Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - EXPOSED: Jim Phillips' SHOCKING Admission ROCKS ACC Fanbase | Will Notre Dame BENEFIT Most from New Playoff Format?

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

Is the ACC commissioner prioritizing college football's greater good over the ACC's own interests? This episode tackles the controversial decision to implement straight seeding in the college football playoff system, a move that could reshape the landscape for teams like the Miami Hurricanes and Notre Dame.Join host Alex Donno and co-host Kenton Gibbs as they dissect the implications of this decision on the ACC, SEC, and Big Ten. They explore how Notre Dame stands to gain and debate the potential expansion to a 16-team playoff. With insights from key figures like Jim Phillips and discussions on the role of computer-based selection, this episode promises a deep dive into the future of college football.Tune in for a thought-provoking analysis and discover how these changes could impact your favorite teams.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.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.

The ACC commissioner is putting the greater good of college football ahead of his own conferences needs when none of the other commissioners are doing that. You are locked on ACCC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy Friday and shout out to the everydayers. 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, your team every day.

He is Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Canes. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Lockdown College at Monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. On this episode of Lockdown ACC, we'll talk about the upcoming 16 team college football playoff. That's not this year. 2026, that's going to start. But in 2025, we're going to straight seating.

And we will talk about who benefits from straight seating. Kenton Gibbs, the ACC commissioner, admitted this is something that will not benefit his own conference and yet he is in favor of it. So this quote from Jim Phillips really stood out. We all have a responsibility to serve our constituents while also being mindful as to what's best for college football. Today's decision was done in the best interest of the sport. It may not always benefit the ACC, but it was the right decision, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously. But hold on.

Kent, isn't his job to hold internal interests over the greater good? Like, that's your job as commissioner of the ACC. see. Dono, you're a husband and a father and a good person, I would like to believe. You want what's best for people in general. You want what's best for the general public in Miami in the area that you're living and all that. But not to the detriment of the Dono family, of course. Like, and don't get me wrong. I understand being altruistic to a point. I understand saying, hey, we need to give. There are concessions that have to be made. To a point. But at the end of the day, you are not head of the Gibbs household.

You are not head of the Mendoza household. You are not head of the Cristobar household. You are not head of the Gentile. You are head of the Dono household. Guess what, Mr. Phillips? You are head of the ACC household. That's your job. That is why you get paid.

That's why you get paid so much more than me and Dono combined. Your job, your whole thing is supposed to be. I'll protect all of the members of my house. You know, as the old Under Armour commercials, when I was a kid, would say, we must protect this house. And guess what? This is a clear dereliction in duty to protect the house

that is the ACC in this moment. It's shameful, man. You think about these alliances that the SEC and the Big Ten have formed. where they use their power and their influence to force decisions like what's going to come down when we move up to 14, probably 16 teams coming up, four auto bids for the SEC, four for the Big Ten. Is that what's best for the greater good of college football? Do you think they care?

No. They're making deals. Petiti, the commissioner of the Big Ten, Sankey, Commissioner of the SEC. They are doing things that benefit their leagues. They're not doing things to offer charity to the Big 12 into the ACC. So why should the ACC commissioner be offering any sort of charity to the Big Ten and the SEC? Now, let me catch people up on, because we started talking about this straight seating. In case anyone doesn't know what this is about is.

So we all remember last year, you know, last December when the 12 team college football playoff team was announced, there were a lot of angry folks in the SEC, especially about the way that they did the seeding, right? Because the first four seeds were the four highest ranked conference winners who got that first round by in the favorable seating, right? So if you had done straight seating, Boise State would have not gotten a first round by, nor would Arizona State have gotten a first round by. Them kind of crashing the party ruined it for everybody else

because now they've realized, hey, we're going to use the straight up CFP rankings and the top four seeds in that whether you won your conference or not, which by the way, devalues conference championship games. So don't be surprised if those ratings for the ACC title game go down because of this decision. Thanks a lot, Jim Phillips. So it devalues the conference championship game. And so now you're just going to go top four teams get the seeds. Now what they're saying, there still is an incentive, but not much of an incentive to win your conference. Because yeah, the five highest ranked conference champions are still guaranteed to get in to the playoff, but it's not going to affect their seating.

And so obviously, if you do straight seating, if you do the math, it probably favors the SEC in the Big Ten, just like every other decision that's been made for the past year or two. Donald, they say a good compromise. Everybody walks away unhappy. The ACC does not know what a good compromise is. the way that this conference consistently bends the need and capitulates to every single bit of pressure, I'm thinking about going to Charlotte. And I'm thinking about saying, hey, you guys owe me $2 million or else.

And I might walk out of there. And if they send in a negotiator like who they've been sending in lately, I might walk out of there $1.5 million richer. Can we understand you have no leverage? But take this $1.5. Please just leave us alone. Please, just leave us alone. Because at this point in time, I genuinely don't understand it.

I genuinely don't. Even if you believe, hey, Clemson being a fairly average-looking team until the conference championship game hits will be the norm going forward, even if that's your belief, you don't think anybody else will be good enough to where, hey, they can win out in a way that gives them one of those first four seeds, again, it's so, it's so infuriating because at every turn, it just seems like again and again and again, the ACC is doing negotiation like on Dumb and Dumber,

where he was like, I'll give you 75 cents for it. No, a dollar. Oh, yeah, sure. I'll, I'll take a dollar for that. And he's like, no, $1.25. I'm sorry, that was family guys. I was doing negotiations like that. Even when you cut and slice it.

Even the way you cut and slice it, it was some idiot that kept saying, no, I will give you more for this item that you are selling. This here is just the Clemson and Florida State walked away happy from negotiations with the ACC. The Big Ten and the SEC walked away happy with negotiations with the ACC.

You and me need to make a trick to shop. We got some money to be made. I don't think we got to rob it. I just think we got to say, we are very strongly believers that you owe us $2 million. And we might walk out of there at Millwich. I want the ACC to open up their own car dealership. I'm going to leave there with a Lambo for $30,000.

Like brand new, three miles on it, just a couple of test drives we got on there. Jim Phillips says, I'll give it to you for 50. Jim, how about $30. Okay, sold. That's how this is going to go. You might be able to negotiate it down to paying you into taking the Lambo. I'm not sure. There you go.

These things depreciate a lot. The upkeep is a lot. All right, fine. You drive a hard bargain. Here's 20,000 to take the Lamba. Listen, again, I just want to see. I have talked about Jim Phillips being a very cerebral man, time in and timeout. I have talked about Jim Phillips being a guy that's not very publicly fiery,

but he has it in moments, and he's more of a guy that is thoughtful and thinks these things through. So many people are saying, well, the last time a playoff didn't get approved in the way the SEC and Big Ten wanted. The Pac-12 disappeared. The PAC 12 had a bunch of teams that had other places to go. There is nowhere else. Where does a Louisville go? I'll even talk about my alma mater. Where does an NC state go where they get better than what you're looking at for the ACC.

Where do you go? They're stuck whether you want it or not. So it shouldn't have been a thought of we'll be destroyed if we fight tooth in to say, hey, we either deserve equal representation or, hey, y'all can get one more team than us, but we're not letting y'all get guaranteed bids. Half of the field will guaranteed be you. Come on, dog. Coming up next, there is one university in particular that benefits the most from this. They might benefit even more than the SEC Commissioner and the Big Ten Commissioner.

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Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone host Lockedon Wolfpack talking everything NC State. I host Locked on Keynes talking all things, Miami. Now, you know, one of Miami's old school historic rivals benefit from this, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Kenton. And there is a domino effect with the ACC on this. So, you know, Notre Dame, the most high profile independent in FBS. Yukon is the other one. I think Notre Dame has the edge in profile.

You know, a big concern up to this point for Notre Dame has been, since we don't have a conference to win, it's impossible for us to get one of those top four seeds in a first round by. There's no conference for us to win. We're independent in football, ACC and everything else, right? Now this opens the door for Notre Dame. If they finish the year ranked top four, they get the first round by. And like, okay, that's good for them.

But I am I thinking too hard on this one, Kenton, that if I had any hopes and dreams, that at some point the ACC could convince Notre Dame, how about we join your conference in football? Because, you know, the ACC could benefit from that. Obviously, Notre Dame doesn't benefit enough because they haven't done it at this point. Now there's no incentive left for them to join a conference. You know, unless, you know, non-conference team stopped scheduling them, which I guess could happen. USC wants out of that rivalry, that yearly rivalry.

But Notre Dame is a big winner in this and another reason why the ACC is a loser. Donald, you're absolutely wrong. Notre Dame did pick a conference. Remember when COVID happened and they had to be in somebody's conference? That's right. The ACC was so thirsty and welcomed them in with such open arms. And they stole a trophy off of my boy Peyton Wilson to give to Xavier Watts, who he statistically beat out in every category except interception.

You know, but that's neither here. Oh, I'm sorry. No, that was your J.O.K. Robby. But that's neither here, no. Oh, okay. Who he beat out in every step. He beat J.O.K. in every stand. It wasn't close.

But here's the thing, Donna. You want to know the worst part about this. Notre Dame, and I'm going to sit my hate array right now. I'm going to sit there. I'm okay with that. Notre Dame gets the history of saying, we played the first ever college football playoff game, because the first was between them and Indiana. That was the first ever college football playoff game played.

And now they get, oh, we don't even have to join the conference to get these benefits. Right when the tide seemed to turn and USC said, hey, enough, we're not doing this anymore. We already play a big 10 schedule where some of our team, we could see realistically having to go to Rutgers and then flying back to California, then going to Ann Arbor and then flying back to California, then going to Des Moines, Iowa, then flying back to California. We've already seen that potentially happen. Why the hell would we throw in a trip to South Bend every two years on top of that? And there were going to be more marquee matchups that are like, you know what, you can throw in Clemson, and I'm not sure if the juices work to squeeze. With all due respect, Notre Dame,

is eating like Kings off this thing. And as they should, as they should, because again, the ACC bends the need to everybody. You know, I have never heard of a softer negotiator ever. I mean, you know, people talked about Jimmy Carter, God rest his soul, being a terrible negotiator. There's no way he could have been as bad as what we currently have in the ACC. There's no way it could have been this terrible. Because, again, what do we get out of anything? Like I seriously sit here and ask repetitively.

What do we get? Oh, you get stability to win for how long. Oh, you get to keep the band together. The band is unhappy. They're not playing any hits anymore. They don't like each other. You know, it's just disappointing to see this. But you're right.

Notre Dame is a big winner. And the team that played Notre Dame and the conference or in the national championships in my final is another big winner in terms of Penn State. Because Penn State looks like a playoff team every year until playoff teams pull up. And then all of a sudden, they look terrible. But guess what?

Because it's a Big Ten schedule and they'll be guaranteed a spot now because there'll always be the third or fourth best Big Ten team. Guess where they're going to be every year in the playoff potentially getting a buy week as well. Shenanigans, I'll tell you. Yeah. Well, and as far as Penn State is concerned, they wish that we had been in straight seating last year because they would have had a first round by.

They had the first round by taken away from them because they, weren't a conference champion, but they were one of the top four teams. Oregon would have had a first round by as well. So the other thing, again, so Notre Dame, they have the benefit of not having to play in a conference championship game, which gives you an extra date to potentially damage your college football playoff resume. Are conference championship games still necessary? I know they try to incentivize them a little bit because, again, even though you can't

get necessarily the first round by by winning your conference. You are the top five conference champions are still guaranteed a spot in the playoff. But I feel like conference title games again have been devalued by this seeding decision. Do you remember last year, SMU took a big risk in even playing in the conference chance. They almost lost their spot by losing to Clemson. They were this close to losing their spot. So, I mean, do you think we might see within the next couple of years, especially once we go to 16, maybe no more conference title games. Absolutely not. And I'll tell you why that would not make sense. Well, actually, I'm going to tell you why it shouldn't make sense in a world where people are honest and true. The committee

specifically said, we will not heavily waive losing a conference championship game. We will not make losing a conference championship game be the reason the team is kept out, except it may happen. except we we you know we it won't happen until it does same way we were told hey although this is a 14 playoff we will not you know we will not be looking at these games in a way that we would leave an undefeated team who has a strong strength of schedule out until florida state oh your quarterback's legs so unfortunate whoopty woo woo woo it is it is flatly you know foolish to say that straight seating is the way to go. I have a pole straight seating for the beginning because I am a strong believer that the way in which we see is deeply flawed,

that we have too many humans involved in the process. That's way too much of I think, I feel, I believe instead of this is what the raw data tells us. And at that point, when we reach that raw data tells us, I'd be fine with straight seating. But right now, when you've got teams who are like, well, we believe that they could be going to know, well, the numbers on the side of their helmet or the logo on the side of the helmet tells it, I don't give a damn what the logo on the side of your helmet says. Yesterday's price is not today's price. Yesterday's team is not today's team.

That's just not how it works. Jay and Danes would never play quarterback at LSU again, neither would Joe Burrow. Russell Wilson will never play quarterback at NC State again. It's not happening. Clinton Portis and Willis McGahey and Frank Gore are not walking through Miami's running back road to play anymore. Edron James ain't showing back up with that beautiful gold grill. is it's not happening it's not happening so so you know when while we're in this space of humans

having the vast bulk of the decision i don't like straight seed yeah well um coming up next again so this this coming season 2025 we're still at a 12 team college football playoff with straight seating come 2026 we might go as high as a 16 team playoff is that too much you want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new locked on ACC. You know, Kenton, the momentum in recent weeks has been, you know, when they redo the college football playoff, which is, you know, coming up, 2026 new TV deal starts. They were talking about going to 14 for a while. Now it seems like 16, make it more inclusive is the number people want. Actually, I don't mind 16. I just wonder, like, if they're making it 16 next year

in five years, are they trying to accept? expand it to 24, 32. I don't know when this is going to stop, but I actually feel like 16 is a pretty good number. Like, you can complain about missing out on the 14 playoff if you're the 5 seed. I guess you can complain about the 13 missing out on the 12. It's a little harder for the 17 seed to complain about missing the field, Kenton. I'm okay with 16. What about you? I am a thousand percent okay with 16. I'm not okay with the distribution of the 16. Yeah. It is my opinion.

It is my opinion that either we should go three seeds apiece for each of the power four conferences. And anybody who is outside of the top 35 RPI gets replaced by an at large bid. That would be my opinion in a perfect world. And that way we still leave room to allow the exact same room for the group of five teams. With all the respect, I don't want to see a world where we're telling a group of five team, hey, so what that you won 11 games? You're 11 and 1 all. So sad, too bad.

You just aren't one of the top 16 teams. We just don't believe it about you. So we're going to leave you on the outside looking in as opposed to teams with three and four losses because it's like different leagues from a coach that ain't won Jack Squad. From a coach that it, congratulations. If you're watching this podcast, you have as many national championship wins as Lane Kiffin as a head coach.

Give yourself a hand for that. So it's really, to me, I think that everybody should have a chance. And I've been a proponent of that from the beginning of this. Everybody should have a shot. And I know everybody says, oh, realistically, there's only so many teams that can win it every year. How do you know that? How do you know that? Boise State didn't have a chance against Oklahoma.

Utah didn't have a chance against Alabama. How many games do we have to see where all these teams, UCF couldn't beat Auburn? no way they beat Arbor until they did. When you give these teams a chance to line it up, they will show you amazing things in all you. But when you pretty much prematurely decide, hey, you're not going to be in because we don't believe that you belong in,

despite you winning your games, despite you showing us and proving when you line it up, we're going to leave you all for a team that, well, their potential. Well, you know, when they get it right and everything's firing in the right way, they can make great things happen. I don't give a damn about none of that.

I want to see what you do when you line it up. And I know Ohio State won it last year as a, what, 12 seed or something like that? They were what, the last seeding? Close. I mean, yeah, after losing that game to Michigan. But, yeah. I'll give Ohio State their respect for winning it in that fashion. They had a hard road ahead of them.

They knocked out the one seed like it was nothing. They whipped on Tennessee in a way. I believe that was the largest margin of victory in the first round. It was. Give them their props for that. But again, I'm not believing that every team that is a 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 seed will be as good as this year's Ohio State team. I don't believe that.

And especially knowing that there will be teams that are very deserving on a group of five left out, I don't like it. Yeah, I'm thinking about, like, seeding numbers. And you mentioned do like three each for the power four. I just, that's an impossible sell. would never get the SEC and the Big Ten to agree to equal bids. But what if you do, I'm talking guaranteed bids. Yeah.

Three and three for the SEC and Big Ten. Two and two guaranteed for the Big 12 in the ACC, but then you have more at large to deal with. Because what would that do, 10, so that you have six at large bids, which gives opportunities for others to get in. But that's why I said if they're inside the RPI top 35, because I don't believe that anybody deserves guarantees. I'm sorry, I don't. I believe that you have to show up and earn it.

I believe everybody should have to show up and earn it. What happens if we look at a down year for the SEC or the Big Ten where their fourth best team is objectively the 35th, 40th best team in the nation? And we all know it. Oh, we just got to sit there. Well, I guess we got to shut up and suck our thumbs about it because they deserve their 14. No, I believe in the guaranteed bids so long as certain requirements are met.

I'm okay with them having more bids. If everybody's inside the RPA top 35, go for it. I'm okay with that. And again, I'm okay with that if the computers are decided because too many times last year, you cannot tell me that a Bama team that scored three points against Oklahoma is one of the 35 best teams in America, especially in the Navy.

The Navy behinds up. Navy lit them boys up like it was nothing. Walk through that defense. So I look at this and I say, if the humans are deciding, it's really not much we can do in terms of removing some of these biases and whatnot. But once we, if we were to turn it over to the computers, as many times as we say AI is taking over everything. This is the one damn thing that I will want machine learning and they ought to do something about, do something.

This would be the moment to step in and do that. And that's why I would say, again, even with the guarantees, you should still have to get over a certain bar to reach the guarantees. It's time to dust off those old BCS computers and see if they can still update the software, do what you have to do, see if those things still work. Huge thank you and shout out to everybody for making Lockdown ACC your first listen and your first watch this week. Make sure you check Kenton out at TGIF underscore Kenton on X and on Lockedon Wolfpack. Check me out at Alex Dono and on Locked on Cains.

And we'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. every day