Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Florida State's Coaching Situation IMPLODES as AD Endorses Mike Norvell

Episode Date: October 20, 2025

SEMINOLES' coaching crisis: Is Mike Norvell's time up? ACC shakeup looms as GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS surge.Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs dissect FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES' stunning loss to Stanford, questioning Mike Norvell's future. Brian Smith offers insider perspective on potential replacements and local media reaction. The duo analyzes MIAMI HURRICANES' setback against Louisville, praising Jeff Brahm's innovative play-calling. GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS' unexpected rise takes center stage, with Gibbs declaring them conference favorites. Dereon Coleman's impact and ACC's shifting landscape round out this must-listen breakdown.Tune in for expert takes on FSU's coaching candidates and GT's path to ACC dominance.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!QuoSee why over 90,000 businesses trust Quo, formerly OpenPhone. Get started free and get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.Quo.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.DoorDashWith DoorDash Streaks, you save every Saturday you order — stack it up all season and you could save up to $250. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your gameday — only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period through 11/18.MazdaIt’s the small details that make the big plays. And just like there’s more to every player, there’s more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda. Move and Be Moved. GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at https://www.monarch.com/lockedoncollege for 50% off your first year.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.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 Florida State Athletic Director has fully endorsed Mike Norvell, but there's a catch. You are Locked-on ACCC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What a weekend in college football? I come to you humbled after Miami's first loss. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Cains. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive lineman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. We are locked on ACC, and thank you so much for making us 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. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app today. We'll talk about Georgia Tech quietly moving to the top of the ACC and moving into the top 10.

the Yellow Jackets are now the highest ranked team in the conference, and it's well deserved. We'll talk about where Miami stands and how the margins have really shrunk after the Friday night lost to Louisville. But let's start off, Kenton, talking Florida State Seminoles. And I know we're going to be talking a lot of big picture stuff, but if we zoom in, this team just lost on the road at Stanford, something you and I certainly did not think that would happen, but our guest who's about to join us actually did think it could happen. I thought it was possible because of how Stanford ran the ball,

but then when I found out that Michael Ford wasn't going to be available, I said, there's no way. There is no way they lose this football game. But where there's a will, where there's a Norville, there's a way to lose a football in the ACC. Because, I mean, this was an all-time stinker and an embarrassment for FSU on a level that I don't think anybody could possibly fathom besides our guests that we're about.

to bring on here. All right. So let's bring on Brian Smith from Locked on Seminoles. Now, Brian, despite the fact that Florida State has not won an ACC game since Mike Norville was 42 years old, he just turned 44. They have not won an ACC game since early last season against the Cal, Golden Bears. I believe it's now 1 and 11 in Mike Norvel's last 12 ACC matchups. Despite that, Florida State Athletic Director Michael Alford put out a statement on Monday morning. And keep in mind, there are coaching jobs coming open all across college football, including Florida Gators job just came open yesterday. Billy Napier was fired. But Florida A.D., Florida State A.D. said today that the school is fully committed to Mike Norville this season,

which I think is the key quote there, and a comprehensive assessment of the program will conclude at the season's end. So, Brian, I don't read that as like a full endorsement to the the point where we think Mike Norvel's doing an amazing job. I think that just means they don't want to or maybe can't afford to fire him right now, but that could happen later. That's how I read it too. Now, I won't discuss on this show what I said immediately when I read that because we would all be fired.

But at the same time, this is not the end of it. And I know Florida State fans and even like the people that are in Tallahassee covered at the news stations and all the people like, yeah, we're here. Monday could happen. I got a text yesterday from somebody that represents one of the players on the team. I'm guessing that Michael Alford, the AD is like, we got to wait to the end of the year. I think it's money. I'd mentioned to you yesterday, Alex, when I spoke to you on the phone. It's over $60 million just for the two coordinators and Norville. That doesn't count the rest of the staff. And it doesn't-hiring a new staff. That's what I'm saying. So you're at $100 plus million.

There's no friendly here because every school is in the same. same boat. Let's say when Kiffin goes to Florida. They would not be in the same situation. But you still got to go out and hire somebody probably for 10 million a year. Because now the Ole Misses bar has been raised. And it's the same way everywhere.

I don't think Florida states in a good spot. You just did stadium renovations. You got the ACC lawsuit money. You're trying to get out of these. I'm just going to say it. Figure it out. There is no shortcut. At the end of this season, might more

has to be terminated. That's it. If he doesn't, and I mean this in full, full honesty, I would not want to be offered or anybody in his family. I know that's awful. Don't go out in public. You're going to, you're like your kids, crank it. They're all going to get things said to it.

That's going to happen. Don't do it. And it's, to be clear, it's not Alford's money. The boosters are going to have to pony up. And I'm seeing a lot and I'm getting messages. We're not going to donate anymore. That gets awkward. You're going to lose either way you go, so you might as well pay him out. It's at that point. And this program is cratery. They've actually got a pretty good recruiting class right now.

I happen to follow recruiting just a little bit. I will bet you that the scavengers, shall we say, are going to come a call. And based on this statement, they're going to say, do you really want to play for this guy? they're going to be parents seven-on-seven coaches and other people around these recruits. They're like, yeah, you may have a relationship with CERTAN or whoever it is. They got some pretty good assistance. But are you going to win there? They're one in 11 in their last 12 ACC games. Like getting, you know, you've been on the good side and the bad side when you're at NC State.

You know what it looked like it feels like. Right now, you couldn't even relate remotely to what's happening at Florida State. No. You think perfect while you were there, but they're so far ahead of where. Florida State's at right now during your tenure. Explain to somebody what it's coming into a locker room after your second loss in a row. I mean, it's tough coming in after a second loss in a row in general. But I think the other part of why I can't relate to Florida State and what's going on there, NC State never had this type of expectation. NC State never had expectation.

After you beat Bemma, people were mentioning you as a playoff team. That three and no start, people were saying, oh, this is one of the best 10 teams in the country. And now they've fallen. By the way, Dono, I want to give you an interesting fact here because you said they won a conference game since Norville was 42. Even worse. I got an even worse step for you. They have never led the Stanford Cardinals in terms of the ACCC standings.

Not a single day since Stanford has joined, has Florida State football ever led. Because last year, Stanford's first game in the ACC was a win against the, the Syracuse Orange in Syracuse. That was the Alec Aymor Menor game. And they have never led them. So I want to ask you this, Brian, because we all know, famine is one of the signs of the apocalypse. And when the booster say, I'm not paying up no more,

that's your university's famine. But what else is going on around that program that you're hearing to make it very clear, there's no way this is redeemable? Even if they won out, you still can't bring Norville back. Or is that not the case? Is there a world where potentially, if they went out, you say, yeah, the buyouts are expensive. He's showing we might do a little Florida situation where we use the money we were going to buy you out with to put it in. I.F.

What do you think is the situation there? What else are you seeing outside of the boosters? The problem that I have is just the way it works in North Florida. Those people, they're born there. They stay there. Media included, they're diehards. People that cover Florida State by and large are diehards. It's most outlets, like everybody goes to different places because that's the job you get. The people that run War Chant, which is the OG of all these sites, that's like mid-90s. Like when the internet started, that was the dominant force. Those guys have always been super nice, super nice, even when something went sideways. They're no longer super nice.

That to me is the sign. These are grads, fans, people who live in Tallahassee. People that probably go hang out with administrators and coaches play golf. No more. To me, that's the sign. When the local media turns, I don't care what program it is, you're in trouble. But at Florida State, that's really odd. People in North Florida are pretty chill.

It's polar opposite of like where Dono used to live. In South Florida, nice person still might cuss you out. That ain't going to happen. That ain't going to happen in Tallahassee. Like, that's just a very chill. They had turned. Knowles 24-7, check it out every day. Fort State fans, diehards.

They've all written columns separately. He's got to go. If they keep him after this season, and then you've got to have a press conference and all that, it will be Armageddon. And I feel bad for Alford because he's the poor guy that's got to go out on the microphone because he's the AD, but he's making a lot of money.

I don't feel too bad for him. But he has to publicly state we don't have the money, which he won't do because he won't want to tick off the boosters that he's still trying to change their mind. That's the only question. Can you get the boosters giving the money? It's the only thing that matters in Florida State football right now. That's awful, but that is the only thing that matters. I'm guessing right now they don't have it.

And that's the problem. I don't know that. But I'll check with some sources. Maybe I'll come back on next week if we can discuss this further. But it's the only question. Because if you keep him going into next year, that is the definitely. definition of a death march. Recurney will tank Florida State Stadium, although it's beautiful now.

They did a great job on renovations. Attendance is going to tank. They are done. Florida State fans are 100% done with Mike Norbel. Well, another thing I want to ask Brian about on the other side, because even though Mike Norvell is not getting fired right now, I know Brian's got a hot board. So I would love to know who is on that hot board for the next coach. Plus, I want to get Kenton and Brian's take on.

and Miami's lost to Louisville on Friday night. I certainly have opinions on it. You guys want to keep it locked right here. We are only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Oh, folks, we are only getting started with Fandual. I love this time of year. College football in full swing. NFL season is full swing.

Fan Duel has an offer you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 100 in bonus bets if you win. That's right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you'll unlock $300 in bonus. bets to use across the app. I love how Fanduel gives me so many ways to play. I've built parlays. I've tried player props. I've even followed the live lines during games. By the way, something I know we're going to talk about here in a second is I was surprised. You guys know I love Miami. I cover Miami. Miami is favored by 30 and a half against Stanford this weekend. That is the

biggest number I've seen in any ACC versus ACC game all year. So that's one. We're definitely going to break down. And guys, whether you're a casual fan or you love diving into the stats, Fandual makes the game day experience so much better. So what are you waiting for? Visit fanduel.com to download the Fandual app today and get started. We're proudly brought to you by Quo. One of the tools that helps make a huge difference for business owners is Quo, formerly open phone. It's the same great business phone system you've heard me talk about before, just with a new name. And here's why it matters. Every missed call is money left on the table. When every customer conversation

counts, you need a phone system that keeps you connected 24-7. Quo is the number one business phone system that streamlines customer communications. It works right through an app on your phone or computer, so no more carrying two phones or relying on a landline. I love how Quo formerly known as Open Phone lets your team share one number and collaborate on calls and texts like a shared inbox so no customer gets left hanging. Their built-in AI agent is a game changer. It can answer after-hours calls, capture leads, and keep business moving even when you are off the clock. over 90,000 businesses trust Quo, formerly open phone. Get started free and get 20% off your first six months at Quo.com slash locked on college.

That's QUO.com slash locked on college. And if you've got existing numbers with another service, Quo will port them over at no extra charge. Quo, no missed calls, no missed customers. Thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen. For your next listen, check out our other shows. I also host Locked on Cains talking all things Miami. Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone hosts Locked on Wolfpack,

keeping you covered on NC State. Brian Smith is a two-show man like Kenton and I are. He hosts the portal, which talks all things recruiting, Transfer Portal, NIL, fantastic show, and he also hosts Locked on Seminoles. All right, so Brian, I know you've thought about this. You're going to be doing a show on this later on Monday. You got your notes in front of you.

If and when, Mike Norvell gets five. fired, do you have a hot board on who might be the next coach of the Florida State Seminoles? Oh, you're muted. The big Mike Norvell lobby got to you. Tusha. To be clear, this is my list. I'm not saying I got this from Florida State, but these all make sense in some capacity. Buster Faulkner, O.C. at Georgia Tech. He's been at Georgia. He's been all over the South. He's recruited in the South. He's elite. I think he will be the first or second coordinator off the board and all this stuff. I don't know if it's Florida State, but if they don't make a phone call to him, that's idiotic. Anybody that's coached under Kirby, you have my attention, especially because he's a quarterback coach.

And Florida State's quarterback play of late, I think I'd rather have Kenton out there playing quarterback the way it was until before this season. Like, it was so bad. Fran Brown at Syracuse, he's recruited in Florida. I've met Fran. He's a guy that, again, coached under Kirby. He was a DB coach there. That guy has charisma for days.

He's super nice guy. and he kills Florida State in the state of Florida recruiting for a school in Northern New York. Could you imagine what he would do with the seminal logo on his chest? Right. I'll say, I don't want him in the state of Florida. I'll say that as a Miami guy. He likes recruiting Miami kids.

I guarantee you Mario will pay him money to stay up there. I wouldn't blame him for him. Guys are an unbelievable recruiter. He's unbelievable. Will Stein at Oregon. He's another OC that's definitely there. Then the two guys that I don't know if they're interested in leaving, Brett Lashley. He was O.C. at Miami at one point. O.C. at Auburn at another. He was a quarterback at Arkansas. He's been across the board. He's recruited in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama. Those are the places at Florida State recruits. And he's obviously a very good coach. I don't think SMU's money for people that don't know is grotesque. Getting him away from there is probably not super realistic. But his phone's going to ring a lot. His offenses are very good. And they just won at Clemson. I know this is not a normal.

Clemson team, but they smacked him. He can coach. And then finally, kind of looking at this list going through, I know everybody's going to try and I'm not taking a shot at Dono. Anybody that's having a coaching search that doesn't call Brom is an idiot. You have to call Brahm. And I've already heard that he's not interested in the Florida job, which tells you how much he's done. Because Florida is a top five job. Yeah. If that's the case, he's probably not leaving. But again, he's a quarterback guy. Florida State needs quarterback, And if you get the right quarterback coach at FSU with the skill town, just like Dono knows, it's not that hard. But those are the guys that I would call.

And there's others too. And I'm going to do every day on Locked on Seminoles. I'm going to have a segment on a coach. And then I'm going to break it up and put another, just do it its own show as well. Every single day we're going to talk about it. Because regardless of what Mr. Alford said, they better change coaches that there's going to be a revolt. I got to ask you a quick follow up because, and this, you know, FSU fans may not like me saying this. They may love me saying this.

I don't know. But, I mean, any interest in Dion Sanders? I think with his recent health issues again, I think he's just in a really bad spot for that, period. And I hope I'm wrong on that. But when you openly unsolicited mention at a press conference that I can tell something's wrong with my leg again, that's not a good sign. No. So, Dion, what is Dion? He's probably 58, something like that.

He's not too old, but like blood clots. that's not going to make booster warm and fuzzy about hiring him. So I hope he gets better, but I think he's at Colorado for the foreseeable future. Now, let me ask you this, okay, because we talk about, you know, you're only as faithful as your options are, as the great Jalen Rose once said. And when you look at the potential options for Florida State, they're dictated by how good of a job it is. But we've talked about this ad nauseum. this is one of the toughest job cycles ever if you are trying to land a big splash coach. And we know if you want to get Florida State boosters back on board, you want to get, you know, the fans back on board.

It's going to be tough to say, hey, we're hiring a coordinator out of the group of four or the G6. How do you feel about it, right? So with that in mind, what do you think is the kind of level that you would say the Florida state job is here in comparison with, you know, some of the jobs that we've talked about being open off air or the jobs that we know are open, like a Penn State and a Florida and things like that. Where would you rank it? Would you say, hey, it's right there in that top tier or it's at the bottom of that top tier or it's right below it? Where would you say? I think the six best jobs in college football, because remember, I'm a recruiting guy are pretty straightforward. Texas,

LSU, Bama, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio State. Those programs, it's just a easier to recruit. And this is a talent acquisition business. So those are the six. Penn State, Florida State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami, there's some schools in there right after, which what order you want to go with is up to you. But Florida State's one of those, because there are 15 minutes from the Georgia border. You're less than two hours from all kinds of talent. Just do a circle. It's in Panama City. And you got Jacksonville. You got the South Georgia public schools. It's insane how much talent is in the panhandle. But at the same time, it's not the state you, which will probably take off Florida State fans on my show. But Florida is. It's easier

to win at Florida than is Florida State. It's just true. Do they hire the right people? Porta has probably screwed that up more than any other school in college football history. They've only had two successful coaches in their tenure. And it's the University of Florida. That's ridiculous. But at the same time, if you get the right person at Florida State, you can roll. I mean, I'm not expecting Bobby Bowden here. That's one of the greatest ten years in any sport ever. But there's no reason you can't have a five to eight year run. Like, Bran Brown, if you give him the right resources, he's going to win eight games or more every year.

If they hire James Franklin, conservatively eight games or more every year. Will they do that, though? I keep hearing Forte State doesn't have the same money as some of the other schools. What does that mean? I need a definitive number like what's the deal and I don't have that that's my only concern like Miami's boosters are insane. The Florida State had that Norville would be fired right now in my opinion. I absolutely believe that. But he's not.

So that gives me some pause. Well, I want to shift gears to Miami who lost 2421 against Louisville, which obviously from where I sit guys, I've had a couple of disappointing Locked on Cain's episodes since. first, I give a ton of credit to Jeff Brom and Louisville. I mean, Miami defenders like Zechariah Poyser's safety mentioned after the game. Louisville ran like 20 plays that Miami had never seen before, like stuff that was not on tape. So you talk about maximizing your by week and maximizing the opportunity to try and keep your opponent off balance. Jeff Brom did an incredible job. Louisville outcoached Miami.

Like there's no question about that. I felt like Miami just thought we can do what we've done all year. We can line them up. We're going to win the majority of our 11 individual matchups on the field. We're going to win this game like we've done every other. It was not enough. There was not enough innovation. I think Miami is going to be forced to innovate now that they have six games on film.

I think that the onus is now on them to show new wrinkles on the offensive side of the football. And then, of course, you guys know this. In a game where your quarterback throws four interceptions and you commit nine penalties, you're going to lose like 95 to 100% of the time. In fact, the first three interceptions, Miami still could have over. And Beck actually threw a fifth that didn't count. It was wiped off for a penalty. But the first three interceptions that counted,

Miami could have still overcome that. It was the fourth interception on a potential game-winning drive that they could not overcome. And at the end, though, Kenton, despite that, and listen, it's a Miami thing where fans get concerned that one loss is going to turn into two, three, four losses. Like, we've been down this road for the better part of 20 years. At the same time, Miami still has an opportunity to go 11 and 1 with the remaining

games they're going to be favored in. And also, despite four interceptions and nine penalties, they were still 30 yards away from winning the game with a walkoff touchdown. Yeah. So, you know, Donno, I look at this game and I, like you said, credit to Brom and company, everything that we said they would have to do to win game they did. We talked about you've got to turn this team over. I mean, what more can you ask for in terms of turnovers? We said that the running game was going to have to get back to some type of form

and they were going to have to be balanced because you couldn't count on Miller Moss just to win you the game. Let me ask you, Dono, has there been a single game all year where any back has been as effective against Miami as Isaac Brown was in this game? None. That was the best performance any running back has had against Miami. And that includes Jeremiah Love. That was the best game of running back has had against Miami. And listen, people tell me I give too much love to Isaac Brown. Do we see now? Does it make sense to you all now? So with that in mind, you know, the margins shrink for Miami, but the door is not closed at all. I mean, with all due respect, if you look at the ACC standings right now and you look at every single team that is ahead of Miami, here are the teams

that are ahead of them. And mind you, I mean ahead of them as if they don't have a loss because teams that are three and one, I'm not going to say, oh, you're one in one, so you're behind them.

They've just played more conference games than you. But here are the teams that are undefeated in conference. SMU, Virginia, and Georgia Tech. With all due respect, I'm not saying that any of those teams are exponentially more talented than Miami because they're not.

And also, Miami has a chance to play some of those teams coming up for the rest of the year. Yeah, they play SMU and team. weeks. Exactly. So guess what? If you feel like, oh, we need to get a tie break, there's your moment. That's your deal. Yes, you're going to need some help. You're going to need either Virginia or Georgia Tech to lose, but Georgia Tech has shown time after time again, they can play down to their opponent. And Virginia, I mean, they're the story to the conference right now. They're

one of the best stories, one of the most quite kept stories in the nation. But see what they've come from to where they are now. It's like, what? What is this? Their only one loss of season being the day during the NC State. What a crazy time. But in a non-conference game, which I'm so tough. I need, I need Virginia to lose again because I'm so tired of Miami fans saying, Dono, how come you keep saying Virginia's unbeaten in conference when they lost? I have to explain it every show that I do every single day. Trust me. As Mississippi State fan, I too am upset that that was not a conference game. Yeah.

Right. But, and you look at this and you say, Miami's margins have shrunk, but Miami had a big margin to begin with. Like Miami had a very wide margin on everybody else. So yes, the margins thin out a little bit, but the margins are not disappeared. Yeah, I mean, the bottom line, and I'll let you speak after this, Brian, is Miami, Miami is still, and regardless of the conference slate, Miami is still a top 10 team. So if they win, and not guaranteeing this happens, but if they went out and go 11 and one,

like they're going to get into the college football playoff, whether it's through a conference championship game or at large. Go ahead, Brian. This is the remaining schedule for Virginia at North Carolina, at Cal hosting Wake Forest at Duke, hosting Virginia Tech. I mean, I figure they'll lose one of them, but that schedule is light. Yeah. If they're in the ACC title game, by the way, shout out to all their staff.

May they all get as many awards as possible because it's Virginia. but they score enough and they've got an NFL running back. You screw around with them. They'll beat you to death. That's the best Virginia team I could remember since Danny Connell and the Knowles lost them 30 years ago. Literally. How ironic because they lost them again this year.

So, yeah, that's the best Virginia team in 30 years. So congrats to them. Yeah. I think Georgia Tech is the team that I would say like, all right, now that's the team that Miami does not have. have, I think that margin has virtually disappeared because of how Georgia Tech's play. But even with them, again, you can take the team out of the coastal. You cannot take the coastal out of the team.

And so we will see some coastal chaos down the stretch. I am a thousand percent sure of that. It's just whom is going to commit the chaos. Will it be Miami dropping another one that they shouldn't? Will it be Virginia continuing to be who they have been all season, which we're all waiting for that other shoe to drop? And they're like, hey, we're just dancing, having a good old time in the point. party. You ain't got to worry about us. Is it going to be Georgia Tech, finally letting one slip after saying,

oh, we're preparing our food for a little while. We'll be okay. And then you look up like, oh, we just lost. You know, it's all the question of who can maintain who they're supposed to be versus who they've been so far this season. The Georgia Tech game against Duke. Duke outplayed them by mile. Duke also outplayed themselves was a little bit of an issue because every time they got to the red zone, they peed down their leg. Yeah, they should have won by two scores. Yeah, they should have. But that's why you play 60 minutes, though. Exactly. That's why you play 60 minutes. And remember,

when we came into this game, the warning for Duke was, hey, guys, if you are going to do anything against this Georgia Tech team, you have to take care of the football. And who wins the turnover battle in this game? Georgia Tech. It's always that simple. Nine times out of ten, the turnover margin is going to give it away. And again, shout out to Kevall. because, you know, he has coached his tail off this season.

That team is physical. They're well coached. They're where they're supposed to be. And the analytics say that they're defied the odds because the analytics say they should be about four and three right now. But guess what? The analytics don't count for that final score. The analytics do not account for that at all. The game is played on grass, not on paper.

Oh, huge thank you to Brian Smith, locked on Seminoles and the portal. Kenton and I, by the way, will continue. We'll talk a little bit more about the games this past weekend. And yeah, listen, Georgia Tech. Obviously, Duke made mistakes, but Georgia Tech is always taking advantage when their opponents do that. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. This episode is brought to you by Monarch.

Let's be honest. Most of us can't name all of our financial accounts, let alone what they're worth. Between 401Ks, savings, and investments, it's easy to lose track. And that can mean leaving money on the table. That's why I started using Monarch, an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire your financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. Monarch has helped me organize my accounts, track my spending, and get a better handle on my investments without having to touch a spreadsheet.

Guys, this insight is so, so valuable. Do not let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use code locked on college at monarch.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarch.com code locked on college for half off your first year. Thank you so much for making locked on ACC your first listen. And by the way, Kenton, I want to circle back to what I mentioned during the Fanduals spot earlier. I was shocked to see that Miami is a 30 and a half point favorite at home against Stanford. And Lizzie, I can understand the thinking of Miami's got a lot more talent.

Miami's at home. Stanford has to travel east. And Miami's probably going to be playing very angry after losing their first game. but I don't think I've seen a number. And I'm 99% sure I haven't in any ACC versus ACC game. I haven't seen a spread that big all season long. And even this past weekend, Kenton, Ohio State played arguably the worst team in the Big Ten. They played against Wisconsin.

And it was a 25 and a half point spread. 30 and a half point spread Miami versus Stanford is massive. Here's my only problem with this. This Stanford team at this point, I hate to say it, they're becoming a little underrated. People are starting to disrespect this team a little bit. And I have to give Stanford their props. I have to give Frank Reich his props. They are coaching physicality, physicality, physicality.

They are coaching a team that will punch people in the mouth. And everybody comes in thinking, oh, these are the nerds. They're not these guys. We got one group of nerds that are good, and they're enduring. We're not worried about this group of nerds. You can't worry about two nerds in one conference. Donno. Everybody knows that. And lo and behold, you look up and all of a sudden you see one of those big old backs they got running all over you. It is a fact of life that Miami will always

have more time to understand. That's just a deal, right? You talk about where they recruit at, you talk about academic river, you talk about all these things that go into, okay, you just can't really, I mean, you're up against a rock and a hard place. And some fortunate booster, we believe, believe that it is by someone by the name of Fandrew, uh, muck or something along those lines that gave 50 million. We're still trying to find who did this. But, uh,

you know, Stanford is heading in the right direction. I don't think they'll win this game. I think they covered 30. I think, yeah, same here. And I don't mean that as any disrespect to Miami.

I think Miami's going to win, but 30 and a half, it's a huge spread. And you could dominate a game and still have a bad beat, backdoor cover on 30. You know what I mean? Miami could dominate the game thoroughly and win by 24 points. Exactly. Exactly.

So, you know, that is a ridiculous line in my opinion, especially with, again, a Stanford team that just beat Florida State that just showed you, hey, we've got the goods, we've got what it takes. We can compete at a high level, even though we would say, yeah, Florida State ain't won a game in conference in quite some time and all that good stuff. That is a Stanford team that's shown. We're scrappy. We can compete.

We're going to fight. We might not win every game. But we go fight every single game. And you know what? They're putting good things on film. So I think that that's a very, very big line. Yeah. Well, as we mentioned, Georgia Tech beat Duke on the road 27 to 18.

So GT has moved up to number seven nationally. And they're at the top of the ACC standings. I mean, is it now, is the conference now theirs to lose, Kenton? Or is there just so much chaos to be expected in the ACC? We need a few more weeks of clarity. Dono, let me ask you something. In these last four games, or in these last, yes, last four conference games they got, which one do you think Georgia Tech is not favored in by double digits?

Syracuse. That should be double digits. NC State. That one may be the one where they're not favored by. Oh, no, no, I know which one it is. NC State probably double digits, yeah. Okay, Boston College. Double digits, maybe triple.

digits. The pit. Pit. Pit may be the one where it's a single digit. So they're going to be favorite in every single game, three of the four by double digits. This is absolutely their conference to lose. Even if they won all of those games, even if they underwhelmed by a mile, play down

to their opponent in each one and won each one by a field goal, what then happens if they win each one by a field goal and they get blasted by UGA? They're still in the conference championship? still. Yeah, exactly. None of those teams, even if those teams beat them, even if you lose to a pit, is Pitt going to knock you out of the conference championship game? Unfortunately, that is not how history will remember this moment. That is just where we are in terms of conference standings. Their pit is not in a position to where even if they were to do their big one for the rest of the season and show up and show out, they still would not be in a position to, you know, knock them out

potentially unless they went out. Pit would have to win out and that's a tall order. I mean, with all due respect, you're playing with a true freshman and you're saying, hey, I'm expecting you to win the rest of your games in the ACC and you've got to beat this Georgia Tech team that we know when they see a number by your name, Georgia Tech turns into a whole different team and you've got to beat Georgia Tech and Miami to end the season. So that's what Pitt has to do to get in. With all due respect, Pitt, y'all have been fantastic. Y'all have played above your heads, especially without Eli hosting. Or, you know, after replacing Eli hosting, I don't think that they have the goods to beat both,

you know, Miami and Georgia Tech going down the stretch. I think they can pull off one or the other. They could pull it off. I don't think that they will. I think they can. But yeah. So Georgia Tech, the conference is absolutely theirs. They're rolling downhill right now. They're a bowling ball of butcher knives. All key has to do, keep your foot on the gas. Do not let up, and you'll be fine. But if y'all start reading the press clippings, and Haynes King starts saying, yeah, I am a good thrower of the football. Yeah, I can do that really well.

Hold on now, player. Hold on. Wait a minute. You'll be in a little bit of trouble. That's well said, as always. Huge thanks to Kenton Gibbs. Check him out at TJF underscore Kenton on X. Check him out at Lockdown Wolfpack.

Thanks again to Brian Smith from Lockedon Seminels and the Portal Pod for joining us. I am Alex Dono from Locktono from Lockedon Keynes at Alex Dono on X. and we'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day.