two big questions that I have.
Now, I have fewer questions today
about Cade Klubnick than I had when the Cs has started.
Clubnick has had a phenomenal year.
But my two questions are,
is Clemson going to be able to establish a running game
outside of Klubnick?
because he's been their best rusher on a lot of occasions.
They need Phil Mafa and the rest to really step up.
Mafa, to me, has not been as good as advertised this year,
not been the same guy without Shipley to compliment him.
So can Clemson establish a running game consistently outside of Cade Clubnick?
Because I believe they'll probably need it to win this game.
And then the other question I have is, can Clemson punch it in in the red zone?
That was their primary issue in their losses this year.
I mean, against Georgia, they really couldn't do any.
anything. You know, against
Louisville, they made too many mistakes,
and that was a tough loss at home. Against South
Carolina, they could move the football. They couldn't
punch it in in the red zone. So those
are the big factors that I'm looking at,
Kenton. Like, I believe Clemson's
offense is capable of giving them
the type of performance that's going to keep
them in the game. Their defense is, but can
their offense punch it in in the red
zone and move the football? If they can do that,
they've got a shot. You know,
I'm going to tell you this. Gary Riley,
you better coach like your job is on the line,
because I feel like it should be.
I'm sorry to say, I feel like it should be.
They have the offensive talent.
It doesn't make sense that you struggle to punch it in.
You've got one of the best powerbacks in the nation in Phil Mafa.
And you're telling me that from the 20 and end, you can't do nothing.
Seems like a skill issue.
Seems like a skill issue, Garrett.
Seems like you ought to be doing something better.
And not only that, you have that big power for running back combined.
with a quarterback who is a deadly threat on the ground who can do whatever he wants on the ground
so i'm confused as to how we're looking up and saying this team struggles in the red zone oh and by the
way you know what else helps teams out in the red zone when the field compresses in terms of
how far you can stretch it and all that on the horizontal plane having big bodies that can go
vertical. If only they have some
tight end of some sort. That was a pretty
big name. Maybe
physically big as well. I don't know.
It's slipping my mind if they do
have a guy like that. I remember there being
some stool kid or something like that.
Maybe he was a stoop kid who never left a stoop
from Hay Arnold. But it
blows my mind to know.
You have a tight end like him,
a wide receiver like Westcoe. And I know
Brown was injured for most of the season. He's the better
red zone threat than
Williams, but even Williams, find creative ways to get him the ball.
It's the new way of the game that you do those little push passes.
You put running backs, I mean, you put wide receiver slot guys at running back.
If you know, hey, they're dynamic with the ball in their hands.
And you tell you figure it out.
Garrett Riley has to do something to figure out at a high level how to finish off
drives in this game.
And with that, they'll be fine.
Yeah.
Well, so I look at this and say on the one hand, a double-digit underdog
has never won a game outright in the college football
playoff. Their 0 and 8 all time. It will be difficult to win in Austin,
but I absolutely believe Clemson can keep it close and give themselves an opportunity.
You know, Davos Sweeney, he's won CFPs before. He was actually,
his Clemson of, what was it, seven, eight years ago were the first undefeated
college football playoff champions. He's now going to try to become the first three loss
college football playoff champions. And that's a big reason why Clemson is not getting
any pub here because they did, you know, they won the ACC. They had to because that was their only
way in, but they did back their way into the playoff. And honestly, if we want to look at next year,
Clemson is probably in the best position to repeat as conference champions. And we'll tell you why we'll
take a look at the rest of the field as well. You want to keep it locked right here, my friends.
We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC.
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first watch today. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube.
We're part of the lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. So Kenton, I'm taking an early
look at football rosters for next year. You know, transfer portal is still in progress.
And Davos-Wweeney has already taken a couple of transfers. I mean, if he's going to start using
the portal, Clemson might be unstoppable. And Kenton, I think about they're getting presumably
Kade Klubnik back next year because he's a junior and I don't think he's going pro this year.
They're going to have Clubnik back.
They're going to have a very young defense that's already good this year.
A lot of these freshmen and sophomore are going to be juniors and seniors next year at Clemson.
I think they're in the best position.
I also think SMU could be in pretty good position.
We'll talk a little bit more about them.
I cover Miami, but it's like it's right now you would imagine Miami could be in a position to take a little step back next year
because you're losing Cam Ward.
Miami tried to land John Matier in the transfer portal, but he ended up picking Oklahoma.
So, you know, Miami's probably going to have a lot less, you know, dynamic quarterback
play next year, even if the quarterback play is solid.
Don't know for sure yet if they're fixing that defense or not.
You know, Florida State, who was two in 10 this year, there's only one direction to go in and
that's up.
But I don't really imagine them being contenders to win the ACC next year.
So it might be Clemson's conference to lose unless you think Bill Belichick is going
to sneak in or maybe NC State next year is going to be ready to step up.
Hey, listen, I may be wearing NC State on my chest right now, but I'm not wearing
delusion.
I only play football for 17 years, not enough to make my brain soft enough to believe those
boys are going to be contenders next year.
Now, with that in mind, the rest of the ACC, I'm a whole jaw of hand when I say this.
Clemson is going to go back to me.
They're going to go back to me.
They're returning almost everybody.
I mean, yes, you're losing
Barrett Carter, but do you know who the
second and third leading tacklers on that team
are? Wade Woodus and
Sammy Brown. Both
them were coming back. They couldn't leave even if they
wanted to. Again, yes, you're
losing Barrett Carter, but guess
who you're keeping on that defensive line?
T.J. Parker, that man was
a menace this year. He was a
mannace. If it wasn't for
Ezrauc and Paul
Rylan over there in
Blacksburg, he would have definitely
In 80, 90% of conferences, Parker is the first team.
He's the first team all-conference guy.
It's just the reality.
Seeing double-digit Saxon college is not a normal thing.
That's not something that we should all expect.
And yet, he did it as a sophomore.
And that's a jump from five and a half as a freshman.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm sorry to tell you this.
Wescoe ain't getting no worse.
He's not.
Williams ain't getting no worse.
I'm sorry to tell you.
If Brown can stay healthy for an entire year,
that wide receiving court is loaded.
Filthy.
And if Gary Riley can call himself a decent offense,
I don't think it's going to be close.
I think it's going to be back to those days where Clemson was,
I want to say, I can't remember what year it was,
but they played Georgia Tech.
And Travis Eton had like eight carries for 200-some-odd yards
and something like that.
It's going to be a return of that.
This guy, I'm sorry to say this.
I'm in the ACC too.
My school, my alma mater is in the ACC.
Donald thinks that Miami is taking a small step back.
I think they're taking a leap backwards after last year.
And I know, and Miami fans are going to say I'm anti-Niamy and all that.
But the reality is you're losing a guy that is all throughout your record books in terms of receiving it with strepho.
You're losing your main man, Cam Ward, who he was the offense.
Like, he had time.
I'm trying to convince Casey Concepcion to come to Miami because he's visiting.
He's visiting now.
So I'm trying to get Kevin into South Florida because he would soften that blow of losing Restrepo quite a bit.
Absolutely.
And here's the thing.
Here's the thing.
Would I be upset if Casey stayed in ACC?
Hell no, man.
Go do what's best for you.
Go do his best for your family.
Go make yourself happy.
But I'm very seriously concerned about all the top teams from the conference this year,
except Clemson and the SMU.
I very strongly believe that we're looking at a Clemson,
SMU Part 2 in next year's ACC championship game.
If somebody else were to pop in there,
I'd be a little bit surprised.
I'm not going to lie to you.
However, Louisville just got their quarterback, okay?
And Miller Moss wasn't the problem at USC.
I'm going to just leave it at that, okay?
They got some problems that extended well beyond Miller.
And if you put him with a quarterback guru
And I know everybody said Lincoln Riley
supposed to be a quarterback guru and quarterback whisper.
Look at what those quarterbacks that he coached up are doing in the NFL.
That's not because of a coach.
That's because you had some dudes, okay?
You just had some bad men.
And that's kind of how that worked up.
So I look now and I say to myself,
maybe I could see Louisville there,
even though they're losing a significant amount of pieces,
but they always do well in the portal.
What about Duke?
Duke was nine and three this year.
and I think they've upgraded a quarterback.
I mean, we'll see if Darien Mentsa can do it at a higher level,
but I like that pickup.
On paper, I like him better than Malik Murphy.
I agree.
I like him better than Malik Murphy as well.
There is something about Duke football that makes me hesitant.
There's always just something there that even when you're supposed to be really good,
something always gets in the way.
But I will agree that Duke is in that top tier of teams next year.
I would say the Duke is in that top four to five range where I'm like, if they got in, would I be super shocked?
Not really.
Not really.
It wouldn't be the biggest.
I wouldn't be taking the back to the same way I would.
Let's say a Bill Belichick were to get the dirty foot club there next year.
I would be shot by.
I would legitimately say, wow, that's, hey, the NFL.
Congratulations on his $1 million buyout because somebody's about to have to pay that million because he's going to lead.
But congratulations on getting me.
By the way, can I say something about Belichick?
I've noticed.
the media is already doing this thing where like a big time transfer portal player.
They did this with John Mateer even who picked Oklahoma.
Miami made a push.
They didn't land him.
But then I was reading his story.
He's like, oh, and Bill Belichick tried to make a late push.
Didn't get him, but tried to.
And I see this.
Kishon Silver, big defensive tackle.
I see it.
The media is starting to use Belichick's name.
And like a player X decides to go to a certain school that's not North Carolina,
but they're going to say, oh,
They got a call from Bill Belichick.
So it's like, hey, look, he's in the mix for all these big transfers.
Not landing any of them yet, but they're already starting to pump up Belichick by using him just to put a name in the story.
I'm sure that's getting you more clicks on the Google searches.
Just a quick question, Dono.
What year was Bill Belichick's last Super Bowl?
What would it have been?
It was like 2017.
I don't remember.
Do you remember?
Oh, don't worry.
Don't worry, Don't know.
I got this ready for you.
The last Super Bowl that he won was absolutely in the year of our Lord Savior 2017, I believe.
Oh, I'm sorry, it was 2019.
It was 2019.
2019.
So if you talk about these players that are coming in right now in the class of 2025 or even some of these guys that are coming in and transfer a portal, right?
when they had their formative years of like, oh, I'm now understanding football at a higher level and what's good and what's bad.
Generally when you're like 14 and older, what Bill Belichick do they remember?
Like other than reaching back to nostalgia from your childhood, these kids are not looking up and saying like, oh, yeah, I've got a concept of what actually mattered in football and all that.
yeah Bill Belichick was really good
man get this
nonsense out of here you almost made me lose the
clean rating down on it. Get this nonsense out
here because we're making
non-story stories when it comes to that man
and I'm tired of it already
I get it but I get it that
university loves to win the clicks and whatnot
winning on the field. Not as important
you know hey apparently winning on the court
it ain't important to me the teacher man's how to hoop
and squabble but yeah
you know more power to him
But as we clearly see, just like everybody making a big story about the tight end who had like, what, three catches last year, not visiting NC State but visiting UNC.
After NC State's leading receiver who was their tight end returns, like making that a big story about, oh, who's recruiting well and all that?
It's like, man, this is a non-story.
All this, Bill made a late push.
It's a non-story.
Can't see the Miami?
That's a hell of a story.
That's a big story.
Seeing Emery Williams and him potentially build some chemistry in Duke,
things next year. That's a real story. That's a story. I hope Miami can close it up with KC can lock
him up. He's visiting now. He's visited Alabama. He's high on Texas A&M. Seems high on Miami.
But again, if he doesn't go to Miami, he's leaving the ACC because I think all the other schools
he's interested in are outside the conference. Speaking of Miami, Miami is losing another
transfer who is landing in Dallas. Did SMU just find their next?
Breshard Smith. We'll talk about that and more when we come back. You want to keep it locked
right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC. Oh, folks, I'm so excited
that we have the college football playoff on board with us here on the Lockdown Network.
And the games are starting, guys. They're starting today. So it's that time of year.
College football playoff is back. And with this newly expanded 12-team format, it's guaranteed
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that's SMU battling Penn State. We've talked about that a lot this week. And then the
Clemson Tigers, as we talked about today, look to upset the Texas Longhorns in a showdown
at 4 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss a moment of the action. Watch the college football playoff
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ACC your first listen and your first watch today for your next list and make sure you check out
our other shows kenton and grason do an awesome job on locked on wolf pack hopefully they'll be talking
about kacey conception to miami pretty soon hopefully i'll be talking about that on locked on
kane's i i'm worried about bama i'm being very honest hey man we don't we don't talk about ex-girlfriends
on locked on wolf pack you know what i mean hey more power to all where every goals be at miami be at bama
be it the agu land more power to them not our problem not our concern we love them
We thank him for his contributions to the university, but that ain't, you know, I had none of it.
Which is why as the host of Locked on Cains, it pains me to do this, but this is locked on ACC.
This is a big ACC story, a former Miami running back, Chris Johnson, who didn't get a lot of opportunities this year,
which is not that surprising when you had Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher doing what they did.
He actually, Jordan Lyle, who was a true freshman this year, passed Johnson on the depth chart.
Now, Chris Johnson did get a lot of opportunities at Miami as a kick returner, didn't have a whole lot of success there.
I was expecting a little bit more from him there.
But as so many Miami players have done the past couple of years, Kenton, Chris Johnson, who hit the transfer portal, he's on his way to SMU.
He picked SMU on Thursday.
Now, the thing that Johnson does have that cannot be taught is speed.
This guy was a track star and a record setter in South Florida.
he has Florida State High School records in the 100 meter and the 200 meter.
So he has that sort of speed.
We'll see if Ret Lashley can turn him into a weapon.
And something I'm going to bring up to you, Kenton, is I wonder if Chris Johnson, Jr.
may have the opposite journey of what Breschard Smith had because Breschard Smith was a receiver at Miami.
Miami actually wanted him to switch to running back.
I don't think he wanted to.
He goes to SMU.
He switches to running back.
and he's one of the better backs in the country now.
With Chris Johnson, he's been playing running back.
I think he'd be better as a receiver out of the slot.
So I wonder if Johnson might make that switch at SMU
because I was saying this for the last two years at Miami.
I wanted to see him as a receiver, not as much as a running back.
I wonder if he'll follow through with that.
You know, first thing first,
I want to address something you said there about the playing time and opportunity.
We all know if Mario Crystal Ball loves anything is two things.
Number one, not taking the knee.
Number two, he loves himself a big back, okay?
And not from the traditional social media standpoint where you're using it to make fun of fat people.
I mean, literally, large human beings carrying the ball.
That's what he enjoys.
And guess who was the smallest and lightest of those four backs between Martinez,
Lowe, Fletcher, and Chris Johnson, Jr.
By the way, no relation to CJ 2K.
He was the lightest.
Yes, that's right.
He was the lightest.
He was 180 pounds.
He was 10 pounds large and lost.
So here's what I'm saying in saying that.
I'm not going to be surprised if he succeeds at running back at SMU.
I'm not going to be surprised if he succeeds at slot receiver at SMU.
Seeing SMU take a Miami player is like seeing the Indianapolis Coast draft the lineman right ahead of your favorite team.
It's like, oh, hell, they did it again.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
I don't know what it is about the coach.
When they pick an offensive line,
it just works every time.
You're just like, who is this guy?
Where do you come from?
And it works every time.
It's the same kind of thing with SMU taking Miami players.
A player that's like, oh, yeah, this was a no name.
He was like two steps above a walk on in Miami.
All of a sudden, it's like, boom, one of the conference leaders is something.
It's like, well, where did this come from?
So in all seriousness, I look at Chris Johnson Jr.,
And I say to myself, you're absolutely right, Donald.
He can fly.
And that is very easy to utilize out of a slot where you're not going to see as many presses.
And all that end, it's easier to send you in motion to avoid press coverage and whatnot.
I'd love to see him in that capacity.
But I will say, Red Lashley has earned enough leach to say, if I'm taking a guy from Miami and I'm going to utilize him as a weapon,
and whichever way I utilize him, trust me, because I'm going to make him something special.
Because who would have thought last year, hey, Breschart Smith is.
going to be one of the leading rushes in the ACC, by the way. Just letting me know.
Nobody would have believed that. And yet here we are. Who would have thought, hey,
some of those defensive line we got from Miami that could not piss a drop on the field there?
Oh, they're going to be, you know, five-sac guys, no problem. And yet here we are.
Yeah, no, it's well said. Well, we appreciate everybody tuning it. And Kenton, we're going to be doing some extra
post-game work for college football playoff games coming up. We'll be on after. And you know, I'm not a late-night
guy, but I'm going to have my capisico on, later tonight, actually. We're going to talk about the
Notre Dame game. We're going to be talking about the Clemson game as well. We'll be doing some postgame
for that on the lockdown network. So you guys want to tune in for that. He is Kenton Gibbs from
Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Canes. We'll talk to you next time on another episode
of Lockdown ACC right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team, every day.
