Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - PICKS: Louisville vs Miami, UNC vs Cal, GT vs Duke, SMU vs Clemson

Starting point is 00:00:01 Two ACC games tonight with very different stakes, but high stakes nonetheless. Miami hosting Louisville, Cal hosting North Carolina. Let's dive in. You are Locked-on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team, every day. Happy Friday and shout out to the everydayers. Thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen. We're available free wherever you get your podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:36 We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive lineman and co-host of Locked on Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Locked on Cainz. And 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.

Starting point is 00:00:58 We'll talk about the Saturday slate, but the Friday night slate tonight is very interesting. So, you know, you've got Miami, who's the night. number two team in the country is hosting Louisville. Louisville is four and one coming off of both teams coming off of biweek actually. Louisville had their first loss of the season prior to that overtime against Virginia. So two teams that are near the top of the ACC, Miami obviously the favorite right now. And then at 1030 tonight, Kenton, out in California, you've got the Golden Bears who have been a Jekyll and Hyde team. They open up their season three and O. They've lost a few games since. You know, J.K.S, the true freshman quarterback, has had his ups and downs,

Starting point is 00:01:39 taking on what I feel is the worst team in power for football, and that is the North Carolina tar heels. And Kenton, the off-the-field stuff, I know, like, UNC fans would just blame all the reporters. Like, why does WRL hate us? Why does Pablo Torre hate us so much? Like, they put out this footage of Jordan Hudson and Bill Belichick on a hot mic, like a leak from NFL network from last year that makes Jordan and Bill look pretty bad. Pablo Torres reporting that Michael Lombardi, the GM of the Tar Heels, he took a trip to Saudi Arabia right before the season started to try to secure NIL funding. And they got to play a game tonight on the West Coast.

Starting point is 00:02:21 Like, this is pure, pure mayhem. And I know Kenton's loving every second of it. What, Dono, why would you accuse me of such a thing? Why would you accuse me a score? I'm scoffing at you. But in all seriousness, this is a situation that you and I talked about in the offseason, teams potentially going and getting foreign investment in their teams. And to that, I will say, I'm not, you know, I don't really care much for the foreign affairs

Starting point is 00:02:52 or the geopolitical aspects of things. At the end of the day, if you believe it's going to help you put a better product on the field, go for it. Here's my only thing that I will warn people against. the bill always comes due. When you look at the University of North Carolina with all due respect in basketball, are you trending in the right direction?

Starting point is 00:03:14 I would argue no. No. And from the apex of Carolina basketball, you are not trending in the direction that you know the deem don't is going to be filled out every night. And football, are you trending in the right direction? I don't know who under God's green earth could look at this program and say,

Starting point is 00:03:31 that's a team that in three years, not only are they going to be better than they are now, that's going to be a national powerhouse. And so let's say you take that for an investment. How do you plan on paying it back? With what revenue, from what ticket sales? I've seen what Keenan Stadium looks like for the average game, not to like, hey, we're a great team,

Starting point is 00:03:55 not that we're a terrible team, just completely average like, oh, this is going to be a seven-win, Carolina team. playing some other ACC school. What does the stadium look like? You are not going to make enough money to pay back that deal and the interest that comes with it without having to give up other parts of your program and or university. So I would caution against that.

Starting point is 00:04:19 I would deeply, deeply cost against that. And the Jordan Hudson and Bill Belichick Hot Mike, let me ask for this, Dono. Have you ever seen Jordan Hudson's name pop up and has ever been anything positive for see a single time okay at this point we know what it is we know we know bill get your i was going to say get your old lady but she's extremely young get your young lady away from the mics get your young lady away from them headsets get her away from everything she don't need to be nowhere and then none of that keep her up in the in the little family part you know where the coach's wives normally sitting all that good stuff and, you know, up in whatever y'all version of bond towers and all that it,

Starting point is 00:05:06 keep her up there. And then at the end of the game, say hi, greet your lady, kiss her. You know, she's normally going to be rubbing your back saying, it's going to be okay, baby. You'll get them next time as if the last seven times you played powerful teams weren't bad enough and go on from there, okay? You don't got to keep doing this. You don't got to keep putting her in positions to fail, man.

Starting point is 00:05:26 It's just a shame what's going on in Chapel Hill. So I'm looking at the Fanduil odds and it's Cal, oh man, you know what? I locked in a bad moment because I locked in my bet when Cal was favored by nine and a half.

Starting point is 00:05:45 They're only favored by eight and a half now. So I wish I'd waited like an hour to lock this one. But Cal is favored by eight and a half at home. And like the Cal Golden Bears are not a good team. And I apologize to the Calgary. I know they love us. Like that is not a good team.

Starting point is 00:05:59 And I was actually, messaging with our buddy Lawrence Ross last night. And like he seems like he's expecting Cal to lose this game and probably win a couple games that they shouldn't win later on. And this is how the Justin Wilcox experience works. The Justin Wilcox experience is you lose the games you're supposed to win and you win the games you're supposed to lose. I still, North Carolina to me is such a mess. And it sounds like Gio Lopez is going to probably be back at starting quarterback tonight because he's healthy again. Should he actually be the starting quarterback? quarterback. Does it really matter that much if Max Johnson starts, though?

Starting point is 00:06:33 I think Cal's going to win this game by double digits, Kenton. That's why I locked in Cal minus nine and a half. You know, since you talked about our good friend, Lawrence, let me, let me talk about some of some that, that he and I can relate to, okay? Cal at anything less than minus 14, that look as good as them A.K.A.s when set it off, come on, them old school AKAs would set it off. Come on. Lawrence knows what I'm talking about. You all know what I'm talking about when they get that pat back going. Not my, we ain't got to talk about that. But I'm going to tell you something right now.

Starting point is 00:07:05 Cal is absolutely going to win this game about that. And I know, I know Cal fans are like, hey, you know this team. We know this team better than you. And the Wilcox experience his strength. Here's the thing. I don't think that people are seriously understanding. And I think people are underestimating how unsurious this North Carolina football team. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:07:23 I really and truly do. I think we're over indexing on respect for Bill Belmont. check and say, oh, he'll figure it out at some point in time. Dono, every team that has crossed all of these time zones, generally they play worse. They play worse. The team that's doing all the travel generally plays worse. We watched a Miami team last year that was playoff caliber. They did not go to the playoff, but they were playoff caliber.

Starting point is 00:07:48 We watched that team go down to the wire against the Cal team that objectively wasn't that great last year. And you're telling me a Cal team that looks like they're about that same team, their best moments look better, but their worst moments look worse. So it's tough to say that they're indefinitely better than that team from last year. You're telling me that that team is going to lose to a UNC team that is an absolute farce of a program so far this year. I struggle to see it. I mean, I agree with you, obviously. But let me give you the rebuttal about the West Coast travel thing.

Starting point is 00:08:25 And this, again, this is more evidence about how wacky the Justin Wilcock experience is. So Cal, since they've been in the ACC in teams from the East Coast traveling to the West Coast, Cal is, this is not against the spread. This is overall. They're 0 and 4, Cal in those home games against teams from the East Coast traveling to the West Coast. Yeah, they're 0 and 4 in those situations, which is surprising, right? But you brought up the Miami game and absolutely had that game been played, you know, Miami or in the Eastern time zone, it would not have been as close as it was, I believe,

Starting point is 00:08:59 but they still lost the game and they are 0 and 4 in those situations. But I don't think that's going to matter against North Carolina. I think they make that one and four tonight. I absolutely believe they get their first win against the East Coast team that's traveling to them. And even more important, look at some of the teams that have gone over there and beat them. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, ah, you just don't have the horses in a stable to win that game.

Starting point is 00:09:22 This game, you got the horses, you got the cows. You got the cows, you got the pigs, you got the chicks. Everything's in the stable to beat this team. Okay? You are head and shoulders, the better team. Go out there and prove it. All right. Last thing on this game before we move on to Louisville at Miami, is there a chance?

Starting point is 00:09:41 This is Bill Belichick's last game coaching the Tar Heels. If they lose this game, let's say it's not close. Does he make it back to Chapel Hill or is Chapel Bill no longer that? he's going to be back he's going to be back they've they've committed too much to this farce now they just put out a statement two weeks ago it's been too much committed now does he come back next season very different story i think he at least makes it through the end of the season and what a poetic day it would be for for dave doran's last game as as nc states head coach potentially to be beating bill bellichick and and the tar heirs what a poetic moment that would be for him

Starting point is 00:10:23 But in all seriousness, I think that regardless of what happens in this game, unless Cal like stumps a mud hole, I'm talking 40 point win. Yeah, yeah, he'll be bad. I agree because if anything, the North Carolina administration and Belichick himself, I think we're very embarrassed by all the leaks last week. And so I think at this point, the worst thing that they could do is like give in to that public pressure and make Pablo Torre feel like he was right. I think that's the last thing that they want right now. So like you said, I think they're going to stick it out to the end of the year, no matter what happens tonight, no matter what happens for the remainder of the season. But, you know, the earlier game on Friday night sees Louisville taking on number two, Miami.

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Starting point is 00:13:00 That's supplyhouse.com, real people, real service. Thank you so much for making Lockdown ACCC your first list. For your next list and check out our other shows. Kenton Gibbs and Grayson Boone, do an awesome job talking to all things NC State on Locked on Wolfpack. I talk all things Miami on Locked on Cains. Of course, a lot of pregame material for Miami tonight, 7 o'clock, hosting Louisville at Hard Rock Stadium.

Starting point is 00:13:28 You know, big edge Kenton that Miami has in this game should be Miami's pass rush, led by Rubin Bain and Akeem Mesidor against an offensive line for Louisville that has really struggled. They haven't protected Miller Moss, who's been sacked 13 times in five games. Moss under pressure has been really poor this year. About a 34% grade on pro football focus when pressured. He's thrown three pick sixes and four interceptions this season. So I think for Miami defensively, that's going to be a recipe.

Starting point is 00:13:58 Now, Louisville would love to get their running game going. Some unfortunate news for them. Duke Watson is out for this game with injury. Isaac Brown will play, and Kiwan Brown will be his backup. But they've had trouble opening holes for Isaac Brown. Now, if he can get a hole, he can make a meal out of it. But that running game has struggled this year, Kenton, behind the O line. Yeah, I mean, everything at the end of the day, the apex of this situation is always going to be the offense.

Starting point is 00:14:23 line. And I know a lot of people are going to say, oh, you didn't give them credit when you were loving on Duke Watson and Isaac Brown before the season. Well, because it goes without saying that the best runners generally have the best offensive lines, except in very, very rare occasions. But I mean, you know, this year, Dono, when you look at what their production has been against power for teams, it's not just about, oh, well, you know, these backs have made amazing things happen on nothing. No, the production has not been there. They have won the games by and large, again, against Power 4 teams, by having Miller Moss step back and throw the ball around a yard a ton, that's not a winning recipe. I'm sorry to tell you, I don't care who wants to hear it or how they want to hear it.

Starting point is 00:15:10 That is not going to be a winning recipe for this team. So at the end of the day, the running game has to get going. And although I think the matchup with the most NFL talent and the most intriguing matchup, is going to be Miami's offensive line versus Louisville's defensive line. The one that will be most impactful and will tell the tale of this game, do mesidor and bane see some, do they, do they see those good ox tail smothered? You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:15:36 Do they see, do they see the little bit of rice and gravy? Do they see what are they seeing? Are they seeing pork chops and neck bones and greens or is it much tougher of a task for them in this game? Because those two have been phenomenal, Donald. They've been phenomenal, nothing short of it. And if they continue to look phenomenal in this game, it frees up everybody else. It makes your defensive backs. I can be more aggressive because I know you don't got time to throw a double move.

Starting point is 00:16:01 I'm jumping everything. You know, so at the end of the day, Louisville, if I'm a Louisville listener right now, and I'm saying, what does this team need to do? I guarantee you, if your offensive line grades out at above a 75 and your defensive line plays out of what they do, y'all got a shot. However, Rubin Bain has forced some guys to grade out at 12 this year, 12 on a scale of zero to 100. An offensive tackle that is on scholarship and receiving NIL money got a 12. So good luck.

Starting point is 00:16:37 I mean, I think the other thing Louisville has to do, and it's not impossible, but it would involve Miami playing out of character is win the turnover margin. Miami's top five nationally in turnover margin at plus six. Louisville is 55th in turnover margin at a plus one. So one team has done a significantly better job taking care of the football than the other. And so, yeah, I mean, they're going to try to force Carson Beck to make the kind of mistakes. People thought he was making a year ago at Georgia. He's been a lot more efficient so far this year at Miami.

Starting point is 00:17:10 You know, knock on wood, Miami hasn't lost a fumble yet this year. So they've, you know, the ball security has been really solid. I think this is the tight. And also both teams have been undisciplined when it comes to penalties. So that's going to be something to watch out for. You know, for Miami, it was 11 penalties against Florida State. A lot of those were, you know, kind of in quote unquote garbage time when they got sloppy toward the end of the game.

Starting point is 00:17:33 But Miami's going to try to play a clean game. And Kenton, I just feel like if Miami does that, if Miami cuts down the penalties and they don't lose the turnover margin, it's hard to imagine a Louisville victory. The key to upsets is always to catch your opponent slipping, right? And what does that look like in terms of football? What does it look like? When you catch somebody slipping, it doesn't mean you have to cast them in perpetuity being unprepared. It means you catch them one or two moments.

Starting point is 00:17:59 What are those one or two moments look like? Turnovers. What are those one or two moments look like? Wow, Miami's driving. Uh-oh. They got a holding call. All of a sudden, that's a drive killer. So you're absolutely right, Donald.

Starting point is 00:18:11 They have, Louisville has to play a clean game. and generate turnovers to win this ball game. Miami has a much larger room for error. They have much more room for, we can do this wrong and still get away with it. However, you don't want to play like that. Again, Miami's eyes are not, at this point in time, obviously Miami will tell you,

Starting point is 00:18:31 because Mario Cristobald will tell you, we're going to want to know. We want to think about beating Louisville. We want to go one and all. Let's be real, right? The Miami listeners who are listening to this show, your eyes are set on that playoff. Your eyes are set on potentially.

Starting point is 00:18:44 bringing home that nanny, right? I was almost said crystal ball. I almost aged myself right there. Your eyes on bringing home that national championship. I miss the old crystal ball trophy. I miss the damn it. Bring the crystal ball back. Bring it back in CAA.

Starting point is 00:18:59 But their eyes are on bigger goals and you can't establish bad habits and then just think we're going to get rid of it when that comes. Because again, you can play bad football against Louisville and potentially win. However, Louisville is good enough that if you play bad ball, against them, it's a chance. It's a chance. And Papa John Stadium, they do what it takes. The next thing you know, they come out with a win. Well, I'll give you another X factor for Louisville. They have been explosive on special teams. Colin Lacey has two punt returns for touchdowns this year. He actually scored a kickoff return for a touchdown against Miami a year ago. So,

Starting point is 00:19:38 you know, Hurricane Special Teams coverage. So so far it's been really good. But, you know, obviously Louisville, one of the more dangerous special teams, opponents, Miami is space. So that's another thing to watch out for. Watching the betting line for this one, Kenton, there's definitely a lot of money coming in on the game on Friday on game day. And it seems like there's more money today coming in on Louisville. For most of the week, Miami was favored by 13 and a half points all the way up until Friday morning. Now on Fan Duel, Miami's favored by 12 and a half. I'm being told that there are other sports books where it's 11 and a half.

Starting point is 00:20:16 So there's obviously money coming in on the Cardinals, but it's still like, still a big. I mean that might just mean people think the spread was too big, not necessarily that Louisville's going to win outright. But for what it's worth, there is money coming in on the Cardinals. Yeah, there is money coming in on the Cardinals. But right team favorite. I think Miami wins this game. I don't think that this is one that, you know, we're going to be putting too much sweat off our brow about. But don't be shocked.

Starting point is 00:20:41 Don't be shocked if it is because Louisville, they have a very similar effect to Georgia Tech to where they play up with the best. Right. And they play down to the worst. They see a world beater coming through and they're like, wait a minute. Are we the 85 Bears now? And then they see a four-win Kentucky team coming through. And they're like, I don't think I want to play well today. I'm not really too interested.

Starting point is 00:21:06 So we'll see which version of Louisville we get today. And that's part of the Jeff Brom experience, because he tends to did it a couple times at Purdue, started at Louisville. You know, they had a big win against Clemson last year where they call him big game, Brom. Like he'll sometimes step up and win the big game. And here's a trivia fact for you. Miami has, I think it's a 10-game home winning streak right now that dates back to 2023.

Starting point is 00:21:31 But the last team to beat Miami in Miami was Louisville in 2023. So they're going to try to bring it full circle tonight. Absolutely. they're going to try. And again, I want to see who gets Snellenberger's boots, baby. The best and most underrated award in all of college. Yeah, it's the, it's actual boots that Schnellenberger wore that were bronzed. I guess they poured like the liquid metal on it. So it's like an actual pair of Schnellenberger dress boots from back in the day that they That takes boots on the ground to a whole other level. That takes boots on the ground to the next level,

Starting point is 00:22:06 ladies and gentlemen. Some notes on the Saturday slate when we come back, including Clemson might be without their starting quarterback this week. And that would drastically change the outlook of their matchup against SMU. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new locked on ACC. Guys, what do you get when you have a bald eagle standing on top of a silverback gorilla riding a T-Rex? Confidence, pure confidence. If you're looking for something beyond the usual pill, it's time to meet Rougiet go long.

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Starting point is 00:23:28 for Miami hosting Louisville, also, you know, Cal was favored by nine and a half. They're favored by eight and a half now against North Carolina. You can check out all the action at Fandul. NFL season is here, guys, and Fanduel has an offer you don't want to. miss right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get 300 in bonus bets if you win that's right pick a bet put down five bucks and if it hits you'll unlock three hundred dollars in bonus

Starting point is 00:23:51 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 whether you're a casual fan or you love diving into the stats fan duel makes the game day experience so much better so what are you waiting for. Visit fanduil.com to download the Fandual app today and get started. Thank you for making Lockdown ACCC your first listen. We're available free. Rev. You get your podcast. We're free on YouTube. We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day. Another line, Kenton, that has moved a little bit is the Duke hosting Georgia Tech. Duke was favored by one and a half points for most of the week. That line and Duke is at home. It's moved up to minus two

Starting point is 00:24:38 and a half for Duke. This is one where, man, I feel like Georgia Tech is overall the better football team. It's a great quarterback matchup, Darian Mensa versus Haynes King. They're both playing at a really high level. Haynes King just affects the game more with what he does as a runner as well. But Duke being the home team and being in good form, man, I honestly, this one's close to a coin flip for me, but my gut tells me Georgia Tech probably pulls. out a close one. Vegas says this is a pick-um. However, somebody is favorite.

Starting point is 00:25:15 So I got to pull out my favorite phrase, ladies and gentlemen. Wrong. Team, favorite. Give me Georgia Tech in this one. And here's the deal. I don't think that this game will be that close. Hear me out. Here's why.

Starting point is 00:25:31 I think that Georgia Tech effectively runs the ball and stops Mario, stops Manny Diaz. Well, Freudian slip with Miami coaches there. I can't get all these coaches mixed up. But I think that they keep Manny Diaz from doing what he does best. I've talked about this ad nauseum. He gets into young quarterback's heads. How?

Starting point is 00:25:52 He gets them behind the sticks. And then he gets a little tricky. He messes with you out. Haynes King has been playing college football since I was playing college football. You understand? Haines King has seen it all, done it all. He's seen every disguise you can throw at him. He's seen cover one, two, three, four, six, nine.

Starting point is 00:26:07 He's seen it all. He's seen it all, done it all. He's seen cloud. He's seen hard play. He's seen it. He's done it. He's a celebrated alumnus of college football university. So with that in mind, you combine an experienced quarterback with a run game that is going to keep them in positive positions overall in terms of being ahead of the sticks.

Starting point is 00:26:29 And I think you're going to have a very tough time there. And here's the biggest thing. Here's the biggest thing for me where I kind of look at this team and I say, all right, what you got Georgia Tech? What you're going to do here? Georgia Tech is pretty good at taking the football away. They're pretty good of taking the football away. And because of that,

Starting point is 00:26:45 while Duke has maintained the ability to protect the ball over these last few games and while they have been trending in the right direction, no turnovers over the last three, they're about due. Their numbers do for some turnovers. And I think the Georgia Tech capitalizes. And I think they win this game by about nine or ten points. I like it.

Starting point is 00:27:04 Here's one to watch on Saturday. know if we're going to know the final verdict until shortly before kickoff. But at the time, Kenton and I record this, you got Clemson at home favored by five and a half against SMU. SMU's been a lot better the last couple of weeks. But Cade Clubnick is questionable. Now, Visina, their backup quarterback, may have to go. You know, the times he has played, he's looked very pedestrian. Nothing really has stood out to me about Clemson's backup, whereas, you know, Cade Clubnick, you've had some ups and downs, but he comes off a phenomenal. nominal 2024 season. He's been trending up these last couple of weeks. So, I mean, if to me,

Starting point is 00:27:43 if the final, you know, injury report comes out and Kade Klubnick is out for this game, I'm saying SMU pulls off the road upset, Kenton. If Klubnick plays, assuming he's mostly healthy, I probably lean to Clemson to edge it out at home. So to me, this depends on the clubnik status one way or another. I have a thousand percent agree with you. I am a thousand percent the same boat as you, and I look at this and some people are saying, well, Zazina's going to be just as good, or he'll be just as, you know, all that good stuff.

Starting point is 00:28:13 If he was just as good, he'd already be playing. You understand? Right. If he was just as good, he'd already be the guy. Remember, we said the same thing about Syracuse and, oh, Ricky Collins, it was a battle. It was a battle for a while. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:28:25 Well, doesn't look like it was much of a battle, was it? So in this game, I think if you've got Cade, you've got a way to win this ballgame. If you don't, the call is simple. Hey, stop that running back back there. Stop that guy immediately.

Starting point is 00:28:42 Stop this running game and you'll be just fine. I know Westco is fantastic. I know this wide receiving court has underperformed all year, but the talent is there. However, the reality of the talent of that wide receiver court, they need somebody to get in the ball. And if you can pressure for Zina, if you can make things happen to make it real tough on them,

Starting point is 00:29:00 all of a sudden, you're going to be looking at some very dire straits, Fort Clemson and death battle. And the Clubnik status has affected the betting line there. Like we're looking at Clemson minus five and a half right now. I'm pretty sure earlier in the week, Kenton, before he was listed as questionable, it was eight and a half and nine and a half. Yeah, it might have been nine and a half Clemson favored. So the Clubnik uncertainty has moved the line about four points,

Starting point is 00:29:26 which to me makes sense because, in fact, I might say Clemson three and a half would sound reasonable if Clubnik doesn't play. If he is ruled out, that line's going to move even more in SMU's favor. All right, so another, the night cap on Saturday night. We got West Coast games Friday night and Saturday night, which is cool if you're up late. I will be up late Friday night because I'll be doing Miami Post game. So I will have my eyes on Cal hosting North Carolina, and I might stay up late Saturday night as well because you got Stanford as 18.5 point underdogs at home against the Florida State Seminals.

Starting point is 00:29:59 And Kent, despite what's happened to FSU the past three weeks, As long as they come into this game focused, you know, not overlooking an opponent. I don't want to hear Tommy Castellanos talking about, hey, yeah, we're three and three, but we're really six and oh because we've only beaten ourselves. Like, come in, humble and focused, and Florida State has the talent to go in and beat up on a not very good Stanford team. I think what I would worry about if I'm a Florida State fan is the possibility of a spiral, right?

Starting point is 00:30:31 you've lost three straight games. There are a lot of questions out there about Mike Norvell's future. In fact, if Florida State doesn't win that game, don't be surprised if they don't let Norville on the plane home. So you have all that extra stuff out there. If his players and his staff can block that out, there's no reason why FSU shouldn't beat a bad Stanford team on the road. And they're favored by 18 and a half points.

Starting point is 00:30:54 But that whole storyline is something to watch. Oh, absolutely. And I'm going to tell you this, The only redeeming thing, the only thing that Stanford can hang their hat on and say, we've got a shot. We've potentially got a way to win this game is that big bruising back out of Tom's River, New Jersey, Mr. Micah Ford. I mean, he is a low. He is six feet, 220 pounds.

Starting point is 00:31:21 I don't know about that. He must have been taking some extra trips to in and out out there in California because I'm going to tell you something. That boy looked like he a little heavier than two. 20 and he is physical. He runs extremely well. Mr. Darrell Jackson Jr. It's time for you to show up. It's time for you to show up, big fella.

Starting point is 00:31:38 It's time for you to show up that lineback and core that looks so great against Bama. It's time for y'all to make a return, okay? And I'm going to tell you something. Earl Little Jr. Has played fantastic football all year. He has. He has. Despite what the team has gone through, through ups through downs, he has made plays in the running game and the passing game.

Starting point is 00:31:57 He has done it all defensively. can y'all follow him as a defense? That's the question for me. Can y'all follow him? If you watch that pit game, he came up with an interception. He punches the ball out. And because other Florida State defenders are not running to the ball, what happens? It bounces right to a pit panther. This is a situation where I'm looking at Florida State and saying, Donald, you're absolutely right. You do have the talent to beat up on this team. You do have what it takes in terms of just sheer you know, star power and who's got the higher blue chip rating and all that. Of course.

Starting point is 00:32:33 But you know where you also had that against Pitt and how that worked out for you. And I'm not saying that this Stanford team. And against Virginia as well. Exactly. Against Virginia as well. I'm not saying that this Stanford team is Pitt or Virginia. I want to make that clear. I'm not saying that they're the same caliber team.

Starting point is 00:32:47 But I am saying if you've shown me you can play down twice, what's going to stop me from saying, oh, you're going to play down a third time, maybe a fourth time. You know, so I honestly and truly look at this game and say, you're right, Dono. This game is about whether or not Florida State can stop the spiral. We appreciate everyone for making Locked on ACC your first list. Enjoy the games tonight. Enjoy all the games on Saturday. This is a great weekend for ACC football.

Starting point is 00:33:14 Make sure you follow Kenton at TGIF underscore Kenton on X and on Lockedon Wolfpack. You can check me out on Locked on Cains and at Alex Dono. And we'll talk to you again next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. we are part of the awesome lockdown podcast network, your team every day.

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