Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - CLASH: Notre Dame's Running Game THREATENS Miami's Hopes | Can The Canes STOP the Irish Onslaught?

Starting point is 00:00:00 On Sunday night, the Miami Hurricanes will try to slow down the national runners-up from a season ago with one of the top running back duos in the entire country. Here's what needs to happen for the Cains to start 1-0. You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team, every day. Shout out to the everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:00:40 Your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Lockedon College at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive lineman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown Caines. On this episode, we'll talk about if the ACC doesn't go to nine games, there is an alternative for that conference and non-conference schedule.

Starting point is 00:01:08 We will break down Alabama heading into Florida State. That's also happening this Saturday with the Crimson Tide is 13.5 point favorites. But let's start KG with Notre Dame visiting Miami with the Fighting Irish two and a half point favorites. A lot of road favorites on the slate this coming weekend. Let's start here, Kenton. What has to happen for Miami to slow down a rushing attack? that everyone's talking about with Jeremiah Love and Judarian Price is one of the best-looking duos in the entire nation.

Starting point is 00:01:41 I think what has to happen there is simple. It is all, all about how well your defensive linemen create penetration. That is the biggest thing that we're looking at in this game. You're talking about a defense that last year at least was a 4-25, and we're expecting some scheme changes this year, But the biggest thing that I think needs to happen, not a want to, not that it would be nice to, you have to make Jeremiah Love run east and west and not north and south. At the end of the day, if he sees the hole with Notre Dame, they run much more of a power scheme than a zone scheme per se. And so the difference between the two is this.

Starting point is 00:02:27 In a power scheme or gap scheme, as some people will call it, it is designed in a way where you're going to see. a lot more combination blocking to climb to the next level. You're going to see a lot more pullers and all that type of thing as opposed to a situation where the entire offensive line moves one direction or moves the other direction or they go, you know, wide outside or they kind of keep a path inside and let the back pick between a variety of holes wherever you see something make it happen. In the zone scheme, penetration ain't necessarily always the greatest thing because you could be, you know, just creating a wider cutback lane or whatever the case,

Starting point is 00:03:04 be but against a gap scheme penetration ruins everything quick question dono where's a pulling guard going to go if you push the guard front side into his lap what's he going to do i i don't know what's he going to do exactly he's stuck he's got nothing you can do he's got to figure out wait a minute i was supposed to be climbing in this hole to kick out the mike liebacker here but now the sender's getting blown up by the by messador i don't know what i'm supposed to do what's what's supposed to happen near. So it's a situation where penetration, reestablishing the line of scriments is not a want to. You know, I'm a recruiter. So I'm going to talk to all in recruiter terms for a second. It's not a want to have, nice to have for this role. It's a must have if you're auditioning for the role of team who unseats a top 10 opponent in week one.

Starting point is 00:03:54 Yeah, Miami's got a good looking defensive front to start the season. I think the biggest question that I have is the defensive tackle depth behind their top three guys. Justin Scott, who's a former five-star recruit heading into his second year. I expect him to play a major role in the interior. Ahmad Moten, who's Miami's, well, most experienced homegrown talent at defensive line. They also brought in an experienced transfer, David Blay from Louisiana Tech. So the depth behind them in the interior is yet to be determined. But when it comes to edge rushers, and some of Miami's edge rushers can kick inside. They have that positional versatility like Rubin Bain, Akeemezid,

Starting point is 00:04:32 or Armando Blunt has a lot of size as well. But Miami in the edge rotation with those guys, plus Hayden Lowe, Malik Bryant, Marquis Lightfoot, they have a lot of bodies that can rush the passer and also penetrate in the run game. Now, in terms of defensive philosophy for Miami, wouldn't you at least as long as it may work for you, would you key the run game and stack the box

Starting point is 00:04:55 and challenge CJ Carr, Notre Dame's first time starting quarterback, do you really challenge him to beat you? because it'd be one thing if you allow love and price to beat you. I mean, put the game in CJ Carr's hands and see what he can do through the air. If you're talking about, you know, should they stack the box, it is tantamount to coaching malpractice if they do not. Yeah. Whatever they have, you need to stack the box.

Starting point is 00:05:27 There shouldn't be a question about, oh, well, what if they come out in 10 person? meaning one back, no tight ends, all that. Okay, great. We're still going to put an extra body in the box. We will always have one more in the box than they can block. You know why I would do that, Donna? The answer is simple here. If we're looking at who am I more likely to get beat by,

Starting point is 00:05:51 first year quarterback with the first year wide receiver won, you know, great house and company. They showed up big time last year, but Carr wasn't throwing in the ball. So I'm going to count on, oh yeah, this offensive line that's experienced and this running back that's a Heisman favorite. I'm going to count on them being equivalent or worse than a passing game that has a new quarterback, new wide receiver one. And, you know, nobody who has proven themselves over a long haul of a season. Guys have proven themselves in spurts in that Notre Dame wide receiver room. I have not seen anybody who you could look at and say definitively, throw.

Starting point is 00:06:31 throughout the season, you knew this guy, book him for 60 yards a game, book him for 80 yards a game, because that's the type of player he is. We didn't see that. So if we're talking about how I would say, where is the point where you say Notre Dame cannot beat me like this, you can't beat me running the ball if I have anything to say about it. If that car goes out there, it falls for 350, you tip your cap and you say, hell of a game by the roof, he's going to be something special. but what I don't want to see is the back of number fours jersey is is the back of that golden dome running into the end zone and doing this in the end zone.

Starting point is 00:07:07 I don't want to see this. I don't want to see that. No, sir. All right. So on the flip side, when Miami has the ball, I'm cautiously optimistic that Miami is also going to be able to run the football in this game, Kenton, behind an offensive line that I think might be the very best in the entire country. Everybody has them in the top 10. and, you know, three running backs who all should be serviceable to excellent in this game with Mark Fletcher, 225 pounds, Jordan Lyle at 205, and Shamar Brown at 220. So they pack a load in the backfield behind a physical offensive line.

Starting point is 00:07:43 And, you know, Miami's offensive line, for what it's worth, does have considerable size on Notre Dame's defensive line. So they're going to lean behind that group heavily and try to run the football. And we'll get to the Carson Beck aspect in a minute. I think this could be a game where both sides can have success running the ball, Miami included. I mean, this game is not going to be one that I'm expecting a track meat on grass. I'm expecting this to look like the original Catholics versus convicts. That's what I'm expecting this to look like, right? You didn't see Jimmy Johnson and Snellenberger saying, hey, Colzar, we're going to need 500 this game or else we're cooked.

Starting point is 00:08:19 That wasn't the case. I'm expecting it to look like that because these are two teams where the running back room are much more established than the quarterback and past catching for both teams. And so Miami, I look at in the very same degree in terms of, y'all are big up front, big, big, big dudes, big dudes, your backs. I mean, you just mentioned 645 pounds of running math. Dang.

Starting point is 00:08:49 You know, you said 220, 205 and 225, right? Oh, okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah. So that's 600 and 40. Yeah, yeah, 600 and 70, actually. I'm sorry. I'm not going to question it. 650.

Starting point is 00:09:04 I'm sorry, 650. That's the final answer. Anyway, lock it in. But the reality is this. You just mentioned three guys that those are NFL size backs. 205 is not a small back to the NFL, and you're the scat back in this back to you. So you're expecting this team to say, you know what? We can three yard and cloud a dust our way to a win.

Starting point is 00:09:25 here because again, I don't see a world where C.J. Carr comes out and just says, hey, let's try that secondary out. Malikai Fields is a fantastic receiver. He's a big, big body. He's a wonderful go up and get it guy. When it comes to him and contest the catches, he does it like you do it. And he moves very well for his size. But passing games are not just about how well does my receiver get open. It's also about how well does my quarterback know where he's going to beat. How well can we anticipate? Okay, when he runs his corner route, it's going to be right here in this moment. And it's one thing to run it in practice time and time again when you know that that defensive end has to run by you, tap you on the hip and keep going. It's a difference

Starting point is 00:10:13 when Ruben Bain is coming at you and said, oh, brother, me and you, may I have this dance, young man? May I have this dance? Because me and you're going to be, you know, we're going to be slow dancing and all night if your offensive line lets me. It's a different, very different experience. So this is a game where, again, the running games of both teams will be important, and Miami has one of the better and more powerful, even if we take away the past blocking aspect. Just simply run blocking alone. You say there are top 10 offensive line nation. If you talk run blocking alone, they'd have to be top five, maybe top three at worst. Yeah, especially behind the right side because, you know, C.C. Malinua at right tackle.

Starting point is 00:10:52 the dude loves to get downfield. And as Ness Cooper, I think, is one of the more underrated run blockers in the country. But what happens when Miami throws the football? That's why I don't want to get into next. And listen, on both sides, obviously, Notre Dame's defensive secondary is proven. And we saw what they did last season. Miami's defensive secondary has a lot of new quality bodies, but they've got to prove it this Sunday.

Starting point is 00:11:15 But is Carson Beck going to be able to find success through the area? You want to keep it locked right here. We'll also break down Florida State hosting Alabama when we come back on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Most people can't name all of their financial accounts or even what they're worth, whether it's 401Ks, properties or investments. And when you don't have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That's why Monarch Money is here. It's an all-in-one personal finance tool that helps bring your entire financial life together in one clean, easy-to-use interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives.

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Starting point is 00:13:15 to get started. That's fanduel.com to place your first $5 bet. Thank you for making locked on ACC your first listen and your first watch. So we're talking Notre Dame, two and a half point favorites at Miami this Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium. Now, Kenton, as we've seen and with Notre Dame having studs like Christian Gray and their defensive secondary, it can be very hard to throw the football against the fighting Irish. They were fourth nationally last season in passing yards allowed. You know, we all remember, this is partially an indictment on Penn State, but Penn State did not complete a single pass to a wide receiver in the national semifinal against Notre Dame last year. Now, I do think on the Miami side, maybe the most

Starting point is 00:13:59 critical weapon in this game. And I just had a conversation about this earlier today on Locked Keynes with Jason from Rock Boys football, who brought up a great point. This might have to be the Elijah Lofton game, like when it comes to Miami's tight ends, right, that he's. he can really be Carson Beck's best friend to help get that passing game going. He's going to have to find somebody. The key to a great passing game, it starts the foundation. Really, the baseline for even a decent passing game is you have to have one or two things, either one guy that is your security blanket or multiple guys that you know,

Starting point is 00:14:37 okay, when we run this concept, it's going to be open right here. I don't have a go-to guy, but we have a few go-to-com. concepts where we know it don't matter. We can run this against cover one, cover two, cover six, cover four, cover three. It's going to be open right here in this spot. It's going to be somebody is going to be open right at this time. That's important because Eliza Lofton could be that guy. He could establish himself as the guy right away.

Starting point is 00:15:03 Hey, it's me. I'm the guy. I'm the one that you want to find. I'm your blankie. You know, quarterbacks are a lot like little children, right? They're petulant. They're annoying. They got to have their. I'm sorry, wrong part.

Starting point is 00:15:15 But children like their Blanky, so do quarterbacks. They like that warmth to tuck them in at night and say, when I'm in trouble, I know I can go to my blankie. I know I can find me a guy that's going to get open and he's going to be a matchup nightmare, rather it be by his speed on the outside, whether it be by his releases, rather it be by his route running. And in loftest case, it could be the combination of all of those with size, a guy that, you know, too big for safety, too fast for linebackers. What do you do with them?

Starting point is 00:15:44 Not to mention Lofton is a guy that, you know, we talked about when Miami was having some runoffback struggles. He was playing there for a bit and look good. So we expect him to be good after the catch. Now the question is, can we get him to the catch? Can we get him open and get him the ball if you are Miami? Yeah, Miami's offensive coordinator, Shannon Dawson, recently said about Elijah Loft. And the ball just tends to find him, what was the quote. It is so, you know, there's, they line him up in a number of different ways, Kenton, as you mentioned, I don't, I don't necessarily expect him to line up too much at running back in this game.

Starting point is 00:16:21 But it's, it's something Miami has in their back pocket, but line him up in the slot, line him up in line, line him up wide. I think we'll see a lot of different looks and we'll see if the football finds him like Shannon Dawson says. You know, you guys won't be too surprised to hear me call my shot. I'm going to go for a close win for Miami in this one. The over-under for this game, Kenton, is 49 and a half, which is not a very high number. But I'm leaning to the under. Part of that being, it could be a rainy game. Now, predicting the weather in South Florida four days out, like, that can change hour to hour.

Starting point is 00:16:56 So, fools errands. But for what it's worth, 70% chance of rain on Sunday evening. So, you know, that's going to only amplify the line of scrimmage battles. I'm going to go 24, 20, Miami. What say you? don't know the skies could be clear and bluer than your wonderful eyes okay it could be 85 degrees and not a breeze in sight and i'm not just leaning toward the under i'm standing on the under i'm jumping on the under i'm doing an irish jig let me do the river dance on the under maybe hit some electric

Starting point is 00:17:31 slide on there as well the reality is this is a game where we all know the quickest way to put up points is via the passing game. And these are two teams whose passing game, I think Steele has a little bit of time and up. I think still needs to do a little bit more cooking before you know whether or not this thing is fully ready or whether or not they are fully ready from game one. I think it's going to take some time.

Starting point is 00:17:54 And so if we're talking about the game and who we think could be the X factors here, I think the special teams game is going to be vital. I think whoever wins the field position battle in terms of winning hidden yard is via I think it's going to be whoever does a better job of containing returners, whoever does a better job of not making the crucial mistake. Because to me, of course, the biggest difference and the reason why I'm going to make my pick here is because I believe that one team has one unit that I think can force the other team into mistakes a little bit better than their counterparts. And with that in mind, I'm going to go with Notre Dame winning by two because I think that that defensive.

Starting point is 00:18:38 backfield is going to force a pivotal turnover in a moment where it's like, man, we could have just kept it going on the running game. We could have just kept it go. But I don't think that Mario Cristobar can stop outsmarting himself. And I think that this is going to be one of those moments where the running game ain't great. It ain't crushing it, but it's doing good enough. And then he says, let's put the ball in Carson Beck's head a lot, this drive. And that pivotal turnover turns out to be the dagger. I would. be surprised either way this game turns out, but if somebody told me I had to, you know, the same way we have to read these ads for all these gambling sites and whatnot, if I had to,

Starting point is 00:19:18 if I had to get in on the action, I would take Notre Dame by two points. All right. Well, let's talk Bama at Florida State when we come back. Now, in case Alabama needed any bulletin board material for this game, every chance you look, they're getting something from Florida State quarterback Thomas Costalanos. First, it was Nick Saban is not there to save them, which he doubled down on. And then Costalanos also recently said, you know, he's about to go up against a very highly touted Alabama defense. But he said the toughest defense he's going to see all gear is the one he faces in practice.

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Starting point is 00:21:13 This is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don't, and answer questions about our advertising. Go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash survey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of $10, $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that's locked onpodcast.com slash survey. You can also find the link in the show notes. And thanks for helping us out. All right, Kenton Gibbs, host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I'm Alex Dono, host of Lockdown, Keynes here on Lockdown, ACC.

Starting point is 00:21:41 So, Kenton, it's Alabama, according to pro football focus for what that's worth, predicted to have the number one defense in college football this year. But apparently it's not the toughest deed that Thomas Castellanos is going to see all year. How do you see Florida State's offense? And, you know, the conversations we've had with Brian Smith from Lockdown Seminole's very questionable offensive line depth. Now, since this is the first game of the season, we assume this is the healthiest they're going to be. Maybe your starters are enough to open up some holes and protect your quarterback a little bit. But how do you expect Thomas Costellanos and Deuce Robinson and squirrel, White, and company to be able to attack that Alabama D?

Starting point is 00:22:25 Donald, you know that I am, I fancy myself to be a really. religious man. I'm not a man of the clump, but I do fancy my soldier. Just sending up a little bit of timber here and there. And I have been praying with everything in me. I've been the hardest prayer warrior that Florida State has that Thomas Costellanos can prove all of us wrong, including me, okay? Because I'm deeply worried about this team, Donna. I'm not even talking about from a depth standpoint, from a depth standpoint, rather. Even when we look at top end, Overton from Bamma is disgusting on that edge.

Starting point is 00:23:07 Yeah. He is not good. That young man is borderline great out there. And so I'm not worried about your death. I'm worried about your best guy. Bring your baddest to the floor and let's see what's going to happen here. I'm concerned, Dono, I'm concerned.

Starting point is 00:23:27 But if I were to say, what is Florida State's path to success? I would say, lean in to the Gus Mazzan offense, which leans into Thomas Kossano's strengths. And what is that? Keep the pocket moving. Give him options to where the reads are simplified.

Starting point is 00:23:45 Cut off half the field. Say, hey, we need worry about that backside. You know, just worry about we're rolling this way. These are your reads right here. One, two, three. You don't see nothing, take off. But Dono, I'm concerned, man. I'm concerned because I like squirrel right.

Starting point is 00:24:01 I like Dool-Roy. I like it. I really do. I'm not sure that we're living in a world where, you know, all of the bulletin board material. And fun fact, we've talked about this before on this show, but if you haven't listened in the past, I was the guy that Thomas Costalanos doubled down too about the, you know,

Starting point is 00:24:22 like you basically, like you gave him, opportunity to like walk it back and take the high road it instead of taking that he he double he double the road he was up it's even worse i gave him the opportunity just to say like hey i'm a confident guy that that's just part of who i am and he instead was like well we stand on what i said i'm just sitting oh oh oh boy so you know i would love for this florida state team to prove me wrong and break my grandmother's heart because we all know granny is a big Alabama fan this is a huge outfam bet i hope that he He brazed granny's heart. But you don't have to give this team bulletin board material every time you step in front of the mic.

Starting point is 00:25:01 At this point, I'm starting to get concerned. Norville, why do you keep letting him talk during media availability? I understand not wanting to put a muzzle on your star quarterback, but sometimes you got to sit a guy down and say, hey, listen, listen, we believe in our settles. We believe we're a great team. There's nothing wrong with calling your shot. but there is something wrong with disrespecting your opponent. And at this point, you've gone beyond calling your shot multiple times. There's nothing wrong with big enough your defense saying this is the best defense I'll play on you.

Starting point is 00:25:34 There's nothing wrong with that internally, in-house. When you get outside the house and they say, how do you expect to play this team? We're going to keep it real, real, real piecey. I know 2025 is a different world and now politically correct the scene as a pejorative. I don't give a rats behind. If I'm a head coach in Tallahassee, I'm saying, good, we keep it an extra piecey. You're going to go up to that stand. And when they ask you, what do you think about all of those players of Alabama that are going to, hey, it's an Alabama defense.

Starting point is 00:26:07 They're going to be well coached. They're going to have talent, you know. At the end of the day, it's not about them. It's about how we execute. It's about how we tackle our assignment. It's about are we aligned in the right way? And I trust coach Malzahn. I trust coach Norval to put us in positions to succeed.

Starting point is 00:26:22 Boom, there you go. You big up your team without disrespecting anybody. But every time he steps in front of a mic. And another thing, why are they always wearing those fedoras down there? It looks stupid. Bear Bryant, he wasn't a real bear. He was a human. Bears are way stronger than him.

Starting point is 00:26:41 What are we doing? It's like something he would say. Now, of course, when Alabama has the ball, boy, did they have talented offensive players, Ryan Williams, receiver, Jan Miller, running back. Now, they do, they do breaking in a new starting quarterback. Now, both teams are, but, you know, Castellanos has started at Boston College, and he's played for Gus Malzon before at UCF, where Alabama is breaking in. Their new starting quarterback, Ty Simpson.

Starting point is 00:27:08 How do you think Florida State is going to fare defensively? They should have a pretty good defensive line, Kenton, but this is going to be a big challenge. I'm very worried about this defense as well. I am. I am, and I know people are going to hear this. said, well, you're worried about everything with Florida State. It's game one, and they were two and ten last year. I don't know why you wouldn't expect me to be worried.

Starting point is 00:27:30 Well, kidding, they got a lot of transfers in this year. But didn't they have a lot of transfers in last year? Wasn't that kind of the problem? Wasn't that kind of the issue? So I'm worried here because they do on paper, have a very good team, very good defense, all those things. You cleaned house in terms of not only your players, but also your coaching staff. virtually everybody's new.

Starting point is 00:27:54 Virtually everybody is new. And so you're hoping that in one offseason, everybody has messed in jailed in a significant way, because let's be real about this thing now. You're playing the cover athlete for college football 26 and Ryan Williams. That's right. You're not, this is not just some, you know, if Jeremiah Smith were never born,

Starting point is 00:28:17 he would be the talk of the town in terms of young receivers. there wouldn't be anybody else. I think there's Jeremiah Smith, and then there's a decent size gap, and then there's Ryan Williams, in terms of these young pup receivers. Nobody else is in their strategy. So I'm deeply, deeply worried for this Florida State defense

Starting point is 00:28:37 because I look at them and I say, yes, you bought in some good talent out of the portal. However, however, we've seen this story play out in the past. I don't know, about 360 some odd days ago, we have played these games before. And I hope that it ends up differently for Florida State. I have a very sneaky suspicion that this one in particular will not. Yeah, I don't think they're going to cover the 13 and a half. I'm going something like, I'm going to say, like 3813 for Alabama.

Starting point is 00:29:16 It's about a 25 point different. You know what, Kenton, I can only. do math in the context of gambling. Give me a word problem with like a Vig and I can solve it. That's the only way I can do math. But yeah, I mean, listen, I don't think it's going to be particularly close. Keeping in mind, Florida State has done such a good job keeping their facility basically shut down since practice is started that there is an element of unpredictability.

Starting point is 00:29:43 But I think, I think Bama is probably going to win big. What do you think? Yeah, I agree. I've got 41-17. I really and truly, I hope, again, if Thomas Kosselamos has anybody, anybody that is watching to hope that the hate watch goes wrong

Starting point is 00:30:01 outside of the city of Tallahassee, it's this guy, okay? I want him to be good so bad. I want this offense to go out there and say, oh, apparently they did need saving to save him. I would be over the moon to come on here and say that. The problem is I think that there's been a lot of barking without a lot of biting to kind of back it up and justify it. I'm sorry, you know, from the minute you found out that you weren't prime time, and that was a problem.

Starting point is 00:30:30 To then talking about the saving thing, to then doubling down on that, to then throwing your old team and it's underbuss saying, I'm the only one. And I know that we're talking about Casalanos in sequence of, well, this is the entire team. But I think the problem is, Dono, how much did you clean up the culture? if the face of your team, if the most recognizable name on your team is continuing to go out there and say things that are objectively borderline ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah, it's an issue, no doubt. Well, I know we didn't get to our possible solution outside of non-conference games. Let's table that for the upcoming episode because it's something I do want to get into.

Starting point is 00:31:11 because Miami's athletic director, who obviously is a part of the meetings and discussions for the conference plans, mentioned an idea maybe outside of going up to nine conference games. So we'll get into that next time. And by the way, if you're looking for an LSU Clemson conversation, we did have one on Monday. I'm not saying we won't talk about it again before the weekend, but if you're wondering why we didn't get to it on this episode, we extensively covered that matchup on Monday. So make sure you check that out. Make sure you check Kenton out at Lockdown Wolfpack and at TGIF underscore Kenton on X.

Starting point is 00:31:43 Follow me at Alex Dono and check out Lockdown Cains. And we'll talk to everyone next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - CLASH: Notre Dame's Running Game THREATENS Miami's Hopes | Can The Canes STOP the Irish Onslaught?

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