Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Are Marcus Freeman & CJ Carr SET to Lead Notre Dame BACK to the Playoff?

Episode Date: August 26, 2026

Notre Dame Fighting Irish gear up for a playoff push as questions swirl about CJ Carr’s development and Aneyas Williams breakout potential. Can Marcus Freeman’s stacked defense, featuring standouts such as Leonard Moore and Christian Gray, deliver a dominant season? The schedule sets up high-stakes showdowns against Miami, BYU, and SMU, fueling debate over their odds of running the table. Boston College Eagles face uncertainty under Bill O’Brien after major roster and staff turnover, but the return of safety JP Price offers hope for defensive stability. Meanwhile, Tavita Pritchard energizes Stanford Cardinal fans in his debut season—can Davis Warren and Micah Ford overcome a brutal schedule and lead Stanford back to relevance? Julian Council and Kenton Gibbs, joined by Tyler Wojciak, AJ Black, and Alex Hou, break down pivotal players, coaching moves, and bold over/under predictions for each program’s future in the ACC and beyond. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! KALSHI For a limited time, Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10. . Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Wayfair Patio season is here and these deals won’t last! Head to https://wayfair.com right now to get your outdoor space ready for way less. Wayfair. Every style. Every home. LARINECO Give Larine a try. Right now, Larine Co is offering our listeners up to 50% off at https://BUYLARINE.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. 5-Hour ENERGY Bring on the sweetness with Cotton Candy 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots—available online now at https:/5hourENERGY.com or on Amazon. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM to play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season. 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.

Can Boston College bounce back in year three under Bill O'Brien? What does Tevita Pritchard have in store for us in year one at Stanford? And can the Notre Dame Fighting Irish make it back to the college football playoff this fall? Preview week continues here on Locked on ACC. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of the Lockdown ACC. podcast. I'm Julian counsel. Former NC State football letterman, Kitten Gibbs will be with me momentarily.

But today's episode of Lockdown ACCC is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Preview week comes to a close on today's show as we have two more ACC football programs, but three more schools to preview heading into this year. We have Notre Dame, Boston College. and Stanford to close out today's preview week. As yes, I understand that their name is not in the ACC, as far as football goes, as it remain independent, but there are going to be several ACC schools that play them this season.

So he's thought, why not throw the Irish bone and have Tyler Rojack from Lockdown Irish on today's show, AJ Black of Lockdown Boston College and Eagle Insider, a part of the 247 Sports Network, going to come on to preview BC. And then Alex Howell of Stanford football updates in the Cardinal Canopy Podcast, Well, come on to preview the Stanford Cardinal to wrap up today's show.

But let's go ahead and start off with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who are so close to a college football player appearance. And they'll tell you, winning a national championship last year, we'll talk to Tyler Rojacked, figure out how Marcus Freeman and the boys are feeling about themselves heading in the 2026 here on Lockdown ACC. Even though they're not technically a member of the ACC in football, they are a member of the ACC. and several programs are going to have to see them this season. So let's go ahead and preview the Notre Dame fighting Irish with Tyler Rojack of Locked-on. Irish, Tyler, obviously last season did not end the way that anyone in South Bend or really outside of South Bend after Notre Dame decided not to play in the bowl game, wanted the season to end after not making the playoff, bringing back a bunch of talent, Marcus Freeman heading into this year. What are the vibes in South Bend heading into 2026?

The vibes at this point are let's get this season started because it has been quite literally the longest offseason in the history of this program. And we knew that's how it was going to be from the very beginning, the fact that they didn't play into bowl games. So the offseason really started the first week of December was pretty jarring, especially for a team that had national title aspirations at the end of last season. So I feel like the entire motto this off season, both from inside the program and outside the program, has been leave no doubt. It's been the rallying cry for months, but now that we're just under two weeks away, I think everybody is ready to put the ball down in play. Because even though there's a ton of hype, there's a ton of expectations, I think the guy's been hitting each other for a bit too long.

So everyone is just very anxious to get the ball rolling here. Everybody knows about C.J. Carr. Everybody knows about Graydenhouse and company out wide. Tell us about some lesser-known names that you expect to emerge and make a meaningful difference on this. Notre Dame team. And again, don't say Leonard Moore either because we know. We know. We know. Tell us about

somebody that the population doesn't know about it. I'll bring up Benias Williams and this is not a lesser known name to the Notre Dame fan base. He's going into his third year with the program. But everyone in the outside world has been asking, how is Notre Dame going to replace Jeremiah Love and Judarian Price?

And that is a totally fair question. You don't normally have two first round running backs, let alone in the same draft class. Then you have to replace both of those guys in the same season. But Annius Williams is a guy who has, I don't even want to say patiently wait and his turn because he actually got some action as a freshman, even during the midst of that playoff run Notre Dame had. And then last year, they decided to just basically go with love and price all year long. So Anias Williams didn't really play. He played less than he did as a freshman,

but I think this year, it's his time. It's his opportunity as the starting running back at Notre Dame. And by all accounts, he is jumping at the bit to get out there and take advantage of this. think in his mind, he's only going to be the starting running back in Notre Dame for this one season, because I believe that the way that he thinks this season is go, he's going to have a chance to get drafted after this year. And, you know, he's a great leader for the running back room. He's a big, big leader for this offense. So Notre Dame fans have been waiting to see him for a little while. And I think the outside world, the college football world at large, is going to learn the name Ennis Williams here in the near future. Talk to me about year two of C. J. Carr being the starting quarterback. I think a lot of people across the nation really only saw the Miami game,

maybe a little bit of USC, and then by time late season is happening, I mean, Notre Dame, they crush a lot of teams. So I don't think too many people, especially SEC country, even people in the ACC, maybe not as tuned in. How much better do you think he can be this season after, really, it was a year where it didn't start out the best, which naturally hadn't had that time of experience, but then ended up being one of the better quarterbacks in the second half of last year?

Despite the results, I actually thought C.J. Carr played pretty well in those first two games. he exceeded my expectations against Miami. I didn't expect them to throw the ball as much as they did, and maybe they threw the ball a little bit too much, depending on who you ask, in that Miami game. But they gave him the keys as a retort freshen to go on the road and start against the top 10 team. And even though the team lost, he did pretty well, all things considered.

And then Texas A&M was a shootout. They put up 40 points on offense. So they're not the reason that they lost that game. But then he got into a groove. I think he hit somewhat of a freshman wall about halfway through the season where he wasn't quite as consistent. He was missing some throws that really showed up against USC where he had by far his worst game of the season, but then he got things back on track. But going into year two, the thing you hear over and over again with CJ Carr is how it's like

having a coordinator on the field. And even though he's only played one season as a starter and he's going into his third year at Notre Dame, Mike Denbrock, the offensive coordinator said he basically has the entire playbook at his disposal at the line of scrimmage, which is a huge responsibility for any quarterback, let alone a college quarterback, but they trust him so much. He has such a high football IQ and he spent so much time in the film room. And obviously, you know, with Lloyd Carr being his grandpa, he was born in a football family, he has been raised to be the starting quarterback. So when you have a guy who is able to read and understand defense as well as he can, I think that's sort of like the secret weapon because there's so many college quarterbacks who have a lot of armed talent

and they can make all the throws. But for someone who can truly understand what the defense is showing them and then getting the offense in the right play every single time. I think that's going to lead to a lot of success for CJ Car, a little bit more than he had last season. We know about the defensive backfield. We know one of the most experienced linebacker cores in all of America, a defensive tackle rotation that is allegedly eight deep, allegedly, of course. But you all are known for producing offensive linemen and tight ends, two lesser known

positions that, you know, don't get as much glory and shine as some of the others. tell us about some of those guys. Tell us who you're excited to see play this year and who's the next in line for that great tight end legacy to Notre Dame's created as a play. Well, Kent, now, first I want to address the defensive tackle. It's probably going to be more like a six-man rotation and then that could get cut down to four.

But they are remarkably deep at that position considering where they were at the start of the offseason. They went got some guys in the transfer portal. They really shored that up on offense. So Cooper Flanagan is going to be the starting tight end. He actually missed pretty much all of last season as he was recovering from an Achilles tear that he actually suffered during the college football playoff way back when Notre Dame played Georgia a couple of years ago.

He tore his Achilles in like the second play of the game. He was only tight end two at the time. He would have been tight end two last year. But he's a really good blocker. And I think Notre Dame missed him in the run game at points last season, especially in short yard in situations. But he's fully healthy. He's back.

He's ready to go. So he's going to be tight end one. But then I'll give you another name. Maybe this is more for the long term future, although I do think this player is going have more of an impact in the second half of the season. His name's Ian Premer, five-star freshman out of Kansas. Notre Dame really badly wanted him coming out of high school and they were like, hey, you're going to produce this year. I don't think we'll see a ton of them at the start. There's probably going to be an adjustment period when it comes to the physicality of playing

tight end at a major college football program. But he's six foot six. He runs extremely well for a tight end and he just looks different than every guy in that room. So it might not happen right away, but I think people are going to recognize Ian Perman by the end of this season. I want to get to the over under here to wrap up, but I feel like we've got to spend more time defensively. And Kenton's already brought up Leonard Moore, Christian Gray. There's just an insane level of talent that there is veteran-wise recruiting classes that Marcus is bringing in. I know last year you bring up the shootout against A&M, Chris Ash was certainly under fire. And then you look that moving forward, like just nobody could score on them.

How much better do you think the defense can be this year? in year two under Chris Ash with that kind of continuity and the level of talent that they have now. I think it will be significantly better, especially against the better teams that they play. The Notre Dame coaching staff probably wasn't ready to admit it at the time, but bringing in a defensive coordinator while also maintaining the same defensive staff, like defensive line coach, linebackers coach, defensive backs coach. It was an interesting transition for all the parties involved there. But now Chris Ash, he's coming into a second year.

He knows his personnel a lot better. And I would say that like that was probably the biggest mistake they made in the first two games. It wasn't really anything schematically. They had a couple of injuries. But more really it came down to they weren't playing the right guys to start the season. There were some young guys who really came on after that game. And you think, wait a second, they probably should have been starting from the very beginning. So look, that's on the coaches.

And you have to have a better understanding of your personnel when the season starts. So I think that all plays into it. But they're just so deep at every position. and I feel like any single college coach across the country is going to tell you the one thing they want more than anything is depth along the defensive line. Notre Dame has that. They have star power in the secondary with Leonard Moore, Breonte Johnson, and Don Schuller, and at linebacker, they can legitimately go four deep with guys who could start at the power four levels. So if they're not a lot better than last season, I would be pretty surprised.

And they were actually really good to end the year. Obviously, it took some lumps at the beginning. But I think it's going to be a big year for the Notre Dame defense. And with that schedule, they probably shouldn't give up many. points at all season. Yeah, and let's talk about that schedule looking at Fandall Sportsbook, official sportsbook partner here, the Lockdown Podcast Network. The over under is 11 and a half wins, which is a big number.

But you look at the schedule, sure, maybe Sunday night against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, a bunch of money that they've spent there to try to prop up Luke Fickle instead of fire him. Maybe they could spur an upset. We've certainly saw in the other day lose that game. I mean, many times last year they lost Miami. we've seen them lose a taxi. So I'm sorry, I don't want to bring up bad memories.

Sorry, Tyler. But maybe that happens, but I don't really see it. Like at BYU, October 17, it feels like the first time they could legitimately be in trouble to like lose a game. Then, of course, there's Miami at home on November 7th. And then maybe SMU, I don't really buy it. Like, where are you at as far as over under? Because that's a big one. It's basically, do you think they lose another game outside of Miami?

Well, the odds are pretty heavily favored on the under because if they lose one game, than the underheads, which is pretty crazy. I feel like this schedule is so imbalanced. The top teams, like I think Miami could win the national championship this season. So playing a team like that is a big deal, especially in November. That's actually going to be the first weekend after the first CFP rankings come out. I've said all offseason long, there's a chance. That's number one versus number two, depending on what happens with like Ohio State, Texas,

because Miami has a pretty easy schedule as well. Both teams are undefeated, which is certainly a possibility. That could be one of the biggest games. the entire season. So they have that. SMU, I don't really know just how good they're going to be. Actually, I spoke with Grace and the host of Lockdown SMU. We talked about this for a while.

He thinks they could be a one-loss team going into that game, so that's going to be tricky. BYU, that might be one of the bigger home games they've had in a really long time. They're absolutely going to come out, ready to play for that one. So there's like three loseable games, but outside of that, I'm with you. Wisconsin is the team that is probably just the biggest unknown, given all the guys that they brought in, Colton Joseph, the quarterback who is a really good runner, kind of gave Indiana a scare in the season opener last season. So we'll see if he's able to do that against Notre Dame this year.

But then after that, the schedule just really takes a turn. And then you're looking at teams like North Carolina, Boston College, and Syracuse, who were just abysmal last season. So to me, it's basically like a four-game season. But then, of course, I say that, and that means they're going to drop the home opener to Rice like they did against Northern Illinois and Marshall. So I just diced it.

I told me, You're going under over. You're going under over, Tyler. You said a lot, but you got to give us one. Are they running the table or the table running them? I'll say they are going to run the table, and I feel like that's going to come back to by me. But I look at each,

if I look at each game individually, and obviously it's a really long season. Injuries happen, who knows. But I do think that this team has the ability to go 12-0. That Miami game is going to be a toss-up. I can't believe the spread right now is like six and a half on Fandle. I think by the time that those teams play, that's going to be Notre Dame minus three and a half, max more than likely. Yeah.

Injuries could change that. But that's going to be an awesome game. I think they're going to be able to get by BYU as well, although that's going to be just a really tough matchup. They're going to try to turn that into a slow ground and pound game. But, you know, I very rarely pick Notre Dame to go undefeated, even if I think that they're better than every team on the schedule. Like I felt that way back in 2024. But this year feels like a special year, and they've got a bad taste in their mouth after last. season. I think they're going to try to rectify that.

To do so, that means going potentially 15 and 0 and winning a national championship. I have to ask you one last one before we get out of here. So say they do end up, you know, maybe lose Miami. Like, can you, can they afford to lose another game? Can they go 10 and 2 and get in? Do you think they'll be in that top 12? Yeah. So you say no, you think they're done if that happens.

I mean, like the two losses, because I would think for that to happen, I mean, I don't know, you have to lose probably like to Wisconsin. And then maybe at BYU and have the Miami win, have the SMU win, or maybe have the BYU win. Because you can't lose both BYU and Miami, I would think. The only way I could really see that happening is if the game that they lose is Wisconsin, and Wisconsin ends up being a lot better than everyone thinks. And they might not even be that much better in terms of like an overall talent perspective, although I do think they will.

But if you look at Wisconsin schedule, like Luke Fickle, it made a lot of mistakes in his first couple of years. But we also have to look at the fact that Wisconsin had the toughest schedule in the Big Ten for the past two seasons and now they're getting some good karma. And they have a really favorable Big Ten schedule this season. So if Notre Dame somehow drops that game and then they end up turning things around, they go on, they beat Miami and then Wisconsin ends up having a much better year than people anticipate and then say Notre Dame maybe loses to like BYU. That's the only possible scenario. But no, I don't think they could afford two losses. If they're not getting in last year with two losses, I have no reason to believe that they're going to

get in there this season with two losses again. So the best way to avoid that from happening is to just not lose and win at least 11 games. Yeah, well, you think they're going to run the table. And I can see that happening as well. He is Tyler Wojack of Lockdown, Iris. Check them out over on YouTube, wherever it's your favorite podcast and over on the socials at Tyler Wojack as well. Up next, Boston College Eagles, AJ Black of Locked on Boston College. He's going to join us to break down Bill O'Brien, and year three as we continue preview

week here on Lockdown ACC. There are more live events than ever we're seeing right now. Games, concerts, comedy shows, festivals. The hard part usually isn't deciding what you want to attend. It's actually getting the tickets between long wait times, confusing checkout processes and surprise fees. Buying tickets can sometimes feel harder than it should. That's why so many fans are turned to game time. The app is built to make buying tickets simple with upfront pricing seat views before you buy an exclusive savings opportunities that help get you the events you want without the usual hassle. There's just something different about being there live, whether it's a crowd reaction, the energy in the building, or a moment. moment that everyone experiences together. It's one of those things that doesn't fully translate through a screen.

Take the guess. We're going to buy tickets to every type of event with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, creating account and use code locked on for $20 off for your first purchase terms apply again. Create an account, redeem code, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Well, in year one under Bill O'Brien, it felt like a match made in heaven between him in Boston College, but in year two, it very much was not that.

AJ Black, the host of Lockdown Boston College. It also covers BC for Eagle Insider, part of the 247 Sports Network joins us now here on Lockedon, ACC. The vibes are good after year one, after year two. Feels like the vibes aren't that great, AJ. How are you feeling heading into the season about the Eagles? Literally everything is up in the air. I have never gone into a season with so many question marks where I'm not sure if it's going to work or it's not going to work. or it's not going to work because BC lost 30 players in the transfer portal last year.

They lost 70% of their staff. They have new coordinators at offensive defense where Bill O'Brien is taking over the offense. You brought a Ted Roof who, I know a lot of folks have strong opinions on Ted Roof. And then you bring in new quarterback, new running back, three-fifths of your offensive line, your entire wide receiver of a minus Jaden Ski. You just lost your starting tight end for the season, who was probably the best player that you had. your defense looks stronger, but there are a lot of new faces in there as well. So I've watched a lot of practices.

I've been there. I still don't know what this team is. And I don't know what their ceiling and their floor is because there's just so many question marks. You brought in a quarterback, Mason McKenzie from Saginaw Valley. I'm going to tell you, if I had to hear a comparison to Trinidad Shambliss one more time, I will scream. because it's apples and beach balls, okay? This is what this is with these two. Mason's to watch, but Trinidad Chambliss is a unicorn.

Like how many D2 quarterbacks end up becoming like that? So there's a huge question right there. You have no quarterback that has ever thrown a P4 pass yet. It's a little worrisome. I'm not sure what we have here. Okay. Well, you know what? Let's talk about one thing that you do have,

because Boston college fans accused me of being too negative about them, never saying anything positive. How did y'all keep J.P. Price? I mean, he's one of the best safeties, not just in the ACC, but I think in the country,

and you kept them for another year. How did y'all end up pulling that one off? Talk to K.P. earlier this summer, and he said it wasn't really even a question. He says he loves Boston College. This is where he wants to end it in college, and there was not really even a question of going to the portal. well, no, that probably was.

I'm sure there were teams that really wanted him. But he is emphatic. This is his room. It's his defense. You watch him out there. He's running everything. And as you said, Kenton, like, KP is really, really good.

And he's going to get better this year. You know, last year he was playing linebacker at one point because B.C. ran out of linebackers. And with Ted Roof, you know, say what you will about his defenses, but he moves guys around. So you're going to see KP up at the line. You're going to see him in coverage. You're going to see him all over the place.

It's a good problem to have when you have a guy like this. And he, you know, in terms of his looks this year, I don't know how much weightlifting he did, but he looks ready for the NFL. Like he just looks like a million bucks. And I think he's going to be a real asset for BC's defense. I think he's incredible. And, you know, after losing Turbo Richard, Eric's Dardy, Omar Thornton, Reed Harris, Harris, like all your stars are guys like,

were ascending to keep KP price was, A, incredibly surprising, but be probably the biggest news BC got in the offseason. So it sounds like I need to do some tampering with Boston college players next year. Because if KP ain't get no calls, I should have put in, well, hey, we got a safety void here this season. I'm sorry, go ahead, Julie. No, you're good. I mean, he's already trying to tamper CJ Sadler in Chapel Hill.

So it's not the first player that he'll tamper with the ACC this offseason. AJ, I will freely admit that in trying to find something positive to say about BC, I did make the Mason-McKinsey, Trinidad, Chamblis, comparison. I'm not going to be like that's going to happen, but I'm just saying it's happened before. So maybe it can happen again for BC and their benefit. But let's stay there with McKenzie. I'm a little puzzled by this.

Bill O'Brien's the same coach who told Jalen Millrow, you're not a quarterback. He also had Tommy Castellanos. bents them in favor of grace and james then last year finally got his kind of guy and dylan lonergan and by the reporting that i've seen the team was never behind that kid they wanted grace and james and now he's going with mason mackenzie who's probably more of a runner than a thrower at this level so like what is the mindset from bob here with this quarterback decision it's you brought it up like it's so interesting that just two years ago you had a guy Tommy castellano say what you will about how he could throw, but he could make plays.

He won games for BC in 2023 with Jeff Halfley. Like things weren't working. You could get him to run the ball. And O'Brien basically broke him. Like he just made him into a pocket passer and all the instincts and things that Tommy did well were just gone. You brought in Dylan Larnigan, a guy he recruited at Alabama. And you were like, okay, so he must know what he's getting here.

And those first few games, the game against Michigan State, Larnigan looked great. he was electric and you know going you know i think they put up 40 something points in that game and he was the main reason for it but once defenses started getting film on him he became a pumpkin like he could not read blitzes at all he everything was short and underneath stuff and they started reading that and then he just fell apart then they brought grace and james back it seemed to me his just his mojo and everything that he had that actually worked in 2025 for was gone so you bring in mason mackenzie and this is where it confuses me too right? Like he is. He ran for almost 1,000 yards last year for Saginaw Valley.

We just went through this two years ago with Tommy. Like, is this going to be the same thing? And it's different. It is very different from what I, it's interesting. An older coach, like, can he learn his lesson from something like that? You'd always think they're going to kind of dig in. Mason is going to be much more mobile and they're going to not force him to be a pocket passer. From what I've watched in the summer and spring, it's very different than what they were doing with Tommy. That's good. He's also got a piece of what made Tommy good to,

which was those intangibles. Like he's a, he's got that swag to him a little bit, which you see a guy that's like 510 and you're like, but he's got it. Like you heard him in ACC Media Day. Like he hears the people that, me,

that say that he's not going to be the guy that's going to be able to bring BC up. And he's like, I'm going to prove these people wrong. And you see it on the field that the players all love him. So he's got that piece. DeLarnigan never had that. And I think that's going to be an important factor because I think he's got some tools.

I'm a little worried about the passing part. He's got a pretty good arm. But the receivers, I don't know what they really have. I'm so a little worried that they don't have the right wide receivers to actually be able to have a effective passing game. But I think Mason, you know, he could, again, of the biggest question marks, he's a number one. His ceiling could be high. Who knows? Maybe he will be electric.

But his floor could be really low, too. It's just that where it goes for him. All right, AJ, we like to try to keep it on the field. And with BC, it's not a ton to talk about on the field. Let's just be honest. But you all have a new president. We saw you talking about it on your podcast. We saw you talking about it on TikTok.

You are saying, we are ready, potentially with this change in leadership, to be more serious about sports. So when you look at Butler, are you looking at somebody that you think will take a less apathetic stance, a more active role in making BC football, BC basketball, the front door of Boston College?

Yes, I believe fully in Jack Butler that he has a much different vision for BC sports than Father Lehi did. I mean, just look at the basketball higher. We're saying this to Julian Othier earlier. Like,

I was just watching a national show where they were like, How did BC end up with Luke Murray? Like, this is a guy that's thought of as a offensive genius, the architect of Yukon's run, and a really up-and-coming coach, well, BC's starting to put money out. You know, we're seeing it with the Revs share.

They were able to go out and get some guys recruiting. Yeah, their numbers aren't great, but they flipped a kid from Louisville, which they've never done before. They kept a kid from going to Michigan on his OV. Like, they're putting some things together that way, It's showing me that the school's starting to do things the right way a little bit. Sure, they've got miles to go, right?

But it's starting to put them back into the competition, what they should be. But it's always Boston College. This has been their problem for 20 years is they're playing catch up all the time. They're playing catch up. They're never in front of anything. And so when you're watching the football team, you know, last year, part of the issue was they didn't have a full rev share, which is ridiculous. Why?

Where did that money go? Oh, they didn't have that. So then, you know, their portal class last year was terrible. And then you saw it on the field when they had no depth when they got hammered with injuries. This year, they go out, they get a lot of guys with a lot of potential. You know, we don't know what they're going to do yet. But, you know, you look at a guy like Evan Dickens. They're running back.

This kid ran for 1,400 yards. I know it was for Liberty last year. But, you know, he was recruited by Georgia Tech. He is, you know, going to be a name to watch for. And watching him at practice, he's really good. And so they've. got a couple guys that they brought in. I think that we'll start to show the world that there's some talent at Boston College.

It's not a desolate wasteland. And I think the funding and the vision of a new president should help BC kind of step back up to where they need to be. Well, we know there's talent at BC. A lot of those guys have left to go to places like Indiana and Miami. I actually mentioned early on the show. So we know they have talent. But looking at this team this year, you don't necessarily know, and we all don't know what they're exactly going to be. And that's with any team.

We all kind of project based off what you do know, what you don't know. But looking at the over under, according to Fandle's sportsbook right now, three and a half wins. Where are you at with that, AJ? Is it possible for Bill to double his win total from last year and potentially get to a bowl this season? I think there is. I would go the over on this one. I feel pretty confident with it because last. year there were two big things and I think Bill really kind of fixed it. They pushed players way

too hard during practice last year and started the season with a lot of like soft tissue injuries and things like that that just kind of lingered and then you lost all of your depth. They have improved depth. They've their offseason plan, it's night and day when I walk by the weight room before practice last year there was like 30 guys in there. Now it's like you can find three or four. They're healthier. You also look at the games that BC lost last year. four of them, I think they lost on one play. Larnigan throwing an interception in the end zone against Cal. Like they would have won that game.

Turbo fumbled in two different games at the end zone that they would have won. Like, there's lots of that. And yes, Bill Parcells did say you are what your record says you are. But I think there's more talent on this team. And I do feel they can pick off a few teams quick. Like, you know, I think the first three games are crucial. At Cincinnati, Rutgers and Maine, if they can win two out of three or heck, if they're better than what I think they are going to be and win three out of the four,

they'll get their four wins easy. Okay. BC potentially going over this season. He's AJ Black of Locked-on, Boston College. I'll also check him out over on Eagle Insider, part of the 247 Sports Network. Year one for Tepita pitcher, Tevita Pritchard, excuse me, back on the farm there at Stanford. We'll preview to Stanford Cardinals here in just a moment on lockdown ACC. Last but certainly not least, let's head out to.

the West Coast, the Palo Alto, the breakdown, the Stanford Cardinal heading into year one under Tevita Pritchard. As you will know, had a famous upset back in 07 over USC. What's your deal? No, what's your deal? Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, going at it back then. To break down the Stanford Cardinal is Alex Howell, who covers Stamper, the Stanford football updates and the Cardinal Canopy podcast, Alex, do tell me, what are the vibes now that the native

son, Tevita Pritchard, is back on the farm and heading into this year? where there's a lot of unknown around the Cardinal. I think the one word you can say is refreshing. First off, thanks for having me on. Stanford has gone from the highest of highs of a 2016 Rose Bowl to the lowest of lows being the laughing stock of the Pack 12 and now the ACCC for quite a bit. But we believe in Andrew Luck,

and we believe that he's picked the right guy to Vita Pritchard is a Stanford man through and through. He's 39 years old. He's a young, energetic head coach. And, you know, I think that he is continuing what Frank Reich did last year and building a really strong culture out at Stanford. So I'm excited for this season, even if it's not necessarily, you know, the most winning season. So Stanford, even when y'all have been a laughing stock, quote unquote, a lot of people don't realize this. Y'all have put off some pretty big upsets.

Tevita Pritchard was a part of an upset that was actually on a good team or a good-ish team. When you look at this year's schedule, it's a little bit of a murder's role. You have plenty of opportunities to get you that upset. So, Alex, if you had to pick one team that you're like, oh, we're going to catch them slipping. Michael Ford going to rush about 180. Davis Warren going to look like a real quarterback. We're going to get us one. Where would that be?

Oh, God, that's a great question. There are definitely three candidates for that. There's the Miami game on Friday night for week one. There's the Notre Dame game away. And then there's the Louisville game away. Those are the three that are most important. First, I'll say about the schedule. The schedule is difficult, no doubt.

But this is a pretty typical Stanford schedule where we schedule ourselves some really hard opponents. It happens every year, even in the PAC 12, where we had to play USC every year. Now we're playing SMU every year. It's just a fact of life at this point and we just accept it. I'm going to be, I'm going to go maybe unconventional in terms of the upset. I think that Stanford pulls it off again against Louisville, which is, it's very bold for me to say, given how good Isaac Brown is, how good Jeff Brom is. But Stanford has history against Louisville.

And Stanford had no business winning against Louisville in 2023, I believe it was, oh, 2024. And they, and they pulled it off. put me down as the Louisville upset, although I think the Notre Dame one would be much sweeter. Oh, certainly, knowing the rivalry that is there between Stanford and Notre Dame, there's been great games. I remember it was the fuel goal back in like 2015-16 at the end of that game that kept the Notre Dame out of the kind of the playoff back then.

So they've had some great ones. There was an upset in South Bend not too long ago with Stanford team. That would have been considered a laughing stock with a Pac-12, was not a laughing stock in South end that afternoon. But looking at the offense, Davis Warren, I'm not going to lie to you, Alex. I'm not super excited about this one. I don't know how you feel.

But can you talk me into the offense being better than what it looks like on paper with Michael Forteote in Iraq and then a receiver core where it feels like Nico Brown is going to have to be the top guy? Like sell me on this offense and it being passable after last year's issues with Elijah Brown and Ben Goldbranson. I'll do my best. I can't guarantee that you'll be completely convinced by my answer, but I'll do my best. If you look at the quarterback play from Stanford the past five years, which is, you know, again, it's crazy because Stanford has a long history of fantastic quarterbacks, from John Elway to Andrew Luck, to even Kevin Hogan, to in the modern era, Davis Mills, who is now a backup quarterback for Texas.

he's no slouch, Terry McKee. We've had our fair share of really good quarterbacks. But the last five years just haven't been it. We went from Ashton Daniels, who's now at Florida State to a, I don't know, a weird tandem of Ben Goldbranson and Elijah Brown. I'm going to sell you on this. The standards for quarterback play right now are so low at Stanford.

Davis Warren has to be an upgrade. It's a, look, I'll say this about Davis Warren. He's looked good this fall camp. Okay. People who have been watching the program for a while say that he's the best quarterback we've had since, even maybe even better than Ashton Daniels. He is a true gamer.

Look, no one can doubt that Michigan with a piss poor O line and a piss poor wide receiver court outside of Colston-Levelin, won six games and won the game against Ohio State. Davis-Whorren is a gamer. He's a survivor, a true survivor and a cancer survivor. And what he's done to the offensive side is he's really become the leader that we all thought a quarterback should be. It's, I joke that he's become, he's bringing the Michigan man traits back to Stanford.

It's true. And so I look, he's he's not the flashiest quarterback. He certainly was not the top choice quarterback that Stanford fans had in mind going into the transfer portal. But he is definitely an upgrade over really bad quarterback performance over the past five years. But I don't think that Stanford's going to be revolving. Stanford offense will not revolve around the quarterback. The Stanford offense will revolve around Michael Ford and this offensive line. The question is whether this offensive line can hold up.

It's a question every year. I believe that we have much better coaching this year from the offensive line. It's a matter of staying healthy. And it's a matter of getting great wide receivers out of what we have right now, which is a question. But we, you know, I think Caden High is going to take a step up. Nico Brown has come back from, has come out of Yale. And he was PFF's best wide receiver out of Yale.

this year or last year. And so we'll see what happens. But this is going to be a run first offense. Definitely. It's going to feel very David Shaw-esque in that sense, which may scare Stanford fans. But I believe that

Tevita will bring some creativity to that offense. Okay. All right. Now we talked about you didn't sell me, but here's what I do know. Okay. You talked about the robbery with Notre Dame, we all know that's not your biggest rival. Your biggest rival, them guys right down the street, them golden bears, they got the

Calderyth, they got the shiny new head coach and everybody so excited about and all that. They treat you like a second class citizen over there in Palo Alto. And yet, last year was the first time in five years that Stanford beat Cal. So you tell me, Alex, number one, what does it mean to Stanford to beat Cal? Number two, what has to happen for Stanford to continue that and go on the streak like what they went on when I want to say it was what? The mid-2000s was about nine straight or ten straight of just Stanford waxing them boys. So what has to ask? First, I'll speak about the rivalry with Cal.

Yeah, that is our biggest rival. I hate Cal. I will never, you'll never get me to like that team. You'll never get me to like anything about Berkeley or or anything about that campus. It is a visceral, visceral hatred. And they don't get it twisted. They've always been little bros. They will continue to be little bros

to the superior academics and superior athletics. That is at Stanford. We get nerdy on them. We get nerdy. That's the first thing. Second thing is the Calgaryham is a fantastic movement. I believe that they can get a little delusional sometimes and caught up with it.

Every year we hear, this is the year from Cal and it's never the year. And so we are, we're excited. But look, okay, seriously, it means everything to have the axe. When I was a student at Stanford, I was part of a street that held the axe for nine years to the point. We took it for granted. Definitely not having the ax for the last five years, four or five years has really, really, has really, really brought special meanings. to having the axe back. And how did we get the X back?

We got the X back in a 31 to 10 victory where we had two defensive scores. It's going to have to revolve around the defense. It's going to be the same thing with Stanford this year. We're going to have to revolve around the defense. And we're going to have to out physical every other team that we play this year in order to have a chance to be bowl eligible.

You know, I'm sorry. I know, I know, I know that I'm going a little out of turn here. I love the hatred and the rivalry. I love that. We got too many con rivalries in the ACC, too much. Oh, they're a good team. I don't want to be

too disrespect. That's the type of stuff I love that. We got to have you all more. We're going to have you all more, Alex. But proceed to you. Yeah, well, it'll be the great thing about bringing both of those teams from the Bay Area is the fact that they have each other to hate and look across the Bay and spew venom as we just got there

from Alex. But you mentioned it's going to have to come defensively. We'd spent time talking about Davis-Warrant, Michael Ford, and the offensive line what they have to do to hold up this season and be able to allow them to have success. But defensively, like, who are the guys that really have to stand up

and carry Stanford this season? Oh, wow. You know, I will say, Stanford's defense has some dogs this year. They really do have some dogs this year. We retained Matt Rose, Aaron, a star inside linebacker. He's going to expect him to have

the same, if not a better, even better season under a second year of Andy Thompson, who is his interior linebackers coach. We have, I think, I believe, funnily believe we have a star at every single position or a potential star at every single position on the defense. On the defensive line, it's either Braden Marcel Oliinka, who is, you know, been a long-time interior delinement or Zach Rao, who made Bruce Feldman's Freaks list, top speed of 20 miles per hour from an interior

D-Lyman is kind of crazy. And the scheme, the 4-3 scheme that Chris, the illusion of boom scheme that Chris Richard has this year has our D-Lyman going vertical as opposed to stopping the run gaps, which means that you're going to see a lot more sacks and a lot more chasing from their interior linemen this year than we even have, even when Clay Patterson was raking havoc in the back last year. in terms of the secondary

in the boundary corners Brandon Nicholson is going to have a really good season he's a sleeper candidate for all ECC in my opinion he had a great season he had a breakout season last year I expect him to continue taking steps up and then in terms of the safety role we're playing to 4-3 and I would be remiss to say that our Cam Chancellor this year is Jay Green who had a great season last

year again, hits hard, maybe not necessarily the most athletic, but you'll hit really, really hard. And that's exactly what he, Richard wants in his Legion of Boom safety this year. So I believe that we have a potential start at every single position. And defense is going to definitely keep us in games this year. Yeah, I mean, retaining Matt Rose is obviously a huge for Tevita Pritcher going into his first year. And obviously having Andrew Luck, you know, program alum, who is the general manager, that probably helps you with the roster continuity that they do have defensively. A fan dual sports book,

look at the over under. They're not high on Stanford, three and a half wins. You look at it, obviously this Saturday night against Hawaii, like that's got to be one you got to take. My alma mater, Elon's coming over there. That should be an easy win for you. I would hope. And then look, yeah, you have the axe.

You could go back over across the bay and get it again. It's just about where's that fourth win? Where can it come? So where are you at? Over under three and a half wins? Do you think they can get the four and eight? You think maybe they can even get to a bowl this season? I'm definitely over three and a half.

I would actually have personally set the line at probably four and a half. It's probably a better line than three and a half, in my opinion. But this happens every year. The national pundits underestimate what Stanford can do. And Stanford turns around and surprises people. We did it last year. Even when we were winning, having those three-win seasons, we weren't expected to win more than two games.

And so this is not surprising for us. us. I think that we have to have the Hawaii game. Absolutely. And unfortunately, for the Hawaii game, we're injured. We're in our right guard and our left tackle will be out for that game, as well as our two top receivers. But even with that, we should own the line of scrimmage and win that game. I, Elon is an obvious probably mini buy win for Stanford. Elon is no, no disrespect to you, Julian. It's a mid-level FCS team. And so that's to when, right there. I think that big game each year is

always a toss-up no matter how good or bad each of those teams are. So let's say Stanford wins the Axeback. It's three wins there. I think between Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Wake Forest,

probably Virginia Tech, maybe Virginia Tech, you can pull two wins out of that, two or three wins out of that. And then all of a sudden you're thinking about a bowl, you're smelling a bowl conversation right there. Personally, my prediction, I'm generally on more optimistic side. I do think that Stanford could make a bowl game this year. And it would be out, you know, it would be that win that big game that would seal a bowl game.

But again, I understand that I am probably more on the optimistic side than, than most people on Stanford. Hey, that's totally fair, man. You got to have hope. And if you're not going to hope here going into week zero, then I don't know when you're going to have hope. But yeah, The Hawaii game is certainly one you got to have, and that is concerning. We'll have our breakdown of that game on Friday as we had into Week Zero. Finally, some real football to talk about. But he is Alex Howell of Stanford football updates. Also check out his podcast, a Cardinal Canopy Podcast.

And of course, you're going to probably hear him more often here on Locked on ACC as we continue to check in with our friends who've helped preview the ACC with us this season. But Alex, appreciate your time as always, man. We'll talk you down the road. Thank you very much for having me and go Stanford. Thanks so much to Tyler, Wo, Jackablock. On Irish, AJ Black of Locked on Boston College and Eagle Insider, a part of the 247 Sports Network, and do Alex Howe of Stanford Football Updates in the Cardinal Canopy podcast.

But that's going to wrap up this edition of the Lockdown ACC podcast podcast, a part of Lockdown Podcast Network. We're your host, as always, Julian Council and Kenton Gibbs. Again, y'all subscribe and follow the show for free over on YouTube and wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. And be sure to follow us over on Twitter at Julian Council and at T-D-I-F underscore Kenton. And in the meantime, be safe, be happy to be whole. And we'll talk to you all on Thursday as we're going to have our official ACC prediction show. We're going to tell you who's going to win the conference, who's going to get fired,

who's going to make the college ball playoff, and more here on Thursday on locked on ACC.