Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - SHOWDOWN: Does Houston have a HIDDEN EDGE against Duke? | SAVING Spring Football
Episode Date: April 2, 2025Duke vs. Houston: A Clash of Titans in College Basketball's Final Four. Can Duke's top-ranked offense outmaneuver Houston's formidable defense? This episode dives into the statistical significance of ...this matchup, potentially the biggest in 28 years, with insights from Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs. The discussion also covers ACC spring football games, exploring the trend of schools skipping traditional games and the potential for ACC and Big 12 partnerships. Stanford's coaching shake-up, featuring Andrew Luck's decision to hire Frank Reich, is analyzed for its impact on recruiting and program stability.Join us for an engaging analysis of college sports dynamics and strategic insights. Listen now for a deep dive into these pivotal matchups and coaching decisions.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!NissanTake your adventures to new heights in the All-New Nissan Armada PRO-4X. Learn more at NissanUSA.com.Disclaimers: Optional features. Towing capacity varies by configuration. See Nissan Towing Guide and Owner’s Manual for additional information. Always secure cargo.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEFabricJoin the thousands of parents who trust Fabric to help protect their families. Apply today in just minutes at MEETFABRIC.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Supply HouseJoin the Trade Master program today at SupplyHouse.com/TM and start ordering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies with just a few clicks. Plus, use promo code SH5 for 5% off your first order. That’s SupplyHouse.com!5-Hour ENERGYHead to 5-hourENERGY.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from, including Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, and Peach-Mango. Need one now? Grab a 5-hour ENERGY shot at your local grocery or convenience store—they’re everywhere! Stock up today and stay energized.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
statistically, Duke versus Houston Final Four is the biggest matchup in at least 28 years.
We'll explain why.
Plus, do the Houston Cougars actually have a built-in advantage against Duke?
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On this episode, we'll discuss what it's interesting what Stanford is doing.
They have just brought in now what will be the third current former NFL coach to coach in the ACC.
But will it even move the needle?
We'll explain the move that Andrew Luck just made.
And whether or not this is even worth our time to talk about it.
massive changes that could be coming to spring football in the future.
But let's start off with hoops.
He's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack.
I am Alex Dono from Locked on Cains.
So you talk about the seismic matchup, Kenton, that we have for the late night, Saturday
night game, 839 p.m.
It's going to be the nightcap for the two semi-final games in the final four.
Duke taking on Houston.
Now, Duke has the number one Ken Palm offensive ranking, Houston, the number one Ken Palm
defensive ranking.
and overall, this is the highest combined Ken Palm ranking of any two teams to ever go head to head.
That dates back to 1997.
That's why I mentioned this is statistically, you could argue, the biggest college basketball matchup we've had in the past 28 years.
So yeah, we're definitely going to be sitting right to our couch is watching this one on Saturday night.
Oh, absolutely. Who wouldn't?
You know, at the end of the day, you talk about college basketball and how, oh, it's so many games, you know, some of them kind of lose relevance.
Well, now we're down to the last three games.
The last three games of college basketball we're going to see up until Turkey time of this year, that's, this is just about what we've got going on here.
So I'm looking at this thing and I'm saying, oh, yeah, this is, this is it.
This is the time where we see clashes of the Titans like this, where you're like, oh, man, we're,
are quite literally seeing the irresistible force against the unmovable object.
Greatest scoring offense in today's game, greatest scoring defense in today's game.
Who moves the needle?
Who does what they do best?
Who can impose their will on the opponent?
Mono of mono about two of the best in the game in terms of head coaches, in terms of
roster, in terms of philosophies.
I'm excited to see it.
Yeah, and all four coaches in this final four are yet to,
win their first Natty. So someone's going to be winning a national title for the first time.
Obviously, Shire has done it as a player, but as a coach, he has the opportunity to do it for the
first time. But you think about when I talk about possible built-in advantages for Houston,
you have to reach for some of this stuff, Kenton, because Duke has looked far and away head and
shoulders, the best team in the NCAA tournament to this point, right? But there are some things that
can make Houston dangerous. We talked earlier this week about their three-point shooting,
Of course, they're defense, but they haven't gone up against a team as long as Duke.
But what about the experience factor?
How much stock do you put into it?
Houston being one of the older teams, Duke being one of the youngest teams in the country,
and then also the John Shire versus Calvin Sampson matchup.
Sure, Kelvin has not won a national championship,
but not only had Calvin Sampson already been coaching in college basketball before John Shire was born,
I saw Sampson apparently had 73 games coaching under his belt before John Shire's birth in 1987.
So does this stuff move the needle for you when it comes to Houston?
Quick question.
How many three says Sapsin hit off season?
Maybe a few like in shoot-arounds if he's messing around with his players.
Well, what about John Shire?
He's had to knock down a few, right?
Yeah, he does knock him down and shoot around.
He's still got his stroke.
Well, in the game, though, registered stats, right?
This ain't like baseball where the skipper has to wear a uniform because of some ancient rule that's like, oh, if you don't have enough players, this ain't that.
Okay?
With all due respect, and you and I have talked about this a little bit off air, the higher up and level you go, the more coaching matters.
Yes, when you get to the highest level,
and even with basketball,
not as much as with football,
but even with basketball,
when you get to the highest level
where the difference between the best guy on the floor
and the worst guy on the floor generally is not that great,
you know, that's when your coaching matters.
In college, I'm trying to tell you right now,
I don't think that Duke has one starter that I'm like,
hey, buddy, get ready to learn enterprise rental car.
Get ready.
They've got a great program for former student athletes.
You know, when you're done.
The tools to be your own boss.
They give you the tools to be your own boss.
You work hard, put it in the dedication.
You'll be a district manager in no time.
Buddy, there is not a single player in Duke's starting lineup that I will say that about.
JJ Jackson specifically told us that of all the guys in their two-deer,
there are what, seven or eight that are in the top 45 of next year's draft.
That is the type of stuff that matters in games like this.
And like I said, the experience thing in terms of not even the coaches, just the players.
The experience thing matters when the players feel like they're by themselves.
Cooper Flagg does not feel like he's by himself because if this team fails,
nobody will look at this to say, this is Cooper's Flagg's team and he couldn't get him
a national championship.
It was all on Cooper Flag and he could not do it.
Because again, you have multiple lottery picks on this squad with you, multiple guys
that will not be in the green room long on this squad with you.
And you have a head coach that the hammer will much more likely come down on him
than it will Cooper in terms of who can or can't get it done.
Because Cooper got one shot, one crack as a rookie.
And if he couldn't get it done, people aren't going to be, you know, too hard on him.
John, however, we saw what Hubert Davis did year one.
You saw your biggest rival in his first year.
instantly take his team to a final four
and you can't take your team to a national championship
with much better pieces in place.
Again, for as good as Armando Bay caught it was
and all the records he set for rebound
and double doubles and all that,
that young man is playing for the Memphis groove.
You've got three guys going in the top 10 to 15
and you're telling me you can't match
what another guy did with, again,
the star of the Memphis
group. Okay. And, you know, at this point, Duke's freshman, they're so battle tested. You know, to get this
far, I don't really consider you a freshman anymore, honestly. I mean, it's one thing when, you know,
when you really start to get into conference play in January or, you know, once you have your
your first couple of NCAA tournament matchups or ACCC tournament matchups, I mean, Duke, they're so
battle tested at this point. You don't really feel like they're even freshmen anymore. It's April now. I mean,
is you're not really a freshman anymore at this point.
Blue Devils are favored by four and a half points.
Do you like Duke and to cover?
That's part one.
And then part two would be,
if you like him to cover,
who do they face in the final round?
Oh, man.
This is tough.
This is tough.
I'm going to tell you this.
You talk about, you know,
in terms of which team has the advantage,
I think we can all agree to Duke has the advantage.
But the wild card is how well and that how high of a ball.
volume, Houston can shoot threes.
And I really and truly would not be surprised if they have an off night and all of a sudden the floodgates open.
And it's a, you know, they're getting ready to set up for the parade in Durham already.
But also wouldn't be surprised if this thing was a nail fighter that came down to the very last second.
Because again, if they get hot from deep and mind you, them getting hot is not the aberration as a team.
I believe they're shooting, what, 37% of something along those lives?
So as a-
It's closer to 40.
I think it's like in the 39% range, yeah.
Closer to 40.
So it's not even, we're not even talking about,
the 40% would have been for most teams,
oh, that's a hot night.
You're a high-spitzry.
That's average for them.
So hot for Houston would be, what, 50-something?
Like, that's flat-out ridiculous.
I would say Duke wins.
I'm not sure.
if I'm taking the couple.
Because I feel like this is one of those rat lines where all of a sudden,
you're like, oh, they're up by five points coming down the stretch.
And then Houston hits a couple threes and plays the free throw game.
They may not win it, but they bring it close enough to ruin your pocket.
So I'd say I take Duke money line.
I'll take Houston plus four to half.
Yeah.
And I don't know.
I have, I think I'd prefer to see obviously.
Auburn versus Duke in the championship game because the oldest versus the youngest team would be
interesting.
But I don't know.
I just have this feeling about Florida.
It's probably because Florida, Florida beat Auburn on the road in the regular season.
It was mid-February, like Florida got that.
So they have a mental edge.
I don't know.
I'm kind of expecting Florida versus Duke.
I'll tell you what.
If you're an ACC fan, and again, forget what some of my colleagues may say about we can't
have ACC pride, I still believe in it, okay?
And I'm going to tell you. Can I tell you a quick story about why, again, I'm gleaming with
ACC Pride. And we're going to have a conversation about this on Locked on ACC tomorrow,
because I think one of the members of the squad doesn't think we're allowed to have Pride in Duke.
So I go to, you know, I always, I go to the same grocery store clerk at my local Win Dixie,
because she's a sweet, older lady. And, you know, she's born, I mean, lives in Florida now,
but she's Alabama Crimson Tide through and through. She's from Alabama.
Bam, I just got the thick.
Kind of like, what is it?
Your grandma is the big.
My grandmother.
My grandmother loves her some time.
Yeah.
My grocery store clerk is like your grandma.
She bleeds, you know, Alabama Crimson.
And I'm taught, and she always, she knows what I do.
And I'm a sports guy.
And she's like, tell me about how, oh, she's rooting so hard.
The SEC still has two teams in there.
And we're going to, she even said, as a Bama fan, she would root for all in the national
championship.
She would root for all.
Auburn, she wants the SEC to take down ACC or Big 12 of Houston to get through.
So it's like if this Bama loving person would actually be willing to root for Auburn over Duke,
why can't I root for Duke?
Let me tell you something.
I don't care if it was UNC versus my biggest ops in life.
I don't care if it was UNC versus the devil.
I'm rooting for the asteroid that day.
You understand any other team in ACC?
I'm not putting in your team.
Miami, I'm with you.
Virginia Tech, I'm with you.
Virginia, I'm with you.
Syracuse.
I'm with you.
Louisville, go ahead, get in there.
I'm with you.
Cal Stanford.
Welcome to the party, baby.
SMU.
You know I love me some of you.
I'm rooting for it.
But my arch nemesis is going.
How long as it's just the conference?
See, see, and that's why I say,
the greatest rivalry in sports is the one that doesn't require a name.
The one that simply referenced as the game is the greatest by a mile.
Because, again, if it was that,
great, you wouldn't need a name, but that's, again, I got proud of the ACC, and my proud
in ACC wants Florida to win that game, because I don't think there's a world where Florida
beats beats Duke. Now, Auburn, however, there's a world. There's a few worlds where that
could happen. Now, and by the way, I'm with you on having limits because as much pride as I take in the
ACC, like, I never root for Florida State in a championship game being a Miami. There's
certain bridges I'm not willing to cross when it comes to my ACC fandom.
You guys want to keep it locked right here.
Coming up next, you would not believe how many ACC teams are not even having spring
games this year.
I was looking at the schedule earlier today, and it's depressing, but could a looming
decision from the NCAA turn that frown upside down?
You want to keep it locked right here.
We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC.
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Thank you for making Locked on ACC, your first listen today.
For your next list, and check out our other shows.
Kent and Gibbs and Grayson Boone do an awesome job hosting Locked on Wolfpack,
covering everything NC State.
I cover everything Miami at Locked on Cains.
All right.
So, you know, Kenton, I actually, I mean, I'm, you know,
we're both football junkies.
I enjoy watching spring games, right?
Like, you know, I always, I attend Miami's spring game.
person every year. And I probably watched at least a half dozen other ACC spring games on
ACC network last year. I always enjoy it. And I'm looking at the schedule this year. We've seen
this trend. This was seemingly started by Nebraska, USC, Ohio State. They just said, you know what,
we're not going to do a spring game because, you know, we don't want to put film of our players out
there to be tampered with in the transfer portal. Schools have varying reasons for not doing spring game.
But I'm looking at the ACC this year, Kenton.
Boston College, no spring game.
Florida State, no spring game.
Mike Norvelle doesn't even let the media watch any part of practice.
Like he's got it completely locked down after 2 and 10 last year.
No spring game, no practice viewing.
Now, they do practice, but the media can't watch any of it.
NC State, no spring game.
SMU, no spring game.
At least Rhett Lashley admitted that it wasn't because of a fear of tampering.
It's more, you know, a fear of.
of just running the types of plays for the fans that you don't really want to run with a real scrimmage.
So he was more honest about it.
And Stanford, no spring game, which kind of makes sense, given the coaching change that they're about to have there.
So five ACC schools are not even doing a spring game.
I think even a couple of them are not doing traditional spring games.
They're doing like all access practices.
I think that's what North Carolina.
North Carolina, no spring game.
So that's a sixth one.
No spring.
They're doing a fan fest, which does not count as a spring game.
So more than a quarter of ACC football schools are not having a spring game.
Can we turn this trend upside down, Kenton, if the NCAA ever approves team versus team joint practices and spring games?
Say what you want about Gundy over there in Stillwater.
But he did pose a very interesting question when he said, what are they going to do to us if we do it?
What are they going to do?
What's the NCAA going to do?
And I agree, what are they going to do?
What is, what's wrong with this, unjust about this, unfair about this.
Again, I am a big believer in fairness.
I'm a big believer in, yes, the group of five schools already start behind the eight ball.
We should give them adequate time to make adjustments.
We should not just roll out, hey, if we want to do this change,
the initiative change that happened.
I'm saying that even as an ACC guy, even as a guy that we know all of our schools,
not just the schools that we have represented on the show.
SMU would have no problem, flying to wherever.
Right.
If whoever wants to play them, if Rutgers wants to see them, they won't have a problem saying,
bet, let's get up there to Prescottaway.
Y'all come down here to us next year.
And it's not a problem.
But for the sake of fairness, I understand I want to roll it out this year.
Beyond this year, what the hell is the NCAA ain't going to do about it?
It should be a thing where everybody should be looking for somebody.
It doesn't matter if you're a big school or a small school.
Everybody, call up whoever you think your counterpart is somewhere else in the country.
Hey, we want to come, we want to come play.
We'd love to come see you.
Hey, Buffalo, we'd love to come see you.
This is the head coach from San Jose State.
You all come over here for a year.
We go over there for a year.
How's that sound?
Oh, great.
Hey, NC State, we want to come see you, you know,
we're here at Nevada.
We want to see who the basketball pack is.
Come on, let's do it.
You know, all that type of stuff.
I think every school, once you have the infrastructure
and money in place to do so,
once you have about a year to get your ducats in a row to do that,
should have the ability to do so.
And if you're a school that doesn't have the money to facilitate,
oh, we can't travel, great.
Host one of the schools that has the money to travel,
and they'll travel to you.
You know, so I think it's foolishness to not have this change.
But again, it's better for fans.
It does more for TV.
And all of this talk about injury.
Do people not understand spring practice is still real football practice?
That's still real, real spill.
that's still a lot of very large, very angry young men
trying their hardest to move other young men against their will.
That is the essence of football, period.
Doesn't matter how deep we get into the spread and the running,
shooting, all that.
At the end of the day, they're still going to be the people close to the ball
trying violently to move each other.
And guess what?
Even when you get those deep passes and all that,
do you know what the funny thing is about,
wide open passing game people tend to forget this force equals mass times velocity so if you are
doing all this throwing around the yard that just means guys with slightly smaller masses are moving at
much higher velocity to one another so again this is not you know obviously you tell the team that
you're practicing against hey we're here to get in good work this is not a full game we are not
trying to kill each other protect each other but get in good work get in good you know
Quarterbacks don't throw no hospital balls.
We're not going to kill your guy.
We're not going to kill them.
But please, you know, because I've seen it in real life in spring practice
where a quarterback throws an absolute hospital ball.
And the defender is like, hmm, mm, mm, I'm going to let you cook.
But ooh, I could have put that boy on aisle.
One of our listeners had a suggestion.
And this is probably inspired by the fact that, you know,
the teams that really started talking about this,
Dion Sanders, Colorado Buffalo's Big 12,
Fran Brown, Syracuse, ACC.
And someone suggested to us,
maybe the ACC and Big 12 should explore a partnership
or a scheduling agreement.
And it would make sense.
Obviously, if you're listening to this,
you're like, well, hey, we'd rather face someone
from the SEC or the Big Ten.
But honestly, SEC and Big Ten, I think,
are less likely to want to do this.
Where the ACC and the Big 12,
they would need something like this more.
You're talking about the extra TV coverage and probably something a TV network would pay you to broadcast your spring game.
That's something the Big 12 and the ACC need a lot more due to the revenue gap.
So can you imagine next year if it sounds like Fran Brown and Dion already have like a handshake agreement to do this.
So maybe you get Syracuse versus Colorado.
You know, maybe you get like Miami versus UCF or Miami versus Texas Tech or so.
You don't go down the line and make your math.
matchups, Florida State against BYU,
like whatever you want to,
Florida State against Arizona State
coming off their good year.
So honestly, I think this is something
that could actually help the Big 12 in the ACC.
Yeah, no, a thousand percent.
I think that that partnership would mean a lot.
And even beyond that,
the only group, the only pairing that couldn't happen,
I'm sure SMU would be staring down TCU like,
hey, big head.
Y'all thought y'all can litigate us away.
Yeah.
That's the only.
pairing that couldn't happen. Every other pairing is possible. Anybody else that wants to play somebody
else? What incentive does Arizona State have to not play him? What incentive does TCU have to not
take a, you know, a shot at SMU? I'm sorry, TCU or whoever at Stanford. What is it, is it there?
There's nothing that stopping Louisville and Oklahoma State from, you know, going at each other, filling each other out
for a couple rounds there.
I think that this thing would be absolutely fantastic for a ton of reasons.
And again, this would be a moment where the ACC and the Big 12 are acknowledging,
hey, you know what, we don't have the same cashet, we don't have the same brain and all that,
but we're doing everything we can to make up the gap.
And that's all anybody, anybody who is a logical, reasonable ACC fan,
ACC alum, sports purveyor, anybody who is those things,
would say, hey, it's just doing all they can.
They're doing all they can.
And that would be a massive step towards that.
And I know, I already know, our boy,
Your Mark down there in the Big 12th,
he's not turning down any show.
I know he's not turning.
They're not a single show.
They're not a single average.
You know, I was thinking about all of the locked on conference channels
and who matches up with their commission of the best.
There couldn't be a better matchup between Drake Toll and Your Mark.
Those two are.
our kindred spirits. If one of them died before the other, I'd say that they were the other person
reincarnated because I'm telling you right now, the showman is alive and well in both.
You're right about that. And how about this for an odd ACC move? The Stanford Cardinal and
Andrew Luck, their GM, they got my attention. This is a very interesting move that Stanford made,
but will it matter? You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new
episode of Lockdown ACC.
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The NCAA tournament is here, and so is the Bracket Breakdown.
Locked-on Podcast Network and Amazon Fire TV channels are teaming up
to deliver NCAA tournament coverage like never before.
Watch studio shows featuring former players and Lockdown's local experts
as they guide you through every upset, buzzer-beater, and bracket matchup.
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It's your team every day.
You know, I know that the East Coast bias certainly comes into play.
But if you haven't been paying attention
of what's been going on in Stanford.
So, you know, within the last couple of weeks,
they had themselves a little scandal brewing
with their former head football coach, Troy Taylor,
accused of bullying female staffers.
Apparently he even tried to get the compliance officer fired
who was investigating of a nasty scene there.
And Andrew Luck, and it was also interesting that Andrew Luck,
their GM, he was the one who actually made the decision to fire Taylor.
Usually that comes from the AD.
or the university president or chancellor, but Andrew Luck is there taking care of business.
He's got full control over his football program.
And so then, Kenton, you're in this weird situation where how do you hire head football coach
in late March?
It's just not good timing on that, right?
Most of the desirable candidates already have jobs elsewhere and even the ones who might
be out of work or on hiatus may not want to take over that late in the process.
And so Andrew Luck brings up his old buddy, Frank Reich, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Luck played for him, of course.
So they've got the connection.
He's got him on speed dial.
And so Andrew Luck, he convinces Frank Reich to come coach the Stanford Cardinal.
But the interesting about this is, and this is now the third ACC coach with NFL head coaching experience.
He got Bill Belichick, you got Bill O'Brien, and you got Frank Reich now.
but Reich is strictly Kenton coming in as an interim guy.
Made it very clear this week in his press conference that this is a one-year thing.
He's not going to stick around.
He's going to be the bridge guy, the caretaker.
He would call him in soccer terms.
And so, I mean, what is Frank Reich going to do?
It's good to have somebody to hold it down, I guess.
But for a team that's projected over under three and a half wins this year,
and he can't sell any recruits on being there.
beyond, and recruiting cycles over for this year, obviously.
But then you can't recruit for next year.
So it's like, does Frank Reich be in there even move the needle?
Yeah, it does move the needle in the exact wrong direction.
It moves the needle in the worst direction possible.
Let me be clear about this.
What was going on with Troy Taylor?
If true, I have not looked into the allegations and all that enough to definitively say,
hey, Troy Taylor deserved to be fired, whatever the case would be.
I'm not going to lie and say I've looked into it, and I know the findings in that way.
I do know what was alleged of him, and if those things are true, there's no place to bat in our game, period.
No place for it.
Absolutely right decision by luck and company.
But the problem is, here's where the wrong decision comes in.
Why would you hire a guy for only a year in college football?
This ain't the NFL where everybody is getting paid at a level.
where it's like, hey, you mean, he can be as bad as he want to be.
I'm making as much money as I want to.
Remember Miles Garrett saying,
I'm out, Cleveland ain't serious about winning.
I'm leaving.
What happened?
What happened?
They signed them to a new contract, didn't they?
They said something like $200 million.
And he said, you know what?
Winning is for losers.
To hell with that winning nonsense.
Give me the $200 in.
You cannot do that in college football.
So now you're looking at, like you said,
the recruiting cycle next year, but let's go beyond next year, Dono.
How do you recruit for the next couple years?
Even when you bring in that new coach and you say, hey, we did everything we could to
foster a positive environment and it's just a situation where we had to get rid of that
coach.
Sure.
But you're guarantee that your team is going to have three coaches in three years.
You're guaranteeing every other school, while everybody likes to pretend, oh, well, the best
coaches the best recruiters just talk up their program absolutely not every coach takes digs at other
coaches every coach will slit your throat to get the player they want and you're exposing it to
them wide out there saying yes we have no coaching stability here in palo alto yes we're still going to find
a way to get the best players around the country as if that job wasn't already hard enough because
the academic risk yeah right you then you then add on the layer of the travel
travel cross country to the ACC.
You then add on a third layer of, hey, we're going to have three coaches in three years.
I mean this very genuinely.
Frank Wright winning four games would be an absolute success for him.
But the next coach that comes in, if they get to a bowl game within their first two years,
you have done a fantastic job.
I can see nothing but your praises because, again, this is just a craft show from Stanford at the moment.
And again, the firing is not why it's a crapship.
The hiring is.
I feel like, though, I don't think this is a terrible move with the awful hand that
Andrew Luck was dealt with the timing, right?
I mean, if it sounds, and again, I'm not an expert on the investigations at a Troy
Taylor, but it seemed as though they had to make that move.
And the thing is really bad.
So, I mean, Andrew Luck's decision making was, do I just elevate somebody from the current
staff or, you know, do I try to find some guy who, you know, can actually take control of it.
I think the best case scenario for Stanford would be, and this was, would not be that easy
to pull off, but if they can identify, because clearly Reich doesn't want to do it long term,
right? So if they can, like early in the football season, if they can identify, you know, a long
term guy so that he can kind of start, you know, planning the seeds and recruiting and stuff,
but I don't know how you do that either because if you're talking about July, August, September,
like, who's going to be available at that point? You're usually waiting for people to get fired elsewhere or assistant coaches who are ready to leave their job late in the years.
It's like I don't really think there's a good solution for them now.
But let's talk about that second option here. Let's talk about the latter option, assistant coaches who are ready to leave their job.
What's the big thing that Jay Billis has been screaming all year, especially during the tournament while these coaches are getting fired and how.
hired during the tournament. Oh, the coaches portal is always open. I'm sorry to tell you.
It's true. You think that if you're going to one of the better FCS coaches and say, hey, we'll
give you a 50% raise. Come on over to Stanford. They're going to say, oh, no, no, no, no.
I'm happy here with the Idaho vandals. You can't pull me away from them. No, never. Actually, Idaho
might be FBS. But you get the point. You get the point. If there's an assistant, if there's an assistant
coach somewhere that is absolutely crushing it, but they're at the G5 level.
Are you telling me that you're going to look up and say, you know what?
That coach over there at Buffalo, their team seems to just be lightened it up every single
year.
Let's give that guy a shot.
Let's give him a shot as an up-and-comber.
He says no, because most likely that's what you're going to get anyway just next year.
You're not getting an established, you're not getting any really good coaches.
to come to Stanford with this situation.
That's just, again, you've got three layers of, like, things that are working against you,
the intersections of those things compiling to pressing you down,
and you imagine, like, oh, we just wait until next year, we'll get this great goat.
Either way, you're the best bet that Stanford happens is to go to some coach that they feel like is undervalued right now
and say, listen, come on over with your head coach.
Come on.
How about?
How about, you know?
I think Andrew Luck should man up and coach the team himself.
I mean, what do you want to be a football GM and man up?
Coach the team yourself, Luck.
Stanford alumnus couldn't be more perfect.
Hey, listen, I'll tell you this.
I'll tell you this much, okay?
That would be perfect, but it also has that effective.
Sometimes a guy's a little too close to it to do it.
Because I can tell you, as the way to walk.
Exactly.
The way to Wolfpack fans talk about Sidney Lowe now, you know,
with all the respect to him, winning the last national champion.
here in one of the big three sports.
It's shameful because he became the head coach.
The basketball team didn't have a lot of success.
Andrew Luck wants to avoid that from him.
The college football GM,
you'll never get the blame for your team not working out.
You know, so.
Good point.
I'm not mad at them for not doing it.
I am mad on them for however for not going out finding a top assistant.
It's, hey, man.
Yeah.
You're not paying your number there.
You got to listen to that.
Like, you're a million percent right?
because it's one thing to find like, you know, to find even a lower level head coach,
they're not going to leave their job this time of year.
But an assistant, yeah, that makes a lot more sense.
I don't know if he probably felt extra pressure that were right in the middle of spring football.
Like he probably felt an extra extra pressure to do something.
But I will see how this one unfolds.
It'll be interesting, that's for sure.
He's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown Wolfpack.
I am Alex Dono from Lockdown Keynes.
We'll have the squad on tomorrow.
I know we have some lively debates there.
We'll talk to you guys next time on another episode of LockdowneACC, right here on the awesome lockdown podcast network.
Your team every day.
