Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - WOW: Georgia Tech is SURGING and Can Louisville Make SURPRISE Playoff Run?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Georgia Tech is rolling. Miami needs a bounce back. And hey, Louisville, you might be a playoff team this year. Let's talk about it. You are Locked on ACC, your daily podcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hello, everyone, and welcome in a locked on ACC. I'm Jackson Holeser, the host of Locked on Syracuse. and thank you for making Locked-on ACC. Your first listen of every single day here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Of course, we're always free and available

Starting point is 00:00:41 wherever you get your podcast. On this week's Friday episode with myself, Jackson Holzer, we are going through every single game. You're in the week nine slate of ACC football. Later on, we will crown the somebody has to win bowl for this week. Hey, also, the Louisville Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:01:02 They showed up last week with that upset win against Miami. Could they possibly be a playoff team in 2025? We'll talk about that later on in the show. But first and foremost, Georgia Tech ranked seventh in the nation. They are rolling. Can they keep it rolling against Syracuse? All that and more here on today's edition of Locked-on ACC. And before we get to everything, this episode is brought to you by Mazda.

Starting point is 00:01:30 It's the small details that make the big plays. And just like there's more to every player, there's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda move and be moved. Georgia Tech ranked seventh in the nation. Only fitting that we start with the yellow jackets here on today's show, they are going up against my beloved, my alma mater, the team that I cover here on this network, the Syracuse Orange.

Starting point is 00:01:59 It's at Saturday, 12 p.m. Eastern down in Atlanta, Georgia. Naturally, sorry Georgia Tech fans. I want Syracuse to win. I am being biased. I want this team to crush your team. Do I think that's necessarily going to happen? As much as I wish I did. That's not exactly what the odds makers are saying.

Starting point is 00:02:23 Bandwool right now has Georgia Tech as a 16.5 point favorite over Syracuse. And for good reason, I am picking Georgia Tech to beat my beloved Syracuse Orange. Look, Georgia Tech, their rushing attack, it's one of, if not the best rushing attack in the entire country. You got your quarterback and Haynes King. He can throw it really well, but he might be even better when he is running. No, I do not mean that as any disrespect towards Haynes King. He is a dual threat quarterback through and through.

Starting point is 00:02:55 You got Jamal Haynes, who's a speedster. Malachi Hosley, an FCS transfer having a outstanding season for Georgia Tech. They can throw it. And by the way, they might not necessarily need to throw the football. Yes, Syracuse's defense, particularly against the run the last couple of games, they've been pretty solid. Against SMU, they stepped up. Against Pitt last week, they did pretty well.

Starting point is 00:03:21 But this is a different animal in Georgia Tech. How many teams around the nation can stop Georgia. text rushing attack. And no, I don't mean contain it. Actually stop it. The answer is, I don't know, maybe three to four teams, maybe, maybe. There are some teams probably out there that could do it. I mean, Ohio State right now is stopping literally everyone and everything that is in their path. But regardless, the only chance that I can see Syracuse having in this game is if they can find a way to sort of replicate what happened in this matchup last. year. If you recall, these two teams played in week two of the college football season. And hey, Georgia Tech was coming into the game at 2-0 because they played in week zero against Florida State. They won that game. They won the following week. Syracuse was 1-0. They were an underdog against this Georgia Tech team. One of the main reasons why Syracuse was able to win that game is they got off to a really fast start. They got the lead pretty early. They never really seemed to relinquish it. They were either tied or a head.

Starting point is 00:04:30 head of Georgia Tech the entire game. And as a result, you turn Georgia Tech into a team where they might have to pass first. And yes, they can beat you throwing the football, but they are much more effective when they're controlling in the clock and they get that ground game going and they are beating you up on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Having said that for Georgia Tech, really to win this game aside from, you know, the obvious, which is just keep running the football at a super high level, you just can't have turnovers. That's really it. And especially cannot give Syracuse any short field opportunities.

Starting point is 00:05:06 This offense for Syracuse, trust me, I've been paying attention to every game of Syracuse. They have been struggling with their backup quarterback in Ricky Collins, who was going to start this game on Saturday. Their only touchdown against Pitt last week came on a short field. It was an interception by Davy and Kerr. He returned it inside the red zone and Syracuse promptly capitalized on it. If you're Georgia Tech, if Ricky Collins somehow clicks and he can go 75 yards on you left and right, more power to Ricky Collins and Syracuse. But so far, that is not what we have seen from this Syracuse offense ever since Steve Angelly got hurt. So for Georgia Tech, very simple. Keep running the football at a high level. Don't shoot yourself

Starting point is 00:05:51 in the foot with turnovers and you should be okay against my beloved Syracuse Orange. Georgia Tech takes this one by a final store of 30 to 17. Let's move on to Miami, the number nine ranked team in the country against Stanford, which is this Saturday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Miami is more than a four touchdown favorite against Stanford. 30 and a half points. Actually, it's not more than four touchdowns because technically you can get a two-point conversion.

Starting point is 00:06:23 So 8, 16, 2432, you get the point. It's basically four touchdowns that Miami is favored by. Look, I'm not going to pile on Miami. Miami fans, you're hard enough on your team. So I'm not going to sit here and talk about what happened to Miami last week. Bottom line is, Miami cannot overlook Stanford. Am I going to sit here and be delusional enough to actually pick Stanford in this game? I said that last week, ironically, when they were playing Florida State.

Starting point is 00:06:51 But no. Miami just needs to refocus, understand that a bad week happens, and also the optimistic way of looking at it. I mentioned this on ACCC Squad, is that Miami nearly beat a pretty good team in Louisville with four turnovers from their quarterback. In fact, if Carson Beck doesn't throw that final interception last week,

Starting point is 00:07:17 Miami probably ties that game and who knows what happens in overtime. Maybe Miami would have won that game in regulation. And they would have won that game with three interceptions from their starting quarterback. It's a good Louisville team. But they didn't. They just need to refocus, recalibrate. This is a good opportunity to do just that against the Stanford team that, yeah, they beat Florida State. But, you know, at this point, what ECC team has not beaten Florida State in the last two years.

Starting point is 00:07:44 So I'm going to go with Miami, 38, 10. They get a nice, comfortable, easy victory. and they can move on to a more challenging opponent, which we're going to talk about soon in the SMU Mustangs. What are your picks for this week? Comment your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you think that Syracuse can possibly upset Georgia Tech? I would really love it, but I don't see it.

Starting point is 00:08:08 And how about Stanford against Miami? Any possible upset there? Is Miami going to lay another egg at home? Probably not. But hey, feel free to let me know in the comment section below. Still got plenty of picks to make here on Locked on ACC. So stick with me here on locked on ACC. This episode is brought to you by Mazda's moving the game forward.

Starting point is 00:08:33 For those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it. There are moments that do more than put points on the board. They move crowds, move culture, and keep moving the game forward. And this week, Miami fans, cover your ears. Louisville fans, this one is for you. This week's moment for the Louisville Cardinals, it's got to go to T.J. for the game-winning interception to lead Louisville to an upset over the Miami Hurricanes. When you follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning.

Starting point is 00:09:06 And just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda move and be moved. Locked on ACC, I'm Jackson Holzer. Let's continue picking games for a week nine of ACC football. And now we got to talk about number 19 Louisville versus. Boston College. Hello, Louisville fans. Nice to see you all today.

Starting point is 00:09:34 You're on this Friday. Maybe you're watching, listening to this on Saturday. I called your team out last week. I said, hey, Louisville, you want to do something? You want to show us that you're more than just good, which admittedly under Jeff Brom, they have been good the past couple of seasons. They have.

Starting point is 00:09:56 but do you want to be more than just that? Well, last week, they did exactly what I wanted them to do. They beat the Miami hurricanes. They forced four turnovers. Isaac Brown got going with over 100 yards on the ground. Congratulations to Louisville. And now I ask this, Louisville fans, and to really anyone that's watching and listening to this right now,

Starting point is 00:10:22 Do you think that Louisville could be one of those surprise teams in the college football playoff this year? See, after what happened with SMU last year and how they kind of just snuck up on everyone, it wasn't that we thought they were going to be bad, but it was just they kept stacking win after win, after win, after win, and lo and behold, they're 11 and 1 in Charlotte at the end of the year. Could that happen with Louisville this season? Because let's talk about their schedule for a moment. That includes this Saturday when they play Boston College. You got at Virginia Tech, Cal, Clemson, at SMU, and Kentucky.

Starting point is 00:11:02 Well, we know that Clemson isn't very good. SMU is beatable, albeit that's a road game. At Virginia Tech is really just avoid a trap, but Louisville should be able to beat Virginia Tech. And Kentucky does not matter when it comes to conference play. And they should be able to beat Kentucky anyway, and they should be able to win this game against Boston College. So can Louisville make the playoff in 2025?

Starting point is 00:11:26 We're looking at their schedule and the fact that they just beat the Miami Hurricanes, I absolutely do think that it is on the table for this team. Now, you might be asking yourself if you're a Boston college fan. Jackson, why are you not talking much about Boston College? Well, they're one in six and they are 25.5 point underdogs over on Fandul last time I checked. So also Boston College, worst storing defense in the ACC. They allow nearly, ready for this, Boston College allows nearly 34 points a game.

Starting point is 00:11:59 Oh, boy. So defense is apparently optional in Chestnut Hill. I'm going with Louisville, 4110. They get another victory. They move to six in one and one step closer potentially to Charlotte by the end of the year and possibly the college football playoff. Let's move on now. We went a little bit out of order with ranked teams, but that's okay.

Starting point is 00:12:21 You got number 16 Virginia versus North Carolina, which is this Saturday at noon Eastern. Virginia is another one of those teams in prime position to be a Cinderella-type team this year. Their only loss so far this season was to NC State, which you would think is a backbreaker because you already lost a conference team so early in the season. You don't have much margin for error. Well, not so fast because that game against NC State did not count as an ACC game. It actually counted as an out-of-conference game.

Starting point is 00:12:56 Therefore, Virginia is sitting here at 3 and O in the ACC to start the season. And their remaining schedule, which includes this Saturday against North Carolina, a game that they should win. They are more than a touchdown favorite over on Fandall to do so. you got at Cal Wake, at Duke, Virginia Tech. All very winnable games. I think at Duke is by far and away the toughest of those ones, but with the way Virginia's playing,

Starting point is 00:13:26 they can definitely beat the Duke Blue Devils on the road. Right? So if they can beat Duke on the road, they might have a chance. But 10 and a half point favorite, that's it. against North Carolina. And we all know that North Carolina ain't very good. Why is it?

Starting point is 00:13:46 Feel free to comment in the comment section below, but I have a theory about it. I have a theory about why this line is as close as it is. First of all, North Carolina is at home. By default, you get some points by being at home. But also, Virginia has typically played its power conference opponents this season. Very close. The lone exception is Stanford.

Starting point is 00:14:12 But whether they're going up against like last week, Washington State, or they're playing against one of the best teams in the ACC right now in Louisville, they keep games close. It's weird. It's just how it is. Their only blowout in a power conference team this year just happened to be against Stanford, which is arguably the worst team in the ACC, which just be Florida State, which makes you think is Florida State the worst team in the ACC?

Starting point is 00:14:37 Neither here nor there. I would not be surprised if for whatever reason, Virginia was in sort of a dog fight with North Carolina in the second half. Am I picking North Carolina to win after I shredded them a couple of weeks ago saying you might as well just fire Bill Belichick? No, I'm not doing that at all. I don't trust North Carolina one bit whatsoever. But Virginia, let's see what happens. That's all. Let's see what happens.

Starting point is 00:15:05 The good part about Virginia, they're the fourth-leased penalty. team in the ACC, and they are top 10 in the country in turnover margin. What does that tell you? It means that Virginia week in and week out, one of the ways that they've been winning these games is that they don't typically shoot themselves in the foot. So in this matchup, a team that Virginia is expected to beat in North Carolina, well, as long as they can win the turnover battle or just not have any turnovers themselves, They possess the ball a lot.

Starting point is 00:15:38 They're the second best in time of possession in the ACC. They have a great rushing attack. They can do those things. They beat North Carolina, no problem. So I am going with 35, 17, Virginia, but it will be a one-store game at some point in the second half. It's just that Virginia will pull away with their rushing attack in the second half as well. Moving on, Wake Forest against SMU.

Starting point is 00:16:06 That is also this Saturday at noon Eastern. This is a game that the odds makers are predicting as the closest game in the conference this week. You got SMU on the road as a two and a half point favorite over on Fanduil. And this game is really fascinating because you have strength versus strength and you sort of also have a weakness of one team versus the weakness of another team. rushing wise. Let's talk about that. Totals in the ACC this season. Wake Forest, they are sixth best in the conference in rushing yards. SMU is third best in the conference in stopping the run. SMU is ninth in the conference in rushing yards. Wake Forest 13th in stopping the run. So what does that

Starting point is 00:16:53 tell you? Wake Forest, they can run the football well. SMU, they can stop the run at a pretty high level. SMU, sort of mediocre running the football. That's just statistically what the ACC stats will tell you. They're mediocre. Ninth in the conference. Wait Forest, 13th in stopping the run. Well, they're not very good at stopping the run. Passing wise, Wake Forest, not particularly good passing. 13th in the conference, SMU, I've repeated this now for weeks. They have the worst statistical pass defense in the conference. SMU, on the other hand, they are sixth in passing offense. Wake Forest is second in the ACC in past defense.

Starting point is 00:17:38 See what I mean there? It's sort of strength versus strength and weakness versus weakness. Both teams, for what it's worth, they're also kind of weird. Week after week, you don't really know exactly what to expect from either team. I understand it was week one for Wake Forest, but barely beating Kennesaw State. And then all of a sudden they nearly upset Georgia Tech. They're just a weird team. You got SMU who is quietly doing something very similar to what they did last year.

Starting point is 00:18:09 They're just sneaking up on everyone once again, where they just, they're 3 in O in ACC play. Yeah, they had their two early season losses, but neither of those losses, which were to Baylor and TCU, mean really anything for them. all they got to do is focus on winning their conference teams. They get themselves to Charlotte. You win one game in Charlotte. You're going to the playoff.

Starting point is 00:18:32 They could do literally or almost the same thing as what they did last year. Because last year, obviously, they didn't win the conference, but they were 11 and 1. This year at 10 and 2, if they were to hypothetically get there, they'd probably have to win the conference to make the college football playoff. That being said, as far as this matchup is concerned, who's got the edge, wait forrest or SMU,

Starting point is 00:18:52 I think it's very, very interesting. So feel free to comment your thoughts right now in the comments section below. I think it comes down to this. Wake Forest does not do a great job throwing the football. But what they can do is run at a pretty high level with DeMond Claiborne. SMU typically has been very good at stopping the run. But if Wake Forest can actually get their rushing game going, well, that's where you might see a path for a slight upset here.

Starting point is 00:19:22 for Wake Forest because it's only a two and a half point point spread in favor of SMU. That being said, I think SMU is slightly more balanced than Wake Forest. So I'm going to pick SMU to win this game 2720. Comment your thoughts in the comment section below. And coming up, we'll crown this week's somebody has to win bowl. So stick with me here on Locked on ACC. It's almost the weekend. Time to look back and crown this week's MVP on who delivered.

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Starting point is 00:21:21 advantage with quarterback newsflash. They both stink. So what are you waiting for? Visit fanduil.com to download the Fandul app today and get started. Still got two games to talk about for week nine of ACC football. And in just a moment, we will crown this week's winner of somebody has to win bowl. But first, we got to talk about this matchup right here. Another really fascinating one, two teams that are not ranked.

Starting point is 00:21:53 but I do like this matchup on paper. This should be a pretty fun game. You got Pitt hosting NC State this Saturday, 3.30 p.m. Eastern. So last week, here's what we learned about Pitt, which is that their quarterback, true freshman Mason Hintzell, he's human. He did not necessarily have the greatest game against Syracuse, but he didn't really have to because their defense was just flying against whatever the Syracuse offense is now with Ricky Collins.

Starting point is 00:22:22 but NC State is coming off a buy heading into this one. One thing that I found funny is Pat Narduzi and what he said this week about NC State. He said that the NC State defensive line is really good. He said it's a strength of this team. Are we watching the same thing with NC State? Are we sure that they're really good with their defensive line? because statistically they're not.

Starting point is 00:22:54 NC State is 12th in the ACC in run defense. So that's not particularly good. And they're bottom three in the ACC in sacks. So you don't typically get to the passer all that much. You don't typically stop the run, but you have a good defensive line. What does one plus one now equal four? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:23:21 I don't really get it. Maybe Pat and Arduzzi knows something that I don't. Perhaps Pat and Arduzzi knows this, which is that his offensive line in the last two weeks, how should we put this, has been bad? Pitt has given up 12 sacks over the past two games. A couple of games ago, it was against Florida State. And at the time, we thought that Florida State may still be able to turn their season around and have a fine year.

Starting point is 00:23:48 fine, we'll give them a mulligan. That's one bad game. What's the excuse last week? Do you know that Syracuse had like the worst pass rush in the ACC prior to last week? And then they had seven sacks? I don't care how many linemen are down. What on earth was that? So that's now two games in a row where Pitt's offensive line has been really concerning.

Starting point is 00:24:14 And you got a true freshman back there. So the key for this game is, which unit is going to show up? Is it going to be the NC State defensive line? Are they going to be able to take advantage of this Pitt offensive line? Or is the Pitt offensive line going to bounce back this week, give Mason Heinzsche more time to cook, and as a result, pitch should store a lot of points against this NC state defense. For what it's worth, I think if last week, if Syracuse had some sort of competent offense, they would have won the game.

Starting point is 00:24:42 I mean, that's how bad Pitt's offensive line really was. And NC State, they got a capable offense. They got some dudes. C.J. Bailey is a fine quarterback. Justin Jolie is a great tight end. You got Hollywood Smothers, one of, if not the best running back in the ACC. So, Pitt, you can't get away with what you got away with last week against this NC State team, in my opinion. No outcome in this game will honestly surprise me.

Starting point is 00:25:12 I will go with Pitt to win a very close game, home team, 31, 27. Finally, the winner of this week's somebody's got a win, and it sort of feels weird because one of the teams actually has a winning record. And I am talking about Virginia Tech and Cal, which is actually tonight at 7.30 p.m. Eastern, I know Cal is 4 and 2. I get it. They probably don't deserve to be on here. But what were the other choices? You can argue it should have been the game that I talked about, but both those teams are above 500. Pitt still has a legitimate chance in the ACC to actually do something, maybe get to Charlotte this year. Neither of these teams, though, have a chance. I know that Cal is four and two, but sorry, you've got to be on this week's edition of somebody has got to win. Can someone explain why Virginia Tech is nearly a touchdown favorite?

Starting point is 00:26:14 See, typically when you have two bad teams, the line is going to be very, very close. For whatever reason, Virginia Tech is a six and a half point favorite over on Fandul. I don't really get it. I'll still pick Virginia Tech to win because they're at home and somebody has got to win. I will go with 2320. So Virginia Tech wins, but they don't cover. What do you think is going to happen in the ACC this week? Do you see any shocking upsets?

Starting point is 00:26:39 Is there anything that stands out to you on paper? Comment your thoughts in the comment section below. Now, as far as what's coming up on Locked-on ACC, well, the next episode will feature Alex Dono and Kenton Gibbs. And next Friday, I will be back with you all for another edition of Locked-on ACC. Folks, thank you all so much for watching. Thank you all so much for listening. If you like this podcast, be sure to hit that like button.

Starting point is 00:27:05 If you really enjoy the podcast, be sure to hit subscribe. Tell all your friends about locked on ACC, and I'll see you all again next Friday.

Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast - WOW: Georgia Tech is SURGING and Can Louisville Make SURPRISE Playoff Run?

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