Basketball Conference: The Acc Football Podcast

After the appetizer that was the Miami game in Week Zero, ACC Football is back at long last with a HUGE Week One slate! --The defending National Champion Clemson Tigers kick off the weekend Thursday night, hosting the first-ever game on the ACC Network against Joey's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets! --Wake Forest plays host to a low-key DANGEROUS Utah State team on Friday night in a game that the Steamin' Deacons really need to win to get their season started on the right foot. --Saturday features a pair of subtly CRUCIAL games to the outcome of the ACC, as Virginia Tech travels to Boston College and Virginia travels to Pittsburgh -- two games that will inevitably set the tone for the Coastal Division race and the conference as a whole. --Duke joins Georgia Tech as 35-point underdogs (they're playing against reigning National Runners-Up Alabama), and Louisville is probably getting the business end of a game against Notre Dame. All of that, plus the start of the Mack Brown era at UNC, a fascinating matchup of Flor

Miami put up a valiant effort against #8 Florida in Week Zero of the 2019 season, but lost a heartbreaker 24-20 in Orlando. Cam Underwood from SB Nation's State of the U joins the podcast to recap everything from Jarren Williams' debut, to Miami's overall strong showing on defense, outlook on the rest of the season, and everything in between. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

The off-season is finally over and football is upon us. It's time for our 2019 ACC Preview, and we brought on friend of the show Josh Parcell of WFNZ in Charlotte, as well as the CFB Country Podcast, to help us break it all down. We took previewing the conference from a different angle this year, asking many key questions that could determine the outcome of the ACC football season for many teams. In addition, we quickly previewed the Week Zero showdown between Miami and Florida, and gave some very early College Football Playoff picks. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts!

Our final team preview of the preseason covers the North Carolina Tar Heels, who got rid of Larry Fedora after a pair of lackluster seasons, and replaced him by bringing in Mack Brown...again. Will Mack and his staff form a cohesive bunch and a functional team strategy? Offensively, the QB situation couldn't be much murkier among a pair of sophomores and a freshman -- so who's the starter going to be? Does it make sense to just go with a full-on "youth movement" this year and prepare for 2020 and 2021? The defense was a major problem for Larry Fedora in recent years, but Jay Bateman ran a pretty stout defensive unit, especially for a program with restrictions like the ones at Army. Now at UNC, do his tactics "fit" with what the Tar Heels are going to do on offense? Finally, could this schedule be much less conducive to making a bowl game in year one of a new regime? All of this, and more!

Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger penned an excellent piece in Sports Illustrated on the cultural dysfunction of the 2018 Virginia Tech football team. Mike passionately reacts and provides his take on the entirety of the article, as well as what it means for the football program moving forward. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

We're joined by Steve Wiseman (@stevewisemanNC) of the Herald Sun and the News and Observer to preview the Blue Devils in 2019! Daniel Jones departs Durham after three years as the starter, but is replaced by rising fifth-year senior Quentin Harris at QB -- how can it be that losing a first-round draft pick at QB isn't the offense's biggest concern coming into the following season? Meanwhile, the defense loses a few key cogs, but is otherwise largely intact, including returning both second-year co-DC's. For a team that appears prepared to rely on its rushing game and defense, this schedule appears BRUTAL -- can the Blue Devils return to bowl eligibility yet again, despite the odds being stacked against them? All of this, and MORE!

Long time friend of the podcast Cam Underwood (@UnderwoodSports) of StateOfTheU.com joins us to preview the Miami Hurricanes in 2019! Mark Richt's retirement late in December saw former DC Manny Diaz hired to replace him less than 2 weeks after Diaz left to become the head coach at Temple -- was hiring someone with no head coaching experience the right move for Miami? For the 'Canes, the QB situation is clearly the thing that stands out now as making (or breaking) their season -- what should we expect from N'Kosi Perry, Jarren Williams, and (Ohio State transfer) Tathan Martell? Defensively, Miami will continue to roll under similar leadership, right? Finally, Miami will be as talented (or more) as anyone on their schedule -- but how many wins will that translate to, exactly? All of this, and more!

We've been knee deep in ACC season previews for a while now, so we decided to give the listeners a break from our team breakdowns to catch up on some news throughout the conference. The ACC Network is ready to go on *some* TV platforms...Tavien Feaster is NOT a Hokie, Bud Foster is retiring, and our long awaited BOWLING GREEN SEASON PREVIEW!!! Rate, review, and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts!

It's the dawn of a new era for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Year One under new head coach Geoff Collins. After a Paul Johnson era with plenty of ups and downs, the Jackets look to find consistency and a quality of football that can lead them to contend, once again, for ACC Championships. Kelly Quinlan of JacketsOnline.com of the Rivals Network joins us to discuss all things Georgia Tech football heading into the 2019 season. Rate, review, and subscribe to us wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Our good friend Dan Rubin (@BCDanRubin) of BCEagles.com joins us once again, this time to preview THE DUDES in 2019! Steve Addazio has notched EXACTLY 7 wins in 5 of his 6 seasons as head coach at Boston College -- when does the fanbase there start to get restless with perceived stagnation? Will a new set of coordinators make the difference in getting past the 7-win plateau? QB Anthony Brown was expected to be a breakout player last year and didn't quite accomplish as much as was expected -- can he take that next step in giving the Eagles a credible passing threat this year now that he's healthy? Is it ultimately a recipe for disaster that Boston College has a ton to replace on defense, and a new coordinator working with that unit? There's a pretty major reason with the schedule that the Eagles need to get off to a hot start this year, but that they're in great shape if they do. All of this, and MORE!

We're joined once more by Matt Trogdon (@Matt_Trogdon) of SB Nation's Streaking the Lawn to preview the Virginia Cavaliers in 2019! The dynamic, playmaking QB Bryce Perkins is back for his senior season, but there's going to be quite a bit of change around him as three of his main supporting cast from last year are gone -- will the offense continue to move the ball effectively, or struggle to make up for how little the replacements were involved in last year's game plans? Is there any reason to think that the defense won't continue to be really good under Bronco Mendenhall? Can you really say anything about the schedule EXCEPT that it's designed purely for UVA to finally beat Virginia Tech? And most importantly...is it finally Virginia's turn to win the Coastal Division, completing the seven-year cycle of winners? All of this, and more!

Our team previews roll on with some help from Nate Mink (@MinkNate) of Syracuse.com as we preview Dino Babers and the Orange in 2019! The Babers era started with a pair of 4-8 seasons before a huge jump in Year 3 to 10-3 and a #15 ranking at the end of the year. Was that jump for real, or just a fluke thanks to poor performances from the teams around them? With Eric Dungey gone, is Tommy DeVito in good position to keep the Syracuse offense rolling? How good can the Orange defense be with most of their pieces back, and perhaps more importantly...how good do they even *need* to be? Does the schedule set up favorably for another strong run this fall? All this, and MORE!

As our season preview series continues, Norm Wood (@normwood) of the Daily Press in Newport News, VA joins us to preview Mike’s Hokies in 2019. Was 2018 a fluke, or a potential example of things to come for Virginia Tech? Justin Fuente is saying there will be a QB battle, but….it’s clearly Ryan Willis’s job, right? Can the Hokies manufacture a more functional rushing attack on offense following the departure of Steven Peoples and after a couple of pretty rough seasons on the ground? Surely Bud Foster’s defense won’t be THAT bad again, will they? We’ll learn a LOT about the Hokies in their very first game of the season. All of that, and more!

As the season preview series rolls on, we're joined by Conor O'Neill (@ConorONeillWSJ) of the Winston-Salem Journal to preview the fall for the Steamin' Deacs! Dave Clawson enters his sixth season at the helms at Wake Forest, officially making it his longest head coaching tenure of his career -- that being said, why shouldn't we expect him to be hired somewhere else with a significantly larger budget in the near future? With Sam Hartman and Jamie Newman back, who's going to be the primary starter at QB this fall? How are the Deac's going to replace the production of Greg Dortch on the other end of the passing game? With Jay Sawvel fired midseason in 2018, can Lyle Hemphill and Dave Cohen continue the improvement we saw down the stretch into the new season? And...we're betting Wake to go OVER their Vegas win total, right? All of this and MORE!

We're joined once again by Ethan Moore (@_ethanmoore) to discuss a new era in Louisville football! Cardinal fans are *actually* OK with this hire (even though it's not Jeff Brohm), right? How does a new offensive scheme impact the QB situation, and will Juwon Pass or Malik Cunningham be the starter on Labor Day? We thought it couldn't get worse than Peter Sirmon on defense, and then The Notorious BVG proved us wrong -- surely improvement is on the way under Bryan Brown? Could Louisville's schedule be laid out much worse for a "Year Zero" situation? All this and more!

We're joined by Clemson beat writer Matt Connolly (@MattatTheState) of The State newspaper to preview the reigning conference and national champions in 2019. What questions even need to be answered by the Tigers this fall? They're pretty clearly the favorites to win the ACC and make the College Football Playoffs for a fifth straight year, right? Is there even a particular development need for Trevor Lawrence in his sophomore season? After losing a ton of production and talent in their front 7 on defense, how is it that Clemson isn't worried whatsoever? The win total was set at 11.5 by Las Vegas...and that's too low, isn't it?

As we embark upon Season 4 of Basketball Conference, Mike and Joey have a couple of quick announcements regarding where to find the podcast moving forward and some slight content changes coming with it.

We're joined once more by Panther Lair's Jim Hammett (@JimHammett) to discuss a number of questions surrounding the reigning Coastal Division champion Pittsburgh Panthers entering the 2019 season. Was 2018 for real, or just a lucky fluke for Pat Narduzzi's program? Will Kenny Pickett take a major step forward with both Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall gone? Is an experienced, talented secondary the key to a more consistent defensive output? And, ultimately...what are the chances that Pittsburgh makes a repeat appearance in Charlotte in 2019?

We're joined by Steven Muma (@akulawolf) of SB Nation's Backing the Pack, to help us preview NC State's 2019 season! After years of consistency on the offensive side of the ball, the Wolfpack is basically looking at a hard rebuild this year -- starting with replacing OC Eli Drinkwitz and 3-year starting QB Ryan Finley. After losing a ton of talent (both on the field and on the coaching staff) the last two years, can Dave Doeren and NC State retain their positioning near the top of the Atlantic Division?

Former Florida State FB James Coleman (@biggamejames36) makes his return to kick off our 2019 team previews by talking 'bout the 'Noles! Willie Taggart's first year in Tallahassee was a rough one, marred by injuries to the offensive line and a roster that wasn't left in the best of shape in the wake of Jimbo Fisher's departure. With experienced QB Alex Hornibrook transferring in from Wisconsin and Kendall Briles as the new OC at the helm, can the Seminoles bounce back and make a run at the Atlantic Division?