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ACC Preview and Crazy What If · The Saturday Slate Football Show

• Canon Stogner: All right, welcome back to another episode of the Saturday Slate Podcast with your hosts Canon Stogner and Andrew Wright. We've got a big one for you today as we're diving into the ACC and breaking down everything you need to know heading into the 2026 season. ⁓ we're going to rank the conference from top to bottom, make our ACC championship predictions, talk quarterbacks, players of the year, sleeper teams, underrated teams, coaches who are under the most pressure. And of course, we're going to have some hot takes along the way. So sit back, relax, and let's get into it. Now, Andrew, we do not have any ⁓ voicemails this week. However, I do want to cover one thing before we get started on the ACC. So there's this guy that we know we know pretty good. We weren't ever like close friends with him or like don't talk to him on like a regular basis, but we've talked to him a couple of times and we went to school with him. ⁓ I was looking on Instagram the other day. Andrew Wright: Alright. Canon Stogner: I was like scrolling, just viewing stories. And I'm just clicking through this guy's stories and I see like a podcast. And so like I I just continue clicking through it and I'm like, well, hold on. Is he like advertising our podcast? Like, this is pretty cool. So I go back and look. And it doesn't take me long to realize he's not advertising our podcasts. He's advertising his own podcast. But it was interesting to me that whenever I was clicking through it fast, I thought it was ours. So then I, you know, I did a little bit of a deep dive into it. And it comes to find out this guy's using a very, very similar logo as us. Okay. Andrew Wright: Okay. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: He's doing it with one other guy, kind of like how we are. And I'm not saying any of this, like we're the first ones to do a college football podcast or, you know, to have two hosts on a show. But I thought it was very interesting. This is coming from a guy who, like I said, we know each other pretty well. We see him all the time at South Carolina Games. ⁓ and his logo was very slim similar to ours. It was just a different color. ⁓ his podcast name was also very similar to ours. It had the same. Andrew Wright: this. Canon Stogner: words in there almost just missing one or two words, but very identical. So I was like, this is kind of weird. So I did a little bit of a deeper dive into it. And during this deeper dive, I realized, okay, they started their podcast three weeks after us. And so I was going through their episodes and I realized every single thing that we have talked about was the first topics they talked about, the exact same thing. And not only was that were those the same topics that we talked about, but they used the exact same captions as us. So I was like, all right, let's do it maybe a little bit, I'm gonna dive a little bit deeper into it. And so I clicked onto a podcast, and it's only on Spotify. They don't have the YouTube version yet, the visual, but I clicked onto the spotio or the Spotify podcast. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. you Canon Stogner: In the very first fifteen seconds of this podcast was a song that sounded exactly like our intro song. And you know that I I noticed this three or four days ago. It's Friday night, actually, it's Sunday now. And I I've lost a lot of sleep over it. I like I I'm really like astonished that something like this is happening. Like, this is not for us to say that we're like popular or blown up, but I'm very like just shocked and disturbed that Andrew Wright: you Right. Canon Stogner: This is happening not long after we started it. ⁓ because I mean it's been three, four years since we've seen this guy, at least at school. We've seen a couple of times at South Carolina games, but I don't know, this whole thing's like just mind blowing that this is a story that we're talking about. And like I said, I'm not like, you know, I'm not like just blowing us up saying we're these popular guys or, you know, everybody knows us, which I did I was in downtown Greenville last night and I did run into somebody who said that. Andrew Wright: Thank you. It is. Canon Stogner: He saw our podcast and didn't like the stuff I was saying about Clemson. So we'll get into that a little bit also. But ⁓ yeah, I thought the whole situation was interesting. I mean, I don't know. What do you have? Do you have anything to say about that? Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. I mean, yeah, like you said, we're not the first ones to ever do a Cosplayball podcast, but I mean, when you kind of brought it up to us the other night, kind of like, man, there's just a lot of stuff that's really similar. And like we, we said, there's no way to prove they're copying us, but man, just a lot of things that kind of. Canon Stogner: Lot of similarities. Andrew Wright: Yeah, like I just, ⁓ it's tough, tough situation to kind of deal with because we're, because we're not popular. The rest of the thing, we're not. Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah. I'm I I'm not I'm not gonna s I'm not gonna out his name yet. Now if it continues I might do that. I'm not gonna s out his name yet, but I d I think it I do think it's kinda cool. I mean, for one, he motivated us. I mean we got a lot to talk about today. I think we our big twelve episode was a little bit lazy out of us, but we've got a lot to talk about today with the ACC and ⁓ but I also think it's kinda cool that guys are kinda, you know, following behind us now. Andrew Wright: Yep. Like we're, yeah, following behind us. correct. Canon Stogner: Yeah, they're trying to fill in from our footsteps. So I mean, I don't know, it could be a ways you look at it. It's not the way I look at it. I think it's very weird and creepy, but kind of cool. But anyways, all right. So there's my little five minute spill. ⁓ so let's head into the ACC. Now before we start talking about our predictions and matchups and all the things that come with the ACC, ⁓ I will say the ACC is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Yep. Canon Stogner: And I'll tell you a couple of the stats this year. So the ACC has the strongest non conference schedule of any conference this year. They play twenty-five non-conference games against Power Ford teams and Notre Dame. They have nine versus nine games versus the SEC, one of those obviously being Clemson, South Carolina. ⁓ who Clemson also plays LSU, so there's two for them. ⁓ they have five games versus the Big Ten, five versus the Big Twelve, and then six versus Notre Dame. ⁓ So they do as a conference, they do have a pretty tough schedule. ⁓ also over the last three seasons, they have had eleven or more bowl eligible teams, which is most of any conference the last three seasons. So that's a pretty good thing. I think ACC catches a lot of flak for you know their schedule or conference being a little weak and not having a lot of top heavy teams and more bottom heavy teams. But I mean, those are pretty good stats there. so Let's start with the big tier big picture here. Before we start picking individual players and making some hot takes, ⁓ I think we need to figure out where we actually think these teams stand in the ACC. So we're going to break the conference down into four tiers. So the first tier will be college football contenders. Tier number two will be conference contenders, so teams that can ⁓ you know, maybe make it to the conference championship. ⁓ tier number three will be bowl teams, so teams that win six or more games. And then tier number four is Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: rebuild teams or teams that, you know, are just kind of laying down at the bottom. So let's see if we agree on where everybody belongs. So for our first ACC tier, tier number one, which is the college football playoff contender, I have one team in there. And I I imagine we probably have the same team. ⁓ who do you have? Andrew Wright: ⁓ I threw a second one in there. I imagine we both have Miami and then also through SMU in there as well. Those are those are my two ⁓ CFP contending teams would be Miami and SMU. Canon Stogner: Yeah, I have a I have a few ⁓ things as ⁓ I have a few good things to say about SMU tonight. I mean, they didn't make it last year, but two years ago they did. I mean, they got like like thinking like you said a couple weeks ago, they got pants on national television versus Penn State. ⁓ which was a which was probably the toughest matchup for anybody in that first round. Going to Penn State and sp like ten degrees probably, and you know, they had the wide out going and all that. So they but they did make it to the Cosby playoff, and that was after coming off ⁓ Andrew Wright: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: a loss where they almost came back and beat Clemson. I think Clemson walked it off with a field goal in the conferen in the championship. I was actually there, funny enough, but ⁓ so yeah, so you had two teams in the tier number one. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Google, yep. Yeah, just those two I think are legit playoff contenders. Canon Stogner: Okay. ⁓ so tier number two. I had three teams here. I had Clemson, I had SMU in tier number two, and then Louisville. Andrew Wright: So I had three as well, not the same three. I did have a little of all so we are the same there. And then I had Cal and NC State and we'll get into some more stuff later. But I got a lot of good things to say about Cal and NC State a later on. But yeah, those would be my three. No Clemson in tier two for me. Canon Stogner: Okay. No Clemson in tier two at all for you. Andrew Wright: No close than in tier 2 at all for me. Canon Stogner: Poor, you might be more hated on the street of Greenville than I am. Andrew Wright: They were. Canon Stogner: ⁓ Andrew Wright: They were right on the cusp, but no Clemson in tier 2. Canon Stogner: Okay. ⁓ so tier number three. So tier number three is bowl team. So teams with six wins or more. Now remember I did say last year and the past three seasons, they have had eleven or more teams qualify for a bowl. So I mean that's over half the conference. ⁓ but even knowing that stat, I had five teams on this list and one of ⁓ was probably kind of a reach. ⁓ but so my Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: Five teams where I had Virginia, who I'll get into them a little bit later too. They a lot of people I don't know if a lot of people remember this, but they won the championship last year. They beat Duke, which is funny enough that the conference championship matchup, you know, you had Miami who lost in the national championship. You have Clemson who's always there. We've talked about SMU. ⁓ we're talking about Louisville. And the matchup last year in the conference championship was Virginia and Duke. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: And it was like it was actually like a shootout too. I think the final score ended being like twenty-four twenty-seven, twenty-four. So I mean, wasn't a bad game. ⁓ but my five teams were Virginia, Vitech, led by James Franklin, ⁓ Pitt, Georgia Tech, and Syracuse. Andrew Wright: So I had six in there, four of the same ones as you, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson, obviously they just missed on tier two, but they were my first tier three team. So Clemson my fifth and then my sixth team, had Duke in there as well. So that gives me, your stat was you said 11 teams, bowl games, that gives me two in tier one, three in tier two and six in tier three. So that's 11 more teams for me this year making at least a bowl game from the ACC. So again, well over half the conference. Canon Stogner: Yeah, so only ⁓ Yeah, I mean I have nine. If you're going off my list, I have nine teams that will make a bowl or more. ⁓ but one of ⁓ was actually a reach. So I like I said, I had Syracuse. I was looking at the ACC preseason poll and Syracuse came in at number fourteen out of seventeen. So they're projected to finish bottom. But I feel like Fran Brown's not a bad coach. They're in a lot of games. ⁓ or they usually are. ⁓ I didn't realize, you know, they beat Clemson last year at Andrew Wright: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. No, he's not. Yeah. Canon Stogner: In Clemson. They lost their starting quarterback was playing very good like the first first quarter and second quarter. He ended up getting hurt. They won by 13 at Clemson and they lost their next seven games. They didn't win another game. Yeah, so Fran Brown is on a seven-game losing streak. And the last game that he won was in one of the toughest places to win, which was at Clemson. So that was a very funny storyline. And then number four, I had the rest of the conference. So I had Duke and Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm Yeah, yeah season fell apart after that You Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: Florida State and then ⁓ also had California down there, which I might end up changing that. So I had California in my rebuild. I think I'm gonna change that. ⁓ honestly I'm reading my list right now. It could have been a mistake that they made onto my tier four list. Andrew Wright: Yeah. Sure hope it is considering what I got them and how I view them this year So we either a very different. It was a mistake. I ain't sure which one Okay Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah, I think I just made a mistake. I I think they should be in tier three with bowl teams because I have a lot of good things to say about ⁓ we'll get into that a little bit later, but ⁓ but California was projected to finish twelfth in the ⁓ ACC preseason poll. So let me just go through the preseason poll real quick. So number one was obviously Miami. Number two, they had SMU, three, Louisville, four, Clemson. So I think those are your pretty four obvious teams that would be top four in the conference. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: And then you go to number five, Georgia Tech, number six, Virginia, who, like we said, made the championship last year. Number seven, NC State. Number eight, Vitech, where James Franklin's first season there. ⁓ number nine's Pitt. Number ten is Duke. Number eleven, Florida State, twelve Cal. Thirteen, Wake Forest, 14, Syracuse, 15, North Carolina and Bill Belichuk, 16, Boston College and Bill O'Brien, and then Stanford. Where Andrew Luck is now the general manager leading that team. So I you know, I think that'd be I think that'd be very cool if Andrew Luck would kinda come out and become a coach. I th I I I I yeah, I think that'd be very interesting. So yeah, so those are our tiers for our ACC heading into the ⁓ season. So now that we've laid out the entire conference and separated the contenders from everybody else, let's narrow it down. ⁓ so when you look at the teams Andrew Wright: Yeah, it would be. He's very smart guy. Canon Stogner: At the top, who do you think is actually going to make the championship game? Andrew Wright: I think it's definitely Miami and SMU. I think there's not enough known about the rest of the conference yet, regardless of how we view them, who we think could contend for that. I think we know those two teams are pretty dang good, at least one of them, if not the other one. So yeah, think as of now, definitely be Miami and SMU would be the pick as of now. Canon Stogner: Yeah, so I mean, like we said earlier, last year's matchup was Duke and Virginia. So Virginia went seven and one in the conference, Duke went six and two. So last year, Miami lost two games, which was to Louisville and SMU. So they ended up not even making the conference championship. They did make the playoff. ⁓ but this year's a little different for the ACC. It's kinda I don't know how they're gonna do it standings-wise, but so twelve ACC teams will play nine. non conference games or nine conference games this year and five teams will only play eight due to like pre pre ⁓ agreements with teams before the season. So like I know Clemson only has eight ACC games, but SMU, Miami, Louisville, and I think even Georgia Tech, and I mean, like I said, twelve other teams, but those other three or four teams have nine ACC games. So ⁓ how do they how will they do that? Is it based off loss? Andrew Wright: Yeah, I would guess the loss column would come first and then Yeah, because like if you have one of the teams with nine games and there's six and three and then you got one of the 18 five and three with the wins Yeah, so I feel like the tiebreakers would it almost be not impossible But if you've got the same amount of losses one teams go have more wins with the nine and the eight games Canon Stogner: Yeah, mean, especially with the teams that we're talking about. So anyway, so you had Miami, SMU, ⁓ I also had Miami. Now this was this ⁓ choice was actually very tough for me. So ⁓ I have Clemson, SMU, and Louisville as my three teams that could compete for the ACC championship. ⁓ so if you could look at Clemson's schedule, they have eight ACC games. They start at LSU, which is a non conference. Their first ACC game is at Cal. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: on a Friday night starting at ten thirty. So that is a early travel week for Clemson. ⁓ West Coast time. And they make a bigger of a deal like of games like this in the NFL. ⁓ 'cause college doesn't really travel like this much, but since the ACC's a little weird, ⁓ that's who they have. ⁓ and that game is actually the week before they have Miami at home. So that's gonna be a two t tough game stretch. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ and then he played Vitec at home. I think everybody's kinda waiting to see how Vitech's gonna be this year with James Franklin 'cause you know he can coach teams. He's never been able to quite ⁓ get over that hump, but I mean he's in a lot easier conference. He brought in a lot of guys from Penn State, so it'll be interesting. ⁓ they're also at Florida State and they're at Syracuse, who Syracuse has actually played very well against Clemson. Like I said earlier, they lost or they beat Clemson at Clemson last year thirty four twenty one. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ and they always seem to struggle against Syracuse. And then they play Georgia Tech, who beat Clemson last year. So of those four or five teams that I listed from the ACC, ⁓ I think Miami's the only team that's probably better than them. I think Syracuse is ⁓ a little worse than they were last year. I think Florida State's a lot worse than they were last year. Georgia Tech obviously doesn't have Haynes King. So I do think Clemson has a shot to get in. ⁓ and then Moving on to SMU. SMU has nine ACC games. They're at Florida State first game of the year on Labor Day in Tallahassee. ⁓ so that game will be on a Monday. ⁓ they're at Louisville third game of the year. And then they do play Notre Dame, but a non conference game. So pretty tough little three game stretch for them. And then my other team was Louisville. ⁓ Louisville. I think they had the toughest schedule of any of the contending teams. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: They do play Ole Miss to start the season, non conference game. ⁓ they have SMU week three at home. They're at NC State, at Georgia Tech, and they play pit at home. So a lot of these top dog teams kind of avoided playing each other except for one or two matchups. ⁓ so my final prediction was ⁓ Miami and SMU as well. So I had SMU as well. I think if SMU could only lose one conference game this year to Louisville. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: I think they'll make it in, assuming Miami goes 12 0. ⁓ I think if SMU only loses one game, they'll be in. And ⁓ I don't know, at Louisville's bringing in a ⁓ transfer quarterback from Ohio State who's been a backup for three years. so I mean it'll be interesting, but they have Kevin Jennings on the team who has the most experience of any quarterback in the ACC. He's been there four years. They also brought in a former five star receiver out of high school, Jalen Hill. ⁓ he started somewhere and then he transferred to Alabama where he didn't really play much. But ⁓ they were fifth in total offense last year in the ACC. They had the seventh worst defense. So ⁓ hopefully their defense has improved. And then they their coach, Rhett Lashley, who I think is really a good coach. I mean, he's got a like a above six hundred win percentage since being there. This is his fifth year being there. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: And he's been to the conference championship twice in four years and winning one of ⁓ So ⁓ ⁓ that was my pick. So who'd you have winning the game? Andrew Wright: Miami, I think they're just far and away the best team in the conference. mean, they're ranked what, in the preseason AP top 25? So yeah, mean, among those elite teams in the conference, I just think kind of this is their year to kind of right that wrong from last year, not even making it to the conference championship. So yeah, Miami over SMU would be my pick for the championship. Canon Stogner: Yeah, this is Cristobal's what, fourth or fifth year there? Andrew Wright: believe it's fifth. Canon Stogner: Yeah, and he's yet to make it. So yeah, it is. ⁓ so I mean, I think a lot of people are kind of writing I mean, I had them ranked number two in my AP Paul. So I think a lot of people I think a lot of people are kind of writing Miami in because their roster is so good. They brought in the probably one of the top transfer quarterbacks from Duke, Darien Minsa. So I feel like a lot of people are writing them in, but they have struggled in the ACC. Andrew Wright: Yeah, which is crazy. Mm-hmm. Especially you think about the last two years the four teams that have been in or a Clemson SMU Duke in Virginia like how's Miami not been in there yet? Like this is kind of a year to like hey Not that they have to make it because if they don't they probably lost one or two games They're still gonna be in the CFP like man if you don't make it this year in a conference that you are heavily favored to win like there's got to be some conversations happening somewhere Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, so obviously we've got to talk about Miami. ⁓ there's a lot of expectations surrounding them this year. ⁓ so we're in the ⁓ conversation as a college football playoff contender. ⁓ so there has to be somebody who's capable of knocking them off. So who, Andrew, who do you think is the biggest threat to the ACC ⁓ to Miami and the ACC? So who can real realistically knock them off? Andrew Wright: think it's gotta be. I think it's got to be SMU just because of Kevin Jennings. And you said the experience with him and with Rhett Lashley. I just think that combination, think is like we said, this is his fifth year there. Kind of, if not now when I just don't really fully trust any of the other ACC teams and their quarterbacks to kind of compete with what will probably be a very high powered offense. I think Kevin Jennings and SMU probably have the best shot to do that. You're not going to You're not gonna shut Miami down. You're not gonna hold them to two touchdowns on a field goal. You're gonna have to score with them. And I just don't trust anybody else to do that outside of Kevin Jennings and SMU. So that would be my biggest threat for Miami would be SMU. Canon Stogner: Yeah, I mean, I can understand why you put SMU. ⁓ I did not put SMU, so obviously I know I had them in the ⁓ conference championship matchup. But I think the biggest threat to actually beating them is Clemson. So like I said, Clemson does play him at home. Now I do think that game, I think that's like week three or week four. If Clemson were to knock Miami off at home, I think Our whole prediction of the conference championship changes a lot and it's gonna end up being Miami and Clemson again. ⁓ so that game matters a lot. ⁓ obviously Clemson has a very talented offense. They have a young, pretty much brand new offensive line though. ⁓ new running back, ⁓ kept a lot of the same receivers. They have one of the best receiving quarters in the col in N Cou A. ⁓ obviously the biggest question is their quarterback this year who is Christopher Vizina. ⁓ he did make one start last year against SMU and he actually played well. I mean, he threw for 320 yards and had three touchdowns, no interceptions. So if you're going, if you're basing him off one game that he started in his career, I think as a Clemson fan, you probably have some high hopes for him. ⁓ but you know, playing an ACC team every week or playing a conference game every week, going to Andrew Wright: Yeah. Canon Stogner: on the road against ⁓ you know, a lot of people still treat Clemson as their Super Bowl. Like when Clemson comes to town, that's when the the stadium sells out, all the students, you know, stay up all night drinking. First ones to the student section, you know, they pack the place, they they're loud before kickoff and, you know. So a lot of teams do still treat Clemson as their Super Bowl, and rightfully so. I mean, they've been on top of the conference for a decade now. I feel like Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: Thought last year was the best coaching staff Dabo's had in a while since losing Brent Vedables, with ⁓ bringing Penn State's D coordinator in last year, two years ago. ⁓ and then ⁓ having Garrett Riley bringing him in from TCU. ⁓ but you know, the Clemson fans were hard on Garrett Riley, they were hard on K Klubnick, and they end up ⁓ Garrett Riley ended up getting fired. So, you know, they're back with Chad Morris, who was their offense coordinator for a while at Clemson. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: before leaving, ⁓ who had a terrible, god awful record as a head coach. What an awful, awful story he had. I can't remember where he went to coach, but ⁓ he had a god awful record. okay, so he left he was at Arkansas for one year. so tells you how things went there. ⁓ Yeah, so anyway, so I had Clemson as the team to knock them off. Now, their defense, I think, will be not as loaded as it was last year. ⁓ but they'll probably ⁓ they have Clemson has to have a better year defensively than they did last year. They were towards the middle, even bottom half of the ACC in defense last year, which is not known of them, especially with having all those guys drafted out of Clemson. ⁓ but they do have Sammy Brown who's there for his third year. He's a five-star linebacker out of high school. ⁓ he's gonna take over Drew Wood as spot, middle linebacker. So ⁓ we'll talk about him a little bit later. so yeah, now news yesterday, they're starting D tackle Vic Burley, who's a red shirt junior. ⁓ so this will be his fourth year in college. He was suspended ⁓ indefinitely for ⁓ public disorderly conduct or something like that. Andrew Wright: in that we. Canon Stogner: And he was arrested by Clemson PD. So when I saw that story, I'm just thinking, I'm like, man, this dude, D tackle, so he's obviously obviously a massive, large mammoth of a guy. It's the first weekend where all college kids are back at school and this guy decides to go out. Now it he was legal to go out, ⁓ but this guy decides to go out and get extremely intoxicated and drunk. Andrew Wright: Right. Canon Stogner: and probably falling into sidewalks and other people and you know, just causing a problem and he got arrested by the actual campus security. So pretty smart move by him if you ask me. But ⁓ so that's a big loss, especially with their first game being at L S U. And I guarantee you I can predict when he'll be back. He'll be suspended for the first two or three games and he'll be back for that Miami game. That's how they always do it always do it. But ⁓ so we'll see. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Canon Stogner: So that brings us into the schedule, ⁓ because if this conference is as competitive as everybody thinks they are, at least ACC people do, ⁓ there's probably going to be one or two games that really determine how this thing plays out. So what's the biggest regular season conference game on the ACC schedule this year? Now I know we said Notre Dame plays six ACC teams. That does not count. So what are the six or the biggest conference regular season matchup this year? Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. So for me just with the way and that Miami comes to the game is obviously huge ⁓ I view comes to a little lower than you do So for me SMU at Louisville game in week three kind of for me at least and I know that's very early in the season like said three weeks in with a lot of a lot more football to play than before that but for me that will kind of tell me who I think my number two team in the ACC is Kind of the loser of that game that early in the season is already behind the eight ball with a conference loss. And then kind of with the way the schedules play out, the winner of that game is, in the driver's seat and they kind of control their own destiny into the ACC championship game against what will probably, probably be Miami. So yeah, for me, it's that game in week three, obviously Miami and Clemson was my second kind of that's, that's a huge game. That would probably be the consensus biggest game for most people, but just because of the way I view Clemson and I don't think there'll be a real threat to Miami. Yeah, it'll be SMU at Louisville for me. Canon Stogner: Yeah, I was obvious there's n really not big matchups this year besides Miami, Clemson, SMU, Louisville. obviously Clemson and Louisville have the advantage here playing at home against Louisville against SMU and ⁓ Clemson versus Miami. ⁓ I do think I think SMU and Louisville is week three and then Miami and Clemson is week four. So those are both early season matchups for all four of those teams. Andrew Wright: No. Canon Stogner: I think Clemson or Miami has the most or the least to lose if they were to lose that game. ⁓ I still think Clemson could get back, but I also said SMU and Louisville was my biggest game because like I said, I had SMU as my conference championship prediction, making it to the play Miami. but like you said, the loser of this game has to find a way to bounce back and finish out the season undefeated because I think Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah. Canon Stogner: if SM whoever the loser of the SMU Louisville game has to win out the rest of the season. And like I said earlier, I think yeah, like I said earlier, I think Louisville has the hardest conference schedule out of those three teams. ⁓ but yeah, I mean if you go with Miami Clemson, if Clemson can knock off Miami, I mean we could see a rematch of this game in the conference championship. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Correct, yeah, they can't slip up anywhere else. Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: So we've talked about a lot about the teams, especially the top four teams. ⁓ but at the end of the day, quarterback is going to determine a lot of what happens in this conference. ⁓ so there are some really interesting quarterbacks in the ACC this year. So let's get into it. So who did you have as your top five QBs? We'll start at number five. Who'd you have? Andrew Wright: So number five for me, kind of mentioned him earlier, Steve Angelli at Syracuse. Like we said, their season kind of fell apart when he got hurt last year and he was playing some really good football through four games. I mean, he left in the first half of the Clemson game, correct? So in three and a half games last year, Angelli, had 1,317 passing yards averaging 330 yards per game in three and a half games. So that was a really good start to the year for him. And in his career, Canon Stogner: Yes. Andrew Wright: He's attempted 236 passes. He's got three interceptions. So that is a ⁓ smart football player that's going to take care of the football. And I think with the full season last year, Syracuse is a completely different team. I think we view them completely differently this year. I'm not sure how good they'll be, but I do think Steve Angele is a really good quarterback. And so for me, that's who I had at number five. Canon Stogner: Yeah, Steven Jelly did not make my list. ⁓ he kind of flew over my head. ⁓ there were a couple other guys I thought should have made the list. Now, these two guys, I was between two guys for number five. ⁓ I didn't really account for the experience or what they've done in previous seasons because neither one of these guys have played a lot of football. ⁓ I just kind of think with the rosters and talent and coaches that they have, these are who my top five quarterbacks are going to be this year. So I was between Alberto Mendoza at Georgia Tech and ⁓ Christopher Vizina at Clemson. So I ended up ⁓ siding with Alberto Mendoza and the reason for that was obviously he's a brother of Fernando. ⁓ I was looking at some articles and doing some research research, and apparently a lot of coaches are high on him. Obviously they brought him in, but even since he's been on campus, he's been great in practice. ⁓ during the spring game, now I know spring game, but during the spring game, he went twelve for sixteen ⁓ completions, ⁓ passed for a hundred and forty eight yards and had a touchdown in their spring game. ⁓ he has meant a lot of shoes to field, not just because of his brother, but you know, Haynes King was there for two or or three or four years and he was an absolute dog there. ⁓ but Mendoza can run just like his brother, ⁓ kind of like Haynes King. He's built kind of big and just mean. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Thank Canon Stogner: And Brent Key, their head coach, has shown that he can win without having big name QBs. So I did have him at number five. Now, my other choice was Christopher Vizina. He does have a lot better offense than Mendoza does, but we'll see. We'll see how this pans out. Now at number four, I had CJ Bailey Jr. from NC State. So CJ Bailey is ⁓ he's going into his junior year, ⁓ this second year starting. He's a six six quarterback, so he's Very long tall frame and can run. Dual threat QB going into his junior year. He had a sixty nine percent completion percentage. Pretty good. He threw for thirty one yards, thirty one hundred yards last year, ⁓ twenty five touchdowns. Now he did have nine interceptions, but he had a hundred and fifty ⁓ efficiency rating. So that's who I had at number four. Who'd you have? Andrew Wright: ⁓ I went I'm gonna try not to butcher this name. ⁓ from Cal I went Jaron Keane Saga Pula Taylor. Saga Saga Pula Taylor if I messed that up Jaron if you see this, please correct me ⁓ I've heard the name kind of didn't know a lot about him kind of dove into some stats and film really good arm Almost 3,500 passing yards last year 18th in the country. ⁓ only 18 touchdowns Canon Stogner: Okay, I'm gonna say I'm gonna say how you did. Sounded good with me. Andrew Wright: And like you mentioned with CJ Bailey, did have nine interceptions. So would like to see if you're going to throw nine interceptions, kind of would like to see maybe a little bit more in the the touchdown department. He did rush for four touchdowns as well. I'm sixty four point four percent completion percentage. Not great, but not horrendous by any stretch of the imagination either. And so Cal, I got I kind of get into the how I feel about them later, but I think him with that offense, I think it's a really sneaky, good team. So yeah, Saga Pula, Taylor at number four for me. Canon Stogner: ⁓ yeah. ⁓ number three, I also had Jaron Kiwi, Sagapatulli, Lele, whatever. How however you say it. ⁓ he is a former five star recruit. He was ⁓ fifth in the ⁓ college football last year in completions per game. ⁓ he was he had a massive workload for being a a freshman or sophomore in college. ⁓ this so this will be his third year in college. He redshirted his freshman year, he's redshirt sophomore. ⁓ A lot people forget about this, but Fernando Mendoza started at Cal. So he was the backup to Mendoza and he's kind of on that same trajectory as ⁓ Fernando Mendoza where he kinda takes off his second year of ⁓ starting. ⁓ so that is who I had at number three. ⁓ I d he did take a lot of sacks last year, but I think they brought in that ⁓ head coach from or or Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: the defense coordinator from Oregon to be their head coach, first time head coach. so I mean, they threw the bag at him to keep him not enter the portal. So that's who I had at number three. I both I think we both agree on where he is. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. I with CJ Bailey at number three, just kind of we flip-flopped those two. I gave him the edge just strictly based off eight to seven more touchdowns, two more rushing touchdowns. So those two were kind of interchangeable for me. One thing about CJ Bailey, you mentioned 69 % completion rate. That was up 4 % from his first season as a starter. So kind of good to see that trajectory kind of going upwards rather than down. So think a third year in that system for him, that kind of gave him the edge for me at number three. Canon Stogner: Yeah, well I mean we'll talk about our sleeper team ⁓ later, but ⁓ CJ or NC State was almost who I pick. 'Cause I do think they'll be good this year. Or, you know, they'll be able to contend a little bit. ⁓ so at number two, I had Kevin Jennings from SMU. I feel like our last two were probably gonna be similar. ⁓ Kevin Jennings from SMU ⁓ last season has he had a sixty six percent completing completion percentage. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Canon Stogner: He threw for thirty six hundred yards, ⁓ twenty-six touchdowns. Now he did have thirteen interceptions. ⁓ but I think the most concerning aspect of his performance last year was his lack of running. So he rushed for almost four hundred yards in the season they made it to the playoff. Last year he rushed for only fifty-four yards. So he lost out on three hundred rushing yards, which I think completely changes their offense when he's running. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: And he also took ten more sacks than he did the previous season. So hopefully they've beefed up the offensive line a little bit. Hopefully he'll be a little bit more run heavy. I think we kind of saw kind of the same thing that teams did with Lenore Sellers, like kind of forced him to throw the ball more, which I think that's why you saw all his interception numbers were a little up and his sack numbers were a little up from the previous year. So I did have number two at Kevin Jennings. I think he's probably one of the most prolific quarterbacks. Andrew Wright: Thank you. Right. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: in college football, but I think we he just has to show it. Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah, same thing for me, Kevin Jennings. The interceptions and the lack of rushing were kind of my two concerns as well. If we're going to throw 13 interceptions, kind of like we said with Saga Pulitele, we'd like to see a few more touchdowns rather than just the two to one ratio. Yeah, I he has to kind of figure out a way to use his legs more. That system has to kind of open up some running lanes for him and kind of figure out some ways to get him out of the pocket, get him on the move. And so if he can cut down on the turnovers, kind of get back to that rushing production, like you said, one of the most prolific and best dual threat quarterbacks in the country. Canon Stogner: Yeah, so I mean that does mean our number one quarterback's probably the same. So let's say it at the same time on the count of three. Okay. Three, two, one. Darien Minsa. ⁓ so yeah, so our number one quarterback was Darien Minsa from Miami. ⁓ he instantly gives Miami one of the best signal callers in college football. ⁓ his usage at Duke was massive. He led the ACC in attempts, yards, and touchdowns. ⁓ he throws the ball downfield a lot. Andrew Wright: All There it is. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ he did take twenty seven sacks ⁓ during over his time at Duke, but or sorry, last year. But I think with he's at a better team with a better offensive line. ⁓ he's got Malachi Tony helping him out. And then he also has Mark Fletcher who can kinda beef up the run game a little bit and, you know, open the ⁓ passing lanes a little bit. So I mean we could even Darien Minsa was great at Duke for his two or three seasons there. We could even see a Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: better Darien Minsa when he goes to Miami. ⁓ and a lot of it probably has to do with just the roster and the team that surrounds him. ⁓ I mean, like we s we we keep saying it. I mean he led Duke to the conference championship last year. ⁓ so interesting. He's obviously a very good quarterback. Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah. Right. Like almost kind of got Duke back to football relevance after kind of a long time of being just a basketball school, like Derry Mesa kind of, like Mike Elko right before he left and went to A ⁓ kind of got them kind of back to relevant and football again. Not like they're going to make the playoff or anything, but yeah, mean, kind of a consistent bowl threat for the last few years. And that roster in Miami is just so much better than probably anything he ever had at Duke. So like weeks, almost 4,000 yards last year. What does that look like with a completely different roster? That's so much better. Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah, I mean I mean Mike Elko was at Duke whenever ⁓ they beat Clemson on like a Monday night, right? On Labor Day? With Riley Leonard. And then he and Riley Leonard left with w the same year Mike Elko left, right? He went to Notre Dame with Mike Elko left at A and ⁓ So Mince's ⁓ I guess this will only be his third year of playing like meaningful snaps. So Andrew Wright: Monday night. Labor day, Yeah, went to Notre Dame, yep. And that's when they got Manny Diaz. Right. Canon Stogner: And he had a little bit of a weird story too, leaving Duke, didn't he? Like he Andrew Wright: think it was just late. I think very late. Like kinda maybe he had committed to come back already and then kinda changed his mind and left really, really late. Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah, I think he had to get out of a lot of like legal stuff that he had already signed, kinda like Demon Williams in Washington. All right. So now I do want to make or clarify real here real quick here. the best quarterback and the most quarter important quarterback aren't necessarily the same thing. So if you take each quarterback away from his team and ask who would hurt their team the most, who is the most important QB in the ACC? Andrew Wright: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ now I thought we would have the same quarterback for ⁓ this one, the most supported Q B for the team to have success. ⁓ but I've kinda f gotten word that we don't have the same quarterback. ⁓ so I'll let you go first. Andrew Wright: you I mean, I hope I don't disappoint you with the answer, but I think for me, the case of best and most important are the same. think it is Darien Mensah at Miami. I know we've talked about the roster, but I don't think that, I don't think that right now without looking at anything that either one of us could tell the other one who the backup quarterback at Miami is. So like, I just think that I just. Canon Stogner: I mean I mean no, but at what what what schools could you? Andrew Wright: Right. mean, yeah, agree. But like, just think he is such an important piece and they gave him so much money to get there. And somebody's got to get Malachi Tony Deball. Somebody's now I say somebody's got to hand the ball off to Mark Fletcher. That's pretty easy. But I just think like we saw last year, Carson Beck, not even I'm not going to compare Carson Beck to Darien Mensah. They're not the same quarterback. But we saw the couple of times that Carson Beck struggled. mean, they lost the games. It's like, I think that's the same way. Like if Darien Mensah struggles. Yes, that's a good roster and yes, it's a good team, but I don't think it's good enough to win without their star quarterback playing like a star quarterback. So that for me is just looking at kind of the way Carson Beck played in a couple of games they lost last year. And so just think if Darius doesn't play well, this team's not going to play well. And I think if Darius has three, if he lays three eggs against anybody, they're out of the college football playoff. They're nine and three and they're out of the playoff. So I just think that he, I don't think they can afford for him to have bad games. So for me, He is the most important quarterback in the ACC. Canon Stogner: I'm gonna have to disagree with you and I'll tell you why. I don't I think us and Miami fans and you know, just a lot of other college football people, I think they would be a lot more worried and saying the same thing if they haven't seen Darien Minsa do it before. So I think if I think if he were like a five star quarterback coming out of high school, he was a backup for two or three years, he's finally getting his shot, I would completely agree with you. But Andrew Wright: Okay. Right. Canon Stogner: I think people are not worried about him as much because like we said, he did come from Duke. Obviously it's a basketball school. They don't have the same roster that he has now at Miami. ⁓ and I I think a lot of games ⁓ Miami's defense may just keep him in it. ⁓ and a lot of it probably has to do with their schedule too. So I do disagree with you. I mean, if I had to make my top three list for the most important QB. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: He wouldn't even be top three. but my most important QB to their team success is Christopher Vizina. ⁓ so he's got a new offense coordinator. ⁓ he obviously has that talented roster, talented receivers. Now the roster's not as good as it was last year, but I feel like a lot of things and a lot of pressure is in his hands. Okay. So they're coming off years with Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: Taj Boyd, years with Deshaun Watson, years with Trevor Lawrence, years with DJ Uegalay, whatever, years with Cade Klubnick, all four of those guys that I just ⁓ mentioned, I don't know if rankings were really out much when Taj Boyd was there. He may have been a five star, but I'm not sure. But Deshaun Watson, Trevor, ⁓ DJ, and Cade, ⁓ were all five star quarterbacks. And even ⁓ what's the dude's name that played at Missouri? Bri Andrew Wright: You talking about Chase Bryce? Canon Stogner: The quarterback ⁓ as No, no no, the black guy. Andrew Wright: ⁓ goodness. I got his name man. ⁓ it's Kelly. Kelly Bront. Kelly Bront. Yep. Canon Stogner: Kelly. Kelly Bryant? Kelly Bryant. So anyway, so those are five five star quarterbacks coming out of high school that ⁓ Clemson has had. And obviously some of them didn't pan out the way they would have wanted. But this is their first year without a very highly recruited quarterback. ⁓ and you know, even with most of that roster he had last year, or Cade had last year, they weren't that great. I mean Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: They lost they went seven and six. So I think Vasina is the most important QB. And I I also have another reason why I'm saying this that I'll get to later. ⁓ but I think he has Chris a lot of pressure is on Vasina's hands that really are not his fault. And it I think Clemson, I'm saying this, I think Clemson could look a lot different next year if some things were to fall the way they do. If they if they're Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: If Clemson were to go six and six this year, or maybe even five and seven, ooooh boy. Andrew Wright: think for me the reason Vazina is not that most important guy for me I think we just have contradicting kind of viewpoints on it I think some of the reasons you're given for why he is for you are kind of some of reasons why he's not for me because like you said the roster probably isn't as good as it was last year and they were barely above a 500 team I don't think he's as good as K. Klubnik is so like I think K. Klubnik's ceiling is higher than Christopher Vazina's ceiling So with a worse roster, even at his best, I still don't think it's a very good team. So like, just, I just don't, I think they're ceiling, absolute ceiling with him at his very best, those receivers staying healthy, another really good Clemson defense. I think it's a nine and three team at best. I don't think it's a CFP team. So like for me, that is kind of why he's not for me because the fact that it is a worse roster, he's not, does not have as high as a ceiling as the last guy did. Canon Stogner: Yeah. Yeah, and I think w with them bringing ⁓ Chad Morris back, I think Clemson will be a more of a run heavy offense kinda I think like the last several years, Garrett Riley get try get too cute. And I think K Clubnett was the wrong quarterback to do that with 'cause he made a lot of bonehead mistakes in his career at Clemson. ⁓ now he had good moments. I don't I don't want to take anything away from him. He had good moments, but he also had a lot of bonehead mistakes. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Yep. Canon Stogner: so but I was also between him and Lincoln ⁓ Keinholz, ⁓ who like I said, he was at high state for three years or he's the backup. they are Louisville is projected to finish second in the ACC. ⁓ they have Isaac Brown at running back who a lot of people look at as the ⁓ second best running back in college football. ⁓ so I think their season depends on how he plays this year. ⁓ because I think if Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: A lot of teams, you know, don't really trust him or think he can do ⁓ what he's supposed to do. Andrew Wright: Right. Canon Stogner: Then I mean they're gonna stack the box and be able to stop Isaac Brown, so Andrew Wright: Yeah. Canon Stogner: ⁓ so anyway, so we spent a lot of time talking about quarterbacks, ⁓ but there are plenty of other guys who are going to have a huge impact on this conference. So let's move away from quarterbacks for a second. Who do we think is going to be ACC's offensive player of the year? Now I'll start first. This was a pretty easy one for me. ⁓ now he didn't make it into the ⁓ finalist awards f last year for offense player of the year. He probably should have, but I think just being as a freshman, they kind of didn't put him in there. And I really don't think He had a great year last year, but I don't think people really knew who he was until the playoff started. ⁓ but I had Malachi Tony as my prediction for offensive player of the year. ⁓ he's going into a sophomore season. He is an extremely dynamic in the passing game and run game. ⁓ he runs look he looks on the field, he looks like he runs like a Tyree Killer or Jalen Waddle, like that kind of fast. But he also runs the ball hard kind of like ⁓ you know. Andrew Wright: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: Like a Saquon or something. Like he's just dynamic and he's a receiver. So he plays a lot of slot. He gets a lot of jet sweeps, catches a lot of screens. He even plays a little bit of quarterback in like in the Wildcat stuff. So I mean, he's a very dynamic, probably the most dynamic player in college football this year and maybe even last year. So that's who I had for my offensive player of the year prediction. Who do you have? Andrew Wright: Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I like Tony as well just kind of mentioned earlier, just the high powered offense and he's got the best quarterback in the conference. We both think so. I think he's going to benefit greatly from that. I mean, he's kind of like we heard with Jeremiah Smith after his freshman year, like he's NFL ready. Like that guy shouldn't have to wait two more years to play in college before going to the draft. So yeah, he'll be the beneficiary of I believe probably several hundred, probably into the thousands worth of receiving yards and touchdowns from MENSA. Canon Stogner: Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ did you see ⁓ the Caleb Downs interviewed yesterday? Or a couple of days ago. Andrew Wright: I had a notification pop up. didn't watch it. Something about him and Jeremiah Smith. Canon Stogner: Yeah, so ⁓ obviously Caleb Downs is with ⁓ Cowboys now. ⁓ he was at Ohio State for two years after leaving Alabama and ⁓ he was on I think he was on the pivot podcast with Ryan Clark and those guys. and they asked him, they were like, You've been up against C D and George Pickens now at practice 'cause they've been in ⁓ training camp for at least a month or so. Maybe not that long, but they've been w they together for a while. And he asked him, he was like like Andrew Wright: Thank Canon Stogner: How far off is Jeremiah Smith from being a guy like C D Lamb and George Pickens? And Caleb Donald said, ⁓ he's right there with them. So, I mean, Jeremiah Smith is probably the best receiver, but ⁓ he would jer ⁓ yeah. ⁓ they're two completely different receivers, so it's hard to compare. But I mean, Malik Altoni looks like one of those receivers that would be a killer in the Patriots offense with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Andrew Wright: Now I got Tony's second. Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, ⁓ yeah. ⁓ yeah. Canon Stogner: Just one of those guys in the slot. He'd he'd have 10 catches for 70 yards after a game and you like like a real quiet game, but then it you know, he's just one of those guys. ⁓ so we've talked about offensive players. So there's gonna be some defensive players who changes ⁓ games this year too. So who's your pick for ACC defensive player to you? Andrew Wright: Right. I went Sammy Brown linebacker at Clemson. of just kind of like you mentioned the role he'll kind of fell into and with the middle linebacker former five star, he did have over a hundred tackles last year. I just think no, nobody else really stood out. It's like a just popped off the page. It's like a favorite for that. So I don't think it's a bad thing. We agree on it. It just gives us a little less talk about with it. But yeah, I think he's a pretty, I guess, pretty clear front runner for us, at least for that award. So yeah, Sammy Brown. Canon Stogner: Me too. Yeah, ⁓ this would be his junior year. ⁓ his freshman year, obviously, five star coming out. He kinda felt like whenever he commit I remember I remember the day that he committed to Clemson, ⁓ 'cause he obviously came down to a lot of top schools. The day he committed to Clemson, you just kinda felt like, dang, they got them another one. 'Cause they always had those linebackers that, you know, they had Ben Bulware. ⁓ they had Drew Wood as ⁓ you know, some of those other guys. What's the other guy's name? ⁓ Skowski. Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah. Canon Stogner: They had Skowski who like they're not it's weird. Like just at the end of the game, they have 15, 20 tackles, and you're like, what in the world? Like so, but you just kind of felt like they got one of those guys. Well his freshman year came around came around and he didn't play that great. I mean, I remember the South Carolina game. He ⁓ he got benched a couple of times. I think his job was to be the spy on Lenore Sellers, and you saw what he did on a few plays during that game. So he got benched a few ⁓ Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: He got benched during a lot of games. He didn't play as much as people once thought he would. And then last year he kinda took that next step where he was supposed to be the linebacker that everybody thought he would be. ⁓ so he played a lot better. He grew into his body a little bit more. He's more mature physically. And I think he's learned the game a little bit different or l little better now. ⁓ so this year that's who I had as my defense player of the year as well. I mean, he's filling in the shoes of Wade Wood as. ⁓ he'll be he'll play his position that Wade played for the last Andrew Wright: Yeah. Canon Stogner: Three seasons, ⁓ middle linebacker. ⁓ he did have a hundred and six tackles last year. He had one interception, one forced fumble. ⁓ but they do use him a lot in the QB spy game. ⁓ he mans up a lot against running backs and he's a good blitzer, so that's who I had ⁓ at defense player year. so we've talked about the teams we expect to be good, but every year there's a team that completely blows away expectations. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Thank Canon Stogner: Maybe they're not picked to win the conference, but by November we might be talking about them. So who's your sleeper team in the ACC? Now we're doing a segment on the most underrated and the biggest sleeper team. ⁓ they're a little bit different. My sleeper team was and I can't believe I put them in tier four. I'm really upset about that. I I really think I really think it was a mistake. ⁓ but my sleeper team was California. The Bearcats. So they have they're Andrew Wright: Gosh, how is that? Canon Stogner: Toughest part of their games this year at ACC wise or at home in Cal. So they're very fortunate of that. ⁓ they have a five star quarterback coming in, like we said, number three on my list. I think he was number four on yours. ⁓ they brought in the 14th best transfer class, ⁓ four guys from Oregon. So they're kind of, you know, they're keeping guys home and going into the transfer portal, which is probably the most important thing nowadays. ⁓ they have extreme home field advantage being on the West Coast. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ could hurt them when they're playing on the road back on the East Coast, but a lot of those games will be on Saturday. It's a lot better for them at home when they're playing at Fridays than traveling all the way back on a different time zone. and then they brought in their new coach, ⁓ Tosh LePoy. I hope I said that right. Tosh LePoy, who was the D C at Oregon for four years and ⁓ all four years at Oregon, he had a top fifteen defense in the country. So I mean Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Yep. Canon Stogner: You gotta expect their defense is gonna be better than it was past several years now that he's there coming from Oregon. Have a five star quarterback. A lot of people are high on, ⁓ a lot of confidence in him. So that's my sleeper team. I would not be surprised if we're looking if they beat Clemson that third game of the year before they played Miami. I we really could be talking about them, you know. They potentially could be coming to Charlotte for the ⁓ conference championship game. Andrew Wright: and Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ I know we didn't say them, but I mean, if they beat Clemson, it could get real interesting. So that's who I had as my sleeper team. Who do you have? Andrew Wright: Right. So I put two for the sake of us talking about the same team and Cal is my number one sleeper team, but I'll save them. I went NC State as another one. ⁓ Just kind of looking at strength of schedule across the conference. They do have the easiest schedule in the ACC. Their toughest game is Louisville. They avoided Miami, avoided SMU. And I mean, I had CJ Bailey at three, you had him at four. I just think we both view him very highly. Like we said, 25 touchdowns. runs the ball very well. just think with the lack of the tough schedule, just kind of with CJ Bailey's experience, kind of what we think of him, no Miami, no SMU. I mean, if they'd knock off Louisville, now, and the one thing, yeah, I mean, if they knock off Louisville, that's a really good team that really doesn't have very many slip up spots left on their schedule. So NC State for me. Canon Stogner: Yeah. ⁓ I ⁓ that's probably that that would have been my second team I would have picked. ⁓ now a sleeper is a little different from underrated team, which we're gonna do next, which is the underrated. ⁓ sleeper team is somebody who, you know, might surprise everybody while an underrated team is they could be they're already pretty good, but just not getting the respect it deserves. so who do you have as the most underrated team in the ACC? Andrew Wright: I think based off their prediction to finish where they were predicted to finish in the conference, it's got to be Cal. Like, I don't think we can look at that. That team's not the, what we picked to finish 12th that would put them as people think they're the six worst team in the conference. They're not the six worst team in the ACC. I just, for all the reasons you just mentioned with recruiting, with Saga Pulutela, with Tosh Lapoy. I just don't think that team will finish 12th in the ACC. So for me, that is why they would be the most underrated team in the conference for me, because they are so much better than that prediction in the poll. Canon Stogner: Yeah. ⁓ so they were my sleeper team. I my o s my most underrated team was Georgia Tech. So obviously they're without Haynes King this year. ⁓ they lost two ACC games last year to teams they should have beat. One was to pit and then I think the other one was ⁓ It was too like Boston College or something. Like two games they definitely should have won. So if they win those two games, they're in the conference championship undefeated. ⁓ they had the second best offense in the ACC last year. ⁓ Brent Key, he took over middle of the season in twenty twenty two, but in his four years being the full time head coach, ⁓ he is sixteen and eight since taking over as head coach. ⁓ and that's in the conference. ⁓ but he's played, I mean, what, like two years ago when they played Georgia, they went to what, three or four overtimes, right? Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Eight. It went to eight. Yeah, yeah eight over times with Georgia. Should have beat him probably. Canon Stogner: Hey. Yeah, so I mean like Yeah, I mean I so you know Brent Key can do it. I they don't ever it never feels like they get blown out. ⁓ they didn't have a I think they had the thirty-fifth best transfer class, ⁓ recruiting class, but Georgia Tech never recruits good. They don't they're in the worst, they're in the hardest ⁓ backyard being with Georgia. ⁓ and obviously I'll tell you something funny. So I I looked up earlier I was trying to find what their ranking was in the transfer class. Andrew Wright: Right. Canon Stogner: And I looked up Georgia Tech transfer class and the first thing that popped up sent was gonna send me to like the ⁓ registrar office or something. Cause they're ⁓ smart school, ⁓ tech school. So ⁓ that was that was I busted out laughing. ⁓ so yeah, back to football Georgia Tech. ⁓ their defense wasn't that good last year. They were bottom five in defense. ⁓ hopefully they did beef up a little bit on the D line. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: But I really think kind of like we said about a lot of quarterbacks, ⁓ just saying how it is, I think it all depends on ⁓ Alberto Mendoza. Does it if he fills in the shoes that Haynes King had, they're my most underrated team and they could be playing in the ACC championship. ⁓ that I think the ACC championship's not as exciting as these ⁓ or the conference isn't as exciting as exciting as these other conferences, like SEC and Big Ten and Big Twelve. Andrew Wright: you Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: But it it might be the most fun conference. Andrew Wright: Yeah, like there's like we obviously like a 99 chance Miami makes it of course, but like like we've been saying there's Like six other teams we've already mentioned that like hey if these things fall right if they can get past this game Like they might be there So yeah, like that second spot in that converse jamership game is going to be an incredible storyline to follow Canon Stogner: Yeah, and it l it's gonna be interesting with the nine and eight ACC games. I mean, you could see a lot of people raising Kane about some teams not playing nine. ⁓ I remember last year, I think it was the first game of the year somebody had played. It may have been Virginia or somebody. They're like first game of the season got canceled or something. So they scheduled a ACC game, but it didn't count. Andrew Wright: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah, it's the same thing this year's Virginia and NC State. They're playing another week one game that's not a conference game. Canon Stogner: See, that makes no sense to me. Andrew Wright: And like another thing with you saying like with the nine and eight conference games, what does that do for a potential CFP team? If the SEC and the Big Ten kind of slack off and there's a chance for one of these ACC teams to get in, how does the committee view non-conference games compared to eight conference games? Canon Stogner: Well well Well, let's just be honest. Could happen. I don't think it's gonna matter. Andrew Wright: Well, it probably won't, but just kind of a what if. Like, what if SMU goes... What if Louisville goes 7-2 in the conference and SMU goes 6-2 and they both finish 10-2? Like... Yeah, like... Canon Stogner: I mean, well yeah, I mean you're right. I mean, like we said, Miami lost two games last year to SMU and Louisville and they made it to the college football playoff. So if you have four or five teams that this year that are tied and never play and never play each other. Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah, like that could really get tricky. Right. That could get kind of tricking you. don't know how this whoever came up with that idea for teams to not play. That's insanity. Canon Stogner: Like Well well the ACC is a year by a year or two behind. They have been for the last couple of years. They really have been. ⁓ Andrew Wright: You Canon Stogner: All right, so we've talked about all the players and teams and expectations for ⁓ them, but there's another important piece of each team that falls ⁓ heavily heavily on, you know, the whole fan base and athletic department, all this, it which is the head coach. So there's some head coaches in this conference who really need to have a good year. ⁓ so who do we think is under the most pressure heading into the season? Now I'm tired of talking about ⁓ but this was probably the most obvious answer I had. ⁓ Which coach needs to win this year and why? And my pick was Dabo Sweeney and I put it in all caps. Okay, so Clemson fans hear me out here. And you might be on the same page as me. And a lot of this, like I don't keep up with Clemson, I really don't. Outside of, you know, like games against South Carolina and stuff. So a lot of this comes from friends that I know that are Clemson fans. ⁓ so this was a pretty easy pick for me. I feel like a lot of fans have grown tired of Dabo the last two or three seasons. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Mm. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: And I think they're very thankful for the Collegewalt national championships, two of ⁓ which I would be too. And I just think the antics and, you know, the way that he's been acting the last two or three years, it kinda fit it kind of feels like he's he's like rubbing rubbing it, rubbing it in everybody's face that he did bring a national championship to this town who was once nobody really thought of, which was Clemson. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Right. Right. Canon Stogner: I mean, you're looking at a guy who overtook his the interim in like 2008 or something or two thousand seven, something like that. ⁓ he was gonna get fired. They had already started their coach search. He beat South Carolina his last game of the year. They ended up keeping him, and then the rest is history. But I feel like the last two or three years, they haven't been as good as they've thought they were going into the season. And he's been very defensive about everything. He keeps bringing up the pass, he keeps acting weird and getting disrespectful. Andrew Wright: Thank Mm. Canon Stogner: in press conferences towards reporters and fans and stuff. ⁓ so I think Debuswinny's probably I mean their games aren't as packed as they once were. ⁓ they obviously, you know, they do pretty good for their big games, but you I mean you gotta think. Like think of those season ticket holders though. Those people that pay all that money. You're every other year you're playing South Carolina at home. Every other year you're playing Florida State at home, more than likely. Andrew Wright: Alright. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Canon Stogner: ⁓ but like think of those other six or seven games that they're playing at home against like Charleston Southern, Boston College, and Pitt. Like a lot of people travel a long way to go watch that. And I think when you when you get smart mouthed with the fans who are paying all this money to travel this long way and watch them play these games, like I know people who have season tickets and they just sell them every week because they're like, What's the point of going? Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Right. Canon Stogner: It's that's a three week, three day weekend type place they they had to travel to, at least people I know. I mean, you're there all weekend, you have to travel back, you know, you have to grab all your tailgate stuff, you're spending all this money on tickets and food and gas and all this, and you're going to watch ⁓ play, you know, Wake Forest, North Carolina, who's awful. and also the roster isn't as good as what it has been. ⁓ they didn't win with the Andrew Wright: you Right. Canon Stogner: loaded talent they had last year. There were a lot of talks last year. Would Clemson fire him? Would he leave for another job? Obviously when LSU came up, that was a big talk. ⁓ so it kind of feels like a lot of fans are kind of turning on him. And I think it's up to him this year. If he wins, he gets him back. If not, things can get interesting. Andrew Wright: Good night. Right. ⁓ yeah, think all of the same. Correct. I'm of the same opinion. Correct. Canon Stogner: But now l but let me say this. So I I don't think Clemson could ever fire him. I don't Yeah. Andrew Wright: So yeah, that, that, that reason right there was why he wasn't my number one. He was right there, but like you said, they could never fire him. I don't think it's because of the past and the history and kind of made them relevant again. So for me, because of that, he was a very close to, to my number one, a guy that was going to get fired last year, but they didn't have the money for it, which is Mike Norville. You think back to where they were two years ago with Jordan Travis, if not for Jordan Travis getting hurt, they make the CFP. And who knows how much different that program is now, but since then it's been a disaster. And even last year you opened the season, beat Alabama, like boom, Florida States back. got Thomas Castellanos, like here they come. And then they win their week two and three games against the nobody teams. And then they go to Virginia on a Friday night and get beaten triple, I think double, triple overtime. And then the season kind of fell apart from there. And then very late in the season, Mike Norvill was supposed to get fired. Like I believe there even reports that came out like, Hey, Norvill has been fired. And then it's kind of like, they're kind of holding off because they ain't got the money yet. They go try to reset this year. So I just, he has to win. I mean, there's just really no sure cut. He has to win this year. There's, I believe, a three or four game stretch kind of in the middle of their season. Like in October, maybe it's got, I believe, Louisville, Miami, Clemson, and somebody else. Mike Novello might be taking his kids trick or treating on Halloween. Canon Stogner: Yeah. Andrew Wright: He could be gone before November rolls around if they don't win. yeah, I think it's pretty, pretty easy for me that Mike Norbell has to win this year or he's looking for. Canon Stogner: Yeah, that's that that's a great pick. And I'll be it's crazy that we're talking about the ACC and all these teams. We're talking about Louisville and SMU. And one team that we've hardly mentioned at all. I think I've mentioned them once and it was talking about the preseason poll that they were picked. I think the only time I've said Florida State's name was for that. Which is crazy. We're talking about Florida State here. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, you, the Clifton and Florida State games used to have so much juice and that's just gone. So like those games have no juice anymore and like Florida State has almost become irrelevant to the ACC over the last couple of years. Canon Stogner: A hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ all right, so we're an hour and eight minutes in. ⁓ we've got one more topic to discuss. ⁓ I think this one is gonna be pretty interesting. ⁓ every season has a storyline that you look back and you say, What if that had gone differently? ⁓ so Andrew, I'll let you go first. Cause I my interesting I think I have a very interesting one. I think this is gonna be one of those TikTok Twitter clips. ⁓ so what's the biggest what if in the ACC heading into the season? Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. Okay. for me, I've been dogging on them most of the time. So what if Clemson is good? Like what if they just, they just, I mean, we've both spoken kind of a little low on them over the kind of course of this. So like, what if they're good? What if they beat LSU in week one? What if they beat Miami at home and they're five and up? Like just what if Dabo Sweeney shuts us all up and he's good again? I don't want to think about that. I don't want to live in a world where Clemson's good this year. But for me, is the biggest, cause that could change the entire outlook of the ACC and college football really. Like, so yeah, for me, what if Clemson is good and what if they're five and ⁓ through five weeks with wins over LSU and Miami. Canon Stogner: Yeah. ⁓ yeah, I mean that's interesting you say that. I mean, this is the first year in a while where like nobody's really talking about Clemson or everybody's like e Andrew Wright: It's the first time in 15 years they've been unranked to start the season. Canon Stogner: Yeah, I mean you just but you feel like seeing all these videos and stuff like feel like everybody's like kind of laughs now at Dabo and Clemson. So me and you were complete opposites on our what-ifs on the same team. so my biggest what if was what if Clemson sucks this year? What if they go six and six or maybe even seven and five? Okay. And what if Andrew Wright: They do. Correct. Yeah. Okay. Canon Stogner: Alabama sucks this year and they fire Calend Calen DeBoer. So my biggest what if was those teams have bad years this year and Dabo either decides to leave or Clemson does what I don't think anybody would ever expect them to do, which is fire ⁓ Dabo and he goes back home to Alabama, which is where a lot of people thought he was going to go when Nick Saban retired. Everybody thought Dabo was the guy. Andrew Wright: Okay. No. Right. Canon Stogner: that they that was going to get. And I think he made the right choice not leaving at the time just because why would you leave the ACC when you're the top dogs? You've been the top dogs for a while. You don't really compete against anybody in recruiting. You know, you pretty much have an easy walk to the college football playoff every year. Obviously that has changed a lot since that whole situation happened. So my biggest what if is what if Clemson and's and Alabama suck this year and we're looking at a new head coach at Alabama football? Andrew Wright: Right. Yeah, I like it. All right. Canon Stogner: So that is my hypothetical. Now this could be this will be awesome to come back and watch in, you know, December or whatever happens. ⁓ so after everything we've talked about tonight, the tiers, the conference championship. Andrew Wright: Mm-hmm. I can't hear you. can't hear you. Canon Stogner: Can you hear me? Andrew Wright: Okay, yeah, you muted your mic you touched it muted it so just count down You say I you got through the tears and then it cut out Canon Stogner: Damn it. ⁓ so after everything we talked about tonight, the tiers, the championship, conference championship, the quarterbacks, the sleeper teams, the most underrated team, ⁓ the coaches and the biggest what ifs of the season, I think we've got a pretty good idea of what we ⁓ can expect from the ACC this year. I do think it'll be fun. It'd be very interesting to keep up with, you know, towards week nine, week ten, week eleven, ⁓ when a lot of teams might have one or two losses. ⁓ Andrew Wright: Thank Canon Stogner: So it it I th A C is gonna be a very fun conference to keep up with. ⁓ we will back be back to live next. Should we do Thursday or Monday? What's our next topic Andrew Wright: We could do... We want to do Hasman or like a War... If we don't want to do like Hasman... I mean we could do a look ahead at Week 0 or yeah just to kind of mean North Carolina TCU play, Virginia NC State play. We could do like a brief... Yeah. Canon Stogner: That's not this week, is it? This is Saturday. Andrew Wright: Yeah, like six days from now, yeah. So we could do, we could come. Canon Stogner: All right. All right. Well I'm I I gotta start over. All right, so after everything we've talked about tonight, the ⁓ ACC tiers one through four, the conference championship, the quarterbacks, ⁓ the sleeper teams, the most underrated teams, ⁓ the coaches and the biggest what ifs going into this season, I think we've got a pretty good idea of what we expect the ACC to look like this year. ⁓ it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be interesting. It's one of those conferences where when you get to week nine, ten, and eleven. There could be a lot of teams that have one or two losses in the conference. and you know, you really don't know who's going to be playing at Bank of America Stadium for the championship yet. So it'd be fun to keep up with. ⁓ be kind of hard to watch, I guess, because not the best football. But ⁓ we'll be coming back to you on Thursday morning to talk about week zero, which is coming up in sixth excuse me. In six days. ⁓ we have North Carolina and TCU. They're playing across the pond, right? Yeah. So we'll do a little week zero preview. We might also do our predictions for ⁓ Heisman winners and we may do a couple other things. So appreciate y'all tuning in. Please remember to like, subscribe, follow our accounts, keep up with us. ⁓ call the number if you have something to talk about. And we'll see you guys Thursday. Andrew Wright: Yep, in Ireland, yep.