Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - TRAP: Florida State's ACC Dominance THREATENED by Virginia | Can Cavaliers SHOCK the Seminoles?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Florida State Seminoles have a big talent advantage against Virginia. I guess the question will be, is there going to be any let up in Florida State? Because this could be a trap game tonight. You are locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Happy Friday, and it is a game night in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And it's a better matchup than you usually get on a Friday. day night in college football.

Starting point is 00:00:37 Thank you so much to the everydayers for making Lockdown 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. Today's episode is brought to you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every detail because when you make every move count, pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for highlights in this week's moving the game forward.

Starting point is 00:01:00 Mazda, move and be moved. He is Kenton Gibbs, former NC State. defensive lineman co-host of Lockdown Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono, host of Lockdown Keynes. On this episode, we'll talk about a possible scenario at the end of the year where the committee better let three ACT teams in. I know that they're going to try to do whatever they can, not to do that. We'll talk about the biggest week five games, including Kenton tonight in Charlottesville, Virginia. Florida State Seminoles ranked number eight are kind of surprisingly to me, only six and a half point favorites at the Virginia Cavaliers.

Starting point is 00:01:37 And, you know, I mentioned Florida State has the talent advantage. Florida State's offense, especially their rushing offense, has been elite so far. I know they played a couple of cupcakes, but they also beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in a big upset opening weekend. Virginia's offense has been super balanced and they've been scoring points for fun. I just, I worry about Virginia's defense, Kenton. And do you think the cavaliers who are at home on a Friday night could be a trap? Can Virginia pull off an upset?

Starting point is 00:02:08 Absolutely. This could be a trap game for Florida State. This is what I mean when I said this game was going to test their attitude. This game was going to test their, what type of attitude do you come into this game with in terms of, hey, we've arrived or, hey, we're still chasing. We're still hungry. I think that they're good enough to kind of walk through the first two quarters with a we arrived attitude and then make up for it in the back. have, but I don't think they'll cover in that scenario. And I think you put yourself at risk of losing a game that, objectively speaking,

Starting point is 00:02:38 you have a lot more talent than Virginia. But when I look at this game, I say Virginia is at home. And obviously, you know, some people say, oh, that's not the toughest road environment to be in. It's not about how tough a road environment to be in. The biggest difference between home games and away games in college football is your routine, is how you get into all of your stuff. That's more important. even when the stadiums were empty, road games did road teams did not perform exponentially better during the COVID year than they did before that or after that. Why? Because it's not about 9-toddent. It's not about the fans going that crazy. Some stadiums do have that type of environment that's so hectic. It is a little bit different. But for the most part, it's just about getting into your routine, doing what you're supposed to do, being in a place you're familiar with. You know where that divot is on the field where you're like, oh, I need to avoid that if I get close to it. You know what,

Starting point is 00:03:29 where everything is and how everything feels. So I would say Florida State, if they come out with the attitude of we're going to dominate because we have proven nothing. We have done nothing. The whole world was laughing at us. Everybody wanted to make February 10th our official date because we went two and 10.

Starting point is 00:03:48 Everybody hated us. Everybody pointed at us and said, oh, y'all are terrible. Then I'd be like, okay, this Florida State team is up to something. But if they seem to be too relaxed, If they seem to kind of sleepwalk through and think, oh, we're here, so we should win this game. That brings a very different set of emotions for me when watching this team. Yeah, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:04:08 I'm not expecting them to sleepwalk. I know it's a possibility, especially knowing they have Miami the following week. But if anything, everybody on that roster, even the guys who transferred in, you know, Tommy Castellanos, like they know this team went two and ten last year. I don't think they take that for granted. So key players on both sides for Virginia. Virginia, who's off to a nice three and one start. I know Tony Elliott was like one of the coaches we had on the hot seat heading into the year.

Starting point is 00:04:35 So far, so good for him. And Chandler Morris, who's, this is the fourth different program. He's been as a quarterback, but he was originally recruited by Lincoln Riley. So at least like out of high school, that was a quarterback that got Lincoln Riley's attention. And Chandler Morris is off to a great start for the for the who's. He's got 1,050 passing yards. touchdowns to one interception. I like that Virginia's offense has been balanced so far because they also have one of the leading rushers in the ACC, Jamar Taylor with 298 rushing yards so far.

Starting point is 00:05:10 But again, it's on the defensive side. I think Virginia and Florida State's defense is not going to give up anything crazy in my opinion. But I think Virginia is going to score some points at home, but I think they're going to give up a lot more than they score. This is a team that, you know, they give up 35 points to your NC State Wolf Pack and their one loss of the year, 35, 31. one. They beat Stanford last week, but they did give up a couple big plays to Stanford and gave up 20 points to Stanford. So I'm a little bit worried about what Florida State is going to do to them. And on the Florida state side, obviously Castellanos is a guy who can hurt you in multiple different ways, really dynamic runner from the quarterback position, has also been really good on

Starting point is 00:05:49 his deep balls so far this year. That's been something to watch explosive plays. And, you know, Mackay Danzy, the wide receiver for Florida, who's leading their team in rushing so far. One of the fastest players in college football, Kenton. And we'll see how many creative ways they find to get Danzy the football. They are expecting Squirrel White to be back for this game. He had been injured recently. They also, from what I understand, Castellanos is 100% or close to it. He got a little bit banged up in their Kent State game, but I think he's all right. So those are some of the players to look for on both side. I say this, right? When you talk about Florida State and how they've looked amazing offensively.

Starting point is 00:06:31 It starts with the fact that Casolanos is a Maulzan fit to the to the T. You think about Gus Maozan's best year as an offensive coordinator ever. Who was the quarterback? One Cameron Newton. Cam Newton, right? And what was Cam Newton best at? He could do everything. He was the number one overall pick for a reason.

Starting point is 00:06:48 But what was it that they said this is his superpower? Nobody else can do this at the quarterback list. Use his legs as an efficient runner, right? why is Costalano's getting so good with the deep ball? It's the butterfly effect. It's that moment or snowball effect, rather. It starts downhill with it. Oh, we're running for four or five yards of pop.

Starting point is 00:07:07 This is good. I like this. Then your quarterback gets comfortable. He gets set in. He hits a couple, you know, a couple underneath, and he starts to get a little confidence. We can run it where we want to run it. We can throw it where we want to throw it.

Starting point is 00:07:17 Let's try throwing it deep. I feel confident now. Now the defense is pulling up because they're saying, hey, we got to come out of too high. They're running the ball. We need that extra body in the box. Now you got a single high. Now you've got extras in the box.

Starting point is 00:07:30 And now they're saying, got them. Ladies and gentlemen, we got them. We're going deep. Let's throw it over their heads now. So Thomas Coslano has been a perfect for this offense. Gus Malzahn has done a hell of a job. This offensive line, they need all the credit in the world because it's not just Mauson system.

Starting point is 00:07:46 The big fellas got to be big fellas. Big men must lead in a Mauson system. And they have. They have been. This offensive line has been absolutely mauling folks, including the Alabama Crimson Tide. So I give them all of their credit for that. My only thing about this game that I say,

Starting point is 00:08:02 this could be tricky and sticky is this has all of the elements of a trap game. Top 10 team on the road, unranked team, coach on a hot seat additional, and you're playing a rival that is ranked in the top five the week after. Dono, that checks off five or five boxes for a trap game. And it's also, it's Florida State's first road game. and they're coming off a bye week, which can be sometimes be weird. You got seven keys now. You got seven markers of a trap game.

Starting point is 00:08:35 And I normally only go with four to five. And yet you have seven markers that you can look at and say, hold on now. What's going on here? So I'm very intrigued to see how Florida State handles the end. Because again, I think that this is going to be all about what type of attitude do they come into this game with. Right? That to me is more important than anything because the talent, it's a mismatch. talent. It just is with all due respect to Virginia. The question is, what is Florida State going

Starting point is 00:09:01 going to come into this game with their mind on? Are they coming in with our mind on? We need to whip the wheels off Virginia every play. Are they thinking, yeah, we, that Carson Beck kid over there. We got to find out some offense. Yeah, that Bain kid, he's been tearing up some offenses. We got to find a way to block them. Well, Bain ain't walking out that tunnel this week. I think I may have gotten one of those. I guess we're back down to six keys because I guess they had the buy the week before Florida State. So they're not coming off the. buy. I had my buy weeks mixed up. So I know we're getting like Florida State comments are like, the Miami guy doesn't know what our buy week is. My apologies. My apology. And actually,

Starting point is 00:09:36 I, so all right, the line for this game has moved a little bit. Florida State, at the time we're recording this, the Seminoles are favored by six and a half points. It started the week as seven and a half, which would have made me probably take a shot on Virginia. I think Florida State will win this game by a touchdown. So like I'm not not necessarily betting on it because I think it's going to be in that area. But I would I would lean to Florida State covering six and a half and winning the game. I think it's going to be close for a while. I just think Florida State is going to have the athletes to close the game out. So what do you think, Kenton? You pick in, you pick in Florida State or Virginia? Straight up Florida State against the spray of Virginia. I think Virginia loses

Starting point is 00:10:19 this game 3428. Okay. Wow. Now mind you, last week, the team that I said was going to win against the spread, won outright. You know what I mean? They won out right. So, hey, just keep that in mind. You know, we may know a little bit of ball over here. Yeah, no doubt. All right. So there's other games we want to get into, including Georgia Tech at Wake Forest. Georgia Tech's ranked number 16. Duke at Syracuse is a really interesting game. Louisville at Pitt, same thing. And Virginia Tech at NC State. I feel like we're both going to be on the same page on that one, but I do want to pick Kenton's brain on it and a scenario that should get three ACC teams in the college football playoff at the end of the year. You want to keep it locked.

Starting point is 00:11:02 We're only getting started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. Folks, this episode is brought to you by Mazda's moving the game forward. For those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it. There are moments that do more than just put points on the board. They move crowds, move culture, and keep moving the game forward. Somebody who's been moving the game forward this season is star Syracuse receiver Justice Ross Simmons, who caught two more touchdowns against the Clemson Tigers in Syracuse's big win against Clemson, which kind of eliminated Clemson from the ACC Championship conversation already. When you follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning. And just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle.

Starting point is 00:11:47 Mazda, move and be moved. Thank you for making LockdowneACC, your first listen for your next listen. check out our other shows. Kent and Gibbs and Grayson Boone do an awesome job hosting Lockedon Wolfpack talking all things NC State. I host Lockdown Cains talking all things Miami. Miami Clemson, I believe SMU also all have buy weeks this week. So that kind of narrows the ACC Slate a little bit. Number 16, Georgia Tech is going to be on the road at Wake Forest. I know Kenton, you probably have a little more insight on Wake since NC State has already faced them so far this year. Any reason why I shouldn't just believe that this is going to be an easy dub for Georgia Tech on the road. They're favored by 13 and a half, and I think Haynes King and Company will cover that spread.

Starting point is 00:12:34 Yeah, no, there's no reason to not believe that. Wake Forest, I believe, has about four to five guys that are not accountants on that team, with all due respect. They've got about four to five guys that I can see, you know, seriously having a shot at the NFL. And one of them is a true freshman, Mr. Barnes. their returner slash slot receiver, he can absolutely go. I mean, he can fly. However, they've got a few problems.

Starting point is 00:12:59 Number one, are they going to continue to trot out Robbie Ashford at quarterback? Because Robbie Ashford has been, he's had a few spots where you say, man, that's a big time throw. But other than that, it's been a whole lot of, wait, what? Wait, Robbie, explain to me like I'm 10, why that happened. So I think Georgia Tech, again, that physicality, it's. It's really, really going to be a lot to overcome. Wake Forest also has a safety number 45 by the name of Anderson. He's a gamer.

Starting point is 00:13:28 He's a hitter, all that good stuff. He's the only one. He's the only one on that defense that I'm like, hey, that's a ball player that he could be playing on Sundays. He may be somebody's special teams teaming next year. Other than that, I don't see any way for, I don't see a path to Wake for winning this game other than if Georgia Tech sleep walks into this game.

Starting point is 00:13:49 The problem with that, the problem with that is, Georgia Tech doesn't have, they don't have all of those markers to say like, hey, this is going to be a comedy of errors for a bunch of reasons. They have Virginia Tech after this, a Virginia Tech team that doesn't have a head coach. They don't have a rivalry game. They don't have all these things working against them where it's like, hey, there are reasons to overlook this Wake Forest team. And Brett Pride knows we have never been in a position where we be hunted instead of the hunter. And even beyond that, even this year, they got jumped over by Florida State. immediately. They won a big game. Florida State won a big game. They were ahead of Florida

Starting point is 00:14:25 State, and then Florida State vaulted over them overnight. So it's even more fuel to throw on their fire to say, you see how the national media disrespects you. You'll see how nobody likes you. They think you're ugly. You're going to be the last kid picked on the playground. They've got even more fuel on that fire. So I see Georgia Tech taking care of this. Handler. Yeah, if this game is closer than, you know, 13 points, I would be surprised. Here's a game. By the way, that one is 12 noon on Saturday. Another noon game on Saturday, I'll probably be paying closer attention to this one than the Georgia Tech Wake Forest game is Syracuse hosting Duke. So Duke are four and a half point favorites in the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse. Now, I am really tempted to pick Syracuse to

Starting point is 00:15:14 outright win this game at home. I'm just going to stick to leaning to Syracuse covers the spread and the game comes down to a three-point win in either direction. And the only reason why I have any hesitation, Kenton, I think the reason why the line is this way and the road team is favored is because Syracuse has the less certain quarterback. Steve Angelly, their starter who was putting up big numbers, is out for the season with a torn Achilles. So they're turning to Ricky Collins, LSU transfer. Collins, by the way, barely beaten out by Angelly for the starting job if the quarterback

Starting point is 00:15:48 that competition was as close as Fran Brown led us to believe it was, and Jelly barely beat out Ricky Collins. Syracuse has obviously a ton of talent on offense. They've been scoring points for fun so far this year. But the two reasons why I'm probably leaning to Duke winning this game by a field goal, Kenton, is because Duke, the running game is so important for them to set up the pass with Darien Mensa. And Syracuse's rushing defense has shown me some issues in some of their early games

Starting point is 00:16:18 this year and then of course the uncertainty of Ricky Collins starting at quarterback for Syracuse. For that reason, I'm going to lean to Duke to win this game by a field goal, but here's what I do feel pretty good about Kenton. I think this game's going to be a shootout. I think both of these teams are going to score a lot of points. And the over under at 59 and a half, I'm leaning to taking that over. I think the final score is going to be somewhere in the 60s, if not the 70s. Give me that over and give me Syracuse to win this football. game. And let me tell you why. Duke has had a turnover against every single team they've played, including Elon, except NC State. Coach DJ Elliott, I'm looking at you right now.

Starting point is 00:17:00 This team has turned the ball over in every game except their one against NC State. Why is that important? The reality of this game, I think, is going to come down to who protects the ball better. And one thing that Fray and Brown coach teams have been phenomenal at is protecting the ball and being opportunistic defensively. Even if, if they cannot get stops on a regular basis, they can take that ball away. They may get burnt going for it and being aggressive, but they're going to be aggressive and come up with one or two plays a game

Starting point is 00:17:29 where you're like, oh, man, he jumped that thing like he knew it was coming. And then boom, they're taking it the other way. I think those one or two plays are going to come in a critical enough moment for Syracuse to come away with a win in this one. Ladies and gentlemen, wrong team favorite by Ken Gibbs this week. Give me Syracuse and the carrier dog. Listen, her mama named the carrier, though. I'm going to call her carry a dome.

Starting point is 00:17:50 I don't care about all this JMA nonsense and all that. Her mama called a carrier dog. All right. So the next one, which is, I think it's a great ACC matchup, the Louisville Cardinals are favored by four and a half points on the road at Pitt. Pitt, they disappointed me losing the backyard brawl this year. I do think Louisville is one of the four best teams in the ACC, despite the fact that, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:15 they haven't played the best competition so far. but this is a game I think it's going to bring out the best in Louisville. The only question that I have, Kenton, is I still can't find a definitive injury status for Isaac Brown or Duke Watson. And if there's any Louisville fans watching this, if you know something that I don't, like you heard some update, yeah, Brown's going to play or they're both going to play. Please let us know in the comments because the last I checked, they were both considered questionable.

Starting point is 00:18:43 So, I mean, if you fear the worst case scenario that Brown nor Watson plays in this game, the dynamic Louisville running back duo, then, you know, that could be the recipe for Syracuse's defense to cook something up, or sorry, for Pittsburgh's defense to cook up something special en route to an upset win at home. But I'm just going to assume with Louisville being the more talented team, I think Louisville's going to go into Pittsburgh win and probably cover that four and a half point spread. Yeah, I've been watching tape on this pit offense. That whole team magic is gone. It just doesn't seem to be there. anymore. Last year, everything that he was doing, he was hot as fish grease. Desmer Reed was

Starting point is 00:19:23 rolling and cooking and everything seemed good. This year, they've had breakdowns and protections. It seems like Holstein's a little gunshot to pull a trigger and all that. It's just tough, but I will tell you this. That running back duo, they are special. If neither one of them are available, I worry for Luce. Because I know people say, oh, it's about the offensive line, not the running back. I don't think people understand how special these running backs are. If you watch that James Madison game, the play that Isaac Brown took to the house from like 70 something or 80-something yards out, that was not a play where it was like everything is blocked up perfectly. All he's got to do is run. It was him pressing a hole and forcing the defense to commit.

Starting point is 00:20:03 And then once they commit, boom, acceleration like nobody can keep up with. And then he breaks the tackle, gets off the gates and you cannot catch him. I'm going to tell you, college football 26, I had both Isaac Brown and Duke Watson transfer in the NCs. that was very excited about that as a head cut. Good for you. You know, I do work in the portal. But here's the deal, right? Those two playing, at least one of the two,

Starting point is 00:20:26 is essential for this Louisville team to win. And the words of Tyler Creator, this game is getting sticky. I'm going to stay away from it because I don't want to bet on this one if I don't know who's playing and who's not. I'm not touching nothing. Money line under over points. I ain't touching it unless I know that both or one of those backs is available. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:20:46 And like all that I know is a bunch of social media updates and a bunch of a bunch of Google news searches say that they are both questionable. But maybe the fact that Louisville is favored by four and a half on the road, maybe the odds makers think that at least one of those guys is going to play. So I'll leave it. I'll leave it at that. All right. So Kenton, how about Virginia Tech and NC State? And so NC State favored by 10 and a half. I think that number should be bigger.

Starting point is 00:21:17 And then also if you want to throw in your take on Boston College favored by five and a half at home against Cal, had I not seen that San Diego State game last week, I'd be rolling into this matchup thinking wrong team is favored. Cal's going to go into Chestnut Hill and pull it off. But I don't know who Cal is anymore. So let's start with the NC State Virginia Tech game. That is a rudderless ship at Virginia Tech. And if NC State comes out and puts them down early, there'll be. be done. That game will be over. We have seen this Virginia Tech team quit multiple times already

Starting point is 00:21:50 this season. We saw it in the second half against Vanderbilt. We saw it early against ODU. Very, very early. This team said, all right, we're good. We're not really super interested in playing this game. So NC State, if they come out the right way, should put that team down early. If they don't, however, we could get us a Dave Doran special where we look at, I'm joking, that's not a Dave Doran special. this would be the worst loss of his tenure as head coached in the state. And trust me, trust me, I've been there since the first game. I was a part of his first recruiting class. So I can tell you that would be the worst loss in his tenure.

Starting point is 00:22:25 Now, moving on to the, moving on to the next game on the slate here, I'm particularly interested in this Cal and Boston College game because I said, I specifically said on Twitter when somebody asked me, hey, how good is JKS? I said, we will see now that teams have tape on him. There was three, because normally three games is the standard for understanding a pattern and what guys like and how guys get open and what patterns the quarterback likes to throw, which is something that I noticed amongst JKA.

Starting point is 00:22:58 I was watching them and I said, hmm, seems like they're hitting some of the same stuff over and over and over. I wonder what's going to happen now that that's out. San Diego State came prepared for those things. this game is going to be about how does Cal adjust and bounce back. Talent wise, talent wise, I think Cal has a slight edge in talent. I really do. They might. But with that said, can JKS develop and progress enough to where now the teams know what you like to do and they want to counter that?

Starting point is 00:23:30 Can you come up with a counter to their counter? Brian Harsen, people said that you ran all those players on the portal. It's time to earn your money, brother. It's time to show up and show out and protect your young QB. from a Boston college defense where I give Bill O'Brien crap for a lot of things. But one thing I cannot give him crap for is the way that his defenses are prepared because he's not a defensive guy. He leaves that fully to his defensive coordinator and says, hey, y'all cook up the beef like

Starting point is 00:23:53 five guys, and I'm going to let y'all do whatever y'all do over there, right? So the reality is I'm looking at this game and I'm saying to myself, it's about how well JKS responds. I just, again, I'm not a bedding degenerate. That is my co-host, Alex Dono. But if I were a better degenerate, I'm always nervous about freshman quarterbacks, especially after their worst game of their career. Because he could be a guy that rises to the occasion.

Starting point is 00:24:19 J.K.S. could also be a guy that sinks under the pressure, and he falls to the quicksand effect, where the harder you fight, the worst the struggle gets. So I'm intrigued by this game. I personally would stay away from it. However, I wouldn't be surprised by any outcome in this way. Well, and I think another reason to lean to Boston College here is you mentioned Cal with their freshman quarterback is talented as he is. It's for their first time leaving the West Coast so far this season.

Starting point is 00:24:43 They're going to be at BC. It's a 3.30 p.m. games. So that'll be, you know, new 1230 there. It's not like a terrible time difference. But it'll be the first time J.K.S. who's played two games at Cal, a game at Oregon State, and a game at San Diego State, will be his first time making that trip out east. So that's something to think about.

Starting point is 00:25:01 Here's something to think about. If this scenario, which could very well play out, plays out, college football playoff committee better be willing to put at least three ACC teams in the CFP at the end of the year. You want to keep it locked right here. We're not done yet on this brand new episode of Locked on ACCC. Folks, it's time for this week's Who Delivered? Powered by DoorDash. Just like you can win every Saturday with DoorDash streaks, saving more every time you order.

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Starting point is 00:27:06 in store and online at 5hourenergy.com or on Amazon today. Thank you for making Lockdown ACC your first listen. He's Kenton Gibbs from Lockdown, Wolfpack. I am Alex Dono from Lockdown-Kane's. All right, so Kenton, the wheels, the hamster wheel in my brain has been turning with ACC college football playoffs scenarios because we've talked a lot over the last week about how easy Georgia Tech's ACC schedule is the rest of the way.

Starting point is 00:27:36 They should be favored in all of their remaining conference. games. So there is a scenario where Georgia Tech runs the table in conference but potentially, you know, loses a non-conference game to Georgia at the end of the year. So let's say Georgia Tech is 11 and 1, 8-0 in the ACC. They get to the ACC championship game. Now, Miami and Florida State play each other next weekend. So that's at least one conference loss for whoever loses that game. If whoever wins that game runs the table, 8-0 in conference, possible 12 and no this year. Whoever loses that game goes 11 and 1, but misses out on the ACC championship game, Kenton. So there is a scenario where ACC championship game, you would

Starting point is 00:28:20 likely favor either Miami or Florida State against Georgia Tech in an ACC championship game. So let's say Miami or Florida State beats Georgia Tech in an ACC championship championship. That team is 13 and 0. Georgia Tech is 11 and 2, and the team that missed out on the ACC championship game is 11 and one regular season. You've got to let all three of those teams in, right? Or does Georgia Tech possibly get left out in that scenario, but you shouldn't for a team that got to their conference championship game. Well, who else would be in over them, right? You're looking at multiple teams. Some two-loss SEC team would, you know, with the committee's mindset, probably. And when you think about that, where does that two-loss SEC team come from? I mean, with all due

Starting point is 00:29:08 respect, you have, you would have, who, Alabama, who already has one loss. So if they go on to lose to Georgia this week, that gives them two losses before the fifth week of the season. And then what, or would you say it's a Georgia team? Would you say it's a Texas team that's already lost to Ohio State? And with all due respect, their quarterback is looking like an extra in one of those CW sports TV shows where they think everything they do is sidearm and janky and weird. If his last name was Jackson or Newton or Williams instead of Manning, people would be looking at him saying, get this bum off my field right now.

Starting point is 00:29:46 Who else would you put in? Oh, a Penn State team that could be, could be. I'll tell you this. Penn State has the opportunity to have one of the best resumes we've ever seen. They also have the opportunity to have three losses. One, two, Oregon this week, Ohio State coming up, and Indiana, who looks like a buzz saw right now. Yeah, Indiana looks good. They could have three losses.

Starting point is 00:30:06 Who are you putting in over these teams that we're saying, hey, you're looking at two loss, one lost team. You're looking at a team that they may get their second loss in the conference championship. And are you going to punish them and say, no, we want you out. We want to put in the mighty whoever's because they play in a different conference. Because at that point, you're saying that the games don't matter. The games do not matter. What does the results to the games don't matter. What matters is the patch that you have right here on your shoulder to see.

Starting point is 00:30:36 what conference you're in. I'm not saying that all wins are created equally. I'm not saying that if the ACC proved itself across the board to just be God awful, and the SEC of the big tier virtually ran the table out of conference. At that point, you have to concede,

Starting point is 00:30:52 hey, these teams have looked fantastic. We have looked like hot garbage. However, you're posing a situation where our big boys of the conference are playing like big boys. You're pausing a situation where that happens. And I'll thought, do you one more. If Georgia Tech beats Georgia this year

Starting point is 00:31:11 and goes undefeated regular season, I don't get them what you do in the ACCC championship game. I don't care if they get blown out. I don't care. I don't care. You're not going to tell me that that team doesn't belong after all of those things happening. And it took them, they took them to eight overtimes last year. So, you know, I look at this as a situation where I say Georgia Tech deserves their respect. And I think that they're earning it the hard way, They're coming up on the rough side of the mountain. I love that for them. Miami, earning their respect.

Starting point is 00:31:41 Florida State, earning their respect. If all three of these teams continue on this path, I don't see a world where they get left out. And also, this is just a hypothetical. Like, I understand it might not necessarily be those three or just those three. Because I get it. Like, that scenario, it's completely sleeping on Louisville. You know, they'll have their opportunity throughout the year.

Starting point is 00:32:02 They're undefeated and they haven't played a conference game yet until this weekend. So they get it. Like there are other teams that could get into this conversation. I'm just using that particular formula for argument's sake. Yeah, and we're talking about this in week four. So there's a ton of football ahead of us. We could have a situation where all three of these teams do look like juggernauts going for or all four, including Louisville,

Starting point is 00:32:24 do look like juggernauts going forward. We can have situations where a couple of these teams fall apart. And Dono and I have to get on the show and be honest and say, hey, we look great early in the season. The wheels have fallen off. They're riding on the spokes. This looks nasty. This team barely belongs in the Micron computer bowl.

Starting point is 00:32:44 They definitely don't belong in the playoff. That's a real possibility as well. But Dono and I are just saying that these teams look good down the stretch, you have to give them their proper respect and due credence in that. They have played phenomenally throughout the season, regardless of what the team name is, they've played a hell of a season and deserved to be in the playoffs because of it, despite whatever they would say about, oh, well, you're not really one of the big two conferences or whatever

Starting point is 00:33:09 case. Well, huge thank you to everybody for making Lockdown ACC your first list. And enjoy all the games this weekend. It starts tonight, Friday night with Florida State on the road at Virginia, big slate on Saturday as well. Make sure you follow Kenton at TGIF underscore Kenton on X. Make sure you check him out on Lockdown Wolfpack. Check me out on Lockedon Keynes and at Alex Dono on X. And we'll talk to you next time on another episode of Lockdown ACC.

Starting point is 00:33:33 we are part of the awesome lockdown podcast network. Your team every day.

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