Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - CHAOS: Virginia & Louisville FIGHT for Playoff Lives as ACC MADNESS Intensifies | Can They Survive?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Final month of the regular season and the ACC is in complete chaos. Who stays in the playoff race this week? Will anyone drop out of it? This week, let's break it down. 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 Hulzer, the host of Locked-on, Syracuse, and thank you for making Locked-on

Starting point is 00:00:38 ACCC. Your first listen of every single day here on the Locked-on Podcast Network. It's your team every day, and of course we are always free and available wherever you get your podcast. And on today's show, we are picking all seven games across the ACC this week for week of college football. And later on in the episode, we will crown the matchup that won this week's Somebody has to win bowl award plus.

Starting point is 00:01:07 The Duke Blue Devils have a sneaky matchup against the Yukon Huskies this week. I'll explain more later on in this episode, but first, Virginia, they prove me wrong. They got a win last week at Cal. Will they stay rolling against a very weird Wake Forest team? Let's go over it. But first, I have to admit that last week on the show with my picks, I did not do a very good job. I didn't. Not that the product was necessarily bad.

Starting point is 00:01:43 I hope you enjoyed the product of it. But as far as the picks itself, my goodness, I don't know if I've ever had a worse week before. I was terrible. So I hope to be a lot better this week. I really do. and one of those teams that I was wrong about last week was Virginia. I thought they were going to lose that cow. But you know what?

Starting point is 00:02:06 Cam Robinson with a game ending pick six, he proved me wrong. Virginia proves me wrong. They stay alive for the college football playoff. And they got a match up this Saturday. They are at home taking on Wake Forest as now the 14th ranked team in the nation. Virginia is in a very interesting spot right now. because you look on the surface and you see a team that is 8 and 1 overall and technically 5 and 0 in the ACC. And I say technically because that one loss that they have is against NC State, but it did not count as an ACC loss.

Starting point is 00:02:46 So they are undefeated within the conference. So you would think with that resume, they'd be in pretty good position to make the college football playoff. But that's not necessarily the case. Virginia being ranked at 14 is the college football playoff committee letting the world know that they don't think Virginia is any good. Let's just call it what it is. That is exactly how they are thinking. They are looking at Virginia's record and they are essentially saying, all right, fine. We'll put you in the top 15, even though we don't want to put you in the top 15, whether they're right, whether they're wrong.

Starting point is 00:03:24 I can assure you that that is how they are thinking about this Virginia team right now. And so with that said, Virginia does not have a lot of margin for error at this point. If for whatever reason, they do not get to the conference title game, I don't think 10 and 2 will be enough for them to make it in at large for the college football playoffs. So the way I view Virginia is they have to win out the regular season in order to be safe. If you go 11 and 1, we saw last year with SMU. If you go 11 and one and you're in a power conference, you're probably going to go to the college football playoff even if you lose the conference title game.

Starting point is 00:04:16 But if Virginia were to lose one time in the final month of the season, not counting a potential conference title game, I don't think they're going to make it based on where the committee has Virginia right now in the rankings. Now, as far as this matchup is concerned against Wake Forest, it's very weird to try to predict this one because I think we know what Virginia is, but we don't really know what Wake Forest is. But first, let's talk about Virginia a little bit more here. What are they? They are a ball control. team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes and they will force a lot of mistakes upon you. That's what the numbers say.

Starting point is 00:05:02 You go through it right now. They have a top five turnover margin in the nation plus 1.4 per game on average. They win the turnover battle. Fourth view is penalties in the ACC. second least amount of penalty yardage per game. What does that mean? It essentially means when Virginia commits a penalty, it's usually not a backbreaker because those penalties

Starting point is 00:05:33 don't typically go for a lot of yards when they commit them. And they also own the second best time of possession in the conference on average. So that's what the numbers say about Virginia. They may not be the most impressive team in the world. They may not wow you. They may have some games where you look at them like a couple of weeks ago against North Carolina and you say, how is this team any good?

Starting point is 00:06:02 But we know why their record is the way it is. They win the turnover battle basically every single week. They don't commit a lot of penalties. That's your recipe right there. Plus some quality ball control as well. but with Wake Forest, you have no idea what you're going to get in from them, or get from them, I should say,

Starting point is 00:06:24 on any given week. I mean, they can barely beat Kennesaw State. Last week, they got spanked by Florida State. That was one of the games I was wrong about. One of the many games that I was wrong about. I was like, how can I pick Florida State anymore? They just keep letting me down. So fine, I'm going to pick Wake Forest,

Starting point is 00:06:42 and they got absolutely crushed in that one. but Wake Forest they also should have beaten Georgia Tech and they knocked off SMU in a low-storing battle and an SMU team that just beat Miami. So Wake Forest is kind of Jekyll and Hyde, Virginia, we kind of know what they are at this point in the season. Virginia is also the home team and they got everything to play for right now. I'm sorry Virginia fans, I'm going to pick your team to win. I think Virginia wins this one 30 to 23. Moving on to the next matchup here, you got number 15 Louisville taking on Cal Saturday at 7 p.m.

Starting point is 00:07:28 Eastern. The way I view Louisville is in a very similar light to how I view Virginia as far as their outlook to potentially make the college football playoff. if Louisville were to lose another game in the regular season, they basically have no chance to make it into the college football playoff unless they win the ACC title. That's their only path. So if you look at their schedule,

Starting point is 00:07:57 they do have one more game out of conference remaining. And that is a game against Kentucky. They can lose that game. That's okay. Louisville can lose that one, still go to the ACC title potentially if they win out their games, win the conference, you are in the college football playoff. But if they're going to lose, it has to be to Kentucky at the end of the year.

Starting point is 00:08:19 Because I don't think six and two in the conference at this point is going to be enough to be in Charlotte at the end of the season. Fortunately for Louisville, they are pretty big favorites this week against how. But similar to last week when they were playing Virginia Tech, if you're Louisville, you really can't overlook this Cal team. And the reason why you can't overlook Cal is because they may not be the greatest team in the world, but Virginia right now is the best team in the conference as far as standings are concerned. And Cal, it was an outside shot, but they did have the ball down three in the fourth quarter

Starting point is 00:08:59 with a chance to tie or beat Virginia. That was just last week. and plus Louisville, they're going to be without star running back Isaac Brown for what Coach Jeff Brom said on Monday quite a while. Now, in his place, it should be a veteran running back name Kiwan Brown. And Kiwan Brown is actually a very good player if you look at his track record. He's had 110 career rush attempts. But get this, he has averaged 5.7 yards per carry in his.

Starting point is 00:09:36 career. This is someone in my opinion who he could probably go to another school in a power conference, start for them, and have a very good year. So I would say, yeah, Isaac Brown, great player. I'm not trying to downplay or minimize the loss, but the guy who seems to be the replacement for him in Kiwan Brown actually is pretty good. So Louisville should be okay this week against Cal, who by the way, has a bottom five run defense. in the ACC. So as far as a prediction is concerned, I am going to go with Louisville to win this game 3417. What are your thoughts on those first two matchups? You think Virginia stays rolling? You think Louisville stays in the playoff race? Comment your thoughts in the comment section below.

Starting point is 00:10:26 Now coming up, Miami fans, I know you are starred from the past, but I promise you, you're going to beat Syracuse this weekend. And I'll explain why next on Locked on ACC. It's almost the weekend. Time to look back and crown this week's MVP on who delivered powered by DoorDash, just like you can win every Saturday with DoorDash streaks, saving more every time you order these players delivered when it mattered most. And let's break it down. Let's go to SMU and their upset victory over the Miami Hurricanes last weekend. And a player who scored a walkoff touchdown for SMU in a 26, 20 win in overtime. T.J. Hardin delivered for SMU. And just like T.J. Hardin delivered for SMU. DoorDash delivers

Starting point is 00:11:15 your Saturdays with DoorDash streaks. You save every Saturday you order. Stack it up all season. And you can save $250, including $100 in DoorDash credits. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. You're your Dame Day only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period through November 18. Locked on ACC. I'm Jackson Holzer. Let's continue picking all seven matchups. across the conference for week 11 of college football. And let's get to this one right here. Number 18 Miami hosting Syracuse this Saturday at 3.30 p.m. Eastern. Miami fans, I'm not here to dunk on the Miami hurricanes.

Starting point is 00:11:56 I think you've done enough. You don't need me to pile on here. So that's not what I'm doing. Okay? I understand that you may feel scared. And you have every right to feel that way, by the way. This is a Miami team that, like I said, I'm not going to continue to dunk on Miami.

Starting point is 00:12:18 But I understand where you're coming from. If you have a lot of negativity about this team, heading into this matchup against Syracuse at home, in what is a revenge name for Miami. We know what happened with Miami last year. All they had to do, was beat Syracuse at the end of the regular season, and they were in the college football playoff.

Starting point is 00:12:42 They would have also gone to the ACC title game as well, so they could have won the conference too. But they would have definitely been in the college football playoff with an 11-1 regular season and Cam Ward as a quarterback. And they had a 21-point lead against Syracuse last year, and they blew it. They blew it. And that was their year.

Starting point is 00:13:04 that was their season. So there's revenge in this game for Miami heading into this matchup against Syracuse. I'm going to be very clear. And I have already said this on Locked on Syracuse. I have said this on Locked on Cains as well. We did a crossover episode with Alex Dono, who just so happens to be one of the co-hosts of Locked on ACC as well.

Starting point is 00:13:26 You ready for it? Ready for this one? If the Miami Hurricanes lose this Saturday against Syracuse, against Syracuse, then Mario Cristobal, the head coach of Miami, should no longer have a job in football, period. Forget Miami coach. I would not trust Mario Cristobal to be the assistant to the traveling secretary of a middle school flag football team if they lose to Syracuse this Saturday. A team last week against North Carolina, they lost by 17 points and started a walk-on lacrosse player. It went exactly how you would expect it to go, which is not well.

Starting point is 00:14:30 Syracuse isn't just losing since Steve Angelly went down with a torn Achilles. and that was week four against Clemson. They're getting dominated. Since that time, you ready for these results? 383 lost to Duke, 31-18 lost to SMU. That score looks a little bit prettier than the game actually went in itself. 30 to 13 lost to pit. 41-16 lost to Georgia Tech.

Starting point is 00:14:59 And last week, like I mentioned, a 2710 loss to North Carolina. there's bad. There are plenty of bad teams out there. There's mediocre teams out there. And then there's Syracuse. There are no excuses for the Miami Hurricanes not to blow the doors of Syracuse this week. And I'm saying this is the host of Lockdown Syracuse who wants Syracuse to win. And I promise you, I'm not just doing this to try to jinx this matchup, to have it go in Syracuse's direction.

Starting point is 00:15:34 Because they're three and six. What, they beat Miami, they're four and six, and now you've got to go to Notre Dame to make bowl eligibility anyway. I have no incentive to try to jinx this matchup, except for laughing at Miami even more. So my pick for this matchup, 38-0-Manymyami. I hope to be wrong, but that's where I'm going. 38-0-My-beats Syracuse.

Starting point is 00:15:59 Next matchup, Boston College, at home, against SMU. S-M-U, 6-3, but they are still alive for the college football playoff because if SMU wins out, they are 7 and 1 in the ACC, and they will also in that scenario, have a victory over Louisville, which could help in any sort of tie break scenario. Meanwhile, Boston College, one and eight, and you would think on the surface that SMU is going to dominate Boston College,

Starting point is 00:16:33 and that can certainly happen in this matchup. But Boston College, to their credit, over the past couple of games against two quality opponents, you got Louisville, Notre Dame last week. They have not embarrassed themselves completely. Like I just mentioned, there's levels of bad right now. I feel like Syracuse over the past month and a half, they have embarrassed themselves with the way that they have played. Boston College the last two weeks,

Starting point is 00:16:57 they have simply lost because they're just not better than Louisville, and they're definitely not better than Notre Dame either. but they have not embarrassed themselves. And Boston College is at home. And you also have to factor in that SMU, what happened against Wake Forest a couple of weeks ago? I know what you did last week against Miami. But what type of team is SMU?

Starting point is 00:17:21 Do you trust SMU? Comment your thoughts in the comment section below. I'm still going to pick SMU to win. But if this is a close game in the second half, I wouldn't be surprised at all, but my prediction, 2814 SMU takes it. Let's start to another one here. You got Yukon at home hosting Duke this Saturday 3.30 p.m. Eastern. Don't sleep on Yukon.

Starting point is 00:17:49 Don't do it. I'm warning Duke. Don't sleep on Yukon this week. Yukon nearly upset Syracuse in week two of the college. football season. That was with a healthy Steve Angelly for the orange. That was when Syracuse was actually looking pretty good. And Yukon nearly beat them the second week of the year. They also beat Boston College. I know Boston College is not good, but they beat Boston College by 15 this season. That's an ACC team. So they show that they are capable of beating a power conference team and also

Starting point is 00:18:27 staying very close to a power conference team. Styler Bell. a receiver on the outside, NFL player. Yukon, you ready for this? Third in the nation in sacks. They average nearly four per game. So they can get to the passer at a pretty high level. All that being said, with Duke, another reason why you've got to be careful with them this week

Starting point is 00:18:51 is that this doesn't really matter for them. Like, I know it matters, but in terms of standings, it really doesn't. And here's why. Duke already has three losses this season. So they're not making it in at large. They're done. Even if they win out, they go 9 and 3.

Starting point is 00:19:14 You're not an at large team in the ACC at 9 and 3. We're talking about Virginia and how they're not going to be an at large team if they're 10 and 2. So you think 9 and 3 would be enough? Absolutely not. They're 4 and 1 in the ACC. Obviously, Yukon is not. in ACC team. All Duke has to do is win their conference games, which, by the way, one of them will be

Starting point is 00:19:38 against Virginia, and they're most likely in the conference title game, and all you have to do then is just win that game and you're in the college football playoff. This game doesn't really mean a whole lot for Duke as far as standings is concerned. So you got to be careful of that as well. How do you motivate yourself heading into this matchup if you are the Duke Blue Devils, knowing that this is a game that if you lose, your season is not over because at large, you already have no chance anyway. And this is not a conference name either.

Starting point is 00:20:10 We'll see what happens. I'm still going to pick Duke though, 3521. Comment your thoughts in the comments section below. And we still got a couple more games to talk about here on Locked on ACC. When the opening whistle blows on a new repair, get your crew moving forward with supply House order today and see parts on your doorstep over 280,000 plumbing, HVAC, and electrical items from the most trusted brands in the business. Their real-time inventory and honestly, times keep you from punting projects while their

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Starting point is 00:21:13 This game nearly won the somebody has to win ball. And it would have been funny because it's two big brands, but it did not win. Of course, I'm referring to Clemson hosting Florida State this Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern. If you rewind to a couple of months ago, you would think that this would be a matchup potentially between two top 10 teams in the nation. Florida State at one point, they looked like a roll-beater. They had beaten Alabama in week one. They had beaten up on some teams they were supposed to beat up on. And of course, the whole season turned in a matchup against Virginia. Clemson, they lost week one to LSU in a tight game at home.

Starting point is 00:21:58 but we all thought LSU was going to be a national championship contender. And so I at least looked at that loss and said that's not a bad loss at all. But of course, that's not what happened. We know what has happened in the last two months. Neither team this season is going anywhere, but both teams are still fighting for bowl eligibility. But I don't think either fan base really cares about that. I mean, if you're a Clemson fan that's listening,

Starting point is 00:22:25 if you're a Florida state fan that's listening, do you really care about winning six games and making a bowl? I know the teams might, but I don't think you necessarily do, considering where your expectations are for either of these teams on any given year. Clemson 3.5, Florida State, 4 and 4. Clemson's at home. I'm still not going to pick Florida State. I just can't do it anymore.

Starting point is 00:22:51 So I'm going Clemson 30-227. And finally, this week's winner of the Somebody Has to Win Bowl goes to the matchup of North Carolina hosting Stanford. I know. What a real barn burner that we have there. Congrats to North Carolina on getting their first power conference win of the season last week.

Starting point is 00:23:20 It was against Syracuse, Ugg, Stanford, sure. Not a great team either. Again, somebody has to win. I don't think either of these teams are making a bowl this season. The home team is UNC. Let's go with UNC by a final store of 20 to 16.

Starting point is 00:23:46 I know that'll make Isaac Shade happy over at Locked Ontario's because I'm predicting that North Carolina will store 20 points. I mean, they did it last week in serious. They might be able to do it again against Stanford this weekend. Comment your thoughts in the comments section below. Who do you have winning this week? Who do you have losing this week? Do you have any upsets on your docket?

Starting point is 00:24:07 Comment your thoughts in the comment section below. Now, as far as what's coming up on Lockdown ACC in the future, the next episode will be with your regularly scheduled host. You got Alex Dono from Lockdown Cains. You got Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. They will be hosting the next episode. And of course, you will see me once again next Friday for week 12 ACC football picks. Let's hope that I was not as bad this week as I was last week.

Starting point is 00:24:37 Folks, thank you all so much for watching. Thank you all so much for listening. If you like this podcast, be sure to hit the like button. If you really enjoy Locked on ACC, be sure to hit subscribe. Tell all your friends about this channel. And we'll see you all again soon.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - CHAOS: Virginia & Louisville FIGHT for Playoff Lives as ACC MADNESS Intensifies | Can They Survive?

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