Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Miami Makes STATEMENT In The Portal With Damien Martinez, Season-Defining Games In The ACC?
Episode Date: April 29, 2024The Miami Hurricanes have secured a commitment from their top Transfer Portal target. First Team All-PAC 12 selection Damien Martinez has chosen Miami over Arizona, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and K...entucky. Martinez rushed for an impressive 1,185 yards with 9 touchdowns last season at Oregon State. Miami will team him up with quarterback Cam Ward in hopes of creating a playoff caliber offense. The Hurricanes are building an offense that looks, on paper, like they can contend for an ACC title, but will the defense be up to snuff?Hosts Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs break down the Martinez addition for Miami. The guys discuss a 247Sports piece about season-defining games for every ACC football team next season. Is Georgia really the season-defining matchup for Georgia Tech? Did they get it right matchup Florida State with Notre Dame, Clemson with Georgia, Miami with FSU and NC State with Clemson?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Monopoly GO!Get in the game and join your friends. Click HERE to Download MONOPOLY GO! now free on The App Store or Google Play. LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/lockedoncollege. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.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.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
His April transfer portal has been heating up, and the Miami Hurricanes, they just made a statement.
You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.
I am Alex Dono from Locked on Cains.
He's Kenton Gibbs from Locked on Wolfpack.
We are Locked on ACC.
Shout out to the Everydayers for making us your first listen and your first watch.
Locked on ACC is available free.
wherever you get your podcast available free on YouTube, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,
your team every day.
Today's episode is brought to you by Monopoly Go.
I admit it.
I have a competitive side and it's a big fan of Monopoly Go.
The mobile hit twist on classic Monopoly.
So join your friends and download Monopoly Go now free on the app store or Google Play.
Kenton, I'm going to need you to carry most of this episode because as a guy who covers the Miami
Hurricanes here on the Lockdown Network, bar of Christoball has kept me very busy throughout
On Sunday, the Hurricanes land, Louisville linebacker transferred Jalen Alderman,
Marshall Transfer Cornerback, Diani Hill, and that came after on Saturday night, landing, top running back,
actually the top available player in the transfer portal at that time in Damien Martinez,
who didn't even wait until the end of his visit to announce his commitment to Miami.
So I thought, you know, the other two transfers are nice pieces, but Damien Martinez, that was a statement, Kent.
Absolutely. Damien Martinez is the crown jewel of an already excellent portal class for Miami.
I mean, Damien Martinez is, he is a big thumper. He is a one-cut guy, but he's that guy that has the vision and the quickness in making that cut, that it's just he's going to find where that hole is.
He's going to get downhill in a hurry, and he's going to get downhill with some bad intentions.
He's the guy who, you know, in the words of breaking bad, a defender meets a lot or a
linebacker meets a running back in a hole and you think that he's the one that gets knocked out from
that.
No, he does the knock.
He is the one who knocks there.
So, you know, Daniel Martinez is an absolute stud.
But I want to highlight the other two pieces because I think that they're critical.
That linebacker, Alderman, he is a downhill guy.
We all know about the liability and pass coverage and some of that.
that stuff. But he was a backup last year for a reason. He adds depth to Miami's linebacker room.
He was actually a starter last year, but I think he might be a backup at Miami. I'll have to,
I'll have to see how he looks in fall camp, but I think he's probably a backup at Miami.
Yeah, apologies. I had it backwards. He was a starter last year, but he's likely going to be a
backup now. Because again, those coverage issues that kind of reared their head at times last year,
you know, they're not a great telling sign for like, this is something I want to see for my line
But with that being said, he is still a very quality depth piece who has two years of
eligibility remaining.
What's the importance of that?
I have long hailed the belief and I am going to stick with this belief that at the
positions that require you to be the most cerebral, that at the positions that require
the most thought before you are moving, doing, going, quarterback and Mike linebacker being
those positions, you need at least a full year before you have a system.
down and master to where you know this is where I'm supposed to be.
This is the gap I'm supposed to fill.
This is the read I'm supposed to make in real time.
And I think that this will do wonders for him having that second year with Miami after this season.
The cornerback from Marshall is another good as well because you and I have talked about Miami's secondary needs and all that good stuff.
It's not a secret.
It's not something that, you know, anybody is not well documented.
So Miami picking up these defensive pieces, it's good.
Damien Martinez is obviously the flash, and for good reason.
He is not an average powerback.
He, of course, you know, doesn't have a top end speed where it's like if he's even, he's leaving.
But he has great contact battles.
He has enough burst to where if you are not paying attention, it will be Katie Dids at the doorstep when he hits the open field.
So Damiena Martinez is an absolutely excellent gift for this group.
But again, the defensive depth pieces that they added, I think it would also be very important.
if not this year going forward into next.
Yeah, a couple of stats on Martinez that outline just how valuable he is as a featured back.
744 of his 1,185 rushing yards last year came after contact.
So more than half of his yardage was after contact last season.
He forced 57 missed tackles last year at Oregon State.
He averaged 3.82 yards after contact.
So that's exactly the type of powerful North South type.
of running back that Mario Cristobal really likes.
And part of the deep dive Kenton on why, you know,
not only is Damien Martinez,
he's a starting running back on most teams in the country.
So obviously you go after very good players when you can.
But there's especially big need at Miami because there are other big back,
Mark Fletcher.
I don't know when exactly he's going to be fully healthy again.
He suffered a Liz Frank foot injury in the bowl game in late December against Rutgers.
And so I can't say for sure he'll be ready to start the same.
season. So that adds an extra need to go out and get a guy like Martinez. But your points are
valid, Kenton on Miami's defense. Because like I look at, and again, this is, this is all on paper.
When it comes to the offense that Miami is building right now, they might, again, on paper,
have the most complete looking offense in the ACC right now because other good teams do have
question marks on that side of the football, including, you know, Florida State. We'll see, you know,
their receiver situation.
I'm sure they're not done yet in the portal.
You know, just how good is DJ O'Yungalke going to be in a Florida state uniform?
Clemson, you have questions about their quarterback, no doubt about that.
But then on the defensive side of the football, yeah, on paper, Florida State holds an edge there.
No question about it.
Their defense is disgusting.
Clemson seemingly holds an edge there, NC State.
I like their defense a lot even after losing Peyton Wilson.
So I think that side of the football is going to be big question mark.
Kenton because they, I'm, you know, Diani Hill is a nice piece.
I don't necessarily expect him to start a corner, but it's important better in depth.
Alderman, same sort of thing.
But they've got a couple of defensive tackles Miami visiting this week.
That's an area where they need to address a little bit more.
They actually have the two Michigan State guys who are highly sought after.
Simeon Barrow, who's very sought after by LSU, could be the front runner for him at this
moment and Derek Harmon, who's another standout out of Michigan State.
He was just in Colorado.
I know that there's some optimism in Colorado.
They're both going to be visiting Miami together today through Wednesdays.
The hurricanes would love to land one of those guys because that, again, on paper, the
offense looks ready.
The defense may be still a little bit of a work in progress.
Yeah, for sure.
And the reality is there is so much, and I hate to say this, but coming out of the draft,
It felt like it felt like a little bit of an indictment of Miami.
Because if you look back to last year, the talk was, man, how many first rounders are they going to have?
First rounders everywhere.
First round tackle.
First round defensive tackle.
Maybe two first round safeties.
This is this is a group that you're just going to see guys flying off the board.
And then you get to the reality of it.
And most of those guys did not go until the later rounds.
And so you're absolutely having those questions about what type of developer is Mario Cristobal.
And objectively speaking, it's something that I have told people that the statistics bear out.
Teams in the NFL want winners.
More than anything else, how often do you see guys from seven-win teams, eight-win teams be the number one, two, three-jointed?
It's rare.
It's very rare.
More often than not, that number one guy, if he has not been a part of double-digit win teams, he is a Heisman winner.
He is a Dope winner. He is a Ben-Neric winner, something along those lines.
Because, again, success is what those coaches at the NFL level want to see.
And they know that you're willing to sacrifice your stats for winning and all that good stuff.
And so these pieces coming into Miami are going to have an important.
important impact on Miami for years going forward, even if we don't want to think about it that
way. It's just the fact of the matter at this point, because you've talked about the fact that
Miami has good defensive tackle depth and a guy who was starting caliber transfer it out.
How do you replace them? How do you replace them? Because without them, you have guys who are
talented. Don't get me wrong. You have guys who are talented there. C.J. Clark, obviously,
is one of the most underrated gets in the portal that I think I've seen this year that nobody's
really random raving about, but I'm like, if you talk about what his skill set is and his fit
to that team, ideal. I don't think that you could get a better one technique for Miami scheme
than C.J. Clark. But with that being said, who's going to be his running mate? Who's going to be
his backup? Potentially, who's going to push him for the starting spot there is a question.
So, you know, there is a lot to be said here, but I'm going to say this. I'm going to say this.
And I hate to defend Miami because I know y'all going to sit down here and say, oh, this feels like a
locked on games episode. But let me tell you.
There are a lot of schools that are talking about, why is Miami getting so many guys in the portal?
Did we or did we not see a team with multiple portal guys, go 13 and no last year, a portal quarterback, two portal receivers, a portal starting defensive end, I mean a portal corner, portal guys all over the place, messed around and dominated the conference last year.
This is the new nature of the beast.
Now, I'm very much so of the mindset that, again,
portal guys need a year or two to get fully acclimated
into your team's culture unless you have an extremely strong team
culture and identity.
But with that being said, you better stop pointing those fingers
saying, what are they doing over there at all those portal guys
if the portal has fed you well?
The portal give it and the portal take it the way.
Maybe it give it to your rival sometimes.
It's taken the way from your rival.
You just got to sit here and live with.
Well, we got a lot more to cover on this episode.
I want to go through the entire conference and see if we agree with this,
because 24-7 sports published a piece on what they consider to be the season-defining game
for every team in the ACC this year.
But I do want to say one last thing on Miami,
because you have me thinking when you brought up what was a very disappointing NFL draft from Miami
before we move on to everybody else.
Because another thing that was kind of outlined with the way that that draft
graph played out. This is something Kenton that has, it long predates Mario Cristobal. It's something
that he still hasn't fixed and he would like to fix. But part of a culture at Miami that definitely
has affected their on-field results are, I don't know if there's a stat kept for this, but I feel like
in Miami's the team I cover the most closely, but they must lead the nation in underclassmen who
leave early to go underraft it. Like it's a big problem. It's a huge problem. And it just happened
with Leonard Taylor, Miami's defensive tackle, who left early.
Unfortunately, his name never got called.
And I was more surprised by J.B.
On Cohen, who was Miami starting left guard and was at Alabama as a start of the previous
couple of years that his name didn't get called.
That one, the Taylor one didn't surprise me as much.
The Jvion Cohen one really shocked me.
And I've seen it happen so many times with Miami.
It's one thing if you're out of eligibility, you don't get drafted.
But guys who leave a year early to go undrafted, that not only hurts them,
but it hurts the team the following year because you can't come back after you go undrafted.
You cannot undeclare the way that you can in some other sports.
So that's something to watch out for.
But we'll talk about season defining games.
Do you agree with these?
Because for some of these folks, depending on which team you root for, some of these are a little
off the wall.
You want to keep it locked right here.
Alex Dono from locked on Cains, Kenton Gibbs from locked on Wolfpack.
We are locked on ACC.
and I've been locked in.
I was locked in all weekend to Monopoly Go.
I love how they change things up every single day.
They always keep it fresh.
In Monopoly Go, you can team up with your friends for timed tournaments
where you work together to build up each other's boards.
But the more you win together, the more awesome prizes you can unlock.
And there's so much to get, like, unique stickers you can trade with friends to complete albums
for big prizes.
Cool new playing pieces to travel the boards with.
hilarious emojis for taunting friends when you smash their buildings or heist their vaults.
Plus, Monopoly Go feels new and exciting every day with constantly changing tournaments and challenges.
A ton include their own unique mini games like digging for treasure or a robot Pachinko machine.
And there's always new timed events that help you win big, like massive multipliers for everything you win or rent frenzies.
Guys, Monopoly Go is so much fun.
Try it and you'll realize why it's been downloaded over 150 million times.
there's always something fun to discover in Monopoly Go.
So get off the bench and go download it now free on Google Play or in the app store.
Game on.
Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day?
You have to turn down the volume with all that shouting.
Make the switch to Locked On Sports Today,
a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day
to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming.
Locked on sports today brings you can't-miss analysis,
opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon
Fire TV channels app, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
Alex Dono and Kenton Gibbs with you here on Lockdown ACC.
All right.
So Kenton, I'm going through this.
And I think some of these are spot on.
Season defining games coming up for every ACC team.
Now, in general, because some of these teams play early non-conference games,
like your North Carolina State Wolfpack have a big non-conference showdown week two
against Tennessee.
Miami has Florida on the road week one, Clemson and Georgia play one another opening week.
Do you tend to look at early non-conference game?
That's how you set the bar for the rest of the season,
or are you more of the mind that you got that big state rivalry game,
conference rivalry game?
What do you usually lean to as like the season defining game?
So what I like to look at is where is your team at?
and who are the teams that are the nearest comparison for like this game could springboard
or it could sink you because to me I don't if your team and we'll get into this a little
later because there are some of these that are just flatly nonsensical to me but if your team is in
a rebuild right and your in-state rival is one of the worst teams in the nation as well
then yes that rivalry game is absolutely a game that you're like
like, hmm, I know that this is at the end of the season, but this game could be a
definer. For example, Virginia against Virginia Tech, that game could define Virginia's season.
That's just a fact, regardless of how everything goes before that. If Virginia can pull off an
upset in that game, they'll absolutely say, you know what, we didn't have the best season there
was, but we say Tony Elliott's job because we beat the boys from Blacksburg. We did that. We did our job
there. And it's very different than, let's say, a team like Miami to where you are potentially
in contention for people who are looking at you as potential, you know, conference championship
type of team. That gives you a different feel. Florida State, same thing. Your in-conference
rivals are not necessarily going to be your season of finding games because they may not be to
the magnitude of, hey, that's the game that we're going to look at and we're going to look back at
say their season hinged on that game.
It could be a game against the team that is, for me, for example, Clemson and Florida
State have been the, that game has been the definer of who wins the conference.
I believe you could pick whichever team wins that game to win the conference for the last
12 or so years.
Yeah, except for one, exactly, except one year, every year the winner of that game went on
to win the conference.
So it depends on where your team is.
your rivals are, where you're out of conference schedule is, and where it is relative.
Because here's one that's wacky to me.
And again, some of these on their list on 24-7 sports, some of these make sense.
I don't know about this one.
So for Georgia Tech, they consider their season defining game to be against Georgia.
Now, okay, a couple things on that.
And I know, like, Georgia Tech actually kept it closer last year.
Look, we were talking about that off there.
and you reminded me it was a close game into the fourth quarter than it wasn't at close.
But at the same time, okay, not only is Georgia a team that is expected to blow out Georgia Tech
and everybody else on their schedule just about, but Kenton, it's also the last game of the year.
Exactly.
November 30th.
So how can you call that a season defining game when I think Georgia Tech season will have been defined by that point?
Well, and not only would their season have been defined, but that's what I mean in terms of the incongruance between you and your rival that is so,
massive. It can't. Unless you win that game for Georgia Tech, it can't define the season. Let's say,
for example, Georgia Tech goes 11 and 1, and they, Georgia wipes the floor with them. I mean
embarrasses them. I mean, they look like they don't belong on the same field, but they're going to
Charlotte for the ACC championship game. Do you think anybody would say, oh, my God, this is our
first time winning 10 games since Paul Johnson was here? Oh, my God. This is our, this is our
first time going to the ACC
championship again since Paul Johnson was here
but we're disgusted because
of how the Georgia game went. Absolutely
not. This is a Georgia Tech team that lit cigars
for winning a bowl game last year.
So if they come into that game, even if they fall short
of 10-11 wins, if they have
eight wins going into that game, they've had
a phenomenal seat.
And it's flatly foolish
and I think a little bit
amateurish to say, oh,
that's going to be the season to find a game because how, how can that be the season to find a game if again, Georgia Tech is not to that level.
If Georgia Tech was a national powerhouse, when Bama and Georgia play, that's a season to find a game for both teams.
Because again, they're neck and neck.
They're right there, one A, one B type of situation.
Georgia Tech is not in that realm.
They're not at that level.
So I don't think it's fair to say, hey, this is the game that's going to define Georgia Tech despite the fact that one of those teams,
is a playoff regular, the other team is just barely getting in the bowl games.
It doesn't make sense.
I'm also a little critical of their selection for Florida State, the defending conference champions.
Maybe they're not wrong here, Kenton, but keep in mind, Florida State, they do have Clemson on the schedule this year.
And like you mentioned, that's been the matchup that usually decides the ACC champion.
Florida State does have Miami on the road on their schedule.
Now they've won the last three against Miami.
It's obviously a huge rivalry,
but the selection that they went with for Florida State's season-defining game
is at Notre Dame November 9th.
They write Florida State has won just twice in South Bend that's ever,
and the most recent victory was more than 20 years ago.
The clash with the fighting Irish comes at the tail end of a brutal stretch
that features consecutive games against Clemson, at Duke, at Miami,
and at home against North Carolina,
including Notre Dame, this stretch will determine whether Florida State makes another run at the ACC Championship or falls short of becoming the first Seminels team to win back-to-back conference titles since 2013, 2014.
Now, of course, Notre Dame is not in the ACC in football.
So that, like, you can't say, like, that's not going to affect their conference championship.
But for a team that does have national title ambitions, that game could, because Notre Dame and Florida State are both in a lot of people's playoff brackets this year, Kenton.
And that one I think is a little off-kilter, but I think it's closer to the truth.
Like, I don't like it, but I can at least understand it from the standpoint of those are two big national brands.
Those are two teams that are at least on the same level.
They're of a similar ilk in terms of, like you said, these are two teams that are many people's play on practice.
So if that is the case, I can at least see the vision and understand where you're coming from and talking about, hey, this is
potentially a season definer in the sense that if Florida State wins that game,
you could easily see them not only in the playoff conversation, but talked about as a
playoff favorite, as opposed to a playoff team that got there because of a quote-unquote
automatic being by by virtue of winning a Power 4 conference championship.
I absolutely understand that.
So I get that.
But again, I would also, I was still leaving with Clemson because until.
Until that game is proven to no longer hold the relevance and weight that it has in the past, and until it's no longer close.
Because even last year, which you would consider a down year for Clemson and that Florida State game, was that not a game that went into overtime?
Was that not a game that if it wasn't for a terrible read by Kay Clemson could very well win?
So I look at this and I struggle with saying that it's Notre Dame instead of Clemson
only because you can lose to Notre Dame and still get to the playoff.
I don't believe if you lose to Clemson there is a path for you to get to involved in your Florida State.
I couldn't have said it any better.
I want to talk about also season defining games for NC State, Clemson, Miami, a few others.
Do we agree or disagree?
What would we go with?
I want to keep it locked right here, my friends.
we're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC.
Oh, guys, you know, I'm nowhere near done when it comes to Fandul.
We've been having a blast.
I had a blast during football season.
I'm having a blast now during the NHL, NBA playoffs, Major League Baseball in full swing.
Folks, there is so much going on at Fanduel.
It's your place to bet on every game.
Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed.
That's $150, win or lose.
Bet on everything from slap shots to home runs to slam dunks all on an app that's safe, secure, and super easy to use.
What are you waiting for? Visit fendual.com slash locked on and make your first bet an automatic win.
Fan duel, America's number one sports book.
We are also proudly brought to you by Game Time.
Guys, I get the best deals on tickets at the last minute.
I love it. Game Time is the only ticket app that I use.
they're now an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball,
which makes getting tickets even faster and easier.
Prices on the GameTime app actually go down,
the closer it gets to first pitch with killer last minute deals,
all in prices, views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee.
Game time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets.
Guys, the views from your seat, they have a panoramic view right there.
And it's especially, if you're going to concerts, especially because you're not sure,
what's my angle at the stage going to look like?
Take the guesswork out of that, folks.
The all-in pricing is fantastic.
Game time gives you the full price up front.
None of those hidden fees tacked on at the end.
None of that bait and switch nonsense at game time.
And guys, the game time guarantee means if you find tickets in the same section in row for less,
game time is going to credit you 110% of the difference.
So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time.
Download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on college for $20 up your first purchase.
Terms apply.
Again, create an account and redeem code.
Locked on college for $20 off.
Download the GameTime app today.
Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
Thank you so much for making this episode of Locked on ACC, your first listen and your first
watch today.
We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network.
Your team every day.
Okay, so Kenton, the game defining game for Clemson.
I can see the argument.
Again, this kind of depends on the logic he would use because you could say the same.
same thing about Clemson that we said for Florida State, that that Florida State came for Clemson,
they go with Georgia, which is one of those kickoff classic games week one. And I think they view
Georgia as that season defining game, August 31st, first weekend, that's your measuring stick, right?
If Clemson's a national powerhouse, how can they hang with the Georgia Bulldogs? Do you, I can see
the argument there, but again, there's just something about, especially now with the 12 team playoff,
conference champions guaranteed to get in, I could make the argument for Florida State
be in the bigger game for Clemson.
So I'm actually going to agree with them on this one from this standpoint.
Is it is the dynasty over?
Is the dynasty fully over?
Is the national relevance fully over for Clemson?
And let me tell you why.
If this game is not close, at that point, that's an
official like, hey, there's a line to demarcation.
Clemson is below that line now.
That line that Clemson used to be comfortably over, something has happened and they've
regressed below that line because this is not a Clemson team that is bringing back very little
or they're extremely young all over the place.
They're secondary for the most part, a bunch of guys who have played.
Don't get me wrong, replacing McCuba and Wiggins, big deal.
Not going to lie to you there.
Georgia is also replacing a lot of guys all over the place.
And you're asking yourself, hey, is Clemson still in that ballpark?
Are they still in those types of conversation?
And I would say, I would venture to say, this game would go a long way in the answer again.
Because to me, if Clemson hangs close and they lose this one, positive sign, they're still in that bracket.
They're still in that mode, in that zone, in that ranked.
If Clemson is dominated in this one, they've then become a little bit of a laughing stop in terms of nationally at least where it's like, ah, we knew it.
We knew it.
You're refusing to use the portal, came back to Bites you.
We knew it.
You just can't do it anymore.
So I think that this one, I would actually agree that this is the defining game for them.
Because, again, Clemson has been for the better part of a decade, the team in the ACC, the premier team.
And so this is not only a quest about Clemson, but about the ACC as a whole, like, hey, what's going on over there that, again, we, I would hope that Clemson hangs close in this one, if not wins it outright.
Yeah, I think, as you talked about with Davo, the battling philosophies make this extra interesting.
I call this the battle of stability versus artillery, where, you know, Clemson, they don't, they don't take transfers.
Obviously, they do lose some players to graduation and the pros and all that.
but, you know, Clemson's roster is going to look a lot more similar than Georgia's, Georgia.
And this happens when you're very deep.
They lost 20 players in the transfer portal.
And again, like, they're replacing these players with other really good, if not better players.
But, you know, certainly a less stable roster, you know, not as similar as Clemson's roster was this past year.
So I can definitely see that.
For Miami, I co-sign on this Kenton 100%.
They consider Miami seat.
defining game as the matchup against Florida State at home, October 26. And I definitely,
you know, Miami, for what it's worth, they still lost, but they played Florida State pretty
tough on the road last year. They've lost to FSU three straight times. Obviously,
anytime you have a rivalry like that, you can't go over for that many years. I think there's
definitely going to be some pressure to try to win that game at home this season. Miami's roster
looks more complete and more competitive at this moment than it did last year.
So I would definitely, I would take that Florida state game over the opening game against Florida.
And I say that sometimes those early season non-conference games, as far as Miami's concerned,
Kenton, those games are fools gold because part of the problem that Miami's had is October and November,
they tend to plummet.
That's been a thing for them.
Like they look very good, early season win against Texas A&M last year.
That, you know, that didn't really do anything.
anything for the rest of their season. So I agree completely that Florida State game,
that's the season defining game for Miami. Absolutely. And the question for, and some people
say, well, this is hypocritical because Florida State is on a different tier than Miami, but the thought
is this. Miami is supposed to be on that tier now. That's the thought. That's the, Miami is that
type of team that I talk about it all the time. There are very few teams in the country where
winning eight games a year isn't enough. Miami is one of those schools. Whether you like it or not,
It's one of those schools where if a coach goes there and he goes eight and five, nine and four every year, you're not going to get a statue built for you.
You're going to get fired.
You're going to get fired.
So with that in mind, that game against Florida State, regardless of how elusive a victory has been against them as a blade, regardless of what tier you view Florida State in, if you are a team that is pushing all your chips to the middle this year, like many people believe Miami is.
Well, damn it, it's time to hit.
You can't push the chips to the middle and lose because you know what happens at that point?
You go home with nothing.
You leave with nothing.
So I think that this game is vitally important to Miami season.
I couldn't agree more here.
This is a defining game for them, season defining game for them.
What about for NC State, Kenton?
They go with at Clemson September 21st.
Do you think is that more of it?
Obviously, NC State, they do have week two against Tennessee.
but do you think that game against Clemson, is that the more season-defining one for
NC State? Absolutely. Getting the Death Valley monkey off your back is massive. You have to do it
at some point in time, and you have to do it if you want to be in Charlotte this year. If you believe
that Clemson is a really good team and they're going to be figuring it out and they're going to be
a 11-10 win team, whatever the case may be, you can't also be an 11-10 win team with a loss of them
and believe that you're still going to get that ticket to Charlotte.
The reality is lose, win, dominate, get dominated, whatever happens in that Tennessee game,
in terms of where NC State football is and where they want to go,
the biggest question is what is Doran's spike year look like?
Because as much as Doran has created stability and raised the floor exponentially at NC State,
but the floor used to be four and eight, three and nine, you know, maybe five,
and seven if you had a good floor season.
He's now raised out floor to seven, eight games.
What does your spike look like?
What does it look like when everything goes right?
When the universe shines this light on you and it's time for you to step into that role.
And this game against Clemson at Clemson is going to go a long way into deciding that.
NC State has shown that they're not afraid of Clemson.
They can beat Clemson and the Carter.
The Carter is one of the most underrated atmospheres in all of college football.
But when you have to go on the road, when it gets a little loud, when Death Valley is death
ballying, are you prepared to do what it takes at the moment of truth to show nationally, to show
in the conference?
We are ready to have a seat at the table and battle with the big dogs for the big state instead
of saying, well, we're going to be above the ankle biters getting scraps down here.
That's the question for NC State.
That game against Clems is going to go a long way to handle.
Yeah, they're looking for their first win at Death Valley since 2003.
Been a minute.
Well, we're going to have a great time on tomorrow's episode.
Spencer McLaughlin, who hosts Lockdown College Football.
We're going to take a deep dive on the ACC with him, his predicted conference championship game,
who he thinks the boom or bus teams are going to be.
And definitely, I want to take a deep dive on some of the former PAC 12 players who are now in the ACC.
Spencer, before he started doing Locked on College football, used to host Locked on Pac-12
when there was a back 12.
So he can give us the scoop on DJU at Florida State,
on Cam Ward and Damien Martinez now at Miami.
So we're going to have some fun with Spencer tomorrow.
Make sure you follow Kenton at TGIF underscore Kenton on X.
Follow me at Alex Dono.
And we will talk to you guys again tomorrow with Spencer
on another episode of Lockdown ACC,
part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
