Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - REVEALED: Big 12 Commissioner Champions BYU, But Jim Phillips IGNORES Miami Hurricanes?

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

ACC playoff hopes hang in the balance as Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs call out Jim Phillips for his lack of advocacy while other conference commissioners fiercely lobby for their bubble teams. With Miami, Virginia, Duke, and Notre Dame fighting for College Football Playoff spots, key tiebreakers, head-to-head victories, and playoff committee inconsistencies take center stage. Will Miami’s win over Notre Dame and superior common-opponent results finally earn them a shot, or does ACC bias linger?The conversation heats up with bold takes on ACC Coach of the Year—Virginia’s Tony Elliott leads the way—plus spirited debates about Player of the Year Reuben Bain Jr. and ACC Rookie honors for talents like Malachi Toney and JKS. From CFP selection controversy to end-of-season awards, this episode delivers passionate analysis on the ACC football landscape and what it takes for teams to break through.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Omaha SteaksSave big on unforgettable gifts with Omaha Steaks. Visit https://OmahaSteaks.com for 50% off site-wide and an extra 20% off select favorites during their Cyber Sale.And for an additional $35 off, use promo code COLLEGE at checkout. Aura FramesFor a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code COLLEGE at checkout. GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.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.

I see the Big 12 commissioner all over the place lobbying for BYU, who's on the CFP bubble. But I don't see Jim Phillips anywhere lobbying for Miami. 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. We're part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day.

He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State Defense of Lyman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown, Cainz. And today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create your account, and use code, Locked on College for $20 off your first purchase. On this episode, we'll talk about the best of 2025 in ACC football. Player of the year, freshman of the year, coach of the year. year and how these things didn't play out the way that we expected them to preseason.

We'll talk about, you know, Miami's potential path into the college football playoff because ESPN reporter Heather Dinnich, who's got a direct line to the committee outlined that path on ESPN.com this morning. But Kenton, let's talk about commissioners lobbying for bubble teams, okay? You know, BYU in the Big 12, they're on the bubble. They're currently ranked number 11, which means, you know, assume, and they actually have a chance to win their conference this weekend. But Texas Tech is a heavy favorite. If BYU doesn't win their conference championship, it's a good chance they're left out.

And Commissioner Brett, your mark, as he does so well, is out there lobbying, making the case for BYU. The ACC, of course, if Virginia wins the championship, they're in. Duke, I don't know, but I don't hear the commissioner lobbying. for that scenario, nor do I hear the commissioner lobbying for the ACC's bubble team. And I want to say this loud and clear. I understand not everybody listening to this and watching this. Maybe not all of you agree that Miami should be in. Maybe you feel like the losses to 8 and 4 Louisville or the losses to 8 and 4 SMU, disqualify them. But no matter what you think, I think when we can all agree, the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of his job should be to lobby for his

bubble team to get in. And Kenton, I think Miami does have a strong argument. They have a head-to-head victory against Notre Dame who's firmly in the field right now, ranked number nine last week. They also have four common opponents with Notre Dame. Miami and Notre Dame both beat all four of those. Miami beat three out of the four by a wider margin. You know, Miami is also in the same comparative pool with Alabama. Alabama has a loss to five and seven Florida state who Miami beat. Some folks are trying to put Texas into that comparative pool.

Texas has three losses to Miami's two and a loss to the four and eight Florida Gators who Miami beat. So I'm doing Jim Phillips's job for him right now, KG. We're all doing Jim Phillips's job for him because here's the thing. Jim Phillips

needs to not take off Orange all week. And I'm not just talking about Miami Orange. I'm talking about UV Orange as well. He needs to be beating the table for both of those teams. Say, hey, both of these teams need to be considered for the playoff because while everybody's talking about, does anybody get in from the ACC of Duke wins?

You need to prepare and you need to start propagandizing now for the worst case scenario. You need to be telling people now, look what my teams have done. Look what my teams have done. Oh, well, you know, Alabama team, if they're a two lost team, they for sure still belong in. I believe Alabama has two losses right now or do they only have one? How many of that right now? Okay, so two lost Alabama, potentially three, right?

Oh, well, the three lost Alabama team, which for sure need to be there. A, for sure need to be there. Well, by the criteria of the, by the criteria of the committee, I believe that they have a common opponent. in terms of UVA and Alabama. I believe that common opponent beat Alabama and lost the UVA. I believe that's what happened there. Well, you know, that UVA team,

they just ain't beat nobody all year and they got bad losses. Really? NC State and Wake Forest are bad losses only in terms of brand recognition. Those two teams, if you, here's a fun fact, right? You want to talk about Florida

and all that they are, you want to talk about the fact that Miami has lost a two eight-win teams, if you took Wake Forest and NC State's records and combined them with a team that went 0 for 12, and you divide those wins up by three, you still come out with 15 divided by three, which is five, more wins than Florida had this year. If you put in two teams that these teams lost to,

and we know because math is math, have Miami's teams that they lost to, both eight-win teams, the same principle applies. You could cut both of Miami's losses. You could cut both of those teams record in half, and then they would equal. Individually, they would equal Florida's win total. So I don't understand from what standpoint we are not getting, Jim Phillips, beating on every table and screaming. Not only is the ACC guaranteed one bid, we should be a two-bend. league. We should have two teams. There's not a world where any other conference goes through this.

There's not a world where the Big 12 is sitting there and saying, hey, we've got two teams that are 10 win plus teams. And we've got to edge and nudge and push our conference commissioner to go out there and beat on the table for our team. Your mark couldn't wait for the opportunity to get in front of a camera and tell everybody in their mom, if you think BYU is out, You may be doing religious discrimination, what you got against Mormons. He couldn't wait to get in front of a camera. We got a defender. We got two defenders on Texas Tech that are Heisman contenders. Texas Tech has never played defense and look at us now.

Your mark could not wait to tell everybody how good his teams are. Jim Phillips, listen, this is locked on ACC where ACC guys. We need you to do your job, Jimmy P. We need you to go out there because being a show, showman, being a salesman, while everybody's personality is a little bit different and different people have different aptitudes for things like that, you may be more of the cerebral guy than the showman guy. That's fine. There are certain moments where de facto, this job requires that part. It just requires it. Outside of locked on, I'm a recruiter. That's my job. Part of, there are very

introverted recruiters out there. But there comes a moment where you as a recruit, you have to. lean in to people skills or else you will lose top quality candidates, right? Which is one of the most important parts of my job to secure the best candidates for my, for my teams. So in this moment, Jim Phillips needs to say, to hell with whatever my personality is or who I am or whatever I thought were my, I'm good at this, I'm not good at this. ACC fans are rightly casting aspersions upon you because you are not showing up and meeting the moment.

All the other conference commissioners, meet the moment except you. And this is something that he's repeatedly failed at, by the way, because I know that we have Florida State fans potentially listening to this who have been screaming at us for the past eight minutes. Where was he two years ago when it was very obvious in the hours before it happened that Florida State was probably going to get left out of that field despite being undefeated?

And it happened. He said a couple week comments about it afterwards. Didn't say anything before it happened to lobby for Florida State. Now, if you want to put your tinfoil hat on Kenton for this current situation, this was something pointed out to me. I, you know, this doesn't explain away everything because, again, like you mentioned, he should be lobbying for UVA. He should be lobbying just in case for Duke as well.

Because, you know, if Duke wins the ACC, it's hard. But still, you should be lobbying for your conference champion to get in no matter who it is, right? And he should be lobbying for Miami. He's in a little bit of a difficult position lobbying for Miami against Notre Dame, since Notre Dame is in everything but football, a member of his conference. And hear me out, Kenton, Jim Phillips' children. Where do they attend college? Stop it.

They're all the Irish? I think he's got two at Notre Dame. See, see, see, here's the thing. Notre Dame is a member and everything but football. And are we talking about March Madness right now, Donna? No. Are we talking about tracking cross country? No, we're not.

Are we talking about hockey? I'll answer that question for you. I'm from hockey town. Most ACC, I don't think there's any ACC teams outside of Notre Dame that have varsity hockey teams. So no, we're not talking about that either. Right now, we're talking about football. In Notre Dame, I'm sorry to take.

tell you, if you're part of ACC, you'd be under the group that we say, oh, yeah, you're one of us. You know, we've got to lobby for you too. But right now, it's roll with it or get rolled over, Tom, Domney. It's roll with it or get rolled over. And they chose their deal with NBC, which respect to them. Respect to you. Hey, do what you got to do. Chase your bag.

Get your money up. Cool. But with that being said, I can't protect you. I don't give a damn what they said. Oh, they're part of us and everything else. Sure, when it's time to get the bracket going for soccer, we'll say Notre Dame soccer belongs in. Sure. When it's time that we get to talking baseball, we'll say, oh, yeah, the fighting Irish baseball team,

they can swing that back with anybody. But right now we are talking about on the gridiron. And right now, you have two double-digit win ACC, that people are acting like it would be an affront to God to put in. Yeah. What? Stop it. Stop it. With those same teams, again,

we're talking about a Notre Dame team that's lost to one of those teams. We're talking about an Alabama team that has a loss to a team that both of these teams beat. We're talking about teams that are guaranteed that, again, a Texas team that we both know losses to teams that these teams have both played or one of these teams are played and beat. And we're sitting up here saying, so what did they lost a quarter of their games? Everything's fine. So what did they're out of conference? Fun fact, they're out of conference record. They're out of the teams that they played out of conference, Sam Houston, San Jose State,

and somebody else that was a very long name. U-TEP. U-T. Those three teams, you combine all their records. They're one game above bowl eligibility when you combine all their wins. So these are a group of five teams that are not even good group of five teams. Yeah. I see I see Sark, you know, Steve Sarkesian, the coach of Texas,

complaining about how like they're holding it against us that we lost to Ohio State. And I'm sitting here, I'm like, they're holding a win against Notre Dame against my team. Sark, you nearly adopted the dark. I was born in it is how I feel about this situation. Dono, you've got to understand. Notre Dame has better losses than my end. And that's what I was. You know, y'all lost to a love.

slowly disgusted, trifling 8 and 4 power 14. Two, eight and four power 14. Yuck! What is that? But actually beating Notre Dame, you know, that's, again, a lot of people are saying that the Notre Dame win is the only reason Miami is in contention, which I can kind of see that point, but it is the thing. But it's a quality win. I was just about to say, if the Notre Dame win is why they're in contention,

they should be in front of Notre Dame. Who has Notre Dame beat that was better than. in Miami's best win. Nobody. Their best win was against USC who's outside the playoff picture. And then their next best win was against Pittsburgh, who Miami also beat and beat more decisively than Notre Dame beat. So again, so again, you and I are stuck here doing Jimmy Phillips job for him because he's sleeping at the wheel again. You know, and Donald and I have discussed what the situation is that we've come to the conclusion. Jim Phillips is Batman. That's what he's doing. He's running around at night, saving him.

got them sitting. And so he shows up to work, have dead. He's tired. I mean, Donna, if you had to battle the Joker time and time again, and you had a no-kill rule, so you can't get him up out the picture permanently, right? You just got to keep locking them up. He's going to keep escaping. You too, would show up to your day job. Oh, wait, Miami, what? Duke did what? UVA's doing what now? Wait, that Elliott guy didn't fire? Oh, okay. Cool. Yeah, put out a statement saying they belong. On this show, we have constantly beat the table for ACC teams. when Florida State what beat Louisville a few years ago

with their third string quarterback and my co-host was a very lovely woman with much more hair than Dono. We did an immediate post game saying a team that's undefeated, a team that has one of the best defense in the nation, a team that has everything saying that they are one of the best in the nation.

If they're not allowed in, this is a travesty, we have done that from day one. We have not waited until the playoffs are dropped. we have not done that and we still continue to carry that same energy for the ACC on this show and Jim Phillips continues to not do so. Jim Phillips, who makes a lot more money than me and Dono combined multiplied multiple times over to do this.

Well, I don't know. I make 2.1, but he makes 2 million. Oh, Donno, let me hold about 10,000. You know, we'll talk about that offer. We're talking about that offer. But again, Jim Phillips, we're asking you. No, we're begging and pleading with you. either do your job or get out the way and let somebody in here who will do.

Yeah, fair. All right. Well, we'll talk on the other side. So ESPN reporter Heather Dennett, who, you know, she has a direct line to the CFP committee. I know people get very angry at some of the things she says. I remind people like, don't shoot the messenger. Like she's saying what she's being told. She outlined a scenario where Miami could get in.

So we'll talk about that when we come back. I want to keep it locked right here. We're only getting started on locked on ACC. Oh, folks, Omaha Steaks. The holidays always feel a little easier when you already know the perfect gift. And Omaha Steaks makes it almost too simple. Whether you're treating yourself this season

or you're sending something memorable to family and friends, Omaha Steaks delivers handcrafted perfection right to their door. And this week is the best time to jump in because their cyber sale is here and the deals are huge. Guys, the quality is exactly what you hope. hope for incredibly tender steaks, rich flavor in meals that make hosting or weeknight cooking easier. And the variety is underrated. Steaks, burgers, comfort meals, sides, desserts. It's one of those gifts that truly fits anyone. Save big on unforgettable gifts with Omaha Steaks. Visit

Omaha Steaks.com for 50% off sitewide and an extra 20% off select favorites during their cyber sale. And for an additional $35 off, use promo code college at checkout. That's Omaha Steaks.com promo code college. Terms apply, see site for details. Thank you so much for making Lockdown ACC, your first listen. All right, so on ESPN.com this morning, this is, you know, kind of in advance of tonight, 7 o'clock-ish. You know, they're going to release the semi, the second to last college football

playoff rankings. Heather Dinnich of ESPN wrote about the bubble watch. Now, she's a good source on this stuff because she covers the committee very closely. And so she writes Miami, obviously, you know, the most likely path for the ACC to get at least one bid is Virginia. Virginia takes care of business this weekend against Duke. Virginia's in for sure. Miami is on the bubble. And she writes about Miami.

The Hurricanes will still be the committee's highest ranked ACC team on Tuesday night. But they would be excluded if the playoff were today to make room for a conference champion. That means the ACC winner could knock the league's best team out of the playoff. The committee isn't ignoring Miami's head-to-head win against Notre Dame. I mean, yeah, they are, but she continues. It also isn't only comparing the Keynes to the Irish. Miami also needs to earn an edge against Alabama and BYU. Two teams the committee has deemed better than Miami to this point.

If both of those teams lose their respective conference championship games, it would open the door for Miami to possibly enter the 12-team field with Notre Dame. All right, so I think the last two words they're important with Notre Dame. So it's very clear. Miami will not be getting in at Notre Dame's expense, despite the head-to-head. Miami's only chances to get in with Notre Dame. That's number one.

And then number two, very interesting, Kenton, that she would even open the door to a team getting penalized for losing their conference championship game. Because that's something the committee has kind of said in the past they don't want to do. And I could see that happening to BYU. Like if BYU loses to Texas Tech for a second time, you could say, hey, two times they've gone up against a CFP calorie opponent and two times they've lost in dominant fashion. But I can't see them doing that to Alabama. Like I have a hard time believing that if Bama loses to Georgia, they would drop them out.

I think the SEC carries too much weight for the committee. I am so sick and tired of the committee's inconsistent logic. I'm so tired of it. I'm so tired. And this is why we call for. Jim Phillips to do his job in the first segment, but we'll keep doing it for you, Jim. Don't worry.

Continue to sit this one out, I guess. We got it. The reality is this, Dono. Not only should be why you be penalized for getting wax, tax, and dred every single tie that they played a college football playoff worthy team. But why are we, why is nobody and why is Jim Phillips in particular

not talking about the Jordan Travis precedent? why is nobody talking about that? Oh, we can't penalize you for losing in a conference championship game. That's fine. You can't penalize somebody. By the way, BYU also might lose their coach. Penn State is trying to hire him. So, so, and this is why, this is why Jim Phillips, you got to be willing to dirty, man.

Because they're not willing, these people are willing to do it against you. These people are willing to go there with you. You keep saying, when they go low, we'll go high. Well, we know in football, low man wins. Low man wins, buddy. It's time for you to get low, getting them trenches. We're on board drill. It's time, brother.

The reality is simple. We have a bunch of teams that by the criteria that the committee has laid bare before us should not be in over Miami and UVA. We have a bunch of them. We have a bunch of them. And yet we have to sit here and pretend. because our commissioner is not saying anything, because our $2 million man sits on his hands and is quiet,

we're sitting here saying, oh, Miami has to get this and that and the third and everything has to go right. And it's the ACC championship all over again where you need help from this team to beat that team and this team beat that team. When in reality, we're saying, oh, well, you know, Miami would get in with Notre Dame.

Well, again, if we're talking about what teams look like now, instead of what they look like earlier in the season, how far back is too early to go? At what point is the cutoff and delineation? Because the last couple of times we saw Miami, they whooped the wheels off of quality teams that had stuff to play for. So why does Miami need everybody's help

and the jenga has to fall just right and Donnell has to take off his hat and do his one-legged dance with an armament on top of his head that doesn't fall, in order for them to get in. But again, we're looking at all these other teams that per the precedence that the committee has set, per the words out of committee's mouth this year, this year. Oh, well, we can only weigh head to head when they're in comparable groups.

Oh, they're in comparable groups. Well, you can't get in without the team that's in front of you getting in. Well, why are they in front of us? Because they had better season. But how did they, if we both had the same record that we beat them? Because they're just better. Can I add a contextual note real quick? So in the CFP rankings this year and last year,

there have been 13 instances of teams with the same record playing a head-to-head. Notre Dame and Miami is the only time of those 13 instances that the team that won the head-to-head is ranked lower than the team that lost the head-down. This is the only time it's ever happened in the last two years. I didn't look back before the 13th time it's happened. first time the team that won the game is ranked lower. And again, in the words of Ben DeCumberbatch, what do we say of coincidence homes?

The universe is rarely so lazy. The universe is rarely so lazy. It's so odd how all the coincidences always lined up to hurt the ACC. Isn't that odd? It's a lot like how the draft lottery with Detroit teams, the Pistons and the Red Wings in particular, whenever they're in the draft lottery, statistically they have the worst,

luck of any major sporting city in America. And it's like, huh, across two leagues, they have the worst luck and are generally always moving down? Huh. That's odd. That's an odd thing. Put an odd thing to say. Again, we continue to look at this.

And a lot of people are saying, oh, well, you know, you have on your ACC color glasses or you're being conspiracy theories, pointing out a definitive pattern. This is plus 90% Over 90% correlation. Same record, head to head one beats other. Every other time, this team is ranked in front of that one.

The winner of that hit to head is ranked in front, except for when that team happens to be a full-time member of the ACC. Then all of a sudden, people start looking at you kind of, oh, well, we need to know, what do you look like now? Oh, that was week one with Alabama. That don't count.

Oh, that was week one or week, week two with Notre Dame. That don't count. But we can't say, when that was week 11 for Miami, they're much better than what they were then. Miami did not show the ability

to put their foot on people's necks and squeeze the arrow. They were playing this conservative, we'll beat them by three. We got to win. That's all that matters earlier in the season. In these last couple games, they've said, no, no, no.

Lace up your timbulance, boys. I know we're in Miami, but y'all going to need some timbulance for this because we knee deep, knee deep in whoever we think. fine behind. And that's what they've been doing. So again, Miami should not need this much help, but Heather Denech has a direct line. And, you know, this ain't 300. So we will not kick the messenger. We will just point out what the messenger is saying that I find to be deeply flawed

and offensive. Yeah. Well, well, well, said, when we come back, let's crown ACC coach of the year, ACC player of the year. And how about ACC rookie of the year? You want to keep it locked right here. we're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Folks, the World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it's going to be massive. Let's be honest. Getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That's why the GameTime app is so clutch,

finally giving fans the real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. With GameTime, you can track prices in real time, get alerts when great seats open, and buy tickets the moment they hit the app. It puts the power back in your hands and makes going to the World Cup realistic instead of impossible. Folks, the seat view feature is a game changer. You literally see what the pitch looks like from your exact seat before you buy. Prices, by the way, include fees up front, which is my favorite thing. There are no last second surprise fees at checkout.

Take the guesswork out of buying World Cup tickets in every match, every concert or event with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code, locked on college, for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, download the app, make an account, and use code locked on college for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download the GameTime app today. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC your first listen. Kenton, I don't know if there's much of a debate on this one.

ACC coach of the year, you know, not only just purely the job that he's done, but then also the expectations coming into the season versus the job that he's done. and he's in the ACC championship game this weekend. Tony Elliott at UVA. I don't think there's any argument there. I mean, I'd like to argue, you know, for Mario Cristobal, but I, you know, the expectations versus reality for 10 and 2 for UVA, he's the runaway.

Absolutely. And you're talking about 10 and 2 with a vast difference in personnel than, you know, Miami. Like even if you were to say, well, the coaches are responsible for the personnel. Okay, sure. Let's still say that. At the end of the day, they got the same result record-wise, and one of them is in the conference championship. One of them is not.

That's just the reality. That's just the reality. So, you know, shout out to Tony Elliott and Virginia. And again, even if we were to talk about all the other stuff, I mean, Tony Elliott's been through so much, man. To see where he's come and to see where this program has come, to now he deserves all to love. And not just because people thought your team was going to be bad.

You have a damn good team, Tony Ellie. about who's you deserve it. Yeah. And, you know, there have been other coaches that have kind of flirted with it, you know, for up until, I don't know, about a month ago, Brent Key was looking pretty good at Georgia Tech, but they had a late season swoon. Jeff Brom at times was looking really good, but Louisville had their issues down the stretch. So Tony Elliott runs away with this one.

Who would you go with Kenton for Player of the Year in the ACC this year? You know, the easy answer that I'm sure most people are going to say is, oh, it's got to be Carson Beck. He's got to be the guy. He's, you know, he's done all the good things. I don't like quarterbacks winning a war for quarterback's sake. I also don't think that he's the most impactful player on that team. Number four with that old elbow brace, Ruben Hurricane Bang. And by the way, don't tell me about his sack numbers.

Don't tell me about his sack numbers. Just watch football. Dono watched the Louisville game like I did. And that young man, their entire game plan was keep two people on them at all time. Yeah. We have to, before we send anybody out for a route, they have to give them some. Give him some support. Now, shout out to Louisville's tackles.

They did do a good job. But wherever he was, Miller-Mawkes was very intentional about we need to target him. We need to get some help to him. And we still need to get the ball out very quickly. He has been a game playing record all season for which teams have had to account for at an extremely high level, which is unique for a defensive event. I don't think the teams have, and this is with all due respect, I don't think the teams have stayed up at night saying,

how are we going to stop Carson back? Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy, how are we going to do it? And that's, again, that's with all due respect to him. I think people have thought that about Miami's offense and totality, because one of the guys that we're going to talk about later here had been a revelation that many people were not expecting. But the reality of this thing is, to me,

Ruben Hurricane Bain has to be a guy, has to be the guy for this war. Yeah, I'm really glad that you said that because I think it carries more weight coming from a former ACC defensive lineman than it carries coming from me because I've been talking with Miami fans all year long who are like, yeah, you know what? I'm really bummed about Bain's stats. How come he doesn't have more sacks? Is he not having a very good year? and, like, you try to explain the way he affects every game. Like, I compare it to, you know, when you have a basketball team and you have a seven-foot-six guy who's in the paint. Like, it just completely affects the way the other team approaches things, just him being on the field and getting in the backfield and wrecking game plans the way he does.

So I'm in agreement with you. All right. So, you know, for ACC rookie of the year, there have been some good freshmen this season. Yeah, but again, like, I favor a South Florida. and Malachi Tony has had an unbelievable year. He set Miami's freshman receiving record this season. He set the new record for not only number of catches, but for yardage. He's just under 1,000 yards, so he'll probably get to the 1,000 mark in the bowl game or whatever postseason game.

Miami is in. He threw multiple touchdown passes this year. He rushed for multiple touchdowns, I think 11 or 12. I think 13 or 14 total touchdowns this year for Malachi Tony. and that's the guy like you mentioned when you're game planning against Miami when you're game planning against their defense Rubin Bain is the guy that keeps you up at night when you're game planning against Miami's offense Malachi Tony that's the guy who keeps you up you know there's definitely an argument there and if you go back to a Notre Dame game there are multiple plays where it's like oh my how did he come down with that what what was that but I also I want to say this right I know that I don't like being a guy that gives these awards to quarterback for quarterback's sake and I know that giving this. award to this young man may not be enough to keep him in the ACC. But J.K.S. Has to be in that conversation.

Yes, sir. Has to be in that conversation. And of course, because it's me, I've also got to look at my big fellas. Mandrill DeSere was that Florida State defense at times. What if I told you that there was a true freshman that had half a sack less? This is a fact. This is a true fact. Half a sack less than T.J. Parker and Peter Woods.

Would you believe it? Combine. Combine. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me four months ago, but I believe it now. Even if I told you now before I said anything about who the guy was, right? This is a young man that in that, and then the three, five, it's not necessarily conducive to a ton of sacks for defensive linemen. But he showed up in a major way. So if they could separate an offensive defense, I would love to see him get some love there.

but I mean, J.K.S. No coach. You're already bow eligible, not a ton to play for, and you pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year that then in turn, you know, it throws more coastal chaos into the ACC. Shout out to that man, J.K.S, man. What a dog. Yeah, me, JKS is so good. Like, you could argue he ruined the ACC this year, because had had they lost that game, it would be a respectable ACC championship game, would be Virginia versus SMU, very respectable matchup. Instead, he puts Duke into the conference championship game. So, I mean, they might nudge JKS out of the ACC

because he already ruined the conference this year, but we appreciate everybody. Let me put my 10-4 hat on. He's playing a long game. He's going to transfer somewhere in the SEC of the Big Ten and ruin the ACC on his way out. You're not low, J-KS. He started at Oregon, Big Ten School.

That's right. You know what I mean? You're not low. We do the knowledge here on Locked on ACC. They shouldn't give you the award just because you were a sleeper sale. You were a sleeper age at this old time. Yeah, for real. Well, we appreciate everybody for making Lockdown ACC your first list. We'll see what the committee does tonight. But I'm not just based on the reporting. I'm not expecting any change from Miami. I think Miami stays at number 12. You know, Virginia will obviously be ranked lower, but they're going to have a chance to get an auto bid. So we'll see how it unfolds tonight. And we'll talk to again tomorrow. on another episode of Lockdown ACC. We are part of the number one Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team, every day.