Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - RESURGENCE: Miami Hurricanes DOMINATE ACC Power Rankings | Or should Florida State Be On Top?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Miami Hurricanes are the best team in the ACC, or is it Florida State? Wait, is Syracuse worse than North Carolina? We got some power rankings. 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 00:00:34 We're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State defensive lineman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown Canes, and this episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on college at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. On this episode, we'll look at a sneaky good week three football schedule. We certainly hope the ACC does better out of conference. including the backyard brawl.

Starting point is 00:01:06 Let's see if Pitt can take home another win against West Virginia. The ACC turns out might be pioneers with their conference's revenue sharing model. We will explain. But Kenton, we got a batch. This is courtesy of ACC Digital Network, West Bryant, ACC power rankings. Let me run through these for the audio listeners. He's got Miami at number one.

Starting point is 00:01:32 So you know I'm not arguing. State, Clemson, SMU, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Pitt at number seven, your wolf pack at number eight, Duke at nine, Virginia 10, Boston College 11, Cal with their exciting quarterback, JKS at 12, North Carolina at 13, Syracuse at 14, Wake Forest, who actually didn't look bad last weekend at number 15, Virginia Tech, who looks dreadful at 16, but the Stanford Cardinal in the cellar at number 17. All right, so, Kenton, what say you? Do you think West Bryant did a really good job,

Starting point is 00:02:08 or do you have some complaints? I wouldn't even say complaints so much as questions. I have a few of these that leave me a little bit confused here, because what has Cal done to end up that far down? You know, they've looked phenomenal in their first two games. I've got to give Cow their respect. They have looked phenomenal with JKS. I could understand if that's a team that we thought of as like

Starting point is 00:02:33 oh, they're supposed to be a superpower in the ACC, and then all of a sudden they come out of the gate struggling. It's been the exact opposite. Granted, it's been against two, quote, unquote, inferior opponents, but even if you just take their game against Oregon State, that was, we thought, oh, yeah, you know, they're going to have the defense sorted out. Their head coach is a defensive guy,

Starting point is 00:02:56 and you've got Rob Rivera as the GM, and you've got all this turnover on offense. They're good defensively. offenses where you're going to have the problems. 35 points game one. 35 points against the team that was power four or power five two, three years ago. So I sit here and I kind of ask what more can Cal do to gain some national respect and get away from a team that was beaten like they stole something in game one in terms of

Starting point is 00:03:24 UNC. So that's probably one of my bigger questions there. And beyond that- Hold on real quick, though, before you go on, I'll tell you what Cal can do. they can beat Minnesota at home this weekend at 10.30 p.m. It's like an ACC after dark for that one. So, you know, Minnesota are favored by two and a half in Berkeley for that game. Because, like, you said it, Cal doesn't have, you know, a big win so far this season.

Starting point is 00:03:51 You've got a pretty good Big Ten team coming to your house. If I can see JKS looking like he's a true freshman, but he hasn't played that way so far. If I can see him do it against the golden gophers, then they better skyrocket up that list. Exactly, exactly. I know that he has the chance to do it this week. I want to see it. I want Cal to put it on tape this week.

Starting point is 00:04:12 I'm all for a Calgary to the moon because, like I said, I was expecting the defense to be ready and the offense to take some time. So far, this team's put up 35 points back-to-back game. So, you know, you can say it's inferior opponents. You can say, oh, well, they're less than and all that good stuff. Cal was supposed to be the less than coming into this year. They were supposed to be that. So, you know, I give them their props for doing what they've done so far this year.

Starting point is 00:04:39 Other than that, I don't see anything on this list that's too egregious. I will say, what an oh-how-the-mighty-ha-the-mighty-fall-in-moment for Virginia Tech. Oh, my God. 16th out of 17. Oh, and two won a year. You know, there's not a single second half this year that you haven't got spanked and put to sleep in essence. I hate that for them. Yeah, I think it's sad to say it.

Starting point is 00:05:03 Virginia Tech at 16 is where they belong, because I don't think they're worse than Stanford, but they're obviously bad. I mean, they got embarrassed against Vanderbilt, specifically in the second half. That should never happen in Blacksburg at night. So I think Virginia Tech is where they should be. If I'm really going to nitpick this thing,

Starting point is 00:05:22 I said this to you off air. I mean, I think Syracuse is a little bit better than North Carolina. but, you know, listen, they're only separated by one spot. West Bryant probably, you know, thinks that North Carolina has more talent than Q's. Maybe they do. That's just a nitpicky thing on my part. And then I would, I'm pretty pleased with like the top half of his ranking.

Starting point is 00:05:45 I mean, I might, just my personal preference, I might flip Georgia Tech with SMU, put Georgia Tech at fourth, put SMU at fifth. I think Georgia Tech has looked better so far in their first two. games and you know they're one or two and oh and SMU is one and one uh you know obviously we have our alarm bells with Clemson but i still think they deserve to be in the top three uh credit to florida state because i before the season started i never would have thought they would look like you know a top two or some even might say top team in the acc but they've looked splendid so far and you know i i think miami is where they should be based on how they performed against Notre Dame specifically at the line is trimmage the opening week.

Starting point is 00:06:28 So there's a couple spots that I would probably tweak, but I'm pretty cool with it. I mean, if we were looking at these teams in terms of stock, everybody's cautiously waiting on Clemson, cautiously waiting, saying, I'm not sure if I'm selling yet. I know I'm not buying more. Florida State, everybody would be buying. Everybody would be going out. Give me some of that. I need to get returns immediately.

Starting point is 00:06:51 Miami, the people who bought early, they would say, I'm saying, I'm saying. seeing good returns on my investment. You know, it's summertime and the living is easy in my stock world because I took out some on Miami as soon as I found out that that bet kid was coming and it's been all right. That's what I would say in terms of those top three teams. But all in all, I wouldn't disagree with most of your assessments here. I mean, Georgia Tech has looked physically dominant in every game that they played so far this year. And granted, small sample size, sample size of two, played against Colorado, all that good stuff.

Starting point is 00:07:23 That's fine. but the reality is they've looked dominant in every game that they played this year. So that makes sense to me. Syracuse to UNC, small sample size, I'm fine with them either way you want to cut or slice that. Even if you want to say, hey, you know, what does beating Yukon really do for you about as much as beating Charlotte? Okay. And I'm not mad at you. You know, having to come back to beat Yukon means less than winning.

Starting point is 00:07:49 I wouldn't even say dominantly, but winning a game. I'll say controlling a game against Charlotte. I'll give them that. I think that that's worth more. So I'm okay with that. Do you know who I think, I've watched them quite a bit the first two games, and I think they might sleep on,

Starting point is 00:08:05 they might be a sleeper for some people. Boston College at number 11. You know, they just lost to Michigan State and overtime. But Dylan Lonergan is absolutely slinging that rock, Kenton. I mean, it's, you know, Boston College, maybe not the most balanced team. you know, they gave up, what, like, 45 points or whatever it was to Michigan State. So, like, I'm not saying they should be ranked a lot higher than number 11,

Starting point is 00:08:32 but I just kind of feel like watching BC's offense these first couple of games. I'm like, I see you, Boston College. I see you, Dylan Lonergan, who might even, you know, if he gets even better and more comfortable in that offense as the season goes on, Boston College is going to be a tough out for the teams that are, that they have BC on their schedule. Donnell, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I have seen a single second. of Boston College film this year.

Starting point is 00:08:56 I'm not going to lie to you and say that. I've watched a lot of these teams. Boston College ain't one of them. But I will say this. I don't care how good they look. They still got Bill O'Brien and head coach. I don't care how good Denalding looks. Bill O'Brien is still the play calling.

Starting point is 00:09:11 I'm all right trusting that team in the bottom of the matter. But I will say this. I will say this. So the A.J. Black and company don't jump on me now. Because I know the boys in Boston like to get a little feisty with their khakis and whatnot. That's right. I will say this.

Starting point is 00:09:24 if this team continues to win and if they can bounce back from that Michigan State loss in a meaningful way, if like you said, Dono, they can be a more balanced team, they can get some stops here and there, I'd be willing. I'd be willing to reevaluate what I think about this team right now. And again, this opinion is based solely on their head coach. Maybe my gripes with Bill O'Brien, which are well documented, are too big. Maybe they are, Dono. Maybe they are.

Starting point is 00:09:52 Prove to me that I'm wrong, Boston College. Show me that you're not the 11th best team in the country. I'm just going to leave this year because I want you to watch Lonnergan the next couple of weeks because he's putting up these crazy numbers. Like it kind of reminds me a little bit of what Kyle McCord did last year at Syracuse, where like, you know, the team wasn't that great, but he was slinging it. Actually, Syracuse, they give him, they beat Miami and they ended up with, what, 10 wins, including the bowl game.

Starting point is 00:10:20 I don't think BC's going to win that much. But Lonnergan, so far this year, he's completing. 76% of his pass is 60 for 79 for 658 yards, eight touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He put up, I think, 390 and four TDs against Michigan State. So watch that dude, man. There's something, you know, at least at that position, there may be something special going on.

Starting point is 00:10:43 Dono, you've got me sold. You've got me sold. I'm going to, now listen, I'm going to watch some Boston college football this weekend, okay? I will be thoroughly tuned in for who they got to? on the docket. Stanford, I will thoroughly be tuned in for Boston College Stanford. And I'm telling you,

Starting point is 00:11:00 since they're playing Stanford, I'm expecting him to run it up. I'm expecting Lonergan to look like Jesus out there. And if he doesn't, I will be back. I will be back. No, but in all seriousness, again, I expect them to drub Stanford and I expect a good game here.

Starting point is 00:11:16 But again, as the host of this show, it is my duty to watch all of these teams. And I don't want to comment on anybody I haven't watched, so I will watch. so I will watch some Boston College and kind of get into what I'm seeing from. Yeah, well, and you set me straight earlier this week because I didn't watch enough of the Duke game. I just assumed they got manhandled, but then, you know, I realized they actually, yeah, and listen, committing five turnovers, I'm not saying they played great, but they actually did outgain Illinois,

Starting point is 00:11:43 and they just, you know, they lost the turnover margin five zip, and that's not a recipe for victory. So we'll explain why the Atlantic Coast Conference may be pioneers in terms of changing the way revenue is shared in the entire sport of college football. We'll take a look at some of these big week three matchups coming up as well. You want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on this brand new episode of LockdowneACC. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more I-IHS top safety pick awards than anyone else. From footwork to breath work, athletes sweat all the details.

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Starting point is 00:12:54 Folks, it's almost the weekend. It's time to look back and crown this week's MVP on who delivered, powered by DoorDash, just like you can win every Saturday with DoorDash streaks, saving more every time you order. This player delivered when it mattered most. Let's break it down. All right. So for Locked on ACCC this week, we're going to go with Syracuse receiver Justice Ross Simmons, who delivered in a big way.

Starting point is 00:13:19 So he scored the game winning touchdown in overtime against Yukon, which helps Syracuse survive a potentially pretty significant upset and there's not a whole lot of guaranteed wins on their schedule this year. So that was huge when the pressure was on Justice Ross Simmons came through no hesitation, no delay. And if you've been watching him week after week, that performance wasn't a fluke. He's on a streak. And just like Justice Ross Simmons delivered for the orange, DoorDash delivers your Saturdays.

Starting point is 00:13:46 With DoorDash streaks, you save every Saturday you order. Stack it up all season and you could save up to $250, including $100 in DoorDash. Dash credits. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your game day only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period is through November 18th. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC, your first listen. For your next listen, make sure you check out our other shows. Kenton, Gibbs and Grayson Boone do an awesome job on Locked on Wolfpack talking all things NC State. I cover all things Miami on Locked on Canes. You know, Miami's matchup number five, Miami against number 18, South Florida is one we'll be talking about before this episode is over. All right, so the Big Ten is having conversations, Kenton, about their next television deal. And according to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports, discussions of unequal revenue sharing similar to the ACC's model are gaining traction among the major brands at other conferences.

Starting point is 00:14:50 And Kenton, didn't we say it? You know, several months ago when the ACC, who had already introduced the success initial, You win more games. You get into the college football playoff. You weren't extra revenue. And then as part of the settlement with Florida State and Clemson,

Starting point is 00:15:06 they also added the brand initiative, which means you get higher TV ratings. You make us more money on our TV deal. We're going to give you a bigger piece of the pie. And didn't we say it back then? This is going to set a precedent, whether you like it or not. And I don't mind it.

Starting point is 00:15:22 I'll be honest. I don't think this is a bad thing. This is America. I think we're capitalists the last time I checked. because I look at it from like a, you know, from an ACC point of view, Clemson, Florida, State, Miami can say, wait, why should we make the same revenue split as Wake Forest, right? Whereas in the Big Ten now, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, who are pulling in big time money for that conference and say, wait, you're telling me Purdue and Northwestern, they're making the same revenue split as us. It was only a matter of time.

Starting point is 00:15:54 It is only a matter of time before every month. major conferences doing this. The ACC is pioneers in this the same way that the first state to start charging for school lunches is a pioneer. Obviously, you don't want to be known as like, ah, we're the ones that got this started, but somebody was going to be the first. And it just so happened to be that our big dogs were unhappy with how much they were making. So every single penny in the crack of the crevice of the couch that we could find,

Starting point is 00:16:22 we were going to put into getting those guys more money. And sometimes there's only one pie. There's only one pie, okay? And, you know, I'm the youngest of four. So in my family and in my household, the way that the things were cut up, it was like, hey, if you get there last or if you don't finish your food fast enough, seconds may not be available there for you. And that's kind of what we are seeing here in that whenever one team's cut gets bigger,

Starting point is 00:16:48 somebody else has to get smaller. And don't know, you and I were right. We all saw this coming because we all knew. How long were Michigan and Ohio State and Oregon and those types of universities going to say, why, yes, you can give us the exact same cut that you get Washington. I think we've enjoyed that very much. Why, yes, you can give us the exact same cut as you give Rutgers. Why wouldn't we want the same cut as Rutgers?

Starting point is 00:17:14 You know, it was only going to be but so long before that change. And it's inevitably here. We are going to see this in very likely every conference. from now one. College sports are becoming more professionalized than they have ever been. The reality is for years, it was only the administrators and the coaches were getting their money. For decades, actually, not for years, for decades, it was administrators, coaches. They're the only ones getting their money. Now that the players are getting their money, now they realize, okay, this is a money game.

Starting point is 00:17:46 We got to treat it like a money game. For better or for worse for certain things. We talk about the fact that certain programs are going to get cut altogether because they don't have the funding. Well, in the money game, do you make the money to make it worthwhile? If not, you get cut. Yeah. It makes sense to me. And I wonder, like, you know, at some point, you know, probably around 2030, 2031 when these big TV deals are coming up, or in the ACC's case, you kind of have an option at that point with the buyouts being so low. I wonder if maybe some of like the lower tier,

Starting point is 00:18:22 big 10 teams actually look to get out and go to a different conference where maybe they feel like they might be able to earn a bigger revenue split somewhere else. So we could have sweeping conference realignment where like you never, I mean, I don't know, five years we might be looking at like Rutgers being in the ACC or West Virginia, which I would welcome because I'm a big East guy from the old days. But like, I don't know. I think things could get weird in a few years. Oh, don't tell Drake Toll.

Starting point is 00:18:51 Don't tell Drake total. we're coming. We're coming for West Virginia. The backyard brawl will live on. But in all seriousness, I think that the problem with them leaving is the same problem that proposed with a Boston college or wait force leaving the ACC. Sure. And Indiana can say, I'm going to go elsewhere. Okay, great. Good for you. Where? Where are you going to go to make an equivalent amount of money to we're making

Starting point is 00:19:16 in a big 10? Even when you factor in that you're taking a lesser share, you're taking a lesser share of a bigger pie. Even if you say, hey, Ruckers, you're getting a very uneven split, a very uneven split compared to schools right below you in terms of Penn State and Company. Yeah, sure. And what about it? Is that uneven split where you're making less still more than what Old Dominion makes? Okay, then, I don't think you want to go to Old Dominion's conference, do you?

Starting point is 00:19:47 You know, it's going to end up working that way. And although we are going to see more realignment, I don't think we're done yet, I do not foresee teams leaving on their own. What I could see as a possibility, Donna. And I'm going to tell you right now, I think the conferences will be kind enough to where they don't publicly announce this. I think some of those big conferences are going to shed some of those lower brains. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:20:15 I think that's a very strong possibility of them, looking up and saying, now wait a damn minute. Vanderbilt, you ain't good at nothing but baseball. What? Baseball ain't never made us a drop of money. Go on somewhere. Go on. We don't care about none of that.

Starting point is 00:20:27 We don't, we don't, yeah, that ain't none of our business. Okay. There's a very strong chance that the Big Ten looks around and says, hold on, hold on. Purdue, you are good at anything but basketball. Get out of here. Scram. Get, gone get from around here.

Starting point is 00:20:44 And at that point, what would those lower brands do? Yeah. Yeah, because do you think about it, everybody keeps linking all these new teams to the Big Ten. Like they're going to add like four or five teams. I mean, if you're adding four or five teams, you're probably letting some teams go at the bottom. Right. And think about it this way. Even if the deal is bigger, if you add four or five teams, the cuts, you just did more cuts to the same bar. So if anything, you're going to have like the board of trustees from Penn State and Ohio State. They're going to be like, hey, you think we can trim some of the fat here so that we keep this pie a little, can keep fewer slices of this very large pie that we have.

Starting point is 00:21:25 Well, okay, so speaking of teams we like to steal from Drake Toll in the Big 12, you know, West Virginia is going head to head with the Pitt Panthers, Kent, in the backyard brawl dates back to 1895, one of the oldest rivalries in college football. The game is going to be in Morgantown 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. But I can understand why the pit panthers. and hopefully they win are favored by six and a half points, basically a touchdown. West Virginia has lost their star running back Jeheme White for the season. They've also lost a wide receiver, Jaden Bray.

Starting point is 00:22:02 From where I sit, Kenton, no Jeheme White, no party for the Mountaineears. I think Pitt's going to go in there and pick up a W. Oh, absolutely. When you talked about teams that you considered sleepers, I thought that you were about to mention Pitt. Because really and truly, without an Eli Holstein injury, derailing that team last year. And granted, he did come back and they still didn't look great with him down the stretch. Without that injury, that was a team that was undefeated and rolling.

Starting point is 00:22:31 That was a team that looked phenomenal. And Eli Holstein has pretty much picked up where he left off. I mean, I have not seen a drop off in play that I would say, oh, man, he and Desmond Reed and company are just struggling to do anything offensively. I would not be shocked if Pitt were to put the beats on West Virginia and this one. These two teams, this is my type of rivalry, okay? This is my type. Too many folks call themselves rivals and they like each other and they're friends and everything's fine and we're nice and we're cordial.

Starting point is 00:23:04 These two teams hate each other. Pittsburgh has a very interesting thing called Heinz Memorial Chapel on their campus. It is one of the landmarks of their campus. A West Virginia fan edited something happening to that chapel that I'm not going to talk about on air. Just know. I got to find this later. It's on TikTok and a lot of people are very mad about it. Ladies and gentlemen, that's my type of rivalry.

Starting point is 00:23:33 The type of robbery that inspires the type of hatred that's like, I don't like you at all. I will go to inhumane levels of hate. Well, like, what was it like 15 years ago? I can't remember. Was it Auburn's tree that got poisoned by Alabama fans? Like they poisoned like a historic tree and I'm like, you took it a little too far.

Starting point is 00:23:55 You can't be poisoning trees. Hey, listen, Donald, call me crazy. And please, hear me out. David Locke, do not fire me for this. I am not advocating for anybody to do these types of things. I am not advocating for that. Everybody, be safe, keep it within the lines,

Starting point is 00:24:12 don't get fired for the job, don't end up in jail behind the riot. If you had to ask me, Kenton, which robbery would you rather have? One where people go too far or one where nobody ever goes far enough? Give me the too far. Give me the two far. I hear you.

Starting point is 00:24:25 You know what I mean? I need me a little bit of that. Something might go down in the parking lot if this can't go the wrong way. I'm joking. I'm joking. Again, I'm an advocate of nonviolence. I know fan is short for fanatics, so I don't want anybody to hear this and say, I've got to

Starting point is 00:24:42 beat up a West Virginia your fan to make getting proud. You don't have to do that. You do not have to do that. Well, have like a spirited arm wrestling match. Like just for the stake of sport. We'll keep it civil. Cut a promo on him. Go to. Yeah. I'm going to tell you, no pukesters in in Pittsburgh. We don't have any of that going on over here. That's the type of stuff I want to see. You know, I want to see you elbow or granny that's wearing a West Virginia outfit. Granted, a granny who is a willing participant, okay, not some random grandma. out there that's out on the streets.

Starting point is 00:25:15 Again, joking. I would everything to be lighthearted here, but I do like a very heated rock. All right. Well, we're elbowing grannies. I don't know how we got here, but we're going to find a way back and talk about some more of these big games. Great. To all the grannies out there, we're so sorry.

Starting point is 00:25:34 We got Georgia Tech hosting Clemson this week. We got Miami hosting what they're now calling America's team, USF. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. And you can get action on all these games at Fandul. College is in full swing. The NFL is back. Fan Duel is making sure you're ready for kickoff with this can't miss offer.

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Starting point is 00:27:44 All right. So Kenton, I'm really trying to talk my. into Georgia Tech pulling off the upset at home against Clemson. And they're not even considering this much of an upset anymore. So earlier this week, you talk about lines moving. I'm pretty sure when we did our show on Monday afternoon that Clemson was a nine and a half point favorite, that number is down to three and a half. Clemson is favored in Atlanta, three and a half against Georgia Tech, which means a ton

Starting point is 00:28:16 of money has been coming in on Georgia Tech. Like it takes a lot of money for a five or six point swing. So do we go with the sharps here? Because the money seems to be coming in on the yellow jackets who looked pretty good. Clemson's looked anything but so far. So does Clemson wake up this week or does Georgia Tech get a big win at home? This is Clemson's last stand. And I mean that very literally.

Starting point is 00:28:39 If they do not show up in this game, they're cooked for the season. It's over. It's over. Here's the problem. I think they're going to try to. wake up against a team that's more physical than they're prepared for. This is a game where I've got Georgia Tech pulling off the upset because of how they run the ball, because of how physical they are in front, and because of the fact that Clemson's

Starting point is 00:29:01 best player by a mile this year, as Ben Peter was, he's a defensive tackle. You cannot play a defensive tackle 50 snaps a game. You cannot. Our bodies and what we do in that inside, you can't do it. 50 plays a game. So with that in mind, I've got Clemson pulling off. I'm sorry, I've got Georgia Tech pulling off a very close upset of Clemson. I feel like every time I start to doubt Dabo and I start to doubt his team,

Starting point is 00:29:32 that's usually when they turn things around. I just have this weird feeling. I mean, you know, you made some sound points, Kenton, but I just have this weird feeling that that first half against, against what was it Troy, was the wake-up call that Clemson needed. I think that lit up a fire. I think Dabo is really good at the between the week's stuff in terms of motivation. While I have reservations about Clemson, because like you said, Georgia Tech has been really physical.

Starting point is 00:30:09 And we've seen, you know, you talk about physicality the way Florida State completely outmuscled and bullied Alabama week one. Like that was alarming, right? Miami winning the trench battles against a really tough Notre Dame team. You saw what physicality has done for both of those two teams at the top of the ACC. Clemson has not looked physical yet. I still think that some of their perimeter talent and Cade Clubnick, I just don't expect him to look as suspect as he's looked these first two games. I just have this feeling that Clemson pulls out a close one. And a lot of it, because you made so many sound points, but a lot of my thinking is I think we all know Clemson is capable of more. And so maybe I'm just expecting that to happen once we start to doubt Davo,

Starting point is 00:30:54 because that tends to be how this goes every single year. Yeah. Yeah. So moving on to, yeah, go ahead. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Clemson did finally get their act together and play one of their best games of the year in this one. Because like I said, this is their last stand. This is, and Davo knows how to get his team up for that. I just have a feeling they're going to sleepwalk into this thing. And, and, and it's, this sanctity type team you can give up that 16-0 lead and just assume we're going to get our 17 back. It ain't going to work like that. So, you know, when we move on to Miami number five is hosting South Florida.

Starting point is 00:31:30 South Florida comes in a number 18. They've just become this Cinderella story. They beat 25th ranked Boise State opening week. They beat a top 15 Florida team in the swamp last week. But the more I examined Kent and I went back and watched most of, their game against Florida. I can understand why they're like starting go fund me again to buy out Billy Napier because he and his players committing penalties late in the game had probably more to do with

Starting point is 00:32:03 Florida losing that game than anything South Florida did. Here's another stat that, and listen, this is not to say Miami isn't also capable of self-sabotage. I don't think that's going to happen this week because I think this team is really focused and very physical. I think Miami is going to have advantages there. But I heard this stat from the Pro Football Focus College YouTube show. And this was pretty alarming. So South Florida, Kenton, in their game against Florida, where they did win, 18 to 16, big upset for them, they only pressured. Not sacked.

Starting point is 00:32:40 pressured DJ Lagway three times the entire game. And none of those pressures came from defensive linemen. It all came from blitzers. So that again, I think outlined how poor of a game Lagway had and how poor of a choice Billy Napier had from going away from the running game way too much when Lagway didn't have his fastball. So I just find it hard to believe, Kenton, that a defense that only pressured Lagway three times.

Starting point is 00:33:11 And Florida's offensive line is good. I think Miami's is even better. If you can't generate pressure on Carson Beck, and if you can't slow down Miami's running game, I think Miami should win this game. I don't know if they win it by 18 or more points. The spread is 17 and a half, but I think Miami's going to win this game.

Starting point is 00:33:29 Miami wins and they cover. And let me tell you why. A Chrysler 300C looks like a phantom until a phantom pulls up. This team looks like a contender. They look phenomenal. They look like they can be the best team in the state of Florida until a legitimate contender for best team in the state of Florida pulls up,

Starting point is 00:33:51 until a legitimate contender for playoffs for national championship pulls up. With all due respect to USF, love me some Byron Brown, a phenomenal young man, phenomenal player, phenomenal player. The problems with U.S. USF are too glary. And you can cover over them with the Ashton Gentilus Boise State team. You can cover over. You can cover over them against the Florida team that, like you said, they're raising

Starting point is 00:34:18 money again to get rid of their coach. This isn't the first time that they've raised money to get rid of their coach in Gainesville. They already had the account. The account was already open. Now they're just putting money in it again. They're doing the thing. This isn't the first time. I could understand if it was like, hey, Billy Napier is.

Starting point is 00:34:36 a staple there. He's a legendary. He's won big games and you beat him. Billy Napier ain't pissed a drop in Gainesville, okay? He ain't, he ain't done nothing special in Gainesville. So this is a moment where USF season is not over. I'm not saying they're done and they're not real. No, no, no, no. I'm not saying none of that. I'm not saying they're not a real contender or that they couldn't be a real contender later in the season. But right now, they have too many holes that were covered up by playing a team that was directly on their level and a team that Billy Napier, you don't got it. Go back to the group of five or group of six.

Starting point is 00:35:17 Go back. Go back. That's where you excel. That's where things worked out for you. You don't got it at this level and kind of work out there because, again, Golish is doing fantastic things. Brian Brown doing fantastic things. that team is winning on the line of scrimmage offensively. Defensively, they haven't.

Starting point is 00:35:38 Defensively, they just haven't. You talk about the pressure rate. Look at what Florida did when they ran the ball early. They were having success, which confused me. As to why Billy Napier was like, nah, we got to put DJ on display. There's got to be a numbers game for DJ. You're not good enough to have numbers games for your guys.

Starting point is 00:35:57 You're good enough to have whatever the hell we got to do to win this ball game. That's what we're going to do. Okay, but I think that Miami gets a handle that they went handling here. I think that this is a team. The advantages on the line of scrimmage are so massive. I don't think they'll be able to keep up. And if they don't, like if Miami doesn't handle it, then I will be a full believer in USF.

Starting point is 00:36:20 Yeah. Not expecting it to play out that way, though. Well, huge shout-outs. Would you wear a bull's gear on air if they win? Would you? I mean, I'm not going to make that bet with you. It's not like you went to you. Like, what do I have to gain?

Starting point is 00:36:33 Why did I make that wager with an NC State fan? Maybe a USF fan wants to talk me into it, maybe. I'm just asking. You know, I'm just asking. You know, you seem real confident there, Donald. But no, I'm also, I'm more confident than you are because I think Miami Cup is fairly handy. Yeah, well, huge shout out to the everydayers.

Starting point is 00:36:53 Make sure you subscribe to Lockdown ACC on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your pods. and we'll talk to you next time. We'll have the squad coming up tomorrow, among other things. We'll talk to you then on another episode of Lockdown, ACCC. We are part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

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