Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - Why Florida State And The ACC Will Settle | But How Can The Conference Keep Other Members Together?
Episode Date: August 29, 2024What happens next in court between the Florida State Seminoles and the Atlantic Coast Conference? When the ESPN opt out decision happens in February of 2025, will the ACC’s Grant of Rights be invali...d if ESPN opts out or if they alter the deal in any way? WIll the case actually reach litigation, or will a settlement ultimately happen? If Florida State and Clemson are able to get out, will it open the floodgates for others to join them?Hosts Alex Donno and Kenton Gibbs are joined by Attorney Doug Rohan of Rohan Law. Doug has been following the case since day one and provides valuable input. Doug explains how much longer these cases would take IF settlements are not reached. He expects a settlement with FSU having to pay at least if not more than $140 million to exit the league. Rohan notes that Florida State and Clemson only have to win on one argument while the ACC needs to win on all of theirs. Donno and Kenton identify which games on the ACC schedule could result in massive upsets.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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.5-Hour EnergyGo to 5hourenergy.com and use promo code LOCKEDONCFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourenergy.com today!Ultimate GMUltimate College Football HC is a brand-new mobile game that is completely free, has no ads and100% playable offline. Use the promo code LOCKEDONCFB, all caps, inside the game store to receive a free boost to your program. Begin your coaching legacy today!Factor MealsHead to FACTORMEALS.com/lockedoncollege50 and use code lockedoncollege50 to get 50% off your first box PLUS 20% off your next month while your subscription is active!eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started. 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)
Florida State Seminoles have been as compelling off the field as on the field.
Let's get down to business.
When are they getting out of the 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.
Shout out to the everydayers and thank you so much for making Locked on ACC.
Your first listen and your first watch today.
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 five-hour energy.
They fix tired fast with zero sugar, convenient, portable size. It's the perfect pick-me-up for
getting stuff done. Go to five-hourenergy.com. Use promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off
your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order. Cannot be used with
other promotions. Go to five-hourenergy.com today. So thrilled on this episode, Kenton Gibbs
and I are joined by the guy who has kept us so informed on the Florida State versus ACC
and ACC versus Florida State lawsuits.
We have Doug Rohan of Rohan Law with us.
By the way, on this episode, we will also discuss some big underdogs this weekend
on the ACC schedule and who might be able to pull off some upsets potentially.
But Mr. Rohan, we appreciate your time.
And I want to start with this because, again, you've been such a great resource on these lawsuits.
And I know that, gosh, so much of the stuff that's happening in court is up to interpretation.
When we hear about this opt-out opportunity that ESPN has with the ACC TV deal coming up in February of 2025 prior to that renewal period in 2027,
if ESPN were to maybe want to stay in the ACC business but opt out and create a new TV deal, if they alter the TV deal in any way,
is that grant of rights still valid until 2036, or can they essentially tear it up and throw it out?
Well, Alex and Kenton, thank you so much for having me on.
I've been following you guys for several months as well and really been pleased with what you all have been able to bring
as far as newsworthy information from the other ACC teams.
So yes, I am absolutely a homer.
I wore my colors just to be clear so that there wouldn't be any accusation of me hiding.
But look, this all started because I love Florida State, but I also love the law.
I do practice as an attorney.
I will be transparent and admit I did not jump on this right of way because this is not my practice area.
I know all of these terms from going to law school, from dealing with contracts and studying for the bar exam.
All attorneys have to have a general scope of knowledge.
And I was more than happy to let somebody else fill this space in.
But by the time we saw the questions coming out when these lawsuits were being filed, I decided, okay, well, I'll come on board.
I'm going to be transparent and honest.
I'm the bus driver.
I'm not telling you where we're going, but I can certainly point out the window and explain to you what we're passing.
And so that's kind of the approach that I've tried to take over this now coming up on 11 months, 10 months of this litigation.
And so that's all we want to do here is just trying to explain and break it down in a way that the Twitter followers can understand, can speak intelligently.
And I've been really pleased with what I've seen in the Discord because folks like you then take that information, share it.
And then that keeps all of the craziness from from percolating to the surface.
We get really intelligent conversations.
So to your question, my interpretation, the way I understood this, is not how I started this case.
And I want people to understand that's not uncommon for lawyers to do.
You go through this process of peeling back the layers of the onion and understanding things in different terms.
Just like everybody else, when they said that this was a, you know,
ironclad grant of rights, we didn't have any reason to disagree with that. So we ran with that.
That's what was in the sound bites. And it wasn't until I actually started to peel back the layers
after Clemson's lawsuit that I really began to understand what the allegations were. So first off,
just a little bit of history, the grant of rights that the ACC is using. The ACC copied the homework
of the Big 12. So when they did their grant of rights, they copied that agreement.
but they made some very important changes.
And the first of which is that the grant of rights
in the Big 12 that they were copying said ESPN agreement,
Fox agreement, other media partner agreements.
When the ACC got this document and they created the ACC grant of rights,
they were so comfortable with the ESPN relationship
that they only put ESPN in the ACC grant of rights.
So that's the first problem.
The first problem is that we have an irrevocable grant of rights
that is tied specifically and solely to the existence of an ESPN agreement,
not ESPN and or Fox and or any other media partners that they have in the future.
So yes, the first linchpin is what's going to happen in February of 2025
when ESPN needs to decide whether or not they're going to exercise the option.
The second historical thing that I want to share with your viewers is that if you go back to when these hearings first started,
I went to the Mecklenburg County Courthouse and actually observed the first hearing,
and that's what launched our Twitter page.
I was live tweeting everything that was going on.
But the judge there, Judge Bledsoe made a huge deal about the fact that the ACC was arguing and trying to make stuff secret
that they weren't arguing in the Florida suit down in Leon County.
And that's because the complaint that Florida State initially filed was the one that disclosed all this language about this February 2025 look in.
Now, the ACC has suggested and has posited as stated that this is a look-in provision,
which just means, hey, let's take a look and see if it's still fair for everybody.
That's not what the provision says.
The provision says very clearly ESPN has a unilateral and unobligatory opportunity to decide
if it wants to continue the contract.
That's not a look-in provision.
That's an option.
So ESPN right now is the sole decision-maker on whether or not they want to continue.
continue after February 1st, 2025 beyond the 2027 season. If they choose not to,
then there is no grant of rights beyond 2027. Well, first of all, permission to treat the witness
as hospital down. No, but seriously, I a thousand percent agree and I've agreed with everybody
in terms of, hey, if the ESPN deal goes up and smokes, granted rights goes up and smoke,
that's been something that I've been consistent on in front of the beginning. But one thing
that I've had a very clear stance on as well is that ESPN has the ACC Raked Oaken.
It would not necessarily make a ton of sense for them to say, hey, I get that y'all are making a lot more money than we are spending on you all.
But we're going to cut you loose anyway.
But, you know, I mean, we've seen some of the moves that ESPN has made lately.
Everything doesn't make sense on its face.
But with that in mind, while we talk about where we are right now, in terms of,
this case is, how it plays out all that good stuff. If you were to say, hey, this case has a
lifespan or a life cycle much like certain animals, what point would you say this is where we are,
right? Like, this case is headed towards like, hey, it's becoming fully matured and developed and
there's like legitimate, we're getting into discovery, getting into the things, or is it more
so we're still in its infancy. We're just learning to crawl. We're just learning to, you know,
not touch hot stoves and all that in terms of where this case is. Where would you say?
That's a great analogy. And that was exactly one of the points of emphasis that we had early on in us.
Everybody was all excited when the lawsuit started getting filed and the complaints and answers and motions.
And I was like, folks, we are still trying to figure out which stadium we're going to play the game in.
Is this in North Carolina or is this in Tallahassee?
So to your point, from a litigation standpoint, we're still at the opening kickoff.
Now, with that being said, Judge Cooper in Florida,
has said all gas, no breaks, we're going to let you go up to the court of appeals on this issue of jurisdiction,
but you waived the argument of venue by not refiling it, not restating it. So as far as I'm concerned,
Florida is the appropriate place, and very likely the court of appeals is going to agree. So in the meantime,
we're moving forward with discovery. We already had court ordered mediation. That was not successful.
That was not a surprise at all. The litigation moves forward. Folks,
litigation at this level takes two to three years. So if we're going to go down the litigation path
of this case, yes, we're still going to be talking about this well into the 2026, 2027 season.
What is most likely, and I've said since our first podcast, is this is going to be a case that
settles. Now, what is that number and which party is going to capitulate first? That's the big
question because both parties are right now saying, you know, Florida State is, we're at 140 million,
we'll pay the exit fee. We know that we got to pay that. Although we have an argument that that's an
unenforceable penalty. So if you make us go down this litigation route, it could be less. Whereas the
ACC is saying, we know the numbers around 524 million for the life of this contract through 2036.
and in fact the number is going to keep going up as we get these new agreements with ESPN.
So that number could be as high as 700 million.
And if we have to litigate that, we're still going to go down that route.
The difference is, and this is something that everybody keeps forgetting,
if Florida State loses, a judge is not going to tell Florida State to pay $525 million.
All they say is you have to stay in the ACC.
That is a loss.
So that's why when people are, why is FSU doing this?
Why aren't they just behaving?
Because they see an existential crisis to their existence as a program,
and they don't lose anything by raising hell and trying to get out.
Now, if that number is 300 million or less, the math maps,
based on how much the projected new earnings are in the new conferences and the Power 2 conferences,
which I have every confidence there is a landing space.
We have 5 million people hate watching Florida State in Ireland.
underperform. The reality is that they draw the eyeball. So there is a market for them in one of the
Power 2 conference tables at some point. The question is, how much is it going to cost to get there
and does Florida State want to pay that money? And that's why February is the important date to me
to go to your question, Kenton. There is a chance and there is a reasonable likelihood that this
case is resolved either at the end or close to the end of this football season. And I think that's
going to include, because we're already past the August 15th deadline to announce, that's going to
include this season and next season in the ACC. I think the ACC will be happy with that,
gets them an extra year that they would have had if Florida State had announced something
sooner. And in the meantime, it gives Florida State a longer runway to negotiate with the power
to conferences. Remember, they just had realignment. We're going to talk about
realignment at the end, you can't have change after change after change after change in a short
period of time. You have to have what's called change management. There are adaptations. There are
adjustments that need to be made. There's new things that are learned with every one of these
realignments. And you want to apply that to the next round of realignment. So waiting until the
2026 season seems to me to make the best sense for Florida State.
We're going to continue the conversation here with Doug Rohan, Rohan Law. I'm learning a
lot already. And he mentioned something about how Florida State facing an existential crisis.
Is this an existential crisis for the ACC if they lose Florida State and Clemson? I want to
continue this conversation. You guys want to keep it locked. We're not done yet. We're only getting
started on this brand new episode of Locked on ACC. And you already know I'm only getting
started with five hour energy. I mean, guys, I need that afternoon pick me up. I know you're not the
only ones. We get tired after lunch. Research shows that more than 70% of us hit the wall after
lunch. Let a five-hour energy shot help you leap over that wall instead of crashing into it.
Folks, with zero sugar and a convenient portable size, it's the perfect pick-me-up for getting
stuff done. The five-hour energy website has the flavors galore like watermelon, tropical
burst, great, berry, so much more. There's a flavor for everyone. On the site, you even have the
option to build your own 12-pack or 24-pack. You choose the flavors, and it's delivered right to your
door. If you go to five hour energy.com, that's the number five hour energy.com. Get some five hour
energy product today. You can use our promo code locked on CFB to receive 20% off your order.
This order only valid until September 30th on one order cannot be used with other promotions.
The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to five hour energy.com today. Thank you so much for
making Lockdown ACC your first listen today. Make sure you check out our other shows. Kenton does an awesome job on Lockedon Wolfpack.
I host Locked on Cains.
We also, it's nice to have that Florida State representation today with Doug Rohan.
And so, Doug, you know, you talked about existential crisis for Florida State.
Like, of course, all the revenue that they're missing out on not being in the power to.
But then on the flip side of it, you know, this is why Jim Phillips says he's going to fight for as long as it takes the ACC commissioner.
You know, if Florida State and Clemson either straight up win in court or if they reach,
favorable settlement terms, is there a chance that others can follow them out the door?
If I were advising the ACC, the goal would be to make the number as high as possible
so that only Clemson, Florida State, and maybe a choice few others like North Carolina and Miami
can afford it. And then you reinvest that money that gets paid into your coffers to
gird the rest of the conference and let's make some sense of what's going to happen next. If Miami stays
behind and Miami is going to become the new Belcow of the ACC, Alex, we need to start marketing to
that South Florida market and get that stadium filled. We need to make sure that there are viewers. We need
to make sure that people want to watch. I remember the crazy heydays of the Florida Panthers when they
were playing for championships and people were watching. It's all about marketing. So they need to
go to the other ACC schools and say, are you serious about football?
Pitt, are we going to reestablish that Marino-esque history and legacy that we had?
Are you going to NC State? Are you going to take the next step?
Because you darn sure has been a Thorne and Florida State side every once in a while.
So we want to make sure that that becomes a consistent performance from those middle-tier schools.
I hate that we lost to Georgia Tech, but I sure is heck want Georgia Tech to win out for the rest of the season to not be a piss-poor matchup.
last year, the reason why the committee, I'm not going to say, was justified, but had even an
argument to shun Florida State in the college football playoff is because there wasn't a number
three school behind Clemson. Everybody else was five and four, six and six, seven and two.
The conference as a whole needs to get better if they want to remain a power four program,
if they want to establish themselves as one of those top four conferences, or alternatively,
just go all in on basketball, bring in Yukon, set up the triangle, the North Carolina
triangle as a basketball powerhouse, be that preeminent basketball conference and move the
football to G5 because that is how you are treating the conference. There's been so many
opportunities of mismanagement throughout all of these years of negotiations. And that's why
Florida State was throwing crap against the wall in their complaints because they wanted the
world to see. Why was it that Raycom was such an integral part of these third-tier productions?
Why was it so beneficial for ESPN to move forward? Why did they give a three-year extension
when there wasn't any consideration for ESPN to even decide if they want to continue on through
2036? All of those were chances that the ACC had to assert themselves and establish.
themselves, but they have historically operated from a point of fear as opposed to a point of power,
and they are now reaping what they sow. So to take the long way around to your answer, if they were to
negotiate a $220 million settlement, then only two, three, maybe four players max can can afford that.
If they litigate, Florida State and the Clemson only need to win on one of their seven counts.
ACC has to win on all counts in both suits in order for this to continue on to 2036.
And that is a game of Russian roulette where instead of playing with one bullet in the chamber,
they're playing with five bullets in the chamber and one that's not.
So the ACC, if I were advising them, should actively work towards a January settlement
in the $200 million range and make sure that they only lose two, three, four members of the comments.
You know, one thing that is a constant, if you've ever had to deal with lawyers at a moderate to high level, is there's not a definitive yes or no ever.
There's always a, this is your percentage.
This is an uphill battle.
It may not work for it.
It may not work against you.
But let me ask you this.
There's the idea that, hey, the ACC is playing a game of Russian roulette where every, you know, every slide of the chamber except one is going to be filled.
But let me ask you, from the standpoint of looking at Florida State and Clemson,
potentially being in a situation where they are to lose this thing.
What would you say those chances look like?
What would you say the odds are that, hey, the ACC really does find favorable decisions here in their cases
or at least enough favorable decisions to where, again, let's just say Florida State wins in Florida,
Clemson wins in South Carolina, but the ACC wins both in North Carolina.
Now we're taking this thing to a higher level.
What do you think that looks like?
This is why I have said from, again, the first time I was hosting that there would be a settlement.
We just learned last month from the Ohio State Supreme Court that boneless chicken wings can have bones in them.
That was the decision of the Ohio State Supreme Court.
It was not poor advertising to say that the restaurant had boneless chicken wings and the restaurant patron patrons.
found a bone in his chicken wing. So that's what litigation does. It creates nonsense. It creates
an asinine world where words matter and what is, is, and the, you know, David McKenzie went,
you know, brutal on, you know, there's no way that these cases are going to turn on the phrase
the, that's not true. These cases turn on stupid phrases all the time. And that's why this will
never, this will never see any true litigation. There will not be a judgment from any judge that
has a material effect on the outcome of this case. It will settle. I don't know when. I don't know
for how much. There is no chance because to your point, Ken, we have four cases operating in three
states and nobody has said we don't want to hear this case yet. The Supreme Court of North Carolina
hasn't even issued an order whether or not they're going to take Florida state's appeal
on the issue of whether North Carolina is the appropriate place for this to be.
The Court of Appeals in Florida on an expedited basis is another 30 days out from even hearing
whether or not this is a case that should be heard in Florida.
A decision just on which state we're going to play in and what playground we're going to play in
is six months away.
And nobody wants this to drag out that far.
Nobody wants this to go on to 2026, 2027, 2028.
And as it does, as each year passes, that number of what the cost is just keeps going down.
So that's why I say this case will settle.
There will not be a judgment.
And I would be more shocked.
I can't even come up with a scenario.
I cannot envision a single scenario where this goes to a judge for a judge to decide
because you have the chaos of three different states trying to figure out what's going on.
So wait a minute.
Go ahead.
Just one more thing here.
So you were the first person that I've ever heard throughout a number as high as 700 million.
That's the highest I've ever heard.
I've heard 54550 possibly on a crazy side or not even crazy.
Let me not use that word.
But on the absurd side, six.
And yet you threw out the number 700, but you're all.
also telling me that this likely settles for a lower amount than the 300 that you said,
hey, this number keeps them in the conference. Where does that, where does that juxtaposition
of those two numbers kind of exist? What does that come in at?
700 was mentioned by, I believe it was the Florida state attorneys in the North Carolina case
orally. What you write down carries more weight than what you say. The purpose
of saying things during a hearing is to focus or to bring attention to something you've already
said in your brief. There is very little that gets said in a hearing that's of merit or that's
of consequence. Now, the judge asks some questions, and that's where things can get interesting.
For instance, the ACC attorneys in the hearing agreed that this was an option on the part of ESPN
in February when they were grilling them in North Carolina. But that's not what Jim Phillips is going to say
from the podium in the middle of the ACC Media Days.
So the way that I reach my ultimate figure and my supposition is Florida State doesn't have to pay 500 million under any set of circumstances.
They just will give up or will have to wait until 2036 to get $524 million.
Now, we want to negotiate a prepayment on that amount.
We don't want to wait until 2036.
So the number is not zero.
There is an exit fee of $140 million, which if you look at the history, there was a $0
exit fee in 2010.
Sorry, yeah, 2010.
In 2013, it was $5 million.
In 2016, it was $7 million.
In 2018, it was $24 million.
So it has escalated as all of these conference realignment discussions have been going
on through the years. That's why now that number is at 140 million. Remember, it's a percentage
of the operation budget. Well, who's in control of the operation budget? The ACC is in control of
the ACC's operation budget. And what do they want to do right now? They want to stop people from
leaving, so they're going to increase their operations budget as much as they can. So there is an
argument that you can't go from zero to $140 million in less than 10 years and make a reasonable
argument as to why that is liquidated damages. Liquidated damages has to be something that
reasonably reflects the loss of income or the penalty that will, the harm that will be caused.
So that's why FSU has an argument at least that it's not $140 million. But let's set that
aside for now and assume that we're starting at $140 million, assume that they're starting at
$500 million. The number and the result is somewhere in between. And like I said, for Florida
state, the math is anything under 300 million and you wanted to be something substantially
under 300 million, except if it's 298 million, stop wasting money on the attorney's fees.
Might as well just stay. But if you're going to get out for 250, 240, 220, then I can see a
scenario where, again, Clemson and Florida State can afford that. Pit and Virginia Tech cannot.
I've learned a ton and if you guys want to keep learning from Doug, his ex-account is awesome.
And anytime there is a hearing, this is the man you need to follow at Rohan Law PC.
And I've seen Doug do awesome work also on the college football addiction podcast.
I think that's where I first saw Doug before I started following him on X.
So thank you so much for taking the time and for educating a couple dummies like us.
Thank you so much.
My pleasure to be here.
I'm always happy to talk football with rational fans.
I love it.
And yeah, Kenton and I will talk some ball.
We'll talk about who might get upset this weekend.
You want to keep it locked right here on Locked on ACC.
And I already know you're keeping it locked to Fanduil.
We've been winning money all summer and now football season is back.
We just got through week zero.
Week one is coming up and you know what?
We've got a little something different for you here on Fandual,
America's number one sports book.
Now through September 22nd,
all Fandual customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free
trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV.
Then with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon
out of market game. All you need is a Google account and a current form of payment and you can
cancel any time. So guys, if you want to place that $5 bet on one of the games this weekend,
we're about to talk Kenton and I about any of the big favorites who may go down or at least
not cover those spreads. Check it out on Fandul. Take advantage of this awesome opportunity.
visit Fanduil.com slash locked on to download America's number one sports book.
We are also proudly brought to you here on the Lockdown Network by Factor Meals.
They're helping me get my nutrition on.
The options, the minimal prep time, it's amazing.
No prep, no mess meals.
Meet your wellness goals thanks to the menu of chef created meals with options like
Calories Smart, Protein Plus, and Keto.
Factors Fresh, Never Frozen Meals are dietitian approved and ready to eat in just two
minutes. So no matter how busy you are, you'll always have time to enjoy nutritious, great-tasting
meals. Make today the day you kickstart a new healthy routine. What are you waiting for?
With 35 different meals and more than 60 add-ons to choose from every week, you'll always have
new flavors to explore. Crush your wellness goals with dietitian-approved meals and ingredients you
can trust. Keep kitchen time to a minimum, by the way. Factor meals are ready to cook and are ready
to eat, I should say, in two minutes, no shopping, no prepping, no cooking or cleaning up.
head to factormeals.com slash locked on college 50 and use code locked on college 50 to get 50% off
your first box plus 20% off your next month.
That's code locked on college 50 at factormeals.com slash locked on college 50 to get 50% off
your first box plus 20% off your next month while your subscription is active.
Thank you so much for making this episode of Locked on ACC your first listen and your first watch
today. Make sure you check out the squad. It's coming out later today, or maybe it's already
later today, depending on when you're watching this. We talk about all the matchups coming up
this weekend. But, you know, Kenton, something else that we wanted to get to here, because
you've got some big favorites this weekend, big ACC teams that are big favorites this
weekend. I'm looking at some of these spreads, Mr. Gibbs. NC State favored by 32 and a half
at home against Western Carolina.
Wake Forest favored by 35 against North Carolina A&T.
Duke favored by 23 and a half against Elon.
Let's see.
This is not, I guess, a huge favorite,
but Virginia Tech are 13.5 point favorites on the road at Vanderbilt,
Pittsburgh, 24.5 point favorites at home against Kent State.
Cal, 20 and a half point favorites against UC Davis.
I didn't even know UC Davis had a football team.
I've heard of them before, but I know I did.
The mighty Aggies of UC Davis?
You don't know about them.
You also have a big favorite Georgia Tech,
riding high off of their upset win against Florida State.
They are 20 and a half point favorites against Georgia State.
You have some big point spreads there, Kenton,
but which of those teams do you think is most likely to catch the upset bug
if somebody's getting beaten this weekend?
So, you know, I struggled with this.
I went back and forth because I said, of all the teams,
who do I think can pull off the outright upset?
That was the first thought I had.
And I'm like, I'm struggling to find it.
I really and truly am.
I, even if you wanted to say, hey, Vanderbilt is a team that, you know,
they have a really big spread as an SEC team against them.
Of course, they lost both of their starting quarter.
or their top two quarterbacks.
They lost a ton of top talent from last year.
I struggle as well to see where you would say that they're a team that could compete here.
And then I said, well, maybe you can look at Wake Forest and North Carolina, A&T.
That could be one where you possibly say, hmm, what's going on here?
What could possibly be a team that you would think?
Wake Forest would be about 35 when, objectively speaking, last year,
they were got awful.
Well, so was North Carolina A&T.
They were got awful at the FCS level.
I think weight covers.
Where we have some value is from the NC State and Western Carolina game.
Not in the game.
The offensive coordinator was the head coach last year's son,
and he took off to go to Pitt.
That is the connection.
Pitt, Kent State.
I'm telling you right now,
Pitt is going to cover that spread and they may win that game outright.
I have no faith in the Panthers.
First year offensive coordinator while he dominated at Western Carolina,
I'm not sure Nate Yarnel has the goods that it takes to do the special things that they need to do.
They have a running back that followed his offensive coordinator from Western Carolina up there to Pittsburgh,
took his talents to Pennsylvania as well.
I'm not sure if he has the goods at the FBS level to run a lot.
all over a Kent State. And then the worst part, you and I talked about this during
off season, your captains are leaving the team because they don't believe you can win.
Kid State, I got them to cover. And damn it, they might outright pull the upset out there
at Hinesfield. I don't care what they call it now. His mama named him Hinesfield, so I'm
going to call him Hinesfield. They may pull off the upset. See, I like that where I thought you were
going to go with that was just not winning the game outright, but I thought you were going to
go Western Carolina just covering the 32 and a half point spread against NC State.
Because that that's such a gigantic spread.
It's like as a matter of principle.
I mean, if if NC State pulls all their starters before halftime and, you know,
if they decide they feel like running the ball a lot in that game,
it could slow the game down.
So it's like as a matter of principle, when I see a spread that big,
I would usually bet the underdog, certainly not to win the game just to cover the big time
spread.
what about any any chance that Georgia Tech is up for a letdown game against Georgia State?
I'm just saying like you have you feel like you're on top of the world.
You're like Goliath after beating Florida State in Dublin.
You have that long flight back home.
It would be easy to overlook Georgia State.
But for Georgia State, this game is their Super Bowl.
They're 20 and a half point dogs.
Like hasn't Georgia State pulled off big upsets or at least one in the past?
Like, I don't know, man.
You know, the inaugural Marta Bowl, as they call it,
because these are the two closest teams in all of college football.
No two teams are closer.
I believe they're separated by like two or three miles or something like that.
You can run from one campus to the other.
Maybe you can.
I can't.
I can't run three miles.
You give yourself much too little credit.
But in all seriousness, Donald, as much as I hate to say it,
I feel like you're a little.
Right. But I will say this.
This game will speak a lot to who Georgia Tech is.
And I mean that from this standpoint, because I know Georgia Tech fans are probably hearing this,
and they've shut their ears off.
They cut us off and said that, yo, they just want to hate on Georgia Tech.
Wait with me. Stick with me.
If Georgia Tech comes out and dominates this game, that tells me this is a team on this.
That tells me this is a team that is doing it the right way every single time.
Now, I want to give you a fun fact about Georgia Tech from last year that many people forget.
That is the same team, the exact same team that found a way to upset a top 25 team in North Carolina.
And then after they upset number 15, I'm sorry, number 17, North Carolina, they went on to get waxed by three touchdowns against Clemsonzoompson.
That's an actual thing that happened.
The same team that beat a ranked North Carolina lost to Boston College.
Castiano's put on a show.
No if, fans or butts about it.
But that is what I mean by last year's Georgia Tech team.
They weren't on the mission.
They were not fully locked into,
we're going to have the right countenance for every game
because anybody can beat us.
We're not that good yet.
If this Georgia Tech team goes out and lays the absolute lumber on Georgia State
in the inaugural part of all.
I am telling you right now,
this Georgia Tech team needs to be taken seriously
and their odds may not jump to a much higher number
in terms of ACC championship potential to at least go.
But I'll sprinkle something on.
I'll sprinkle something on because that is a team.
Who knows?
Who know they can easily end up there
if they continue on the path to there.
I like that.
And great times on this episode.
episode, huge thanks to Doug Rohan of Rohan Law for joining us, dropping some knowledge with us.
We'll see if Georgia Tech catches that upset bug. I'm not saying it's going to happen,
but I just hangover games are real after you win a game that big that they just won.
Like hangover games are real. I probably have PTSD because I'm a Miami fan. That's probably
my problem here. We'll talk to you guys again next time on another episode of Lockdown
ACC. We're part of the awesome Lockdown Podcast Network. Your team every day.
