1 00:00:17,039 --> 00:00:21,600 Hello, Welcome to this Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the podcast for 2 00:00:21,679 --> 00:00:26,839 All Sports Discussion dot Com. This is Jeff, one of your podcast co 3 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:35,039 hosts, and you can follow me on Twitter at Talkin' ACC Sports. That's 4 00:00:35,359 --> 00:00:42,039 at e A L K I N A c C Sports. Your podcast moderator 5 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:49,640 is Matthew and you can follow Matthew on Twitter at as D Underscore Hoky Smash. 6 00:00:49,719 --> 00:00:53,799 I'm gonna turn it over to Matthew as he introduces our guest. Well 7 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,719 tonight, Jeff. We have a great return guest and a great friend of 8 00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:06,000 All Sportsdiscussion dot Com. We've had James Curl on this show so many times. 9 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:11,239 He's been on this podcast so many times, whether it's been for previewing 10 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:17,000 ncc NC State football, whether it's been for just previewing the week that was, 11 00:01:17,519 --> 00:01:19,519 or i should say, reviewing the week that was in ACC football and 12 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,560 previewing the next week. And he's also been on here during college basketball season, 13 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,359 and he's been on panels for our site. He's kind of a utility 14 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,959 player for US for NC State Athletics. And right now, James curls over 15 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,079 at pac Pride. He runs just a great podcast over there with the two 16 00:01:38,079 --> 00:01:42,040 four to seven sites to excuse me two four seven sports North Carolina State fan 17 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,480 site. It's not affiliated with the university. Let me make sure I say 18 00:01:46,519 --> 00:01:51,239 that. And you can follow James on Twitter at at James curl. That's 19 00:01:51,359 --> 00:01:59,760 at jamesc rl. E James, welcome back. Just I gave it. 20 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,599 How are you running down? But you have much more history really really in 21 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,560 the ACC BIL Augustphere, ACC Twitter sphere, NC State, at the Triangle. 22 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,039 Tell us about yourself, James, because you have a much deeper history 23 00:02:12,719 --> 00:02:15,120 among those among those various areas that I just talked about. The floor is 24 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:20,120 here's friend. Well, I appreciate you. Let me hop back on with 25 00:02:20,159 --> 00:02:24,599 you guys. Yeah, I mean I I've been around for a bit and 26 00:02:25,039 --> 00:02:29,039 I don't know how many years I've been joining you guys doing this show. 27 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:34,240 It's we certainly have been doing this well before COVID, so that's at least 28 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,800 four or five years now. So it's been it's been a minute hanging out 29 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,400 with you guys. But you know I, I you know State grad and 30 00:02:43,479 --> 00:02:47,159 O one and have worked at the student newspaper when I was there, started 31 00:02:47,159 --> 00:02:53,800 a blog in O nine and then the podcast first podcast in twenty eleven the 32 00:02:53,879 --> 00:03:00,039 Old Ridick and Reynolds podcast, and you know joined or I should mention, 33 00:03:00,199 --> 00:03:06,919 Corey Smith is actually the uh the uh. I don't know if he's the 34 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:08,680 owner, but he's the person who manages, let me just say, manages 35 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:14,439 and runs pack Pride. So I'm just the guy that hops on with him 36 00:03:14,439 --> 00:03:17,800 every week at a Medio's and we talk about inc State sports. So I 37 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:23,319 don't I don't want to take any credit for the hard and difficult job that 38 00:03:23,439 --> 00:03:28,439 is running Pack Pride because those running any of those team sites is something that's 39 00:03:28,599 --> 00:03:31,520 well beyond my scope and ability. I don't know how Corey does it, 40 00:03:31,599 --> 00:03:36,800 but you know, I just I wanted to make sure that I didn't take 41 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:42,759 any credit that wasn't due. But yeah, just have enjoyed hanging hanging out 42 00:03:42,759 --> 00:03:46,159 with you guys over the years and looking forward to well, not looking forward 43 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:50,639 to I guess I'm here to discuss NC State football. Not a lot to 44 00:03:50,639 --> 00:03:53,120 look forward to you right at the moment, but we'll get into it, 45 00:03:53,039 --> 00:03:55,840 and I'm glad. I'm glad you mentioned your your partner. There are two 46 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:00,719 four seven sites for seven sports. They didn't mean to play implay otherwise I 47 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,319 kind of assumed that you were the podcast guru, and that's that that's that's 48 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,000 kind of what I gathered from what you said. You know, so we 49 00:04:11,159 --> 00:04:14,360 are, as I said, we're happy to have you back, and we 50 00:04:14,439 --> 00:04:19,959 want to have you review week seven for ACC football with us. Which ACC 51 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:26,360 football team was the most disappointing team in Week seven and which ACC team was 52 00:04:26,399 --> 00:04:30,680 the most impressive team in Week seven. You don't necessarily have to talk about 53 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:32,839 NC State after will come up. I'm sure I'll come up, but you 54 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,600 know, you may have you know, you may have some other candidates that 55 00:04:35,639 --> 00:04:41,040 you want to talk about as well. Yeah, I mean, you know, 56 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,680 certainly with a focus on NC State. It was certainly very disappointing to 57 00:04:46,759 --> 00:04:51,399 see how our game against Duke played out, So I'm tempted to go there 58 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:59,439 right away. But you know, I felt like Syracuse might give Florida State 59 00:04:59,439 --> 00:05:03,920 a little bit more more of a fight in their game. You know, 60 00:05:04,759 --> 00:05:09,160 Wake Forest has just been kind of a real disappointment this year, but I 61 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:13,480 mean I know that obviously they're they're in kind of a rebuild at the moment. 62 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,240 Louisville, I mean, gosh, who saw that coming. You know, 63 00:05:20,399 --> 00:05:24,920 State had given Louisville all it could handle in its game, and I 64 00:05:24,959 --> 00:05:28,600 felt like there was going to be an opportunity for them to slip up at 65 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,439 some point on their schedule, But I didn't really anticipate that it would be 66 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:38,040 pit But you know, there's some strong candidates among that group, you know. 67 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,240 I obviously I'd wish that Miami had beaten Carolina, but you know, 68 00:05:42,319 --> 00:05:46,759 Carolina is just they're playing really really well right now, and so it's hard 69 00:05:46,759 --> 00:05:53,240 to fault Miami losing to Carolina in Chapel Hill. So if you pin me 70 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,759 down and have me pick one team, I'd say probably Louisville, But you 71 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,800 know, my heart was crushed more in that State Duke game. So I 72 00:06:02,439 --> 00:06:08,360 mean I gather that you think probably North Carolina was your most impressive team this 73 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:14,480 week, but Florida State looked really solid as well. Yeah, I keep 74 00:06:14,519 --> 00:06:19,160 expecting both of those teams to have a slip up moment, you know. 75 00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:26,360 I you know, I'm so used to Carolina's defense struggling, and they seem 76 00:06:26,439 --> 00:06:30,199 to have really kind of settled in nicely with Geene Chiswick running things there, 77 00:06:30,319 --> 00:06:38,079 and so I really had pegged Miami to go in and beat Carolina, but 78 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:43,600 they looked firmly in control of that game, you know, you know there 79 00:06:43,639 --> 00:06:46,319 it was well, it was back and forth. Obviously, Miami was leading 80 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,279 by the three, I think it at half, but Carolina just came out 81 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:58,839 and scored what was it, twenty one twenty four straight points unanswered. They 82 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:01,600 just when they get things going on offense, they are really really hard to 83 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:09,439 beat. And uh, you know, obviously des Walker coming back from the 84 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:14,759 kind of the baffling n C double a suspension. Uh I say Dez, 85 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,720 I didn't say Tess Walker. You know, it's just, uh, they 86 00:07:18,839 --> 00:07:24,519 look really really strong right now. It's hard to see them with their schedule 87 00:07:24,519 --> 00:07:27,639 that lies ahead, you know, being you know, beaten by too many 88 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,000 more teams. They've they've still got to play Duke and then they've still got 89 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:36,000 to play Us in Raleigh. So those might be their two last best opportunities 90 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:40,920 to drop one here. Obviously, the ACC schedule being what it is, 91 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,879 you know, Florida State and Carolina won't face each other, so there's a 92 00:07:44,959 --> 00:07:48,680 very good chance that both of those teams will finish the season undefeated. You 93 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,639 know, Duke I honestly thought that State was going to give Duke a better 94 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:59,079 game. You know, Riley Leonard did did not play in that game because 95 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,120 of his ankle injury. I felt like that gave us a really good opportunity 96 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,839 to go into Durham. And you know, again I Duke has played well 97 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,560 in spots against good teams. You know, they had a chance against Notre 98 00:08:11,639 --> 00:08:16,759 Dame. I keep thinking that next week will be the week where the offense 99 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:22,800 finally starts clicking and their defense just really really shut us down. You know, 100 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:26,920 had a huge interception that set up a quick touchdown for them. You 101 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:33,279 know, they're a quarterback, their backup quarterback, Belan came in, completed 102 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:37,440 only four passes, but two of them were touchdowns, and only threw twelve 103 00:08:37,519 --> 00:08:41,080 I think he only threw the ball one time in the second half. I 104 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:46,120 mean, that's how comprehensively you know, in control of that game Duke was 105 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,799 there. In the second half, we just could not get anything going on 106 00:08:48,879 --> 00:08:54,679 offense and Duke, all they had to do was basically just run out the 107 00:08:54,679 --> 00:09:00,200 clock, run the ball at us, smother us with their defense. So 108 00:09:00,799 --> 00:09:03,519 in terms of games that I actually watched wire to wire, that State Duke 109 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,840 game was what it was, and Duke really really did look impressive in that, 110 00:09:09,039 --> 00:09:15,600 so you know, that might lead us into you know, the Week 111 00:09:15,759 --> 00:09:20,440 eight slate here coming up. But I'm interested to see if if Duke can 112 00:09:20,519 --> 00:09:26,639 keep it up heading down the rest of the calendar. I think a lot 113 00:09:26,639 --> 00:09:31,759 of us You're not You're not alone there, Jeff, You're a friend, 114 00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:41,000 all right, Thanks Matthew James. What acc football games are you looking forward 115 00:09:41,039 --> 00:09:46,039 to the most in Week eight? It's got to be that Duke Florida State 116 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:50,480 game. I mean between you know, obviously, Caroline is now ranked in 117 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:56,039 the top ten and they'll be facing off against Virginia at home. But I 118 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:01,720 really want to see how well Duke fair in Tallahassee against Florida State. You 119 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:05,720 know, the old mantras that defense travels. I think there's a really good 120 00:10:05,799 --> 00:10:11,519 chance that this Duke team is going to give Florida State all that can handle. 121 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:16,120 You know, obviously, Jordan Travis, great quarterback for Florida State. 122 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,200 I think he got nicked up in that game though this week, so you 123 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:22,240 know, who knows if he will be one hundred percent healthy for that game 124 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:26,799 or not. But you know, obviously there's a chance that Riley Leonard might 125 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,000 come back or be healed up in time for this, but the way that 126 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,919 Duke played against US, they may not even need him. I don't know 127 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,399 that I would pick Duke to win right out, but I think there's a 128 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,440 really really good chance that Duke pulls it off. And I mean it's just 129 00:10:43,519 --> 00:10:48,639 gonna, you know, make all the certainly all the fans here and Raleigh 130 00:10:50,039 --> 00:10:52,480 kind of envious that Mike Elko has come in, was able to come in 131 00:10:52,519 --> 00:10:56,679 and improve them so rapidly in just such a short period of time with a 132 00:10:56,799 --> 00:11:01,799 roster that, by all accounts, is as talented then just about any other 133 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:09,159 ACC team. They're just doing it through great coaching at this point. Don't 134 00:11:09,159 --> 00:11:16,120 beat themselves. That was the big thing coming out of the State Duke game 135 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,240 was that Dave Doran iterated just how much or how great a job Duke did 136 00:11:20,279 --> 00:11:26,039 in not beating themselves. State committed so many penalties in that game against Duke, 137 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,639 and Duke didn't. They just played a clean game. And so I 138 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,759 think if Duke can go on the road to Florida State and play the kind 139 00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:37,000 of game they played against US, they've got a real good shot of beating 140 00:11:37,039 --> 00:11:46,480 Florida State. All right, James, which ACC team could be on upset 141 00:11:46,519 --> 00:11:52,039 alert in weegate if they're looking ahead to a game on their schedule or otherwise 142 00:11:52,159 --> 00:12:01,080 just sleepwalking on the field. I mean, I'll stick with I'll stick with, 143 00:12:01,279 --> 00:12:03,679 you know, the game I wanted to take a look at. I 144 00:12:03,759 --> 00:12:07,639 mean, I think Florida State has a chance of being upset. You know, 145 00:12:07,639 --> 00:12:13,200 they're they're currently ranked fourth, probably have aspirations of making the College Football 146 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,480 Playoff and I think there's a decent chance of it if they can run the 147 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:22,039 table and win the ACC. But you know, Duke's only lost right now 148 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:28,000 is that game against Notre Dame. And if they end up beating Florida State, 149 00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:33,480 that's gonna you know, it's gonna make it real hard to see Duke 150 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:39,840 not get into the ACC title picture with that game in handover Florida State. 151 00:12:39,879 --> 00:12:43,840 And again we've talked about North Carolina. You know, if they can run 152 00:12:43,879 --> 00:12:46,440 the table or finish the season with only one loss, then you're looking at 153 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:54,399 you know, Duke, Carolina and Florida State being three teams with you know, 154 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,759 competing for two spots essentially, So Florida State's gonna definitely want to if 155 00:12:58,759 --> 00:13:03,440 they want to ensure that they make it to that title game. They got 156 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:09,000 to beat Duke because I think there's a real good chance that, you know, 157 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,519 I think it's just hard. You know, we're so used to the 158 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:16,559 down years of Duke and thinking about Duke is the team that was, you 159 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,799 know, kind of the laughing stock of the nineties in the early two thousands. 160 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,799 But again, you just have to be really really impressed with the job 161 00:13:24,879 --> 00:13:28,159 that Mike Elko has done there in such a short period of time. That 162 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:33,240 defense is really something special. And they don't again, they don't beat themselves 163 00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:39,200 and they they don't They just really don't allow you or your team to get 164 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:45,080 into a good offensive flow. You know. Now, Florida State's got a 165 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,240 tremendous amount of talent, certainly more talented than NC State. So there's a 166 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:54,000 chance that you know, Florida State's skill position players might just be too much 167 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,559 for due to handle. But you know, I think it's gonna be a 168 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,480 close one, and I think there's a real good chance that if Flora States 169 00:14:00,519 --> 00:14:05,559 not on this a game, dude will go down there and beat them. 170 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,279 All Right, let's step out of the a CC for a bit here, 171 00:14:09,639 --> 00:14:16,399 James, which National FBS game games are you looking forward to in week eight, 172 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,519 and we're wide open this with this question. This can be a Power 173 00:14:20,639 --> 00:14:24,799 five non Power five game. You can even have an FCS matchup and then 174 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,960 give us your winner of that game or if another one catches your eye. 175 00:14:31,879 --> 00:14:35,279 Well, as much as I despise the SEC and how highly it thinks of 176 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,440 itself, I mean that Tennessee Alabama game is going to be probably a fun 177 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:45,799 one. Alabama obviously is not kind of the world beaters that were used to 178 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,519 them being, and Tennessee is not, you know, the team that they 179 00:14:48,759 --> 00:14:54,399 were minus Hindon Hooker. So I think there's a chance that that game will 180 00:14:54,440 --> 00:15:01,759 be certainly not the you know, heavyweight title about that. A lot of 181 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:07,039 those Alabama games are against the top teams in the SEC. But it will 182 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:13,039 still be pretty interesting. I imagine, you know, it's in Tuscaloosis, 183 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:16,120 so I would say Alabama's probably gonna come out ahead, but you know, 184 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:22,320 I don't know. I think that this is a different Alabama team than we're 185 00:15:22,399 --> 00:15:26,759 used to seeing, and it would be a decent chance that there's an upset 186 00:15:26,799 --> 00:15:31,320 there for Tennessee to go on the road and then you know, Penn State, 187 00:15:31,399 --> 00:15:37,039 Ohio State, how good is Ohio State can and how good is Penn 188 00:15:37,039 --> 00:15:39,480 State? I mean, I feel like Penn State's one of those teams that 189 00:15:39,519 --> 00:15:45,159 we've been waiting to kind of get over the hump into the caliber of getting 190 00:15:45,159 --> 00:15:50,279 into the college football Playoff. They're probably the team that's been the closest but 191 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,519 not quite their team for the an expended period of time. James Franklin has 192 00:15:54,559 --> 00:15:58,360 done, you know, good job building them up, but he hasn't been 193 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:04,039 able to build him up to at Ohio State Michigan level. So if they 194 00:16:04,039 --> 00:16:07,919 want to enter that conversation, they got to go on the road and beat 195 00:16:08,279 --> 00:16:12,759 Ohio State and Columbus. But probably those two games will be the ones that 196 00:16:12,759 --> 00:16:17,120 that I am going to be keeping an eye on. State's going to be 197 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,879 off this week, so you know, I'll finally have an opportunity to, 198 00:16:21,399 --> 00:16:25,480 you know, not be stressed about my team losing on a Saturday, so 199 00:16:25,559 --> 00:16:27,279 it'll be wide open to watch pretty much anything, or who knows, I 200 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:33,960 might just decide to move the art instead take a week off here. You 201 00:16:33,519 --> 00:16:37,799 all right, James, you know we've reached about the midpoint of the season. 202 00:16:37,879 --> 00:16:45,759 Here, which acc team do you think has underperformed thus far? On 203 00:16:45,799 --> 00:16:51,279 the season and who has overperformed and you know which ACC coach should be feeling 204 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,639 some heat here at the midpoint of the twenty twenty three seas Before we go 205 00:16:56,679 --> 00:16:57,720 on to that jam. Before we go into that, James, I just 206 00:16:57,759 --> 00:17:03,319 want to add one thing that prior on that prior question. Am looking forward 207 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:10,359 to USC in Utah. I've been watching more Pac twelve football this year than 208 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,319 I think I have in several years, and it will be interesting for me 209 00:17:15,519 --> 00:17:19,480 to see whether whether you you know, whether USC can rebound from just getting 210 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:26,000 I mean, they got demolished against Notre Dame. They just in a game 211 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:27,519 that I would argue that nobody saw, right. I think it was on 212 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:32,440 Peacock or something like that. I made a little a little facetious, right, 213 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,680 but I think that. But I will be interested to see whether whether 214 00:17:37,839 --> 00:17:41,920 USC can rebound from that because there are some you know, huge games in 215 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:47,359 the Pac twelve that are going to I think, going to really impact the 216 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:52,039 playoff the playoff spot, the playoff playoff spot. I mean, I've I 217 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,599 think of a one lost Washington team for example, may have an opportunity. 218 00:17:56,599 --> 00:17:59,079 You know, Jeff knows more about this than me, and you probably know 219 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,119 even more about this in me as well. But I think a one loss 220 00:18:02,599 --> 00:18:06,920 Pac twelve team, could you could find itself into the College Football Playoff this 221 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,400 year because of the strength of the conference. I'll be interested to see whether 222 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,720 whether whether whether whether USC can rebound from that. Yeah, I mean, 223 00:18:15,039 --> 00:18:22,039 you know, USC has struggled so much this year on defense, and it 224 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:27,200 really seemed to catch up with them in that Notre Dame game. I think, 225 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,400 you know, it'll be interesting to see to your question about, you 226 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,079 know, could a one loss Pac twelve team get into the College Football Playoff? 227 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,400 I think there's gonna be a lot of interesting discussions among you know, 228 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:47,680 the leagues outside of the Big Ten in the SEC. I mean, honestly, 229 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,880 the SEC hasn't had a banner year. The Big Ten has looked really 230 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,319 good with Michigan and Ohio State at the top, and we were just talking 231 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,759 about Penn State as well. You know, there might be a potential that 232 00:19:00,039 --> 00:19:04,000 we see two Big Ten teams, you know, and then the SEC champion 233 00:19:04,079 --> 00:19:10,359 and then you know, would the Pac twelve or ACC get a team in 234 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,119 with one loss? So I mean, certainly the Pac twelve's had its best 235 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,920 season in a while, But is that good enough to get a one loss 236 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,680 team in there. I don't know. I guess it will depend on how 237 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,720 the rest of the landscape shakes out. But yeah, it'll be interesting to 238 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,640 see if USC can rebound from that. You know, Notre Dame had to 239 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,400 find a way to rebound and did so against USC. I wonder if USC 240 00:19:33,559 --> 00:19:38,720 can do the same against a pretty good Utah team. Definitely, definitely go 241 00:19:38,759 --> 00:19:48,680 ahead, Jeff, all right, thanks Matthew and James. You brought up 242 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,359 a point that I'm gonna get into in the open mic and and and that's 243 00:19:52,400 --> 00:20:00,160 about the you know, the one loss possibility there in the big ten and 244 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:07,200 and the SEC. I'm definitely what have you done for me during the current 245 00:20:07,279 --> 00:20:12,079 course of the season, you know, kind of put blinders on just because 246 00:20:12,079 --> 00:20:15,519 someone is a name brand. And I'm going to get into that during during 247 00:20:15,599 --> 00:20:22,359 my my open mic. But let's let's get into the next question here before 248 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:26,119 we get into that. And I want to ask you what what ACC team 249 00:20:26,319 --> 00:20:32,160 has underperformed thus far, and who do you think is overperformed, and which 250 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,240 ACC coach should be feeling some heat, you know, getting on the hot 251 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:45,839 seat now at the midpoint of the season. Well, you know, Uh, 252 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:52,200 it's so funny that there are the usual suspects in kind of the the 253 00:20:52,279 --> 00:21:00,599 underperforming overperforming categories. I guess, you know overperforming. I mean I I 254 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:07,160 did not expect Carolina would look this good. You know, I knew that 255 00:21:07,319 --> 00:21:10,319 well. I think we all knew that Drake May was just a really great 256 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,680 quarterback. As much as it pains me to say it, but I really 257 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:18,960 expected their defense to look about like what it looked last year. And while 258 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,440 it's not, you know, the most spectacular defense in the world, you 259 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,319 know it's certainly done. It's you know, more than enough this year to 260 00:21:27,599 --> 00:21:33,920 take it from a team that you know would looks capable of dropping just about 261 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:41,319 any game too, almost assured favorite in just about every game. Now, 262 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,359 I mean that, you know, they haven't had the most difficult schedule, 263 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,839 but at the same time, I mean they've they've played a good number of 264 00:21:48,839 --> 00:21:53,400 Power five teams, more so than some of the other non conference schedules. 265 00:21:55,079 --> 00:21:59,200 Let me pull up Carolina schedule here real quick, but I mean, you 266 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,839 know, they've They opened the season with a solid win against South Carolina. 267 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,480 It looked not quite as great as it did at the time, but you 268 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:11,359 know, South Carolina app State Minnesota. I mean, you know, they've 269 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:15,839 got a game against Campbell coming up, so there's there's a creampuff still left 270 00:22:15,839 --> 00:22:18,839 on their schedule. But you know, I mean, you know, you 271 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:26,359 look at their six wins so far, are there are against teams that honestly, 272 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,119 you know, should have given them more of a fight than they did. 273 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,880 I really, like I said, I really expected more out of Miami. 274 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,680 You know, they only beat Miami by ten points, gave up thirty 275 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:44,640 one against Miami. But I really felt like in terms of, you know, 276 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,960 expecting that letdown game from Carolina, we haven't seen it this year. 277 00:22:48,519 --> 00:22:53,599 So I think that they are again, as much as it pains me to 278 00:22:53,599 --> 00:22:57,759 say, I really feel like they are kind of meeting expectations, perhaps meeting 279 00:22:57,799 --> 00:23:04,640 the expectations that they that folks expected for them last year. And of course, 280 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:10,680 you know, Duke is just really I think it's so funny. I 281 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,160 when the preseason polls and discussion came around, you know, the teams that 282 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:19,359 people were really talking about were Florida State and Duke, and I was like, 283 00:23:19,559 --> 00:23:22,759 I just don't see it for Duke two years in a row. I 284 00:23:22,799 --> 00:23:26,519 mean, yeah, they were a nice story last year, but I really 285 00:23:26,559 --> 00:23:32,480 expected a coming back down to earth moment for them, and all they've done 286 00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:37,319 is taking it up another level. To me, that's really really impressive. 287 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:42,839 You know, they may not be as capable of scoring as many points and 288 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:48,079 winning with offense as Carolina or Florida State, but the way that they're winning 289 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,200 through defense, the way that they just don't beat themselves, and the way 290 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:59,160 that they're able to do so well in one score games is really really impressive 291 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:04,960 in something a lot of teams would I think, uh, are are envious 292 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,200 of, no doubt. Uh. And then you look at kind of who 293 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:14,759 are the disappointing teams? You know, Uh, Syracuse seems to have this 294 00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:18,759 act down to a pat where they start off the year really strong and then 295 00:24:18,799 --> 00:24:22,160 go on a losing streak. You know, they get out to four and 296 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:27,599 oh and then now they've lost you know three three conference games or maybe I've 297 00:24:27,839 --> 00:24:33,039 got that wrong. Yep. No, they started the season not a murderer's 298 00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:37,400 row exactly, Colgate, Western, Michigan, Purdue, and Army. But 299 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:41,400 you know the way that they looked in that Purdue game, I thought this 300 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:47,359 this, uh, you know, Syracuse team has some potential and then they 301 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:52,519 you know, they get beat handily against Clemson. Carolina waxed them just in 302 00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:57,720 a really vicious beat down, and Floria State murdered them too. I mean, 303 00:24:57,799 --> 00:25:03,400 the last two games looks like they've been outscored eighty one to ten. 304 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:11,000 I mean, that's that is not putting up much resistance. So, you 305 00:25:11,039 --> 00:25:15,559 know, Syracuse and Wake, I mean, you know, again, Wake 306 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:21,680 is kind of rebuilding here, you know, really missing Sam Hartman obviously, 307 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:27,480 I don't know. It's I feel like we all fall into the trap of 308 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,400 underestimating Wake Forest, and then when they have a year that kind of meets 309 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:38,240 that traditional expectation for them, it feels like they're you know, underperforming. 310 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,240 I guess we had just gotten used to the idea that we would not think 311 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,599 much of them, they would exceed expectations, and then we would have to 312 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:51,000 adjust our expectations in mid season. And now we're actually getting that Wake for 313 00:25:51,079 --> 00:25:56,039 a season that we all kind of expected, you know, kind of easy. 314 00:25:56,079 --> 00:26:00,599 I guess to pick the bottom two teams in the league, I don't 315 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:04,200 know. I and you know, maybe Pitt is also a good candidate here 316 00:26:04,279 --> 00:26:08,920 too, because you know, two and four overall, I think we expected 317 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:15,079 more out of Pitt Phil Djerkovic obviously did not pan out at all, and 318 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:23,440 they obviously have more life now with their replacement quarterback Beaten Louisville, But who 319 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:30,000 knows if they can keep the ball rolling or sty'll kind of struggle to make 320 00:26:30,039 --> 00:26:33,200 a bowl game. There's several teams on here, including my NC State wolf 321 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:37,200 Pack, that are going to be really scrapping and fighting just to get the 322 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:48,519 six wins to make a bowl game this year. All right, thanks James 323 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,319 Matthew. I'm gonna turn it over to you as we close out the podcast. 324 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,240 James, Now it's my turn to ask you about n C State. 325 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:03,279 Man. Okay, is C State going to make a ball And let me 326 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:07,279 ask you a question, what is going on with the offense? Because it 327 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:15,160 hasn't it hasn't looked like an offense honestly all year. Well, let me 328 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,640 ask answer your first question. So, our remaining schedule is Clemson at home, 329 00:27:19,759 --> 00:27:23,279 Miami at home, and then we traveled to wait for US and to 330 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:32,200 Virginia Tech and then a home game against Carolina. If we had a competent 331 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,039 offense, I would say that there's a chance that we could win all five 332 00:27:34,079 --> 00:27:38,160 of those games. The way offense has looked right now, there's a chance 333 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,200 that we could lose all of those games, especially since we have such a 334 00:27:41,319 --> 00:27:51,279 historical track record of failure in Winston Salem. Yeah, I don't know. 335 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:56,920 We got to somehow find two more wins in that collection, and apart from 336 00:27:57,559 --> 00:28:02,960 you know, I mean, it's got to come almost I have to say 337 00:28:03,079 --> 00:28:06,839 it's got to come from Wake Forest in Virginia Tech. And since you've got 338 00:28:06,839 --> 00:28:11,440 to get those two on the road, I'd would say the odds of winning 339 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,920 both of those games is probably less than fifty percent, not unless something starts 340 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,759 to click pretty quick. Now we get to buy, you know, it's 341 00:28:18,839 --> 00:28:21,839 kind of a later buy in the year for us. You know, we've 342 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:23,519 we've played seven games, and I think a lot of the other teams in 343 00:28:23,519 --> 00:28:27,799 the league have only played six. So we're getting to buy to rest up 344 00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:33,359 and try to figure out some way to you know, put something together against 345 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:38,119 Clemson. I'm not going to call for us to win that game. You 346 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:45,680 know, Miami is a potential just because who knows they that team has a 347 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:52,359 propensity and Mario Cristobal has a propensity to do crazy things in dumb situations. 348 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:59,319 But to your question about what's wrong, with the offense. Obviously, that's 349 00:28:59,359 --> 00:29:03,160 the million question here in Raleigh right now, is you know, why did 350 00:29:03,559 --> 00:29:11,680 Brendan Armstrong not work? You know it it felt like a natural pairing where 351 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,200 you're bringing in, you know, a quarterback who had such a tremendous twenty 352 00:29:15,279 --> 00:29:22,000 twenty one season with the offensive coordinator that you know put him in those positions. 353 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:29,160 I don't know if his last season at Virginia and the struggles that he 354 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:33,319 had killed his confidence, but he didn't seem like he had the same level 355 00:29:33,359 --> 00:29:40,240 of confidence that he did two years ago. You know, we knew n 356 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:45,400 C State's wide receivers were going to be question marks. But you know, 357 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:52,759 Casey conception has been a great revelation and you know he but he can't do 358 00:29:52,799 --> 00:29:57,079 it all by himself. You know, the guys have dropped open passes. 359 00:29:59,039 --> 00:30:02,920 You know that that was one of of my frustrations, as you know the 360 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:07,400 fans soured on Brendan Armstrong early, was you know, if our wide receivers 361 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,119 were executing and catching the balls that were hitting them in both of their hands. 362 00:30:11,759 --> 00:30:15,680 You know, my thought was always if you can put two hands on 363 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:19,039 the football, there's no excuse for you to not bring that in. But 364 00:30:19,119 --> 00:30:25,200 we had so many you know, balls either just flat drops or ones that 365 00:30:25,599 --> 00:30:29,920 you know we're probably you know, thrown a little behind, a little ahead, 366 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,960 a little too high, but most I think, you know, a 367 00:30:33,039 --> 00:30:40,200 replacement level wide receiver in this league makes that catch. Guys just weren't executing, 368 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:45,720 and the offense really struggled. And you know that moment when Dorin had 369 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,920 to make the switch from Brendan Armstrong to MJ. Morris, it was because 370 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:53,039 you could tell that the spirits of this team were just really really deflated. 371 00:30:53,519 --> 00:30:59,359 The defense was playing tremendously well. I mean that Louisville game and we lost 372 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,279 thirteen to ten. I mean old Louisville, who had been scoring, you 373 00:31:03,319 --> 00:31:08,039 know, scoring you know, forty to fifty points a game, to just 374 00:31:08,119 --> 00:31:14,799 thirteen points. You know, you shouldn't lose many football games when you hold 375 00:31:14,839 --> 00:31:22,000 a team to thirteen points. And that you could tell, you could sense 376 00:31:22,079 --> 00:31:26,960 that if a change didn't take place, then we were going to lose both 377 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,960 sides of the ball. The defense was going to just you know, ask 378 00:31:30,039 --> 00:31:34,559 themselves, what am I killing myself for? If this is what I've got 379 00:31:34,559 --> 00:31:37,720 to go, you know, if I got to save the bacon of this 380 00:31:37,759 --> 00:31:44,680 team, and the offense has not given me anything you could you could send 381 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:49,720 some frustration there. So MJ. You know, he's had his struggles, 382 00:31:51,279 --> 00:31:55,960 and you know that was kind of the risk of making the change, was 383 00:31:56,119 --> 00:32:00,079 if you switch quarterbacks and that didn't solve the problem. Now what and we're 384 00:32:00,119 --> 00:32:06,079 kind of finding ourselves in that now what moment. So, you know, 385 00:32:06,799 --> 00:32:10,279 the offensive line has struggled, like just about everything that can break or go 386 00:32:10,319 --> 00:32:15,200 wrong with an offense has gone wrong. I mean in that Duke game, 387 00:32:15,319 --> 00:32:20,599 we had four false start penalties, just stupid mistakes, you know, lack 388 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:27,119 of mental focus and the things that when you know you're struggling offense to begin 389 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,640 with, it's just really hard to play behind the chains and go from first 390 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,839 and ten to first and fifteen, or you know, get a holding penalty, 391 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:37,599 you know, go from you know second and five to you know, 392 00:32:37,759 --> 00:32:43,480 first and twenty. Those sorts of things just make it really really difficult on 393 00:32:43,519 --> 00:32:46,759 an offense that's already struggling to begin with, and you know, it gets 394 00:32:46,759 --> 00:32:51,559 a team like Duke this week. You know, they didn't need to put 395 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,400 up a ton of points to beat us, obviously, we only scored three 396 00:32:54,799 --> 00:32:59,599 on a you know, a fifty seven yard field goal, longest in program 397 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:04,440 history. That should have been a fun talking point, but instead it was 398 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:09,200 the only points that we scored the entire game. And uh so, a 399 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:13,240 lot of a lot of questions yet to be answered for this offense. And 400 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:20,359 if anyone has a remedy or magic bullet to figure out and fix things here 401 00:33:20,359 --> 00:33:25,279 in Raleigh, I'm sure Dave Doran would greatly appreciate it. Outstanding answer. 402 00:33:25,319 --> 00:33:30,119 Outstanding answer. And I and to be fair, I thought you brought up 403 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:35,720 a good point about Mario christ Ball and his decision making. You can't take 404 00:33:35,759 --> 00:33:38,480 that out of the equation when you're playing the Miami Hurricane. So I think 405 00:33:38,519 --> 00:33:42,279 that was a very good I think that was an I think that was an 406 00:33:42,359 --> 00:33:52,160 outstanding point. Jef Friend, you're up, Yeah, I want I want 407 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,519 to go back to some that we were talking about earlier in the podcast, 408 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,920 and and you know, that was the fact that we're even having to discuss 409 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:01,680 I mean, we have to discuss it, but the fact that this is 410 00:34:01,759 --> 00:34:08,719 even coming up, that a one loss PAC twelve team, you know, 411 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:17,280 has to worry about being taken over by multiple Big ten teams or or an 412 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:22,239 se see a second maybe in the second SEC. Team is just it's just 413 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:30,159 mind boggling to me. And you know, just you look at Michigan's schedule, 414 00:34:30,559 --> 00:34:31,840 and you know, you play the schedule that's in front of you. 415 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:36,719 But but I mean, my goodness is I think I said this on another 416 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:42,280 podcast earlier. You know, you go two and a half months without even 417 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:45,039 having to barely break a sweat. This is our schedule. East Carolina, 418 00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:50,480 U n LB Bowling, Green, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana, 419 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:58,360 Michigan State, Purdue before now remember eleven, you go to Penn State. 420 00:34:59,159 --> 00:35:01,599 I mean, Michigan may very well be a top three team, they might 421 00:35:01,639 --> 00:35:07,400 win the national championship, but you can't judge a team based on that schedule. 422 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:13,039 How good, how good they are, and and even Georgia and all 423 00:35:13,079 --> 00:35:15,880 credit to them, they've been the best program in college football over the last 424 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:22,960 couple of years. U T. Martin Ball, State, South Carolina, 425 00:35:22,159 --> 00:35:25,559 UA B, Auburn, Kentucky who they've got exposed. We saw it in 426 00:35:25,679 --> 00:35:30,360 Missouri. That's their best win that they were getting all kind of credit for. 427 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:35,119 And we know they're they're they're terrible to be honest. At Vanderbilt, 428 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:39,719 maybe Florida I mean, we know what Utah did to them, but maybe 429 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:45,000 maybe Florida might be again. I mean again, You've got teams going basically 430 00:35:45,039 --> 00:35:52,400 two months without having to play anyone and getting way too much credit. You 431 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:55,039 know, once you get passed in the Big Ten, past Michigan, Penn 432 00:35:55,119 --> 00:36:00,480 State, and Ohio State, it's a just falls off, if in quality. 433 00:36:01,039 --> 00:36:05,599 At least Ohio State won it Notre Dame in a game that they really 434 00:36:05,639 --> 00:36:09,880 should have lost. If Notre Dame you know, doesn't drop two of the 435 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:15,440 interceptions that they had in their hands on that final drive, you know, 436 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:20,760 or stopped either the third and long or the fourth down play, you know, 437 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:24,159 Ohio State is taken to Allen. We're still talking about Notre Dame in 438 00:36:24,199 --> 00:36:30,440 playoff contention, even with the loss at Louisville. I just I think it's 439 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:35,119 crazy that we're having to, you know, talk about teams from the Pac 440 00:36:35,199 --> 00:36:39,079 twelve or the ACC and we hadn't even talked about Texas and Oklahoma from the 441 00:36:40,199 --> 00:36:45,079 from the Big twelve having to try to navigate, you know, teams that 442 00:36:45,199 --> 00:36:51,559 haven't done anything, you know, all season long. I mean, if 443 00:36:51,599 --> 00:36:54,480 I was putting together a top five, I don't know how you put Georgia 444 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:59,079 and Michigan in the top two. They just haven't proven anything. They might 445 00:36:59,119 --> 00:37:02,159 be the best teams country at the end of the year, but against the 446 00:37:02,199 --> 00:37:07,599 schedule they've had, and then especially Clemson was you know, just getting blasted 447 00:37:07,639 --> 00:37:12,519 about this for previous years of not playing anyone. You know, we're seeing 448 00:37:12,519 --> 00:37:17,320 it right here with Georgia, Michigan. Let me look at Penn State scheduled. 449 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:22,400 I don't let me add something here too, Jeff, just real quickly, 450 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:27,119 and you know, and I'll say this, say this, just really 451 00:37:27,199 --> 00:37:34,480 quickly. This is what Washington's November looks like at USC November fourth, number 452 00:37:34,519 --> 00:37:39,639 ten, number sixteen, Utah at home, at number fifteen, Oregon State 453 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:45,440 number nineteen, Washington State at home. These teams are all in the top 454 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,400 twenty. I don't think it can be disputed. I mean, James and 455 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:52,079 Jeff, you can tell me if I'm wrong here. But back twelve has 456 00:37:52,159 --> 00:37:55,599 had I believe it's had the best football season of all conferences. And right 457 00:37:55,639 --> 00:38:00,599 now, I think they're the deepest football conference in the country free and that's 458 00:38:00,679 --> 00:38:04,880 that's what Washington has to get through. And if they and and I'm with 459 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:09,280 Jeff one, if if Washington was one law what got through that schedule with 460 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:15,159 one loss? And they were and and and you see somebody likes you know, 461 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:20,880 see a one loss Michigan team getting in before Washington. I would be 462 00:38:21,039 --> 00:38:27,840 extremely upset. Yeah, I mean, you know, if you have a 463 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:31,719 one loss Big ten team, who's the champion? You know, I could 464 00:38:31,719 --> 00:38:36,920 live with that, or a one loss SEC champion, But if we're talking 465 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:43,039 about a second team getting over a one loss Pac twelve champion or one loss 466 00:38:43,039 --> 00:38:47,000 Big twelve or one loss ACC champion, and you just have to be kidding 467 00:38:47,039 --> 00:38:52,440 me. I look at Penn State, West Virginia, Delaware, Illinois. 468 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:58,400 I guess I'll give him a little bit of credit for beating Iowa at home, 469 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:02,639 but I mean, well, who has we know how offensive yeah, 470 00:39:02,679 --> 00:39:07,159 we know how offensively challenged that they are, But all right, they have 471 00:39:07,199 --> 00:39:14,079 a pulse at least I guess Northwestern UMass. And then they play Ohio State 472 00:39:14,159 --> 00:39:19,559 this this weekend, which it's really gonna put the loser of that game, 473 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,719 you know, behind behind the eight ball. But I mean, you get 474 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:30,119 past those three, they it's just you gotta be honest, it's complete trash. 475 00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:35,840 In the Big twelve. Maryland many thought was the fourth best team losing 476 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,920 to Illinois this weekend. I mean, there is that's a three team league, 477 00:39:40,079 --> 00:39:45,360 and then there is nothing behind that. Maybe Iowa was decent. I 478 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:50,440 might say they're not. They have they're not, they can't they they score 479 00:39:50,559 --> 00:39:52,920 like five points a half. I mean, it's just a joke. It's 480 00:39:53,159 --> 00:39:58,639 there's a I think I see jokes. I see jokes on on the late 481 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:02,119 night TV on even some of the major Jimmy Fallon talking about Iowa. I'm 482 00:40:02,159 --> 00:40:07,480 just kidding. James, You're a friend. I want. I know, 483 00:40:07,559 --> 00:40:10,119 I use my open mic to ask you a question, but I want to 484 00:40:10,119 --> 00:40:15,519 give you an opportunity for your own open mic too. Well. I will 485 00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:20,639 say, you know, I agree a lot with what Jeff was saying. 486 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,800 I think that you know, I was able to watch the end of that 487 00:40:24,119 --> 00:40:28,000 Washington game and the way that they came back and won it there at the 488 00:40:28,119 --> 00:40:35,000 end. I mean that that looks like a college football playoff type team, 489 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:38,519 and I I agree with Jeff's point. I mean, you know, if 490 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:44,480 we're talking about a one loss team, but a team that wins their conference 491 00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:50,840 championship, I have less of a qualm with that team advancing into the playoff 492 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:55,840 than you know, a team that loses their conference title game and then gets 493 00:40:57,039 --> 00:41:00,920 you know, in regardless or didn't even make you know, has one loss, 494 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:02,920 but somehow, due to tie breakers, doesn't even make it into their 495 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:08,519 conference title game. Hard to imagine, but you know, I think if 496 00:41:08,559 --> 00:41:15,599 there's one thing that we'll be working in the favor of perhaps the you know, 497 00:41:15,679 --> 00:41:17,159 the PAC twelve, is that there are going to be so many good 498 00:41:17,199 --> 00:41:23,920 games coming down the stretch, and if Washington can run the table and win 499 00:41:24,119 --> 00:41:30,119 those games against those ranked opponents, and you know, the teams of the 500 00:41:30,159 --> 00:41:35,159 Big Ten that have had cupcake schedules so far but then start to kind of 501 00:41:35,159 --> 00:41:38,920 cannibalize each other. I mean, obviously, somebody's got to lose between Ohio 502 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:43,840 State and Michigan. Somebody's got to lose between Ohio State and Penn State. 503 00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:46,719 Somebody's got to lose between Penn State and Michigan. So you know, those 504 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:52,719 those three teams are going to beat up on each other and make it difficult 505 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:57,119 for there to be, you know, an opportunity for there to be multiple 506 00:41:57,199 --> 00:42:04,280 Big Ten teams. You know, I think that there's a pathway for you 507 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:08,519 know, certainly the PAC twelve to have a playoff representative, and you know, 508 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:14,239 you hope that there's no question about it. You know, you certainly 509 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:17,239 don't want it to be where the Pac twelve, the Big Ten, the 510 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:22,000 SEC, and the ACC all have conference champions that all have one loss, 511 00:42:23,719 --> 00:42:29,360 and then you know, it's suddenly becomes a question of, well, everybody's 512 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:35,519 got one loss, now who are you know, you start looking at the 513 00:42:35,639 --> 00:42:40,679 you know, second prettiest candidate from each of those conferences, and I didn't 514 00:42:40,679 --> 00:42:44,119 even think about the Big twelve, but you're right, I mean Texas and 515 00:42:44,159 --> 00:42:49,079 Oklahoma are there as well. You know it's going to be. I kind 516 00:42:49,119 --> 00:42:54,239 of like the four team playoff format. I understand the desire for expansion, 517 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:59,079 and expansion will make it more likely that other teams who are you know, 518 00:42:59,159 --> 00:43:05,079 deserving but have a single game slip up that they'll get in. And you 519 00:43:05,119 --> 00:43:09,440 know it's obviously you know, it drives viewership and ratings and all that. 520 00:43:09,559 --> 00:43:14,119 It's all about money now anyway, that's why we're bringing in you know, 521 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:22,480 the historically great ACC teams Cal and Stanford and s MU. But you know, 522 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,599 I think that, you know, I kind of like the four team 523 00:43:25,639 --> 00:43:31,239 playoff. It limits you know, it makes you feel better about the cop 524 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:39,079 the national champion being you know, a true champion. And I'm gonna be 525 00:43:39,079 --> 00:43:45,239 interesting to see in the years where the expanded playoff format is there gonna be 526 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:51,119 a Cinderella team of sorts, you know, a team that just squeaks into 527 00:43:51,199 --> 00:43:54,599 the field. Can they get hot and make a run to the title game. 528 00:43:55,239 --> 00:43:58,840 You know, it's a little bit more difficult in football when you when 529 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,480 you've got a roster of eighty five scholarships and you know, twenty two players 530 00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:06,639 on the too deep that all have to stay healthy, and you've got to 531 00:44:06,679 --> 00:44:09,639 have quality depth and all those things. It's a little bit harder for a 532 00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:15,639 cinderella team to advance than in basketball, where you know, you get a 533 00:44:15,679 --> 00:44:21,599 couple of hot shooters that you know, go on a run and can propel 534 00:44:21,639 --> 00:44:28,760 a team deep into the playoff or into the NCAA tournament. It'll be interesting 535 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:32,599 to see if any of those first weekend participants in the expanded College Football Playoff 536 00:44:34,199 --> 00:44:39,119 have a legitimate chance at winning a national title. But anyway, I think 537 00:44:39,159 --> 00:44:45,360 it's gonna be an interesting, you know discussion. I think we'll see a 538 00:44:45,400 --> 00:44:52,000 pack twelve team in the CFP this year. But you just hope that it's 539 00:44:52,079 --> 00:44:55,519 not that they're not having to come down to the wire and sweat it against 540 00:44:57,039 --> 00:45:00,199 you know, probably a lesser deserving team from a sex year conference like the 541 00:45:00,199 --> 00:45:06,760 Big Ten or the SEC. If Washington is undefeated and they make it through, 542 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:13,199 they should be the number one seed over Georgia, Michigan, oral Ohio 543 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:16,960 State. And I will stand on that hill and die. I think that 544 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:22,559 would be a very you know, I think that would there would be a 545 00:45:22,679 --> 00:45:28,639 very excellent case for that. The in terms of schedule strength, who they've 546 00:45:28,679 --> 00:45:32,960 played. You know, I don't know that I would I think they will 547 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,920 have earned the number one seed. I don't know that I would still put 548 00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:40,719 my money on them to win it all. You know, Michigan has been 549 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:45,840 murdering teams, and we assume it's because they've played nobody, but it could 550 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:51,880 very well be that Michigan's just that damn good. But I have not been 551 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:59,000 impressed all that much by Georgia, And you know, I think that Ohio 552 00:45:59,039 --> 00:46:02,159 State, obviously, with its potential to get upset by Notre Dame, you 553 00:46:02,199 --> 00:46:07,920 know, they've shown flaws. You know, I think a Washington Michigan national 554 00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:14,159 championship would be pretty pretty interesting and a lot of fun, I guess because 555 00:46:14,199 --> 00:46:17,159 I'm gonna be like Jeff. I'm gonna be like Jeff here, Jeff that 556 00:46:17,159 --> 00:46:21,840 that the SEC or the Big ten should take the three and four slots, 557 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:25,719 and you'd see the PAC twelve and the ACC taking taking the one two slot, 558 00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:29,480 and all these people will be pissed off and be for saying that. 559 00:46:29,559 --> 00:46:32,519 But that's where that's where I'm that's where I'm headed. Because if you haven't 560 00:46:32,519 --> 00:46:37,760 played anybody, you don't deserve to be seated. That's what they always tell 561 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:42,400 the AC. That's where they said that for the ACC Championship, you know, 562 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:45,679 going back ten years. Oh, they haven't played anyone where they so 563 00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:51,000 hey, I mean you gotta make that. I mean, if you're gonna 564 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:52,519 make that argument for one conference, you got to make it for the other. 565 00:46:52,599 --> 00:46:57,320 And then the results speak for themselves. The the SEC is down this 566 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:01,800 year. It's it's a it's a it's not very good. I mean, 567 00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:07,000 they got they got it handed to them out a conference. We saw it. 568 00:47:07,039 --> 00:47:13,400 We I know, Texas went into Tuscaloosa and you know they thumped Alabama, 569 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:16,239 who many thought was the you know, I think as the second best 570 00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:20,840 team in the SEC. Now, you know, we know what Florida State 571 00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:23,559 did to LSU in the fourth quarter in that game. They ran them off 572 00:47:23,599 --> 00:47:29,320 the field. We know what Utah did to Florida with a backup quarterback. 573 00:47:29,559 --> 00:47:34,920 That game was never in doubt. We know what Washington get the Michigan State 574 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,840 and it wasn't pretty. Yeah, I mean, you give me, you 575 00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:45,039 give you. Put Washington playing Michigan schedule and the results would be the same, 576 00:47:45,159 --> 00:47:51,280 if not worse. Washington would absolutely annihilate the schedule that Michigan's played so 577 00:47:51,440 --> 00:47:57,519 far. Too well, I'll tell you it's going to be. I don't 578 00:47:57,679 --> 00:48:07,719 envy NC State Athletic Director bu Corgan being the CFP chairman again, because he's 579 00:48:07,719 --> 00:48:10,039 going to be that guy that has to go out on the show at the 580 00:48:10,119 --> 00:48:15,360 end of the selection show and explain all the rationale for why they chose the 581 00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:19,599 teams that they did and seeded the teams the way that they did. Because 582 00:48:21,559 --> 00:48:27,840 every year there's always you know, the whoever the committee chair as they come 583 00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:32,000 out and they make arguments for one team that make no logical sense when applied 584 00:48:32,039 --> 00:48:36,639 to the other teams in the field, or vice versa. You know, 585 00:48:36,719 --> 00:48:42,360 they'll say one team you know, had a stronger strength to schedule and you 586 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:46,480 know struggle but felt like they you know, deserved a spot. And then 587 00:48:46,679 --> 00:48:52,000 they'll say this other team, you know, really passed the eye test. 588 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:57,960 So there's gonna be again. I I'm sure it's prestigious, and I guess 589 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,760 we're excited for Boo that he's undertaking that. But all I can think about 590 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:07,599 is the fact that no matter what you say on that selection show, you 591 00:49:07,639 --> 00:49:10,360 know, two thirds of the college football world is gonna be pissed off at 592 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:15,639 you and calling you an idiot for trying to make the arguments that you do. 593 00:49:15,679 --> 00:49:21,639 Just just be consistent, That's all that I ask. Yeah, I 594 00:49:21,719 --> 00:49:24,239 mean the problem with that, Jeff, is that there's no one consistent argument 595 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:32,320 that seems to satisfy everyone. And you know, it's hard to apply one 596 00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:38,039 measuring stick to you know, all the teams and come up with a field 597 00:49:38,119 --> 00:49:43,280 that feels right. I think I think a lot of times, you know, 598 00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:46,480 I don't have a huge qualm with the field that they come up with. 599 00:49:46,639 --> 00:49:51,320 At the end, they usually end up picking, you know, a 600 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:55,119 collection of teams that seems to make the most sense. But it's when they 601 00:49:55,159 --> 00:50:00,199 try to rationalize it if ye. I mean, you can't just go out 602 00:50:00,199 --> 00:50:01,760 and say, well, it feels like this, these are the four best 603 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:06,719 teams to have in the field. When you get asked the question why and 604 00:50:06,760 --> 00:50:10,159 then start trying to put some rationale behind it, that's where the consistency fades 605 00:50:10,159 --> 00:50:16,639 away and evaporates. So yeah, I mean, I totally agree with you 606 00:50:16,719 --> 00:50:22,480 on that. There's not going to be any way that's going to satisfy everyone. 607 00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:28,800 But I just want them to say, hey, we've ranked Michigan number 608 00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:31,719 seven here because they haven't played anyone they don't play haven't played a ranked team, 609 00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:37,320 like when the first rankings come out and use the argument that they've used 610 00:50:37,480 --> 00:50:43,679 against other teams in the past. It's when to me, I get frustrated 611 00:50:43,679 --> 00:50:45,960 when they start, you know, flip flopping the rationale. No one's going 612 00:50:46,039 --> 00:50:52,119 to ever like the rationale whatever it is, but just use the same thing 613 00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:58,159 as what I would like to see. Well, and we all know that 614 00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:04,079 the initial weeks of the college football playoff rankings or just to drive television, 615 00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:07,639 I mean, you know, they'll they'll shift teams around and it's like, 616 00:51:07,679 --> 00:51:09,920 well, why did this team rise and why did this team fall? I 617 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:14,960 was like, well, it doesn't matter. We're just shifting teams around to 618 00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:20,599 create talking points and discussions and you know, give podcasters something to talk about. 619 00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:28,199 That is true. There's only one ranking show that matters, and so 620 00:51:30,559 --> 00:51:35,760 my hope is that will we'll all roughly agree with teams that get selected, 621 00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:42,280 regardless of whatever rationale they come up with. Yep, great point, James. 622 00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:45,159 Thank you so much for coming on the All Sports Discussion ACC podcast. 623 00:51:46,079 --> 00:51:50,639 You are always a great guest and we loved having you come on the show 624 00:51:50,679 --> 00:51:53,320 and we would love to have you come back again sometime. Thanks so much 625 00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:58,119 for spending your Sunday evening with us, friend, sure thing, I appreciate 626 00:51:58,159 --> 00:52:01,440 it as always enjoy hanging out with y'all. Alright, have a great week, 627 00:52:01,480 --> 00:52:04,679 guys, Take care, See you guys.