Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - REVELATION: Miami & Florida State are the BEST in the ACC? | Clemson flops at home vs LSU

Starting point is 00:00:00 Week one was telling in the ACC, and you tell me if this is a knee-jerk reaction. Florida State and Miami are on a collision course for the ACC championship game. 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 Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:40 He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State Defensive lineman and co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown Kains, and today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create your account, and use code Lockdown College for $20 off your first purchase. Now, Kenton, remember like 21 years ago when Miami joined the ACC, everybody thought, oh, Miami versus Florida State. the ACC championship game every year, might be the year we finally get it. Florida State pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the weekend. It doesn't feel like an upset after actually watching the game,

Starting point is 00:01:17 but the Seminoles were 13 and a half point underdogs at home against the number eight Alabama Crimson Tide. And I can't imagine how bad of a weekend Paul Feinbaum had, but Florida State ran wild. Thomas Costalanos backed up every big, of offseason trash talk. That's probably the lead story here. You owe him an apology. I owe him a huge apology for the way we talked about Costalanos for the past couple months. So before we get to Miami upsetting number six Notre Dame, let's talk Kenton about Thomas Costalanos, who runs for

Starting point is 00:01:53 78 yards in a touchdown against Alabama, throws for 152 yards, no interceptions. He took care of the football. Florida State made Alabama look like, uh, Northern Alabama? I don't know where I'm going with that, but that did not look like Nick Sabin's Crimson Tide. You know, they're saying that the Nick can't save him shirts are going to be sold soon through Tommy Costalanos's NIL deal there because, you know, that's, oh my God.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Boy, was he a prophet? Boy, was he right? But more over than anything else, one thing that I want to emphasize, if nobody else is paying attention to this. This was a thorough decimation of Alabama on multiple levels. Every single thing that Alabama is known for and has done well for quite some time, they took away from them.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Least rushing yards they've had in an opening game since 1975, Dono wasn't even alive back then. Wasn't even a gleam in his pops or mom's eye back then. Neither was I. Both of us are bald. No hair follicles are active up there. Okay. And that's how long it's been since somebody did this to the time.

Starting point is 00:03:11 Offensive line. They're supposed to have one of the best offensive line units in America. Oh, Caden Proctor and Company. Oh, yeah, they're going to mall them. They're going to bowl all over. Proctor gave up six pressures and a sack. In the words of Will Campbell, if you give up one sack every week, you'll be working at Amazon.

Starting point is 00:03:28 No disrespect to the guys in the Amazon. No disrespect to it. but you'll be working there, okay? This was a thorough domination. And you're right. We do owe Tommy an apology. And I said I hoped all along that Tommy proved us right. I mean, proved us wrong, rather.

Starting point is 00:03:44 I hope that Tommy, I had never hoped to be wrong about a game more than this one. I never hope, hey, I hope this team pulls out of W here more than this one. But more power to them, more power to Casillanos, more power to Norval and company. Maybe desperation is the key. Maybe I need to shoot more shops in Megan Nostalius' DM apparently. Desperation is in, baby. I mean, in Alabama, Kaelin DeBoer is like two, maybe three losses away from legitimately getting fired. Because no matter how big your buyout is, if he were to go eight and four in Tuscaloosa,

Starting point is 00:04:19 just two years removed from the Nick Sabin era in that dynasty, you're not going to make it. And, you know, there's rumors out there about like supposedly Alabama players or like ordering pizzas. to the team hotel at 2 a.m. and bringing their girlfriends up. I got no discipline whatsoever they say. But here's the thing. I know, I guess the bigger national story when I referenced Paul Feinbaum and stuff is like what happened with Alabama, I especially here on Lockdown ACC, I think we should give Florida state credit because, okay, even if this may not be the crimson tide of three,

Starting point is 00:04:55 four, five years ago, we're talking about a Florida state seminal team that was too intense. last year and wouldn't be able to beat South Alabama, Alabama A&M, let alone the Alabama Crimson Tide. The way this team has been transformed with two new coordinators on both sides who called a great game on both sides, you know, Coach White on defense and Gus Malzahn, who knows a thing or two about beating Alabama on that offensive side. And, you know, Castellano seems like, and we should know this, he recruited him out of high school after all. his offense is a perfect fit for Tommy Costalano, unlike the Bill O'Brien offensive last year.

Starting point is 00:05:35 And just to think, look, how far this Florida State team has come in a matter of, what, eight months since we last saw them play, it is remarkable. And no matter how the rest of their season goes, and I expect it to go pretty good based on what we saw on Saturday, but no matter how the rest of their season goes, we need to give kudos to Mike Norvell and company for really changing the mentality of that team from one year to the next.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Absolutely. And let's take it a step further. Again, this was not a game that Florida State won with finesse and fancy free football. This was not a game that they won by saying, you know what, Alabama, we're going to spread them out and we're going to make their linebackers have to cover it. Because they always got linebacks that can't thump, but they can't cover it. No, they said, hey, we're going to line up and we're going to have us an old school football game here today. Yeah, you're going to see a lot of cute formations. Yeah, you're going to see a lot of motions and all that. But you know what you're going to see more than that? You're going to see offensive linemen coming downhill, putting hands on your boys.

Starting point is 00:06:37 What are you going to do about it? And they were extremely successful. Do you know how many yards Thomas Costalanos passed for? I know it wasn't a lot. Like, I don't know, 130, 140? Yeah, it was, it was a mighty, a mighty, mighty, 152. That's my point exactly, right? Ty Simpson outgamed him through the air by over 100 yards.

Starting point is 00:07:03 This was a game where Florida State said, hey, we're going to punch you in the face again and again and again and again. And guess what's going to happen after that fifth punch down on? Another one's coming. And can you stop it? And Bamma said, no, we're good. By the middle of the third quarter, that defense hit to Roberto Durant. No mas.

Starting point is 00:07:23 No mas. Give me out of here. Throw the towel in. Embarrassing showing by Alabama. But like you said, credit. to a Florida State team that won two games last year, and they couldn't out physical a paper bag last year. I mean, they were to struggle ripping that thing

Starting point is 00:07:37 every way to Sunday. And this year, they were bullying the Crimson Tide to start it off. They got to get their love for this. Regardless of who was having their girlfriends in or who was partying or last night. Don't matter. You had a single digit by your name, and you didn't show up. All right.

Starting point is 00:07:54 So you reacted a certain way when I said at the top that Florida State and Miami, on a collision course for the ACC championships. So let me ask you, are you buying the Seminels as ACC championship contenders after that went over Alabama? Are you buying them as ACC contenders or, you know, you still need to see more? I would give the same answer I gave for Georgia Tech last year after they upset Florida State.

Starting point is 00:08:20 It's still too real. I still got to see more. I got to see more. If they continue to do this and Alabama proves like, hey, We're not just a bunch of fluffing five stars. We are taking this thing seriously, and we are still a good team. We just, you know, we just can't figure this out for whatever. I can respect it.

Starting point is 00:08:40 If they continue punching teams in the mouth and Thomas Costalanos continues to spearhead a rushing attack that is vicious, I could give them that type of accolade. But right now, we've got a sample size of one game. Yeah. You know, not sure. Well, I'm also, I'm going to ask you later in the show how you're feeling about Clemson, if your opinion has changed after, to me, pretty unimpressive showing against LSU. Like, and it's funny because Miami was an underdog against Notre Dame, they went at home.

Starting point is 00:09:15 Florida State, big underdog against Bama, they win at home. Clemson, a favorite against LSU, they lose at home. We'll talk about that. But next, we want to talk about the Miami Hurricanes because that was the biggest victory of Mario Cristobal's tenure so far in Miami, and eye-opening in a lot of ways, when you look at the talent that Miami's collected and you look at the way they beat Notre Dame at things Notre Dame was beating everybody with past couple years in the Marcus Freeman era. You want to keep it locked right here.

Starting point is 00:09:48 Kenton Gibbs and Alex Dono with you on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Yeah, I ran into some Miami fans at Hard Rock Stadium the other night, and they told me they got their tickets to Miami versus Notre Dame on game time. They love the features. They love the prices. And guys, we all love college football, the tailgates, the rivalries, the energy in the stands. There's just nothing like it. But let's be real. Actually, getting tickets can feel like more of a battle than the game itself. Endless cues, hidden fees, prices jumping at checkout. Nobody likes that. That's why we use game time. Guys, game time has been such a blessing. The app that gives the advantage back to the fans. It's the easiest way.

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Starting point is 00:10:52 Swipe, tap, ticket. Download game time today. Thank you for making this episode of Lockdown ACC, your first listen. Hey, we have an important request. Lockdown wants to hear from you. We put together a survey to learn more about our listeners and make your favorite podcasts even better. This is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don't, and answer questions about our advertising. Go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash survey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of $10, $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that's locked onpodcasts.com slash survey.

Starting point is 00:11:26 You can also find the link in the show notes. and thanks for helping us out. All right. So we go from Florida States, 31 to 17 win against Notre Dame, sorry, against Alabama, too. I'm jumping ahead here to Miami's 2724 win against the Notre Dame fighting Irish. And Kenton, the first thing that jumps out to be is, because obviously I've spent a lot of time thinking about this game hosting Locked on Cains as well, the fact that Miami was able to hold Jeremiah Love and Judarian Price to a combined 78, rushing yards. They held love to 33 rushing yards and Miami actually outrushed Notre Dame 119 to 93 in yardage. Miami won the line of scrimmage battles on both sides. Ruben Bain

Starting point is 00:12:13 had himself a freaking game, an interception, a game ceiling sack at the end of it. Miami's offensive line did a phenomenal job. Carson Beck was only sacked once while Miami's D line sack C.J. Carr three times. And then the other part of it, Kenton, when I talk about Miami winning the game in ways Notre Dame usually wins. The fighting Irish last year were plus 18 in turnover margin. Elite. Miami wins the turnover battle plus two in this one. Wasn't perfect for Miami.

Starting point is 00:12:42 They were letting Notre Dame back into it in the fourth quarter. They got very conservative on offense. But they're able to close it out on defense, Miami, which is something that never happened last year. So, I mean, I couldn't be happier about that win. and huge test to start the season that Miami passes early on. In what world, I don't care what university, what program you are, nobody can be disappointed about a top 10 win, we've won.

Starting point is 00:13:07 Let's start there. But like you said, the way in which they won it. There was a point during that game where the announcer said, Jeremiah Love finally out of the witness protection program. I beg your pardon? I beg your finest pardon, but he was correct. Because at that point, Jeremiah Love, he was under wraps. The run fits were there.

Starting point is 00:13:32 And this is the biggest thing for me that I look at and I say, man, this is a great win for Miami on every level. Obviously, you have the aspect of it being a top 10 way. But it's what you said. It's the way the game was won. This game was not won because Carson Beck went out there and went legend, put on a performance like nobody's seen, dropped 450 on him. And, you know, he was just laying it right on the money everywhere.

Starting point is 00:13:57 This game was won by the defense. Ruben Hurricane Bain. He sounded like Bain during that game. He had to be asking car, which will break first, your body or your spirit? Because he was all over the place. The young man did everything you could ask of a superstar to do and more. And when you talk about these top 10 matchups, there is one thing that remains a constant in college football leagues.

Starting point is 00:14:23 Your stars have to be your stars. They have to stop. And guess whose stars showed up at the highest clip? Miami's. Guess whose stars were in a witness protection program? He was changed his name. It's Darien Hape, actually. There's no love in my name, sir.

Starting point is 00:14:43 I don't know who you're referring to. Because Miami defenders were everywhere they needed to be. That was a master class defensively. When you talk about stopping the run, it's about two things. Effort and assignment. And those two things Miami gave that a higher clip than I think I saw from any other team this weekend. So hats off to Miami. You know, and like you said, it obviously was not a game where Carson Beck lit it up.

Starting point is 00:15:09 But he accomplished every objective that I had for him pregame Kenton because I knew, I mean, Notre Dame has like four guys in their defensive secondary who are going to be playing on Sundays within the next couple of years. Like I was not expecting Beck to, you know, have like Cam Ward versus Louisville type of stats last year. But I thought if he can make good decisions, if he can take care of the football and hit a couple of big passing plays, that could be enough in a game like that. And obviously it was enough because of the way Miami ran the football, the way the defense played. But I thought, you know, considering the defense he was going up against, I thought Beck looked fantastic. I mean, he was able to find repeatedly true freshman receiver Malachi Tony. And I was saying this for the last 24 hours, Kenton, that I think Tony could have the type of impact that like Casey Concepcion had his first year at NC State as a freshman. I think Malachi Tony has that sort of year one potential.

Starting point is 00:16:07 He led Miami with 82 receiving yards and a touchdown. And then that ridiculous catch that C.J. Daniels, who's a six-year senior made, the one-handed grab in the end zone. It's funny because that was like the one throw that Beck made that could have gone for a turnover. Like there were no other turnover worthy plays because if Daniels didn't get a paw on that, Aiden Schuller, you know, was there probably to pick it off. But that was an unbelievable play by C.J. Daniel. So I thought Beck, you know, again, this was not probably not the biggest stat line he's going to have this year, taking care of the football, making good decisions, standing in the pocket to make some big throws. I thought that was a really good game from him. You know, Dono, maybe I quoted the wrong beat or something. You know, I said it was all you need is love,

Starting point is 00:16:51 but apparently I get by with a little help from my friends because I saw a exhibition by Beck. He was good, but his receiving court, those past catchers, if somebody would have told me, hey, there's going to be a guy named Malachi that has his fingerprints all over this game. Oh, yeah, Malachi Fields is for sure going to win this game for Notre Dame, man.

Starting point is 00:17:13 Good for them. L.O.L. Roar Malachi. Ha, good thought, but that's wrong. Oh, there's going to be a player in somebody's wide receiving court that comes up with a massive, freakish acrobatic catch to stop a darn near surefire turnover and score a touchdown. Oh, man, I wonder, is it going to be great house? Who is it going to be?

Starting point is 00:17:37 And, you know, you have these Miami guys stepping up. Again, hats off to Miami. This was not a game that anybody could say, the Alabama game, you could have your arguments for. Alabama just pissed down their leg and they just showed up terribly. Caden Proctor played terrible. All these guys played terrible, you know, all that. You can't say that this Notre Dame team played a terrible man.

Starting point is 00:17:57 They did. They did what they do to the best of their ability. Miami was just better at it. That's just what it was. You watched that game. They were just better at it. And so you look at that and you say, well, how can you take away credit for Miami, even if you were a hated?

Starting point is 00:18:17 You know what I mean? And there's nothing you can say here. Again, top 10 win, a team that loves to run the ball and you said, all right, cool, we'll stack the box. If you can throw it on us, you'll be fine. Looks like they were not fine. They were very unfined. This was a, again, just a pure display of mastery of coaching up until the fourth quarter

Starting point is 00:18:36 from Christabal and his staff. Now, I don't know what happened in the fourth quarter where they did their best Dave during the impression. Oh, the haze in the bar, boys. The game's over. We're good here. You know, enough of that. You know, the ACC team's got to learn.

Starting point is 00:18:52 You got a team on the ropes. Put your foot on that neck. Don't let up. But other than that, again, coast a phenomenal game. And the other thing I'll say about it, because I don't want to not mention this guy. But Carter Davis, Miami's kicker, you know, Ken, I had my concerns.

Starting point is 00:19:11 And, you know, maybe I still do. one game. But heading into the season, you know, Miami for the past five years have had Boragallis brothers. You know, they, the family ran out of children, unfortunately, never had to worry about Miami's kicking game. You know, there were some reports about things, you know, being a little inconsistent in practice. In fact, Miami's first fuel goal attempt against Notre Dame, Carter Davis didn't even get a chance to kick it because it was a bad snap. And then the punter, felt bad for him because for a hot second, Dylan Joyce, the punter looked like he was looking down feel I can throw for this first down.

Starting point is 00:19:44 Nobody was open. So he just had to kind of run out of bounds and avoid getting killed. And then, you know, when Davis, his first couple of extra point tries looked a little shaky. So when he lined up for a big 38 yarder in the fourth quarter, I was nervous. He drilled it. And then he gets the opportunity from 47 yards for what turned out to be the game winner. I couldn't even look at it, Kenton. I had to look away and just say a Hail Mary.

Starting point is 00:20:10 and he was able to come up with that 47-yarder. So kudos to him because he was, he came from FAU, and he was, I think, below 50% career percentage on field goals. So I don't know what sort of clinics he's been attending for the past year, but Carter Davis had himself a game in the clutch. Wow. Some kickers in the ACC had good games. Well, we know nothing about that in Riley.

Starting point is 00:20:36 We have no clue what that looks like here. I'm sorry. Sorry. We're not on that game yet. Shout out to that young man. That is, again, game winning field goal. Like you said, this is a big time performance by Miami top to bottom. This is a full team win.

Starting point is 00:20:53 Everybody needs to celebrate this win. And of course, you got another game coming up, 24 hours, celebrate it, ball it up, throwing in the trash, get ready for the next one. But I would say, have yourself a day, have yourself a time, because that was a spectacular performance by Miami and a gutsy performance to pull this out. you know, against a national champion runner up that's coming into your crib. When you know your coach is known for blowing big games, when you look at this game and you say to yourself, well, we had a massive lead and somehow we kind of let that massive lead slip away late. And you still find a way to do it. You've got to get that team their respect.

Starting point is 00:21:34 When we come back, we got to talk about Clemson. And listen, they lost their first game last year, went on to an 18. ACC championship college football playoffs. I don't want to overreact, but I was expecting something different in their Death Valley than what we got. We'll also run through the other games, including Kenton's NC State Wolfpack, getting a big victory on Thursday night. You want to keep it locked right here, my friends.

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Starting point is 00:23:01 Compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing review. please visit the Ruggiet website for full safety information. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC your first listen. Hey, it's another big moment on Lockdown. College football fans Lockdown and Fire TV present. College Football Kickoff, your ultimate college football weekly preview. Drake Toll of Lockdown Big 12 leads the conversation alongside two-time AP coach of the year,

Starting point is 00:23:29 Gary Patterson, former college star Jesse Hawley, and Lockdown's local experts like Kenton and myself. A college football preview on Lockdown is the one only one. we can do. Catch college football kickoff every Thursday throughout the season only on fire TV. All right. So Kenton, Clemson Falls 17 to nothing against LSU. Giving LSU their first season opening victory in what, six years. And Clemson now, they're 0 for four in their last four games against SEC opposition. They fell to Texas in the playoff last year where Cade Clubnik did have a good game against Texas. It was really the defense

Starting point is 00:24:07 to let him down on that one. But he didn't play great in a loss to South Carolina. Last year, didn't play well at all to open up the season against Georgia last year. And he didn't play so well on Saturday night, Kenton. Kade Clubnick goes 19 for 38, 230 yards, no touchdown, one interception. And I expected Clemson to have more control of the line of scrimmage. We probably didn't give LSU's offensive line enough credit because they made Clemson, who, you know, we argued before the season.

Starting point is 00:24:37 season best defensive line in the country, they did not look it on Saturday in that 17 to 10 loss. Us ACC teams need to stop saying best defensive line in the country. I think that's the problem. We did it last year with Florida State last year. We did it this year with Clemson. I think we just need to stop that. But in the same way that I said Carson Beck got by with help from his friends, you know, this brings up to Houdini's song friends because I want to ask how many of us have them

Starting point is 00:25:05 watching how the guys around Keg Klobnik performed. I watched that game from start to finish. And Keg Klobnik was not perfect. And, you know, I hate this because y'all got me making excuses for a quarterback out here. Y'all got me really defending a quarterback. He's no cars in that game. All right. All right, now.

Starting point is 00:25:25 But watching that game, I sit here and say, Antonio Williams is out early. No catches on a night. No steps registered first. Antonio. And then the wide receivers that were out, how much more do you want Kate to do? He drops a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to Westcoe late, and he just drops it. And that's one play. There are multiple plays where I saw the interception, 100% on him, right? Even if I was to say, oh, he had pressure in his face, whatever. No, no, no, no. I'll give him that interception. He has to own that. But how many plays did you see, Donald, where you're like, hey, what more do you want your quarterback to do?

Starting point is 00:26:09 He can't walk up to you and hand you the ball and say, hey, here you go, man. He can't do it. This against the rules. And LSU's defense will have something to say about that. I was thoroughly disappointed with the supporting cast. And I am normally one that comes down hard on quarterbacks because I think they get way too much credit when they don't do much of anything. But this is a moment where I think too much blame is going on Club Nick. And everybody said, oh, I'm out on Club Nick.

Starting point is 00:26:38 I am telling you right now, if you take away most quarterbacks, best receiver who they built a great rapport with last year, and then the guys around him, not only is he getting it there and they're dropping it, but even beyond that, there was no running game to speak of. Yeah, which we kind of expected, right? Which we expected, but we expected the passing game to offset them. that because we expected Williams and company to be one of the best wide receiving cores in the company.

Starting point is 00:27:05 Instead, they were doing more drops to speaker knockers back in 2012, if you know, you know. So it was just a very disappointing moment for me to see what they did there. But again, credit to LSU, they did. They dominated on both sides of the line discrets, point blank period. Point blank period. Peter Woods looked good. Parker, not so much. There were flashes.

Starting point is 00:27:29 No. But there wasn't, he didn't play a full, complete game there. And that line can core as well, I mean, a little bit underwhelming. I will say it was, to me, this game cannot be put solely on the shoulder of the K Club, Nick, but I know it will be. And I've seen it has been so far, which I think is a little unfair to him. Because nobody on Clemson, I think the only guy that can walk out of that game and say, I made myself money.

Starting point is 00:27:56 I did a good job out there. It's Peter Woods. That's it. Yeah. That's it. He was a minute. He was doing what he had to do in the middle. Everybody else, take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself what type of season you want to have. Now, you know, I think about something that I said a few weeks ago on an ACC squad episode. I'm not, you may have not been there for this particular one, Kenton, but just thinking about like I, and I don't think my pick has changed. Like I could still see Clemson, obviously, get into the ACC championship game winning the conference potentially.

Starting point is 00:28:28 but it's like performances in games like this out of conference or why I'm not ready to buy Clemson as a true national championship contender. Right. Like I look at Ohio State, which I still don't understand why they were underdogs against tech. I didn't understand it heading into the game. I certainly don't understand it coming out of the game. To me, that's still the team. That's still the team to beat. And a lot of folks are like, oh, this is Clemson's year to win the title.

Starting point is 00:28:55 Like winning the ACC again, maybe. But I don't know. This certainly didn't help my opinion that Clemson, to me, is a team that can get into the playoff again, maybe win a playoff game, but they're not getting all the way. I had said all offseason that I think that Clemson is fantastic. I think that they're a national championship team and all that. But if somebody would have asked me what I thought the most overrated group on that team was, I would have definitely said the offensive line. I would have definitely said the offensive line because I think that they're all right. I think they're good.

Starting point is 00:29:25 I don't think they're like row graders. That's like, this is impossible to overcome. There is nothing you can do. I would say that group is by far the one that I'm like, you all having a bunch of all-conference guys on that line? Hold on. What are we saying about us as a conference, which in hindsight,

Starting point is 00:29:43 I see what you were saying there, Dono. They shouldn't have had that many guys on all-conference. But I will say this. It is just one game. And of all the first games, I would say they had the most reason for me to say this was the exception, not the rule of any other team who lost in week. This was a game where, again, I saw a team that went out there and had their star receiver gone like that. I saw a team that we all knew the running game was going to be a work in progress and they were going to need to rely heavily on the passing game to do so, and they could not.

Starting point is 00:30:23 I saw a team defensively, as much as some people want to say like, oh, their defense, you know, they didn't do great and the D line with the grade. You allow 17 points. Like, what are we doing here? Yeah. What are we doing? It's true. Most other games, if either Notre Dame or Miami had allowed the other team to score 17 points, they went. They win, period.

Starting point is 00:30:45 In almost any game around the country, if you hold a team to 17 points, you win that football game. And somehow, one of the most electrified offenses in America, you hold them to 17 and you still walk out of Death Valley as losers. You know, offensively, they've got a lot to figure out. You know, Garrett Riley is a guy that already people were looking at early in the season last year and two years ago saying how good of a fit is he. Those questions are going to come back now. But if Clemson can do what they did last year and basically run the table through the ACC,

Starting point is 00:31:22 they'll have those questions answered until the playoffs get here. Yeah, and let's not forget, like, week one last year against Georgia, their offense looked completely non-existent. And that did not define who Clemson was for the rest of the season. So maybe the same thing plays out this year. Now, a team that did not hold their opponent to 17 points were the Syracuse Orange. They've got a big problem on defense, Kenton. And listen, I know that Tennessee, you know, might have one.

Starting point is 00:31:52 of the better, well, actually I shouldn't say that because Syracuse's schedule is ridiculous. So they're going to face other big time offenses this year. The volunteers, you know, with Joey Aguilar at quarterback after the Nico musical chairs with UCLA, Tennessee puts up 45 against Syracuse, 45 to 26. Now, the good news is Syracuse's offense looked pretty good despite all the changes. Steve Angelio, a quarterback, Trevor Pena's not walking through that door. the offense looked okay, but that defense, Kenton, looks like it's going to be a problem for Q's. And with how tough that schedule is, you're talking about fighting for bowl eligibility this year. I'm so confused as to how a former defensive backs coach has had back-to-back teams that cannot stop a running nose with robertussin tissue and like eight COVID shots back-to-back-to-back.

Starting point is 00:32:47 I don't get it. I want to understand it. I want somebody to explain this to me like I'm a fifth grader because we saw it all last year. The Achilles Hill for Syracuse was the defense. Other than one game against Pitt, the Achilles Hill for that team all along, defense, defense, defense, hey, we need the defense to show up. And yet again, we're a year later and we're asking those same questions of the defense. At this point, something's got to change. Somebody's got to go. Something has to get better because I don't want to overreact and panic from week one.

Starting point is 00:33:26 But if they don't get this corrected, if I'm Fran Brown, how do you bring a defensive coordinator back after this? By the way, you tried to talk me into Syracuse covering the spread. I didn't bite. I'm proud to say I did not bite. I don't know who said the wrong team was favored there. I don't know who said that. Hey, don't look at me. I'm ugly. Okay. This is, that was, that was a. old-fashioned woman. Hey, listen, I did have money on Bama minus 13 and half. So I didn't make all great decisions over the weekend. We could say that. Okay, so, you know, there's a couple other things that stood out to be. You know, Georgia Tech, as we both expected, they pull out the victory on the road against Colorado, line of scrimmage and rushing. Georgia Tech ran for 320 yards at Colorado en route

Starting point is 00:34:20 to the victory. And Haynes King was. their leading rusher. He looked really good on the ground in that game. So I want to hear your take on that, Ken. And I also, I want to hear your take on your NC State Wolfpack, who on Thursday night got the revenge against ECU and that rematch from the Bull game last year. So what were your takeaways on those games?

Starting point is 00:34:41 I'll start from the thing I want to talk about least to the most. Dave Doran is still Dave Doran. You jump out to a 17-point lead, 17-0, and then all of a sudden, with about two minutes left, Dono, two minutes left. You see that your defense is struggling to switch personnel. The offense is over the ball about to snap it. You are just near two minutes left, Dono. You have two timeouts left.

Starting point is 00:35:07 What would you do as a head coach, Dono? What would you do in that situation? The opposite of what Dave Doran was thinking. Oh, okay. Because let the play run when that team had negative yards, to that point. They had negative yards. If you just would have said,

Starting point is 00:35:27 whoa, whoa, timeout, time out, time out. What were you saving a timeout for? You don't get extra points for having timeouts left going into the half. It's under, you are just over two minutes left. Call that timeout. Give yourself a chance to regroup it, go from there. But other than that,

Starting point is 00:35:46 you know, we saw an offense that look much more explosive, much more high-actant, a ton of shots, and early until we decided late, oh, we got to lead. Let's just run on seven straight first downstown. They ran different variations of inside zone. I said, hey, hey, hey, I'm sick of this. I'm sick of it. So what that you're, you're winning? Winning is not permanent until you have won. The hay is not in the barn. There's still time left on that clock up there. So there's that. And now, Georgia Tech in Colorado, is that surprising? Is anybody shamed?

Starting point is 00:36:21 is it like Drake told maybe I don't know remember we specifically said Georgia Tech's going to win that game and we said they're going to out physical them at the line of scrimony if all the games that were played this weekend if anybody said you have to pick one team that's going to rush for 300 yards against their opponent I think you and me both would have said oh slam it on slamming on Georgia Tech yes what coach key up against that Colorado team with all due respect again big Warren's stab guy Big Warren's up guy. I know you're a Miami guy. You're a big Warren's up guy. We all knew. That defensive line. They were not prepared for what Georgia Tech was bringing. So, you know, no shock at all seeing what Georgia Tech did.

Starting point is 00:37:04 Well, and they, last year they had two Miami guys coaching their defensive line with Damien Lewis was their main D-line coach. He's at Miami now. So, you know, Warren Sapp does not, no longer has the tag team with D. Lou, which may have something to do with that as well. But, yeah, I mean, folks, big result. Let's go over the results. By the way, we are recording this during the Bill Belichick debut.

Starting point is 00:37:27 So we'll break this down more tomorrow. As we are having this conversation, TCU is up 17-7 at halftime over North Carolina. You know, you had NC State 2417 over East Carolina, Duke 45 to 17 over Elon. Elon gets the big cover, but they lose big, but they do cover that spread. You're welcome for that free tip. But I have to go back and watch this one. The highlight reel shouldn't be too long. Wake Forest over Kennesaw State 10 to 9.

Starting point is 00:37:57 Georgia Tech, as we mentioned, 2720 over Colorado. Ninth ranked LSU beat fourth ranked Clemson in Clemson's Death Valley, 17 to 10. Florida State, a huge win for them at home against 8th ranked Alabama, 31 to 17 Seminoles. 16th ranked SMU took care of East Texas A&M, 42 to 13. 24th ranked Tennessee over Syracuse, 45 to 26 in Atlanta. Pittsburgh, 61 to 9 against Duquesne, Boston College. Laundrigan's debut for them at quarterback, 66 to 10 over Fordham, Louisville, 51, 17 over Eastern Kentucky, Virginia, 48 to 7 against Coastal Carolina. Cal, 34 to 15 over Oregon State.

Starting point is 00:38:43 Miami, number 10, over number 6, Notre Dame, 27, 24. And this is one I want to dive into a little bit more later in the week. 13th ranked South Carolina, 24 to 11 against Virginia Tech. Not nearly enough drones strikes in that one. I will say Virginia Tech hung tough until the fourth quarter, but we'll get into that more throughout the week. He's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack. Check him out there and a TGIF underscore Kenton on X.

Starting point is 00:39:10 I am Alex Dono, Lockdowne Keynes and at Alex Dono on X. And we'll talk to you again next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC. we are part of the awesome lockdown podcast network your team every day

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - REVELATION: Miami & Florida State are the BEST in the ACC? | Clemson flops at home vs LSU

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