REACTION: SMU avoids CATASTROPHE for ACC in Week 0, edges Nevada l College Football Podcast

the ACC almost had one of their worst days in recent memory but SMU [Music] survived you are locked on college football your daily podcast on all things college football part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome everybody to another reaction episode of Locked on college football I'm your host Spencer mcclin thank you so much for making this your first listen or your first View Post crazy Saturday this is just week zero folks this is just week zero like comment subscribe rate and review you have not already this episode brought to you by friends over at FanDuel now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV visit fanduel.com lockon to get started Yukon might be going to the big 12 talk about that later this was almost a horrific day for the ACC so your pre-season conference favorite Florida State go goes out and is upset by Georgia Tech you may saying well Spence what if Georgia Tech's in that sort of Realm Georgia Tech's got a lot to prove they proved a lot there's still a lot to prove before I'm putting them in the conference Championship hunt their schedule is rather brutal but then your shiny moneyrich newcomer who bought their way into the league who have been talked about as a potential conference title Contender I haven't been in that camp but they should be better better than this now does a week zero game Define your season no it does not but if Florida state had lost an SMU as a favorite of about 28 points is around where the line closed at If they' lost on the same day to a team picked to finish last in the Mountain West how about Jeff Cho in the NADA Nevada Wolf Pack I don't think they're going to finish last not if they play like that every single week that was a heck of a performance if if you had lost both of those games the ACC wouldd be in trouble just I'm just talking about football we'll talk about non-f football later I'm just talking in the football sense I have long said the ACC is a one bid League not everybody agrees with that proposition and here they are at week zero almost having a cataclysmically horrible week so SMU gets out of there I mean scrapes by by the hair on their chinny chin chin and gets the win over Nevada it wasn't pretty they got it done is that what SMU is going to remember most of all at the end of the year yeah that they won the game ultimately that's that that's what's going to help to find a successful season but the ACC just skirted disaster because this is a program that you expect to be ready to be good this year and you're playing a bottom tier Mountain West team that just hired a new coach because they're rebuilding and you had to do that anyone who thinks the ACC is a two bid League I know we haven't seen everybody yet I I I understand that there's still a lot more to go but when you're talking about the ACC as a multi-b bid League you you got to show me where those bids are coming from because I don't see them I I see the One auto bid the ACC is going to get as many teams into the playoff as a group of five does that seem like week zero overreaction maybe but I'm looking at Florida State and saying okay they they have to win out which seems unlikely are they going to play better this year than they did we zero yeah I think so is SMU going to play better yeah I think so but did I anticipate that SMU could have a two possession deficit going into this game I mean my goodness if Clemson comes out in week one against Georgia and they get smacked around like I expect them to if if that comes to fruition that league is not going to be looking very strong and it'll solidify that it's a one bid League because this is just not a good start for the ACC it's not about how you start it's about how you finish all right I hear that there are opportunities for the ACC to regain its reputation but right now if I had to tell if I told you oh the acc's got two teams in which two teams are those which two teams are those not a lot of people outside of Coral Gables believe in Miami I think Miami can be quite good this year I've also seen Mario christall misstep in game management situations many of times and I'm not just talking about NE Downs there are plenty of other examples out there I love his roster I've seen him win a conference Championship before in that season they lost to a team that was five- four Jaden Daniels was your quarterback admittedly he turned out to be pretty good but he wasn't that guy then I'm just saying this is a one bid league so horrible star from the ACC but it could have been worse it could have been worse because if SMU had lost that game that would have been pretty embarrassing and it would have been worse for the long-term projection remember this is the first time smu's ever played a game with the ACC patch on their jerseys and that was the performance they put up this is a program that is investing at the highest level this is a program that's brought in the sort of talent that should make this game a breeze it should be easy and they almost got Texas stated as in what Texas state did to Baylor last year yeah that was embarrassing for uh the Bears and guess what David Rand is on the hot seat Well Rett Lashley lost this game you can lose a locker room when you lose when you lose a game like that they escaped they escaped and they could climb Preston Stone was pretty bad in the first half they put in the backup now that was apparently according to the broadcast always part of the plan which I don't quite understand I I I get that he played well in the blll game last year but Preston Stones your starting quarterback give give me the great team I know there was an Alabama team that made a change at halftime and won a national championship that's Nick Sabin we're going to call that the exception not the rule I'm not a fan of changing quarterbacks Preston Stone's got to be your guy and he showed you why in the second half you know one of the reasons that people think SMU can be a real team in the ACC could be a Darkhorse conference title Contender boy they did not look like that today they couldn't stop brandan Lewis and the Nevada Wolfpack offense I mean they were struggling to stop the ground game there finally figured out in the second half took a little while that Nevada team should not have scored 24 points should not have scored 24 points your defense plays like that against some of the teams in the ACC like even I don't know about Florida state but I don't have enough information to know if Florida State can be better than what they showed in in their week Zero game if you go out and play a Clemson firing on all cylinders or Miami starts cooking good luck good luck they play they play real ACC teams they play Louisville this year what do you think Jeff Brams team would do if SMU goes out and has a performance like that but the long-term out look at the ACC I think they need SMU at some level to at least be good right to strengthen the perception and reality of your league you need SMU to be good and they have the potential to do it because they have the investment they have the desire and this was almost a catastrophe I mean it was almost an epic alltime loss and the ACC could have been looking up and going wow we're 0 and2 now technically one and two with with with with the Georgia Tech game right but as I said the yellow jackers have got a lot to prove there they could have looked up and said wow two teams that we expected to be towards the C top of our conference we about to go 0 and2 really yeah that would have been bad so SMU saves her bacon four now but it's not a good start it is not a good start unless Georgia Tech continues to play at this level throughout the course of the year that offensive line is no joke that offensive line is seriously no joke Georgia plays SMU I don't remember if they have him on their schedule this year wow I feel like they could run for 300 yards if they went for 190 against Florida State who was supposed to have a great defensive line and they did not play well today I suspect they'll be motivated in the weeks to come because they're going to get trashed I mean on this very show earlier today they were heavily criticized you know why they play like crap they play like crap and it's easy to get caught up in these moments and think that what a team is in week zero or week one is what they're going going to be the rest of the year they could be but they don't have to be they don't have to be if the coaching staffs have their head screwed on and can get their players refocused and reentered on what they need to do make progress it Florida State's got the talent smu's got the talent but you got to put it on the field you got to put out performances much much better than that so A shaky start for the ACC all hope is not lost but I feel pretty confident right now looking at the ACC and going yeah it's a one bid League because Clemson is going to play Georgia and they're going to lose the football game so then they would have to win basically the rest of their regular season games to be an atlarge team Florida state would have to win the rest of their games to be an atlarge ACCC team as a non champion and Virginia Tech who I think could have a really good year this year they'd have to go 11- one I have them 10- two and I think 9 and3 is more likely than 11-1 can NC State suddenly go 11 and one like someone has to go 11 and one in the regular season I don't think Georgia Tech's going to do that I don't think Florida State's going to do that and I don't think SMU is going to do that so there are three candidates to be an atlarge team removed from the equation because of the results in week one so let me know your thoughts in YouTube comments or hit me up on X formerly known as Twitter what do you know even when football seasons here realignment keeps coming around Yukon Big 12 real talk I have thoughts after I tell you about FanDuel you've heard us talk a lot about FanDuel America's number one sports book and well we have something a little different for you now through September 22nd listen to this all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV did you hear that $5 3 weeks NFL Sunday Ticket then with a YouTube TV base plan you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of Market game all you need is a Google account and a current form of payment you can cancel any time plus everything you want for college football it's all over there did you have did you have Nevada money line if so you were very excited did you have Georgia Tech plus 10 and a half easy bet easy bet hindsight's always 2020 everything you want for college football college football though it's all over there just visit fel.com lockon bet those over under over under wind totals while you can fel.com lockon to download America's number one Sportsbook seriously what an epic day of college football this is week zero this is supposed to be ah there's nothing really happened no lot was happening lot was happening an FCS team tough day for the Mountain West because an FCS team beat a Mountain West team and then a Mountain West team snatched defeat from the jws of Victory not the way that glor Nar was was probably hoping their league would kick things off but the big 12 didn't play today guess what they made news anyway soing do various Outlets the Big 12 and commissioner Brett yormark are in real conversations to add Ukon to the Big 12 it would be a phase bringing into uh the league first phase would be in 2026 then it would be all sports by the 2030s or so couple of thoughts on this first of all it would put the big 12 at an odd number of teams ask yourself this question has there been a plethora of realignment moves in which an odd number of teams move conferences answer no there has not been now who was I talking about earlier on this reaction episode of Locked on college football that of course was SMU they along with Ken Stanford went into the ACC and there are 17 football teams in the league oh by the way just remember two teams are trying to get out of the league one of whom lost today to a team that they probably think they're much better than because they should be but yet they were not really from the get-go other than the first drive anyway I digress you have two teams trying to get out of that league and you have plenty of options to add one team to the league that's on the ACC side of things so they have made a move with an odd number of teams but I don't know if that's going to last I don't know if that's going to last on the Big 12 side of things you're at 16 teams and and adding Yukon aligns with the vision that Brett yormark has laid out for the Big 12 Conference on two fronts number one he has uh repeatedly and understandably so preached The Importance of Being in various television markets and being as much of a Coast to Coast Conference as he can it's why you've heard uh discussion about potentially you know trying to add pit one day for a pit West Virginia rivalry or you know bringing Louisville into the Big 12 that could make a lot of sense but having Yukon into the mix is that is that a huge Market is that a major football addition to the league that strengthens your conference no it doesn't however however if you if you're thinking about the addition of Yukon to the Big 12 in the football sense and you're going well wait a minute Yukon isn't good at football they don't do anything on on the football field I have uh two points for you number one every conference needs Vanderbilt Vanderbilt's still in the SEC I noticed they haven't been kicked out what does Vanderbilt bring to the table they're that aligns you know on a university level with the vision of other universities in its conference and oh by the way vanderbild is very very good at a nonf football sport hm now let's put our thinking caps on for just a moment are there any sports that Yukon is really good at the big TW oh that's right they've won back-to-back national championships and who has spoken the most about the value of college basketball in media rights contracts that would be Brett yorar now would they be able to work in a full share and this move still has to be voted upon by the president who I'll get to in just a moment would Yukon be able to get a full media right share would would ESPN and fox pay all or most of the valuation they give to each of those teams the way they did for the four corner schools coming from the Pack 12 I don't know I don't know that might test Brett ym Mark's Theory as to how valuable college basketball truly is but really it brings you to the university presence because they still have to vote on the matter the conversations have uh reportedly been had presentations made pitches and all you know the whole the whole nine yards maybe not all the whole nine yards I don't know why it's the whole nine yards just a quick side note here when 10 yards is a first down maybe we should think about changing that I'm going to change that expression right now right here on on this very show maybe they haven't made the whole 10 yards worth of a pitch just yet but the conversations have come from from legitimate sources this is not just rumor and speculation this is a real thing that could happen now will the presidents vote to do it that's a question that's a pretty that's a pretty serious question so I believe don't don't quote me on this but I believe you need 12 presidents or you know a three4 majority in order to add a new team to the league can you find 12 presidents who'd say okay we could take a little bit less so that we could add Yukon I don't know I don't I don't know if that's the exciting Mo in the basketball sense oh my gosh I know I sit here as the host of locked on college football you know why I love college football you know what else I love college basketball I'm a huge college basketball fan Yukon in the Big 12 Yukon playing Kansas Yukon playing Baylor every year like go go down the list Yukon playing Houston man that's a heck of a league that's a heck of a league and you might love it and I might love it and Brett ymark might love it and Big 12 fans might love it but would the television networks love it to the degree where they say okay we will pay and it's worth you know adding this team into the league when there's such a weak football brand I don't know if it's going to be a strong enough pitch now you don't have to have every president on board but I just look at the landscape and say if you're going to make an addition to the conference is it worth exploring of course of course now thing about this now we put our speculation tinfoil hats on what if you bring in Yukon and then do you know what's happening in the West Coast conference after this season they're going to be adding GCU who are a private school big money spender care very much about sports GCU could become who just won a game in the round of 64 by the way also knows the first round in the NCA tournament uh they got to the round of 32 for the first time and they had a very legitimate roster and uh went toe-to-toe with Alabama that went all the way to the final four yeah so if the West Coast Conference for instance lost their Flagship basketball program Gonzaga they might be more okay with that they might not have a strong of a desire and say hey well if you just compensate us for the financial losses would they like to lose Gonzaga no but is it more tolerable if you have GCU there to pair with St Mary's and those be your Flagship basketball institutions going forward yep it's at the very least more tolerable so maybe Brett ymark is saying H why don't we do a uh a Notre Dame of uh sorts here where you know Gonzaga is a member in all of these sports but they don't have Football H that's okay we can roll with 17 football members the acc's doing it they're going to make it work maybe that's the game plan maybe that's the game plan but as always when you're talking realignment it's going to come down to financial valuation is this deemed a financially profitable Endeavor for the Big 12 to go and add Yukon right the perception of it could be really good but I I struggle seeing Yukon you know is it easier in the Big 12 in other conferences sure but I struggle seeing Yukon thrive in football and and become a winner there like it's really hard maybe they just need to hire Jeff Cho once he builds out Nevada back into a uh a conference title Contender because man that guy looks like he can really coach I did mention going end of the game that they brought in some like 24 power four transfers like they got some Talent there SMU should have had more SMU had the better quarterback but SMU was not ready to go and SMU was sloppy so lot a lot of factors coming up play there but maybe Jeff Cho will be the Yukon head coach one day and that'll make them a worthwhile football program in in the Big 12 but the the talks are very real I understand 6040 gut instinct Yukon does not wind up in the Big 12 by 2026 and they're a Target you know I I think this is more like a major First Step that leads to a potential addition way way down the road let me know your thoughts in the YouTube comments as always appreciate everyone listening I'll see you next time and until then hope you have a wonderful rest of your day