Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - PUNT: Will Florida State THROW AWAY 2026? Mike Norvell, Ashton Daniels & ACC FIRESTORM

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

Is Florida State pressing pause on its football ambitions, or is Mike Norvell launching a Hail Mary for his future in Tallahassee? Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs scrutinize mounting pressure on Norvell a...fter a canceled booster tour and tepid administrative support, questioning whether the Seminoles’ 2026 season is already a lost cause. Key transfers like Tre Wisner and Deuce Robinson, alongside a top-15 recruiting class, signal FSU might be tougher than critics predict—except, perhaps, against Alabama and Miami. Quarterback competitions ignite across the ACC, with Clemson’s blue chip ratio dipping and major defensive holes raising the stakes for Dabo Swinney. Is SMU, led by Kevin Jennings and backed by an improving defense, the biggest threat to ACC heavyweight Miami? The hosts preview pivotal Labor Day weekend matchups, analyze strategic marketing moves for ACC visibility, and spotlight high-stakes basketball clashes, including Duke vs. North Carolina and Miami’s drive for a program-best 25th win. Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at https://5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon.   Mazda Like our players, we’re driven by the details. Because highlights make the reel. What it takes to get there makes it count. There’s more to a Mazda. Because there’s more to you. TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.   Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast   Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a College Basketball Parlay Profit Boost.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game.   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)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Is Florida State actually punting on the 2026 football season? Does SMU pose the biggest threat to Miami? There are so many football storylines this spring. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Shout out to the everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC your first listen. We're available free wherever you get your podcast. We're free on YouTube.
Starting point is 00:00:36 We're part of the number one podcast network. Locked on, that is, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs, co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack and former NC State Defensive linemen. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown Keynes, and today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college basketball parlay profit boost. Head to Fanduel.com to get started. On this episode, we got regular season finalees coming up in 18. ACC basketball. What's at stake this weekend? And there are plenty of things at stake, even though
Starting point is 00:01:11 the top four seeds are locked in for the ACC tournament. There still are other things to talk about there. For football coming up on Labor Day weekend, the ACC has their schedule set with five straight days of games. I'm not going to leave my couch Labor Day weekend, apparently. But let's talk storylines now that spring football has begun through most of the Atlantic post-conference. And first things, first, Kenton, there's just, there's a lot of negativity around the Mike Norvell situation at Florida State. You know, the whole lame duck label that he has, like he's only around because they can't afford to fire him just yet. You know, they canceled their spring booster tour because I guess they're not too confident in raising
Starting point is 00:01:56 money under the Norville regime. Do you view 2026 as a season where Florida State is essentially punting on the year. Is that fair or not? You know, it's not fair to Norville, but it is fair to the program. And let me tell you what I mean by that. In terms of what I'm looking at here, I'm looking at a situation where, like you said, they canceled a booster tour. The resources have not been provided for this team to be successful at a high level. And yet, Norville is still expected to do so. Here's the thing. If I am sitting here and saying, hey, Norville has done a great job as a coach, he's done nothing wrong, he's done nothing to embarrass the Florida State brand, I'd be lying. I'd be lying. But I'm a big believer. And if you're tired of somebody, if you get to that point
Starting point is 00:02:50 in a relationship where them breathing around you, annoys you a little bit, cut them loose. Yeah. Cut them loose. Don't put them in the unwinnable situation. I want you to add to my happiness, even though your existence here, even though the way you do things I know is not sufficient for me. It's not good enough for me and what I expect. But I'm going to leave you here in this unwinnable situation anyway because it's cheaper to keeper. That's what's happening right now. So is Norville punting on the season?
Starting point is 00:03:18 I know Mike Norvelle well enough. I'm not going to say I know the guy personally and me and him are good friends. I've followed his career for some time. I've had conversations with him at ACC media days and things along those lines. And I know him well enough to know. he's going to attack this thing with everything he's got because that's who he is he's not a give up give in type of guy however it is clear to me that florida state as a program has decided oh bring out the big legs boys we punt in trying to get ourselves some good hang time here i think that's
Starting point is 00:03:50 well characterized i think like organizationally you might look at it as a punt but from mike norvel's point of view i think it's more of a hail mary and i think i think from the Florida State administration, like they would love to see Norville, like, prove them wrong and have a really good year to kind of bridge to the next head coach. I have a hard time seeing him keep his job unless Florida State has an extraordinary season. But we talked about this the other day. Even if he wins eight games this year,
Starting point is 00:04:22 which would be like a three game, literally three game improvement from last year, that still may not be enough to save his job because they're going to be having back channel conversations with agents and representatives from other coaches. So if they feel like they're going to upgrade, they're going to do it unless Norville has an extraordinary year. But I think Florida State would love for him to write the ship this year. And I'll stay with the nautical analogy for a second because I think with Mike Norvel, he takes over play calling duties again this year.
Starting point is 00:04:53 You know, he tried it with his guy Gus Malzahn last season. Colin plays when Melzahn retired, Norvel took the play calling duties back. I think from where he sits, if he's going to go down with the ship, he might as well be steering it. I think that's what he looks at. But I mean, from the inside, Kenton, I think you said it well to say there's a difference between how, you know, the actual football team looks at it versus the administration and the fans, because if this year was a total punt, you know, Florida State wouldn't have brought in some impact transfers like they did, like running back Tray Wisner from Texas. I don't think he's going to Florida State in the first place if he felt like their situation was hopeless.
Starting point is 00:05:34 If their situation was hopeless for this year, why did Deuce Robinson agree to come back? Mackay Danzi, Osman, like some of the key players that they kept from last year, I don't think those guys are staying at Florida State if they think it's going to be a complete unmitigating disaster. I think the loyalty from some of these players is important. And I still look at this team. And they have, by the way, 14th ranked recruiting class in the country, coming in, which is pretty good, especially for a team that's won seven games in the last two years. So I don't see them as an ACC championship contender, but I think Florida State's going to
Starting point is 00:06:09 be a tough out for everyone on their schedule this year, except maybe for Alabama and Miami. Other than that, I think there'll be a tough out for anybody. Here's the thing. This Miami, or this Florida State team, rather, when I look at who they are and what they are, you talk about why would players come there if they thought they were putting on the season? give you a couple hundred thousand reasons, maybe even into the millions of why a player would go there knowing that this thing ain't necessarily, excuse me, headed in the greatest direction. But my charge is simply to the administration at Florida State.
Starting point is 00:06:45 Because if you don't believe that a three game improvement is enough, get rid of them now. A three game improvement on top of another three game improvement, and you can make the argument, well, he had us in the basement, can't. and it's not really saying that you improve something to tear down all the stuff in the house and then have repain it. I'm not disagreeing with you there. But if it is to the point where the stuff is torn down in the house and you come back and say, what is this mess, let them go at the point of the mess. And I get it. The finances don't necessarily work out. It's not easy. It's not great. It's not all those things. Here's the deal. The reality of what you're looking at is you think that there are
Starting point is 00:07:27 not ripple effects to allowing a bad situation to meander for years and years and years, right? But here's my thing. I was raised under a belief that the longer you hold on to what isn't for you, what is perfect for you, what should be there for you, what should get you back to the promised land, what should get you back to Tim Winspean standard, what should get you back to the Bowdoin days, what should get you back to the early Jimbo days, what should get get you back there will be going elsewhere. It'll be off the market. It'll be off the market.
Starting point is 00:08:04 Because you sat there and said, well, you know, we can time it perfectly. We could wait until the jobs aren't the same. And it's not as many big openings. And so we're the prettiest girl at the ball. But how pretty of a girl are you going to be at the ball? If everybody's looking at you saying, now wait a minute, they just fired a coach coming off eight wins. Now, wait a minute.
Starting point is 00:08:24 This team overall, I mean, Miami, is national championship favorites in the ACC every year. Summerall may have Florida looking like an absolute buzzsaw. Who knows? Frost may refine that magic touch at UCF. Now all of a sudden, you are surrounded by three teams, power four teams that are rolling. And you got to figure it out because you're starting,
Starting point is 00:08:51 in reality, two years behind the eight ball when it should have been. I'm walking into this thing being. If you go back two years, Florida was a mess. If you go back two years, Mario Cristobal was being questioned about not kneeling against Georgia Tech. If you go back two years, was Scott Frost even at UCF? Nope. But the ripple effect of, well, the money doesn't work out and this doesn't work out. And we got to time, everything perfect.
Starting point is 00:09:19 Your inaction is an action. That's well said. Now, Florida stayed among many other teams in the ACC, other big spring. storylines are quarterbacks and possible quarterback competitions. You know, Ashton Daniels, very experienced. Comes to Florida State. He was most recently at Auburn as a backup, but he is competing with Kevin Sperry, who's a redshirt freshman.
Starting point is 00:09:43 We'll see if the young upstart can beat out the grizzled veteran for that job. And there are a lot of other quarterback questions in the ACC, including a big one for Clemson. You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Lockdown ACC. Guys, college basketball is nonstop. Big games, tight spreads, momentum swings every single night, from early tip-offs to late-night West Coast shootouts, there's always action on the board.
Starting point is 00:10:12 And now Fanduel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college basketball parlay profit boost. You can build any college hoops parlay you want. Combine rivalry games, ranked matchups, whatever fits your read. You can mix spreads, totals, and player props to match how you see the slate playing out. and then you apply the profit boost and instantly bump up potential payouts.
Starting point is 00:10:35 Go safe, go bold, ride with the team you've been following all season. It's your parlay, your style, now with more upside behind it. Head to fendual.com to get started. That's fendual.com. Fan duel. Play your game. It is tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient.
Starting point is 00:10:57 Sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year, you're going for a major upgrade. Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face with a real tax expert, and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. And just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve
Starting point is 00:11:23 while you get real-time notifications as you go about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person, and walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right. Head to turbotax.com slash local to find a store near you and book your appointment. Thank you for making Locked on ACC your first listen. And if you're an everydayer, make sure you join the Everydayer Club. You get so many great benefits when you click the link in the show notes below. You can become an Everydayer club member for Locked on Wolfpack, Locked on ACC,
Starting point is 00:11:59 locked on Cains, any of your favorite locked on shows. and you get exclusive benefits like ad-free versions of our episodes, Discord chats with other listeners and great hosts at Lockdown. Go to Lockdownpodcast.com slash Everydayer and become a member of the Everydayer Club today. I think Kenton, one of the most fascinating stories to me in the conference is Clemson. And, you know, they've got Christopher Visina, kind of the presumed starter, but there are going to be a couple of young quarterbacks he's competing with there. and you have to wonder, does the blue chip ratio, which keeps going down a little bit every year,
Starting point is 00:12:37 at what point does that catch up to them? Because they haven't been consistently recruiting the way that they used to. You're going to see some guys get taken in the first round of this year's NFL draft. You're going to see less and less of that moving forward for Clemson. Because, you know, Kent did a few years ago, and listen, my hurricanes have been trounced plenty of times over the years by Clemson. teams that were so much more talented and so much more stacked than Miami, but you no longer feel that way when you play Clemson, even in Death Valley. So I'm curious to see what this team looks like with Chris Vizzina possibly at the helm at QB. Oh, you're muted.
Starting point is 00:13:20 We're all interested in that, but I'm as interested if not more interested in seeing what this defense looks like. They're losing a ton. And when I say a ton, I mean a ton of talent up front. And that linebacking corps, which they felt the need to go into the portal and improve, well, their get in the portal is now having them in court. Yep, that's right. We're not talking about Brad Brownell when we're talking about Clemson being in the court. But no, we're talking about Davos-Sweeney because you get the linebacker transfer from Cal, a all-a-see-see-level of performer.
Starting point is 00:13:56 And then all of a sudden, he's like, oh, I got two times the check to go elsewhere. So I'm out of here. you're looking at a defense that is going to have some serious holes and deficiencies to fill without the manpower to do so because like you said, the blue chip ratio is going down. It's going down. So who's your next, Parker? Who's your next would? Going back in time.
Starting point is 00:14:18 Who's your next Big Beasley? Who's your next Dexter Lourdes. Those types of playmakers are when you ball games. Donno, I've talked about this on the show plenty of times. But the best defensive scheme, it ain't the one that Brent Vittable's draws up. It ain't the one that Bud Foster draws up. It ain't the grits blitz with Jerry Glanville and all that. It ain't the one.
Starting point is 00:14:41 It's the exact same as the best offensive play calling. You know what that play calling is? What? The play calling where you have the best players. That's what works it out. That's the magical sauce. That's what it is every single time. So the question for Clemson is not schematically, can you get it done?
Starting point is 00:15:02 Can you out scheme teams? Can you out think teams? Can you do? No, no, no. It is, can you return to the level of recruiting? Can you return to the level of player development that you were at the past? Because Clemson used to be in everything school. And now we're looking up like, well, yeah, they do have a couple good deal on here and there.
Starting point is 00:15:20 Yeah, that's a thing. But where's everything else? Yeah, no, I think you're great to bring up the defense. and then, you know, offensively, the big change for them is Chad Morris. That's Chandler Morris' daddy. Back at OC there, he's going to be called the plays this year. So, yeah, I'm curious to see what they look like. Now, the team that most of us consider to be probably the biggest threat to Miami,
Starting point is 00:15:45 you know, with Miami entering the season as ACC favorites, SMU. You know, Kent, and we remember the magical ride that they had into the ACC championship game and ultimately into the college football playoff two years ago. And then, like, I thought last year, I thought they would have a bigger drop-off than they did with a tougher schedule. But they ended up just one win away from getting back to the ACC championship game. You could say they kind of choke that away against Cal the final game of the year, but they were really close.
Starting point is 00:16:17 They had some good wins, including a win over Miami during the season last year. And SMU probably going to be a little bit better than they were. were a year ago and a lot of that comes with the experience of having Kevin Jennings back for his third straight year as starting quarterback. So factor fiction, does SMU offer the biggest threat to Miami this year? Yeah, absolutely do. And part of what makes Kevin Jennings so good is that he's not asked to be Superman. You know, the show Scrubs is coming back. So I want to I want to pull from their theme song for a second. I can't do this all on my own. No, I know I'm no Superman. That's what Kevin Jennings has had to learn.
Starting point is 00:16:58 That's where he has lived over this past a little bit. And that's where he'll have the success that he's looking for. And this team will have the success that they're looking for as a unit. If he's asked to be Mr. Everything, that's going to be a problem. But the addition of guys like Kendra G. Raphael will help. One of the most explosive backs in the ACC last year, a heck of a back at Cal last year that made JKS.
Starting point is 00:17:20 And his transition from being a guy that was slow dancing at prom to being at Oregon, not taking any of, reps to all of a sudden looking like what taking cow to looking like one of the best upstart teams in the acc and upsetting this smu team and and you know preventing them from going back to the conference championship game for their fourth year in a row this is going to be a season where as much as we put the pressure on kevin genics and say hey you have to be a guy that the team wins because of the team has to be guys that are good enough. to win with a decent quarterback.
Starting point is 00:17:58 And those two, when you combine them, I think that's where you find something special here. Yeah, they're going to lose some things in terms of their top two tacklers and both of their safeties are going to the NFL and Wachoby and Brooks. Yeah, yeah, I know. That's nothing to scoff at.
Starting point is 00:18:14 However, this defense, by and large, is returning a ton of production, especially in terms of in the trenches in that lineback course. So I'm looking for this SMU team. Don't make Kevin Jennings have to start. score for it. Don't make him have to throw for 400 yards a game, rush for another 70 or 80. Make it so that this team could say, hey, Kevin, you be you, be the best version of you, and that's all we need. We don't need Mike Vitt. We don't need Lamar Jackson. We need Kevin Jennings.
Starting point is 00:18:44 It will be just fine. Well, on Monday, I want to take a deeper dive on Miami and Duke because you can't really cover one without the other, given the Dary and Mensa and Cooper barcate moves and Georgia Tech and NC State. I want to get Kenton's take on them on our on our next episode. But before we get into some hoops talk on this one, Kenton, so the ACC really is trying to make their mark on Labor Day weekend, which is it's week one. There's going to be some games happening week zero, including is that week zero is when NC State goes to Brazil, right?
Starting point is 00:19:22 That's week zero, not week one. So we're going to have some week zero ACC action, but week one Labor Day weekend. I actually like the way that they did this where for five straight days, we're going to have at least one ACC team in action, Kenton, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. So a lot of ACC football. So for the Thursday night games on Labor Day weekend, this one I might, you know, may not make an appointment viewing, Wake Forest is going to take on Akron.
Starting point is 00:19:56 But then you also have that night Colorado taken on Georgia Tech rematch from last year. Georgia Tech is going to try to go two for two. That's a good one. Miami on the road at Stanford on Friday night. Then Saturday. You've got Clemson against LSU. Awesome. Boston College against Cincinnati.
Starting point is 00:20:17 Tulane against Duke. UCLA against Cal. VMI against Virginia Tech. Louisville, Ole Miss. I actually, no, they moved that one. Louisville, Ole Miss, they just moved to Sunday, actually. So that's how they're going to manage to have the five straight days. Louisville, Ole Miss, the ACC now it's moving to Sunday, but also Saturday, Miami, Ohio against Pittsburgh, New Hampshire against Syracuse. I mentioned Louisville, Ole Miss, moved to Sunday.
Starting point is 00:20:42 And then SMU, Florida State on Monday. That's a really good matchup as well. I mean, right there, you're going to get an answer to some of our Florida state questions. So five straight days of football Kent and Gibbs for later. every day weekend i i'm excited donno jim phillips makes approximately an estimate of 2.4 to 2.6 million dollars a year it's not bad now you know how much i get paid from the show and the rest of you know come on now come on now let's let's not do that i if if i was making 2.8 we'd be have some very different conversations about my work life outside of this place.
Starting point is 00:21:21 But Dono, if only somebody had said a year ago, maybe even over a year ago, the ACC's path to success is to overwhelm the consumer with every single day there needs to be ACC football. If only someone had said that, I wonder what people would think about somebody throwing out something so unhinged, so insane. So what's that? Oh, so a thing that the ACC is now doing, this was always where it was going to end up for the ACC. You cannot compete pound for pound with what the Big Ten is bringing
Starting point is 00:22:03 and what the SEC is bringing in terms of viewership. You can't. Like I've already said, a lot of those places, especially in the SEC, that is their professional team. I've asked people, and nobody seems to have an answer. who's Mississippi's professional team? Who's Alabama's professional team? And mind you, I'm not even talking about football.
Starting point is 00:22:22 In anything. In anything, yeah. Who is their professional team, right? So ultimately, you then look at, okay, well, if their colleges are like their professional team, as opposed to a Miami where you have a ton of teams where you got the heat, you got the Panthers, you got all of these different to the dolphins, of course,
Starting point is 00:22:41 you got all of these different teams that you're looking at, the Marlins as well. You know, you got all these teams. You don't have that elsewhere. So the answer becomes, okay, great. If we're going to beat them, we have to be all over the place. So I'm not shocked by the ACC doing this. This was kind of an inevitability.
Starting point is 00:23:02 Don't worry, Mr. Phillips. We were going to send you an invoice. But if you just agreed to come on the show, we will make it about a 99.99.99% discount for me and Donos. creative services in helping you out with the viewership problem. Again, we all want to see the ACC win. So as a matter of fact, we'll consider a pro bono a little bit of quid pro quo if you come on the show. So the ACC's marketing strategy is we're on every channel every night. You can't avoid us. You know what? You flip over to the CW. There we are. ESPN, ESPN2, the Ocho. We're on all
Starting point is 00:23:43 these chants right now. There's nothing you can do. You can't, ACC network. There's nothing you can do to avoid us? It's like when you're at a really small family shop and you ask, can I speak to the manager and a person just takes their glasses off, turns around and says, I'm the manager. That's what the ACC needs to do in order to get this thing going. You can beat Maxion. You can beat Maxxie. You're not beating Georgia Dama. You're not beating Georgia Dama, buddy. You're not doing it. You can beat Tulane and and what's that team name that's in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes. You can beat them. You can beat them.
Starting point is 00:24:24 You're not beating the game. You're not doing that. You're not doing that. So, you know, let's keep this thing. Let's have some parliamentary procedure and know where you are and know what you can and can't be. I like it. We're on every night of the week. We're on every channel.
Starting point is 00:24:38 You can't escape the reruns. We're in syndication. We're all over the place. We're everywhere. George Costanza and us. Those are the two faces you see at 3 a.m. when you wake up and you left the TV on. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:51 100%. And that was one of the big, I mean, I'm a Seinfeld junkie, or at least I used to be. And the fact that it was on every channel at any given time, that had a lot to do with why I became such a Seinfeld. You remember the episode where he said, you just say, say your name all the time. Stanza. Yep. Yep. That's the ACC.
Starting point is 00:25:10 A ECC. Let's think about that. Well, there is going to be a lot of good ACC basketball on Saturday. Here's what's at stake. You want to keep it locked. We're not done yet on this episode of locked on ACCC. Locked on ACC.
Starting point is 00:25:28 Guys, workplace chaos, deadlines stacking up, inbox overflowing. And the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute
Starting point is 00:25:54 I've been talking to you, companies like yours just made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide. So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who actually check all your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs. Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job. The premium staff, it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on on ACC. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. My friends, it is time for the five-hour energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow or cotton candy.
Starting point is 00:26:44 There's something for everyone. The board is set. The flavors are ready. And I've got my number one pick for the five-hour energy flavor draft. Folks, I'll be honest. I didn't think I was going to like it. But I tried cotton candy flavor, and I actually loved it. A delicious swirl of sugary clouds, a fruity twist, a hint of vanilla.
Starting point is 00:27:05 I'm telling you, this went from Sleeper to number one overall pick. It's that nostalgic carnival-style taste. It'll make you feel like you're a kid again. you've got to try this. And for my sleeper pick, sour apple is the apple that bites back, a crisp, tangy taste, deliciously tart, it's bold, it's a little sweet and a whole lot sour. Find your new favorite flavor of five-hour energy shots available online at five-hourenergy.com or on Amazon. Thank you for making locked on ACC your first listen. All right, Kenton, we look at games this Saturday, ACC regular season, wrapping up.
Starting point is 00:27:46 12 noon games. You've got Georgia Tech at Clemson. You've got Virginia Tech at Virginia. Now Virginia, one of the four teams that has clinched the double by in the ACC tournament currently projected as a four seed, but they want to finish their season strong, certainly. Notre Dame at Boston College, 2 p.m. You've got Louisville at Miami. It's a really interesting one. Miami has moved up to a seven seed now in Bracketology. Louisville, I think, a five seed in Bracketology, if I'm not mistaken. So seeding at stake for both of them, although Louisville cannot get a double-by. Those four spots are already locked up for the ACC tournament. You got SMU at Florida State.
Starting point is 00:28:31 SMU, they're in the tournament right now, Kent, and according to Brackatology, but they've fallen very much onto the bubble now. So that's an important one for SMU against the Florida State team that snuck up on some teams this year. got NC State hosting Stanford at 2.15, 4 o'clock Cal at Wake Forest, Pittsburgh at Syracuse 430, and great way to cap off your evening, number 17, North Carolina, at number one Duke. So even though the top four seeds are already locked up, there's still some intriguing action and tournament bubble watch stuff on the line. Yeah, there absolutely is.
Starting point is 00:29:09 And I would say this is a great slate of basketball for a multitude of. reasons. Obviously, the Louisville and Miami game bring a ton in terms of like, hey, they're still seating on the line here nationally. SMU and Florida State. You talk about Florida State sneaking up on some teams. As of late, they've been hot as fish grease. They start off the season terribly. But as of late, they've been streaking, including a win against your Miami hurricane. So this is a team that is not to be trifled with right now. SMU, right there on that bubble, right there, right side of it now. You're the right side of it. But do you want to play and find out how wrong that side of the bubble can get? How unforgiving that bubble can get. This is a time for them to
Starting point is 00:29:53 turn around. And of course, the most story driver in all of college basketball, the Battle of the Blues, Duke, North Carolina, the Brotherhood versus the tradition, all the things in the pomp and circumstance that comes with that game. This is not only for, this is not only for bragging rights. And but this is also a game that may matter in the number one overall seating race. This is a game that people are going to look at and say, no, wait a minute now, you lost, you got swept by a team that objectively has some not-so-great losses on their resume so far. So I'm very intrigued to see how all these games plow. And there are a great storyline surrounding a ton of these basketball games.
Starting point is 00:30:39 Not to be a homer, but can NC State get off this snide that they've been on? That is, it's just like they're, they cannot close out games against teams that they're better than. And teams that are to their level, they're getting their doors blown off. You know, for all of the mess that Kevin Keats left or was or was not, the reality is that team went to the Final Four lost less games by 20 in their entire season than this NC State has in the last six games. That's a fact. That's a fact.
Starting point is 00:31:08 They lost less game by 20 over the course of an entire season than this team. than this team did in just the past two, three weeks. So ultimately, there's lots of storylines surrounding all these teams and all these games. Like I said, the schedule makers did a hell of a job down the stretch at the ACC. I will take credit for putting the ACC on the TV every day. But these basketball schedules, that has nothing to do with locked on ACC. There are just beneficiaries up there in Charlotte. Yeah, no, they've done a great job.
Starting point is 00:31:36 And I'll add another one I'll add for Miami against Louisville. if Miami can get this done. Louisville is actually favored by a point and a half on the road. But Miami, if they get the win on Saturday, it would be their program record for most wins in a regular season at 25. They're currently tied with the program, which Jay Lucas, I can't say enough nice things about this guy. You know, came from a great spot to be an assistant coach at Duke previously,
Starting point is 00:32:07 but a first time head coach has just done an astounding job, and he can do something that Jim Laron Hagan never did, and that's when 25 games in a regular season, if he can get this done. Against the damn good ACC this year. I guess the ACC where half of the conference is either in or can be in with a win or two. Not a top 10 win, not a top, just a win or two puts you in
Starting point is 00:32:30 in the tournament here for half the conference. And this conference is the same one that Jay Lucas got him, or 24 driving for 25. The drive for 25. We appreciate everybody making Lockdown, ACC, your first listen. And next episode, we'll take a football deeper dive on the likes of Duke, Miami, NC State, and Georgia Tech. We'll talk to you next time on another episode of Locked on ACC. We are part of the number one Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.