00:00When you look at the top 25, right, Clemson, Miami have the opportunity,
00:05especially in week number one, to really make a statement against Notre Dame
00:09and LSU, respectively.
00:11When you look at both teams in the top 25, Clemson at number four,
00:15they're a 13-to-1 shot to win a national championship,
00:18and Carson Beck and Miami had a 40-to-1 shot.
00:22When you look at both of those teams and just the conference as a whole,
00:25can the ACC step up and make a statement this year?
00:28Well, yeah, I think Clemson's got to be the team that makes it.
00:32I think it's a little bit more remote that Miami can go the distance.
00:36And, you know, when you talk about getting to the championship,
00:38making the playoffs is one thing because I think both these teams will make the playoffs
00:42regardless of what happens on Saturday.
00:45I think they'll both make the playoffs the way I look at their schedule
00:48and how talented they are and the quarterbacks that they have.
00:52But they've got huge games, huge games on Saturday,
00:56and we're going to really have a chance to see how good they are.
00:59Win or lose, we're going to be able to see how good they are in these games
01:02because they play very good opponents,
01:05and they're going to be tested in every step of the way,
01:07and they don't play each other.
01:09And I said before, I think these two teams will end up playing each other
01:12in the conference championship
01:14because they don't play each other in the regular season.
01:17And both of those teams are playing at home.
01:19We talked about the dominance for Clemson.
01:22Over the past eight or nine seasons, they own a 70-5 overall record in Death Valley.
01:28That's a 933 winning percentage.
01:31We know that Dabo, Sweeney, and Clemson has owned the division
01:34and the conference for the most part, 78-9,
01:37dating back to 2015 against ACC opponents.
01:41But for Miami and Mario Cristobal, they get a top-10 opponent,
01:45a team that squared off in the national championship game.
01:49And the fact that they are playing in South Beach,
01:51that has to be an added benefit for the Hurricanes,
01:54not just in terms of an ACC championship,
01:57but potentially a national championship come week number one.
02:02Yeah, I mean, what they show against Notre Dame,
02:04because Notre Dame went all the way to the final game.
02:06And Notre Dame has a very good team.
02:08Now, Notre Dame is breaking in a new quarterback,
02:10and that's going to be the question mark at Notre Dame
02:13because they've still got an outstanding defense.
02:15They've got a running tack with Jeremiah Love,
02:18maybe the best running back in the country.
02:20And if you look at Heisman, if it's not going to be a quarterback,
02:23if he goes out there and averages seven yards a carry,
02:25you might see him getting in the hunt if Notre Dame continues to win.
02:29But I think it's a great challenge for Miami
02:32because they've got to show that they can stop the run.
02:35And they've got to show that they can go out there and play defense
02:38because when it gets to quarterbacks,
02:40I think Notre Dame's going to run the football.
02:43They're going to protect that quarterback in this first big game
02:45and not overuse him.
02:48And we're going to find out if Miami's defense is going to help them
02:50make it to the championship because last year, all said and done,
02:54Cam Ward did everything you can do to take a team to the playoffs
02:59and to the championship.
03:00The defense did not come through.
03:02They've got some players out of the portal.
03:04They are pretty much talented.
03:06Not loaded, but very, very good on defense again.
03:10So this will be a great test because Notre Dame will be a better defense
03:14and they will have a coach that will have his team ready.
03:17And now Mario Cristobal has got to show that he can go out there
03:20and win a big game with defense and a quarterback that goes out
03:24and doesn't make mistakes.
03:25I think Miami has the edge when it comes to quarterbacks
03:28that can play in big games.
03:30I think you've got to give that part to Miami.
03:33Yeah, we'll break down that game a little bit later in the show.
03:37When you look at the board, though, SMU, that made it to an ACC championship game.
03:41Georgia Tech is a hot commodity at 14-1.
03:45They play Colorado.
03:46We'll break down that game as well.
03:48Is there any deep shots potentially in the conference,
03:51maybe even North Carolina, that can make some noise
03:54and challenge for an ACC title?
03:57Yeah, I mean, I start with Louisville and SMU.
04:00I think those are the two.
04:01They're head coaches, what they've done in the past.
04:04Louisville's in the championship game just a year, two years ago.
04:08SMU last year.
04:09Those two teams would be next to me.
04:11And then you look at Georgia Tech.
04:12You look at Duke as a possibility.
04:15Again, they won nine games last year.
04:17And North Carolina because they're a little bit of an uncertainty.
04:20You don't know quite what you're going to get with North Carolina.
04:23But you know something?
04:24That coach, Bill Belichick, he'll have his team ready to play
04:27because he knows how to get a team ready to play football.
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