ACC teams in the AP Top-25 CFB poll; Carolina Hurricanes new president Doug Warf

[Music] this is next up on 999 the fan grahe Hill filling in for Paul I here for just the opening 30 minutes of the show Paul has a couple of housekeeping things that he's attending to but maybe he'll bring us breakfast Paul if you're listening I like Chick-fil-A biscuits with hash browns and a sweet te and you know what's sweet to me is the fact that you know college football season is right around the corner when the Associated Press poll releases its preseason top 25 of Court Nally Georgia sits at the top of the throne ahead of number two Ohio State Big 10 newcomer Oregon ranks third Paul's team SEC newcomer Texas is fourth and Alabama in its first season without legendary head coach Nick Sabin is fifth but we live here in the Triangle so naturally I'm inclined to talk about some of our local schools and I wanted to break down the ACC teams represented by looking at the big picture of just how good or bad the ACC teams in the preseason po could be this season and in the ACC we have four teams in the preseason rankings Florida State leads the ACC with the highest ranking at number 10 finished last season 13- one overall 8-0 in the ACC won the ACC Championship by defeating Louisville in last season's championship game after what was a terrific season and they were ultimately left out of the college football playoffs and what was a great season for the seminal came to a crushing end with with that 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl now granted they did have like 40 players sitting out but not the way that Mike Norville was planning on closing out this season last year ESPN's football power index projected the win total for the seminal and they think the ceiling is 12 and0 so should we be calling this the Florida state revenge tour they open in Ireland against a much improved Georgia Tech Team then follow that up with a Labor Day game at home against Boston College this should tell us right out of the gate if the Florida State team is out for blood or not and I know what you're thinking at first glance you're thinking it's an easy two and 0 start opening the season against the yellow jackets and Eagles but I don't care if it's the NFL or college when you play a game overseas no matter the opponent especially when it's week one of the college football season in my opinion the most dangerous week of the entire year that makes it a unique set of challenges and opportunities keep in mind Boston College nearly upset Florida State last season when they hosted them in Chestnut Hill and only lost 31 to 29 two more games in the early first half of the schedule to be on the lookout for for the SAR or SMU who isn't ranked but they were part of the other receiving votes in the AP preseason poll on September 28th then at home against Clemson on October 5th last season they defeated Clemson by a narrow by a narrow margin of 31 to 24 in overtime on the road that then brings us to the Clemson Tigers number 14 in the preseason rankings finished last season N9 and4 overall four and4 in the ACC and finished the season on a high note with a 38-35 win against Kentucky in the tax Slayer tax Slayer Gator Bowl interesting bit last season for Clemson's offense in some games it feels like they would defeat their opponents by at least three touchdowns or more that mostly came against non-c converence opponents however in the ACC this offense led by returning quarterback C Club neck struggle to put up points at times you look at the 28 to loss the 28 to7 loss at Duke the 31 to 24 loss versus Florida State the 17- 12 win against Florida against wake fores the 28 to 20 loss versus Miami and the 24-7 loss versus NT State and I know you're thinking Graham some of those losses I mean they were able to get into the 20s they were able to get into double digit numbers but that's just not that wasn't the typical climpson that we've been used to seeing in Prior seasons and that all comes down to Kate kumnick and can he get this team back to the big style plays on offense that we're used to seeing out of Clemson teams uh yeah I mean just you know being able to protect the line of scrimmage and you know got to take shots whenever you want them and um you know get to get to some some second and shorts being able to take care of first down and um you know I think that that have have guys that they can go do it and I think we do that was K Club Nick when he joined Tim Donley at ACC kickoff this past summer ESPN's football power index projected the win total for the Tigers to be 11- one a lot of people naturally believe this will be one of Davos Sweeney's best teams he's ever had in recent Seasons despite how little Davos Sweeney utilizes the transfer portal that's been the bit for Davos Sweeny the past couple of Seasons we'll find out quickly though two things about this 2024 Clemson team the first things first how much of a real Contender are they at another ACC Championship and second how much of a real Contender are they at returning to the college football playoffs because they have some key games on the schedule but first here's K clubnet when he joined Tim Donley at ACC kickoff on if he feels any pressure for this Clemson Tiger team to get back in the playoffs you know we're just we're focused on just having a great year this year um and we're just focus on one week at a time and uh we've had a we've had a great off season and um you know we've we've been just going to work we've been going to work the last seven eight months and um just really excited some might say that first game of the season against Georgia will tell you everything you need to know about Clemson but to me that's like judging actual tigers's chances of winning a battle against a hippopotamus in a safari battle you watch on Animal Planet senior linebacker bar Carter joined Tim Donley also at ACC kickoff and he spoke about how much he's looking forward to to play in the the contending or the RA in defending national champions I'm super excited uh especially me being from Georgia me knowing a bunch of guys on the team it's going to be a fun opportunity just they've arguably been the best program in college football the past couple years too so just seeing how we match up versus him and uh the work that we put in this offseason I'm excited to see us compete and um just you know go out there and just battle out for four qu four quarters or however long it takes week one in Atlanta with certainly be a good litness test for the Clemson Tigers when they take on Georgia week two however the Tigers and I don't know many of you know this the Tigers welcome appstate to Memorial Stadium and I don't think I have to remind you especially any app State fans that might be listening to the program this morning next up right here on 999 the fan I don't think I have to remind you of how much App State likes to play spoilers and Prime Time games against Big Time opponents the fact that these games fall in the fact that this game Falls in week two concerns for both reasons it concerns me for the Tigers just because they'll have everything to lose in this game but it also concerns me for App State as well because depending on how that Georgia game goes Clemson can be wanting to get a bad taste out of their mouth from that first game of the season Clemson's opponent in week three is a game that I think a lot of our listeners in this area should have circled on the schedule NC State rolls into Memorial Stadium on September 21st and in previous Seasons this would be a David versus Goliath matchup depending on the caliber of talent team NC state has not this season though NC state has beaten Clemson two of the past three years and they are for more the more talented team in 2024 than in either of those previous Seasons this will be a far better indication of the Tigers ACC Championship hopes and somewhat of a preview of how Davos sween's team will hold up just two weeks later against Florida State speaking of teams in Florida number 19 Miami comes in to the preseason Poll finished last season 7- six overall 3 and5 in the ACC lost to Rutgers 31- 24 in the pin strike Bowl to conclude the season similar to Clemson last season some games they would defeat their opponents by three touchdowns or more mostly against non-conference opponents once again however in the ACC this offense led by quarterback Tyler van djk who's no longer there struggled to put up points 23 to 20 loss where they pretty much gave that game away due to coaching to Georgia Tech the 20 to6 loss versus NC State where they only kicked two field goals and then the 27 to2 loss versus Florida State four of their six losses were by a single touchdown or less however with all that being said ESPN's football power index projected the win total for the canes and they're sealing this season to be wait for it 11 and one and I feel like this goes back to the same narrative it is every single season with the U the good recu the good recruiting class coming into this season for Mario CIS ball the season opener against Florida will provide plenty of answers about this Miami rosters such as is transfer quarterback cam Ward not to be mistaken with the Carolina Hurricanes cam Ward is he as good as advertised and how much of a boost does Oregon State transfer running back Damen Martinez provide the Run game will the secondary have enough depth those are the three big questions I'm looking for for Miami if they defeat Florida in week one the hype of the U will continue and some might say they're a college football playoff team some will say I don't know if I'm going to say that just yet also when you look at their ACC schedule this season it's pretty manageable with games against Virginia Tech that's also a Friday night game so get to your televisions to watch that one and then Florida stay at home coming off their bye Miami loses the season opener there's going to be a lot of questions about how the kan's respond moving forward if they're back to being the mediocre Miami team that we were used to seeing in previous seasons and they might be on track for another seven and5 or six- six season which is their floor remember though a non-conference loss in week one against FL will not make her break Miami's ACC Championship or playoff hopes and then that brings us to number 24 NC State who last season finished 9-4 overall 6-2 in the ACC and lost 28-9 to Kansas State in the poptart Bowl to conclude the season remember when NC State started last season F last season four and three following that that 24 to3 loss to Duke in week seven you would have thought half of Raleigh was on fire that was pretty acceptable of a feeling for wack fans for the beginning part of that season they were playing musical chairs at quarterback between Brennon Armstrong and MJ Morris after it was announced that MJ Morris was going to red shirt the remainder of the Season fall in that TW to six win against Miami it sort of felt like NC State was out of Crossroads for the season how did they respond by getting the very best out of their comeback hero Brennan Armstrong and freshman wide receiv receiver Casey concep on offense winning five straight games to close out the remainder of the regular season and topping it off with that 39 to2 win for their third straight Victory against North Carolina ESPN's football power index projected win total thinks the woolpack cealing is 11 and one I don't know how much NC State is paying attention to that but I do know this transfer quarterback graceon McCall spoke about does the team pay attention to the preseason poll I mean yeah I think it's exciting right I think it's exciting to know that that people are kind of acknowledging the talent that we have here um the momentum that we have going into the season um I think right now the most important thing for us is to focus on how NTI State can be better than the day before and I think we've done a great job of that coming out every day during camp and and just putting the cleats to the grass and going to work putting our heads on and going to work so um it's exciting to see that obviously to to get some recognition from school and the community but um you know our our goal is to come here and get better each and every day and um get ready to play Western Carolina week one Western Carolina week one then week two and I promise you I'm not just saying this because I like the commemorative draw the commemorative drawers you get at this game week two against preseason rank number 15 Tennessee in the Dukes Mayo classic is critical for two reasons first it represents a major test for this new wol pack offense that's loaded with Talent from top to bottom from the port from the portal if NC State can go toe-to-toe with an explosive voles offense a team that's projected to also be in the college football playoffs it will be a great indicator this willpack offense is truly a good enough unit as it looks on paper the good thing for this NC State offense is that they have to go up against Tony Gibson's defense every day here's Grayson McCall's thoughts on that I mean I really think the whole defense as a whole I think it's so important for us as an offense to see those those looks from our defense every day I mean starting with the the front up front I mean we have Davin and travali and Brandon cleave up front that that we have to block and then the guys you know in the in the back and really make it challenging for us so it's really iron sharpening iron every day and um it's highly competitive out there if you go out there and watch practice it's highly competitive every day so um we're just pushing each other and trying to be the best we can be every day a win over Tennessee in charot could be all it comes down to at the end of the season as a resume item that's needed for the wool pack if they don't win the ACC Championship which I think they very well could and they're looking for an at large playoff bid now I hope you're ready for the college football season grae Hill filling in for Paul ihander for the first half of next up this morning coming up we introduce our morning show audience to the new Carolina Hurricanes team president Doug Warf next up on 999 the fan Graham Hill with three things you need to know right now from 999 the fan North Carolina inter women's soccer coach and it's the first since the program's Inception that anyone but Anson Dorrance has held the title of women's soccer coach enter or not couldn't have gotten a better endorsement on Monday Damon nahas is the best coach I've ever seen D said during his lengthy remarks at his retirement event I think he's the best soccer coach in the country and I include myself in that Circle speaking of UNCC football head coach m brown remains confident in his three quarterbacks Conor Harold Max Johnson and jacobe chriswell as the t h prepared to play Minnesota in less than 3 weeks when asked about the possibility of playing two quarterbacks the veteran head coach didn't rule it out but that's not currently in the cards Nick Schnell hit his second AAA home run to lead a 12 hit attack at the Duram Bulls defeated the Nashville Sounds 8 to3 last night at the dur BS athletic part that series continues tonight find these stories and more on wosports fan.com join us on the heaster Automotive Group hotline is a very special guest new Carolina Hurricanes team president Doug Warf and Doug first things first I only ask this because I'm a team player is there any chance that we could possibly see a 999 the fan night this season at a Carolina Hurricanes and game and get some of the talent on the S I'm not just asking that for selfish reasons I just think it'd be funny to see Adam Gold do the siren to uh to bring the team out gr thanks for having me on man and uh yeah I think there's always a chance one you know I love AG he's a legend uh but I think we got to see you on the siren too Graham I told you when when we saw each other last time it's harder on your shoulder than you think well I've been to plenty of games that I know that you got to start off slow and then Crank It Up I I think I I just need to take some notes from NC State football head coach Dave Dorne if I really want to uh blow the roof off the place Doug Warf Carolina Hurricanes team president joining us on next up this morning Doug first things first congratulations on your new role as president of the Carolina Hurricanes can you share with the morning show audience what this transition has been like for you and what your main focus has been since stepping up into this position yeah it's been amazing uh we've got a really good team off the ice just just like on the ice uh a lot of Vice Presidents a lot of directors who've been here a long time who have been doing a great job so from that standpoint that's what made me excited to get back in and knew um almost all of the vice president um even though it's been seven and a half years since I was here the things we've been working on it's a big off season for us you know we've got some always working on corporate Partnerships and kind of what those look like the long-term ones uh TV deal right now is something that we kind of keep an eye on very closely uh as B is and Diamond Sports Group is kind of going through their proceedings and then we've got some big stuff inside the arena we've got the development of the Arena itself uh which is a 300 $350 million project and then we've got the development outside that uh that our team is kind of spearheading and that's going to be somewhere between a 800 million to a billion dollar project so trying to kind of get a grasp on all of those things in the first month has been uh my main thing while while meeting with team members and trying to find out the the pain points inside the companies of course the organization has a strong presence being the only pro sports team in Raleigh not just in the community of Wake County but all across the state of North Carolina how do you see the fan engagement involvement under your leadership yeah I mean that's Paramount right like that that's why we do what we do I've always felt like the the purpose of a pro sports team and the reason it kind of has the the clout that it has is because it unifies people it brings people together and I think that's the fun part about being the only NHL team you know in the Carol inas is that it brings people together across you know multiple States and I think it's fun for me you know I started here in 2000 I was here from 2000 to the to the end of 2016 you could see that Foundation being laid but that takes time to build and we're kind of in the first phase of seeing what I call a generational change where you have people who kind of grew up with the team start to pass that fandom down to their kids and that's when you really see it kind of take a stronghold and take shape so it's why in my opinion this last six to seven years of you know Tom's leadership and Rod's coaching has been so impactful is because you're seeing that first generational change which brings in a lot of fans that are at a tighter level and kind of more bought into the team so fans come first and the fan engagement our Outreach our involvement in the community is probably the the most important thing we could do I know for someone like myself the members of the 2019 roster the team that got back to the Stanley Cup playoffs with guys like Sebastian AO and Andre fetch to call that's starting to be what I would call my team just like for my dad it was that 2006 Stanley Cup team so hopefully with this great core we can see a Stanley Cup come back to the Carolina Hurricanes soon Doug Warf team president of the Hurricanes is joining us on next up this morning you mentioned that PNC Arena is set for some significant Renovations can you share how these Renovations will impact The Fan Experience during games and also just other events that come to PNC Arena yeah one gram you made me feel a little old there I'm gonna get over that sorry that with your dad's team the6 team uh but that's makes sense uh I'll die a little inside on that one um you know the in internal kind of Renovations are important because we're trying to hit all levels it is important to state that it's the C Authority who's doing it um so you know we are working closely with them but they they drive what takes place inside the building um they own the building and so uh they've been great to work with love the vision we've kind of been in it since day one of me getting back in I think there's there's three phases and in the first phase the what they showed uh at their meeting whatever was two weeks ago now was kind of the Arena level Renovations with bunker sweep and kind of new party rooms uh and then the third level uh Renovations with kind of a new View Bar looking out into the bowl uh new Concourse upgrades and increased spaces new sea stores where in and out quicker and easier and then there's some stuff on the back end that's not as uh appealing to the fan probably but makes life a lot easier on the arena and some of that makes life a lot easier on concerts that are trying to come in um right now there's some of that that um is just is just hard from a standpoint of the time that takes a truck to back in as weird as that sounds and when you've got shows that have 30 transfer trucks and they're trying to get out to the next city uh that eight minute backup takes a lot of time and if you can trim that down it gets them out of here faster and gets them more it gets them happier about where they're going I hear the phone ring in the background that might be your queue that Eric toski is telling you that it's time for you to get up for your 945 meting so the final question that I have for you Doug Warf president of the Carolina Hurricanes just what's your message that you would like to send to this fan base not just in the City of Raleigh but across the great state of North Carolina as you take on this new role yeah um Eric was was telling me to get up oh did I get that right which is no you were close it one door down from his but um that has been fun loved getting to to work with Eric Eric is a brilliant person so um hearing his thoughts on things is fun um you know I think for the fan base is is we are excited you know and I I think I I don't want to talk to the fan base to tell them what they need to do just know that our team is excited internally about what's going on on the ice with Coach brendam Moore uh with a team we're putting together with what I think we have in front of us over the next few years and then I'm excited about kind of the Legacy project we're working on of kind of redeveloping the Arena I think when people look at this in five to seven years um they'll love it and it'll be something where you can't think of it how it was before and to to have that in front of us to have those you know to your point the Jordan Stall the slaven the fetch toop the AOS uh with a a building that will fill brand new an area that'll fail brand new it's just a it's a remarkable time for our team and our Arena Doug Warf Carolina hurricane president you can follow him on X Doug Warf I appreciate your time greatly sir thank you so much for doing this and best of luck with everything in the upcoming season gram thanks man same to you