Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - North Carolina Tar Heels Eye Bill Belichick: A Bold Move or Risky Gamble?

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Could Bill Belichick be the next head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels? This intriguing possibility has the college football world buzzing, as the legendary NFL coach's potential move to UNC could reshape the landscape of college football.Join Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs as they explore the implications of Belichick's rumored transition, the upcoming ACC Championship clash between SMU and Clemson, and the ongoing College Football Playoff selection controversy. With insights into SMU's defensive prowess and Clemson's strategic approach, this episode promises a deep dive into the dynamics of college football. The discussion also touches on the trend of players like Miami's Cam Ward opting in or out of bowl games, offering a fresh perspective on player decisions.Tune in for an engaging analysis of these hot topics and discover what lies ahead for your favorite teams and players.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileTo get the new customer offer and your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com/lockedoncollege. See Mint Mobile for details.Bettor TogetherTo get the new customer offer and your new 3-month premium wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mintmobile.com/lockedoncollege. See Mint Mobile for details. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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.

Is Bill Belichick the right man to coach the North Carolina Tar Heels? 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 thought it was fake when I first saw the headline linking Belichick to North Carolina, but we'll dive into it. Thank you so much to the everydayers for making Locked-on-ACC, your first listen and your first watch today. 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. You can start the season with a big return on Fandual because new customers can place a $5 bet, and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win that first $5 bet. Visit Fandual.com to get started. We'll talk Transfer Portal as we've had some notable ACC name step in. Most notably, a guy that Kenton Gibbs has covered,

so we'll pick Kenton's brain on that. Cam Ward might actually play in Miami's bowl game, which will not be college football playoff, unfortunately for me. But a lot of people thought Ward would opt out. He might opt in. We'll see. We'll talk ACC championship game because the table is set for SMU against Clemson. But Kent, we got to start with Bill Belichick. So again, when I first saw the headline on my social media feed that Bill Belichick is interested in the North Carolina Tar Heels head coaching job, I thought it was a fake account, but it wasn't fake. And serious outlets are reporting this.

According to CBS sports, he's had two meetings already with UNC brass. Nobody on this show wants to talk North Carolina more than Mr. NC State over there. So what do you make of all this, Kenton? It makes me so deeply sad, Donald. This feels like getting put on a pip at work. And they're like, hey, Kenan, if you don't straighten up your act, we're going to bring in Meg the stallion to take you.

on a series of dates. I just am so shaken up by this, Dono, because if anything, if anything, Bill Belichick showed on his way out a propensity to coach up the Patriots at a very high level. Didn't he? Didn't he show, hey,

I'm going to be a great coach wherever I land. You know, Bill Belichick has famously had a ton of success removed from Tom Brady. And I'm so deeply worried. But you know what words to me more than anything else, Donald? You know, they say that great coaching runs in the jeans. You know, it just runs it. If you see a Lombardi on the sideline, that team's going to win the championship.

You know, you see a Shula on the sideline. Hey, it may not be Don, but damn it, that Shula blood is in them, you know. If you see one of those last names, Shannon, for example, well, allegedly, and this is according to Tar Heels Wire of USA Today. there are rumored to be some guarantees here. A lot of guarantees at play. And one of those guarantees is that Stephen Belichick will be named the school's head coach and waiting, which UNC is allegedly open to.

Discussions are not a bid to gain leverage for NFL offers, and Bill Belichick is open to the move. I love this. I love what's better than one, Belichick, two. Oh. I'm so excited. Again, the last time those two were on the same stab, what a stunning success. Magic. What a swimming success it was. And so ACC, look out. Donno, your canes. Look out. My boys and

are already prepared. We're hatching down the bunker right now to get ready for the massive bombshell that is two, not one, but two, Belichick's on the silo. I'm just so concerned, Donald. I may not be able to sleep at night over this thing. Yeah, I may toss and turn for the. 30 days and 30 nights over this time. So there's so much to unpack here. Here's a snippet from a CBS sports report that came out Friday. The legendary NFL coach talked recently with University of North Carolina about its vacant football coaching position. Sources confirmed with CBS Sports inside Carolina first report of the interview.

Those across the league have been dubious that Belichick would go to the college ranks, which is something in his half century career he's never done. But furthering the intrigue around Belichick and the Carolina, job. Representatives from the university met again with Belichick on Thursday in Manhattan, according to multiple sources. These talks with UNC aligned with what sources have said for months about Belichick, who doesn't want to be shut out of a coaching job for the second straight hiring cycle. Quote, he has literally been open to all of it, a source familiar with Belichick said last month. So, okay, from the Belichick point of view, you know, you mentioned the stuff,

assuming that those reports are true about him making the conditions to set up his son as coach in waiting. So, I mean, listen, UNC should not allow themselves to be strong-armed like that. I can certainly understand from Bill's point of view how, hey, you know what, if I can get a gig here in the twilight of my career and set up my children for a future cushy gig, why not try to ask for that? but also, Kenton, again, like I know some people do suspect that Bill is trying to get his name in the news

and maybe create leverage for an NFL job. I don't see it that way. I think Bill Belichick just desperately wants to coach again. And NFL teams aren't calling him because he's 72, about to be 73 years old. And they feel like this is not a man to, you know, to take, the game maybe is past him by, is the point of view for most NFL teams out there.

If he went last cycle without getting a job, he's probably not getting an NFL job this cycle either. So I think it is legitimate interest on Bill Belichick's side that I do think he wants to coach again. And he probably realizes that ship for me has sailed in the NFL. I think he wants to coach so badly, Kenton, where he'd actually be willing to at least take on the rigors of recruiting NIL, which again, doesn't seem like for a guy who's never coached the college. game before, that he can just jump into that at 72 years old. Well, you know, he must have found out about the programs that certain colleges are running where they allow the elderly to take classes each semester for about 10 or 20 bucks and said,

I need to get in on that because what better time to learn a completely new skill set and coaching than at 70. Right. 72. But I'll say this, though, because North Carolina, they wanted to go younger. and he's actually eight months younger than Mac Brown. So they would be getting a, compared to what they've had, they'd be getting a young coach.

They got a spring chicken in mind, don't they? Ah, Simulac on the breath, you know? Let me tell you something. Let's see, I was joking before, but let's do the knowledge here at Lockdown, on Locked on ACC. Let's do the knowledge, okay? If we're talking about Belichick's kid, let's look at his whole coaching tree.

out of his coaching tree, who has had success in the NFL as a head coach? Who? I'd say Flores had one season? Flores a little bit, and then he was in it. I covered him with the Miami Dolphins. He had some success, but he was basically, he was Belichick with less of a sense of humor, and he rubbed everybody the wrong way in that building. Well, I'm a Lions fan, and I think that Matt Patricia was Belichick with less of a humor.

and, you know, a little pencil behind his ear. I think that's who he was. So NFL teams are seen. They know if you come from the Bill Belichick Tree, you're not a winner. Andy Reed's coaching tree has a Super Bowl to it. Shout out to Doug Peterson. All of the great coaches coaching trees except he is, has produced somebody that has been, hell, he's a member of Parcell's coaching tree.

The great coaches, coach's coaching tree. coaching trees have success, except one guy. There's one notable guy that none of his coaches, none of the coaches that coached under him went on to piss a drop. Well, I'll tell you what the problem is. None of the members of his coaching tree coached Tom Brady. And this is why I say we're doing the knowledge here. I locked on W. I mean, I locked on ACC.

Now, Dono, let's talk about this in a very serious man. If Bill Belichick and all of his cronies, all of his boys, all the King's horses and all the Kingsmen, couldn't put the Patriot way back together again, right? All of that happened. Well, who the hell would hire his son? This ain't a play for him to get an NFL job. It's a ploy to get his son a head coaching job somewhere.

And that's somewhere that's going to be Chapel Hill. And again, I'm so excited about it. Because, again, we know that there is nothing better in this world, Dono, than nepotism. Nothing produces better results than saying you're related to somebody who had good results. at the higher level of this game, even though the lower level is completely different, therefore you're going to be good too. I'm excited about it, Donna.

I'm geeked up about it. And when I say I'm geeked up, I really am genuinely excited. Like, they're going to do it. They're actually going to do it. I am celebrating good times. I think the four in a row for NC State may turn eight in a row, maybe even ten in a row.

Who about? But I love the direction that North Carolina is going again. Hey, Bubba County here. You keep it up now, Bobba. You give it up. Okay, big fan, big fan over here. Huge fan of your work. Huge fan of your work.

Love what you're doing with the football program. I still don't think it's going to happen. I think they're having conversations with him because Bill Belichick wants to talk to you. You don't say no. Like I still, it is, I was surprised to see that they talked for a second time. That did surprise me a little bit. But I think the only way this happens, Kenton,

is if multiple other people say no. John Summerall from Tulane, I still think that's the guy that North Carolina wants, and I think he really knows that they want him. If anything, all these conversations with Belichick, the same way we can say Belichick is trying to play UNC to try to get his son a cushy gig for the future. I think UNC might be playing Belichick a little bit. So let's make sure Somerall knows that we're talking to other people, including one of the two biggest names in the history of coaching.

I'll say, well, maybe two or three, because I don't want to disrespect my guy, Don Shula. but Nick Saban being another one in there. We're talking to one of the biggest names in coaching history. I still don't believe this is actually going to happen because, again, like how do you trust the future of your program to a man and his son who have no track record in recruiting and building a college program? I still, even for all the questionable decisions they've made in Chapel Hill, I don't believe they're going to make this one.

I really don't. Donald, if this happens, I may come on there and see what's that Kelly Clark's or so? Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this. I don't believe it will happen either, Donald. But if it does, oh, you best believe there will be partying in the streets in almost every ACC school. Well, really, any ACC school that is a rival of or is in some type of competition to get ahead of UNC. Because again, that would be the biggest bunch of foolishness that I have ever. And when I say ever, I mean ever, ever seen out of a college hire.

But again, you know, Donald, all I'm saying is this. And his illustrious career, right, dating all the way back to 1975, he has not had one second, not one second of college football coaching. And if this is the route that North Carolina is willing to go, or if this is the guy that they're using to put Summerall, I think Summerall needs to look at this and say, oh, that's an unsirious organization. I'm good at it. Yeah, that's an unsirious outfit.

Because why would I seriously consider taking my town to somewhere where you fire one 72-year-old to hire another, oh, I'm sorry, a 71 and four-month-old, you know, like we talked about, you got to get some youth, some youthful exuberance in the room. And nobody knows about youthful exuberance like Bill Belichick, okay? Nobody gets his- He does have a 24-year-old girlfriend, though. Did you know that? So what did his girl? is old enough to be getting her master's and nobody bad an eye about it. It's not. Oh, you know what?

You know what, Donald? I get it. I understand it now. Oh, now we're doing the double knowledge at Lockedown ACC. So now they're saying that he can recruit out of the portal because he recruited a 24-year-old girlfriend. I get it. She was in the portal and he got her.

Their goal is to get Alan Bowman, who recently got approved for his eighth year. I'm lying. Alan Bowman didn't actually do that. That was a joke. But it's, I'm Duke. See, this is why y'all love Locked on ACC, because we do the knowledge here. We do the knowledge that they're scared to do elsewhere. And we know now that they're saying, look at his girlfriend.

He's a great recruiter. Money may have helped him a little bit, but damn it, we got NIL too. We got money for him to pass out too. I see where you're going, you and see. I say, do it. I say buck the haters. I say buck the naysayers. I say go with your first heart and go get your man.

Well, when we come back, what's going to have? happen on Saturday in the ACC championship game. And what happens to the loser of that game? Could SMU really drop behind the Alabama Crimson Tide? You want to keep it locked right here. We are only getting started on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC. So happy Mint Mobile is with us here on the Lockdown family. Guys, I love a great deal as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to crawl through a bed of hot coals just to save a few bucks. It has to be easy. No hoops, no BS. So when Mint Mobile said it was easy to get wireless for $15 a month with the purchase of a three-month plan. I called them on it, and it turns out it really is that easy to get wireless for $15 a month.

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We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. You know, Kenton, the more that I dive deeper, into this SMU versus Clemson matchup, the more I do believe SMU is going to pull it off. Because something, and we probably have maybe not done them a fair enough job. We've praised SMU all season long, but we spend so much time and rightfully so talking about the Mustang's offense.

But really what could be the difference in this football game, Kenton, SMU's defense, especially their rushing defense, they rank fourth in America, fourth in America, in stopping the run at under 100 yards given up, 95 yards given up per game. If they meet that standard, I think only once all season long, they allowed 100-yard individual rusher that was Isaac Brown from Louisville. If they can keep up that rushing defense standard against Phil Mafa and Cade Clubnick, who's had some big clutch runs at quarterback this year,

I believe SMU is going to win this game. And if they go up early, Kenton, we've seen Clemson's not built to come from behind. So I think this is going to end up being SMU's night tomorrow. I absolutely agree, but I want to take it a step further. You talk about how well they perform against the run, but there's also something else that they do extremely well. And when I say extremely, I mean extremely well, they keep teams from scoring points.

They're one of the few. And when I say the few, I mean the extremely few teams. I believe there's about 20 or so that are allowing less than 20 points per game. That is because they play good complimentary football. and defensively, they're swarming. We talk all year about, man, can they hold up in the trenches? Can they hold up in the trenches? That is a group.

They attack you from everywhere, from everywhere. And don't let them get you in those third and long situations. Don't let them get you in those bad situations where all of a sudden they can bring out those speed packages and whatnot. That is where SMU will truly make hay on this Clemson team. But I'll tell you what, When I look at that defense and I say, what is it that they do? It's like the no-name defense, right?

It's a lot like that. You've got a collection of guys that don't necessarily get the credit individually. Guys are not spoken about in terms of like, hey, we have five, six, seven, eight guys that are up for national awards. But as a collective, show me a group better. Show me a single group with less guys up for national wars that's outperforming. Yeah. Oh, I can't. I can't.

And this is something. Another contrast that's going to be on display in this game is SMU. I don't think anybody brought in more portal players last year than they did, whereas nobody brought in fewer portal players zero than Clemson did last year. And I mean this is a huge compliment to SMU. I'm not trying to say, oh, they bought a roster or anything like that. Because we both know, Kenton, when you're bringing in dozens of players to the transfer portal to get everybody in sync, there's a challenge there.

And that's basically the philosophy that Davosweeney is fighting against because his whole point is, you know, I don't want to be microwaving my roster and disrupting chemistry. And I want to show that we develop the guys that we have and all that. Well, I mean, if, and listen, if Clemson wins the game, power to them, I don't want to make it sound like I'm against Clemson, may the best team win. But if SMU wins this game, Brett Lashley can say, you know what? yeah, we portled in a ton of guys and we made it work. Not only can I say they poured in a ton of guys,

but a lot of their guys who are making big impacts are homegrown talents. Don't get me wrong. Yes, they have guys from everywhere. Yes, they have guys who played a ton of football. We called the Miami West for a reason. They have a ton of guys from Miami. They're leading Russia. The guy is tied for the leading sacks over there.

They have multiple guys, multiple guys, including their head coach, damn it, who are from the youth. But the reality is there's a thousand ways to skin a cat. As long as the thing is naked by the end of it, you did the job. That's the point here. That is the whole point. Clemson can do it their way and say, hey, we're not going to use the portal. We're going to be effective.

Other teams will. Other teams will. At the end of the day, if my job is to put together a desk, right? And I'm putting together a desk the best way I can. If I can do it without a hammer, I can do it without a hammer. You know what I mean? And that's just what this is. However, I will say, if you are trying to put together the desk,

if somebody does it better than you with a hammer, now there are going to be questioned, which is where Clemson is. Because we saw Florida State. Jericho versus wasn't homegrown. The quarterback, Travis. Jordan Travis. Yeah, he wasn't. Johnny Wilson.

Tons of guys, they're tied in as well. Tons of guys that they had that were not homegrown. And now if you look at you, you talk about the amount of players they've poured in, if that wins again, at some point, as the Clemson administration, you've got to say, listen to that. We like you. We like you a lot. But if you want to sustain the level that you reached before,

use all your damn tools. You keep saying, hey, I can't paint Michael 16th Chapel when you're not using your broad paintbrush. You're saying, hey, I'm going to do this entire thing with a detail of a brush. It's going to take you longer than everybody else. So I'm very interested to see how these styles kind of clash and all that good stuff. But I do want to give SMU some of credit because some of those guys that they have that are doing great things are very much so home. You know, it's the whole the whole portal era, it's changing college football so much because you kind of, when you recruit players, you're in the back of your mind, you know there's really like a 50% chance that this guy who's coming in actually finishes his career here.

that it's and also like I'm starting to hear um every every school has you know different approaches with their NIL budgets uh every you know it's again more than one way to skin a cat right but I'm starting to hear anecdotes from a lot of different schools who you know we're only three or four years into this whole NIL experience and they're starting to kind of adjust their budget to say you know what we're not necessarily going to go ham with high school players when it comes to splashing a lot because need to save a bigger portion of the budget for portal players because the portal guys are, you know, proven commodities on the field and the high school players aren't. So there's certain positions and certain high school guys will target, but other spots where we're going

to save budget for the portal. And so, yeah, but going back to the point about Davosweeney, you definitely, you handicap yourself if you only use one of those avenues to add talent, right? I mean, everyone can find their magic formula of how many portal guys do we bring in versus you know, how do we approach recruiting? But to only put any effort into one of those sides, it's just, it's hard. And listen, if Davo, if Davo can win this game on Saturday and maybe make a run in the college football playoff, you and I will be the first to congratulate him. But, you know, we're starting to see signs that maybe, maybe that approach is not the way to get

it done in this day and age. Yeah, the signs are there, but the results are kind of not in a way, right? We've seen Davao Sweeney still win enough to kind of keep the heat off them a little bit. And in this moment is going to be particularly important for Davo because if you lose this game, you're out, period. You're out. There's no offense about it. Clemson is not sniffing the playoff. But if you win it, all of a sudden, look at the dominoes that fall if Clemson wins it.

So there's a lot riding on this game for Davo more so than pretty much any other game this season. Definitely more than it was riding on the South Carolina game because we saw it first hand. We saw first hand. You lose that game and still backdoor your way into the conference championship and into a potential national championship or a college football playoff bid.

So this game in particular in Charlotte, 8 p.m. is going to be the make or break moment for Clemson season. Well, it's also a big maker break moment for the ACC, and we'll talk about that when we come back. I'm Alex Dono from Lockdown Keynes. He is Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack and we're not done yet on this brand new episode of Lockdowne ACC. We're certainly not done with Fandul.

Guys, we still have, we got conference championship games, we got bowl season, we got college football playoff. We've got NFL action. Get ready to tackle that NFL action with Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $150 and bonus bets if you win. The Fandual Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game,

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Wolfpack. I host Locked on Cains. We're available free wherever you get your podcast and available free on YouTube. So, uh, Rhett Lashley, Kenton was interviewed on, uh, on ESPN, actually ACC network. It was on ACCPM with Mark Packer and Rhett Lashley. Because remember, uh, Brett, of course, is the coach of SMU. Um, that that coward, Ward Emanuel, the, uh, the, chairman of the college football playoff committee has basically set Bama as a lot into the CFP. He even said that SMU, who's 11 and 1 undefeated in the ACC, number eight in the country, that SMU could conceivably drop below Alabama if they lose the ACC championship game. You know what time Alabama's championship game is? Never a clock. It's not, they don't play

in the conference championship game. So Alabama, who's not playing, according to Ward Manual, could conceivably be ranked ahead of SMU. Now, Rhett Lashley said this. we're not going to opt out of this weekend just to be in the playoff. We're going to play. We're going to believe the committee will have the integrity to do what's right, he said. Now, when is the CFP committee who left out a 13 and 0 conference champion Florida State last year?

And, you know, again, I'm still a little bit bitter about the Miami thing. But if they deny SMU, if they lose to Clemson, that would be way more egregious than what happened to Miami this week. I'm not so sure the committee has any integrity whatsoever when it comes to Alabama. It's not just Alabama. I don't think they have any integrity at all, period.

I don't. I really and truly don't. This is so simple to me, okay? I just want to know this. So do they have to lose by less than three touchdowns in order to get in? Because if they lose by 21 points, then they've taken the exact same loss to Bama did to Oklahoma. That's right. And they would still have one less loss than Bama, even if that were to happen.

And I think that you and I can both agree while I love me some venables, and while I don't think venables has been the same without, without Daibo and Daubo ain't been the same without Venables, I really and truly believe that Clemson is a better team than Oklahoma. I believe they have a better resume. I think that's fair. 100%. Right?

So if they could potentially be out because of losing to a team with a better resume, what is this about? What are we on about here? Oh, they've beaten more. top 25 teams. You mean the top 25 that you decided? You mean the top 25 that you made sure Duke wasn't in? Why wasn't Duke in it? Look at Duke's losses. Look at them. I believe it's what? They lost to Miami, SMU, and who else? Who else did lose? Was it Notre Dame? Was that the other? There was one more they lost two. Yeah, I know that they lost three. But either way you cut or slice it,

Duke doesn't have any losses to teams that are at or near 500, correct? Right. It was SMU. They lost to, they lost to SMU, Miami and Georgia Tech. And Georgia Tech. So Georgia Tech won. How many games this year? Eight?

Seven. Seven. And they took Georgia to eight overtimes on the road. Okay. So just making sure here that team's not top 25. And so how Missouri is? Again, I just, I, you talk about record. versus top 25, all Mizzou did was get their teeth kicked in every time they played the real thing.

Every time. Every time. So again, I look at this situation and I say to myself very simply, I don't trust the committee to have any integrity. But again, my solution, I believe is the correct solution here. All of the group of five, ACC and the Big 12, go up into the committee and say, hey, you all are doing this pro bono. None of your services will be needed any longer. The new way we're doing this is a rating system that is completely untethered to the AP or the coaches poll. It will be determined by, hey, wins or whatever value, loss or whatever value, but you got to prove it on the feet.

Point blade period. You got to prove it on the fit. We're not doing these hypotheticals. We're not doing, do you really think that this team would beat this thing? I don't give a damn who you think would beat who. Because did we think that Diego Pavia had a chance to make Malachi more crash out? No. And yet it happened at the end of the game. Did we really sit here and think that USC was going to be a terrible team after they beat LSU early in the year?

No, but look at them. Lincoln Riley's now being linked to every single head coaching job that's open in the power for at this point. Except the one he currently possesses. Except that one. So, you know what I mean? So I think that we've got to live in the real world here. And again, in the real world, the committee has shown themselves to be. unscrupulous. They've shown

themselves to be devoid of morals. And they've shown themselves to be, like you said, cowards. Cowards in a way that they can't just say Alabama's a bigger draw than SMU. What's you going to do about it? What's you going to do about it? You ain't go, well-puss. You can't beat us up. Dallas has a bunch of professional sports teams. They got the stars, they got

the Mavs, they got the biggest franchise in all of sports in the Cowboy. You know, so we're not going to take them seriously because their city has them as the fourth and fifth best team. Bama, on the other hand, everybody loves them to Bama in the state of Alabama. That's just what it is. Everybody wants to be Bama.

Everybody wants to watch Bama, so we'll put them in. Say that. Own it with your whole chest. Poke your chest out and say proudly, I'm setting up ESPN to get the highest rate as possible, and that's all there is to them. What are you going to do? Fight us about it. Okay. Yeah. Well, last thing I want to bring up, I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't know if it's going to happen or not, but in this day and age, Kenton, when most players who are, who are NFL bound, especially guys who are projected first round picks, they tend to opt out these days for, you know, non-playoff bowl games, right? It's just, it's become so common around college football. Miami's Cam Ward is, he's considering playing, you know, he wants to finish the job he started.

I think he made a, he made a promise to his teammates before the season that he was there he was there for the duration, right? You know, he, he's been the leader of Miami's locker room since the day he stepped into it, you know, back in January, about 11 months ago. I don't think he's made its final decision yet, but, you know, when we found out Miami is basically, it's impossible for them to get into the CFP at this point.

I just figured we had seen Cam Ward and, you know, the 4,000 plus yards, 36 touchdown passes. We had seen him in a Miami uniform for the final time. But it may not be the, the final time. And I won't hold it against him, Kenton, if he opts out, because I, I understand that that's just been the norm for guys who are preparing for the NFL, but I would respect him so much if he did opt in and decide to play, because you'd be setting an example, not only for your teammates, and I would imagine if Ward were to opt in, you know,

guys like Xavier Restrepo, you know, would opt in. I'm hearing some of the defensive starters who were NFL bound. And yes, there are some on Miami's defense, believe it or not, who are probably headed to the NFL would opt in. It would also set an example for college football. And I'm even hearing that Shador Sanders and Travis Hunter may opt in Colorado and they may play in their bowl game. So if that becomes the new trend, sign me up for it. I'll tell people this.

The same way I said I'm not going to criticize anybody for sitting out, I'm not going criticize anybody for opting in. More power to you. It is your life. It is your body. It is your choice. It is your decision. I am never going to step in until you.

you, hey, listen, you ain't done enough for the university. Go out there and earn some money. And I'm also never going to step in and tell you you have no more money to earn. This is stupid. Not for a game at least. For a full season, yeah, maybe, maybe. Like when Chase Young was reportedly thinking about coming back to get his criminology degree, and I'm like, are you okay?

Are you like, son, you're, uh, you get the degree to get the money. You know, the degree is meant for the money. But that's neither here nor there. The reality is simple. All of these guys, if they're going to set a trend in the new way, more power to them. If the trend reverts after this year, more power to them. I don't care what these young men do. I just want to see some entertaining football.

Obviously, football is more entertaining with the best players on the field. Not going to lie about that. But I'm also never going to denigrate a young man who has put his body on the line in one of the most dangerous games of there is. You've got big, angry men running at each other as whole. as fast as we can, trying to knock somebody's chin strap loose. And if you think that I'm going to disrespect the guy for sitting that out for a game, saying, hey, I've done all I can. All I can do is hurt myself and make myself less money a year.

I'm not going to get mad at you. But again, for the guys who opt in, I'm a love on you too. I'm a love on you because I want to see some good ball. I want to see some good balls. So, you know, I am fully committed and on the side of the players choosing, whatever they decide to choose. And I think that Dion Sanders took a very interesting shot at his alma mater and saying that we saw in other programs when they kind of laid down and rolled over how that carried over in the next year. I think that was very interesting.

I think that was very interesting. And actually, let me take that back. I don't think he was taking the shot. I just think he was objectively saying this is an objective fact. That team said we didn't get into the playoff. So they had, what, 20 opt-outs or something like that? Guys who are on the team this year opted out of the bowl. Yeah.

That's a real thing that happened. And then this year, you see what the results were. So I look at this and I say to myself, again, I'm fine with guys off now. I'm finally with guys playing. Either way it goes, do what's best for you, young man. And in the words of young dog, get paid, young brother, get paid. Yeah, I'm the same way. Like I wouldn't fault Ward or anybody for opting out because obviously what you mentioned,

the risk of injury, that's the number one reason. why guys opt out, but then I think another part of it is, if you opt out, you get three, four week head start on your NFL specific workouts, right? Preparing for the combine and preparing for the private workouts you do with teams, you start working with your trainers for the specific workouts rather than, you know, doing practices for a bowl game. So there's a lot that goes into it. But you also hit the nail on the head when you talk about the entertainment value of these

football games. Unfortunately, over the past five or six years, you know, The entertainment value in bowl games has by and large going down the toilet because you don't, you know, the players that you watch all season long for your favorite teams don't tend to suit up in these bowl games. So it's like, what am I watching? So yeah, I would be all four. I would be all for opt-ins. He is Kent and Gibbs. I'm glad we both opted in for this episode of Lockdown ACC. I am Alex Dono and we will talk to everybody next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the awesome lockdown podcast network, your team every day. Thank you.