Eric Mac Lain, ACC Network, on the upcoming ACC football season

Welcome back to ACC Football Kickoff from Charlotte.

I'm Adam Gold. Welcome inside the Weston Hotel as we've been here probably for the last decade. Used to be that the ACC would do this kind of a thing on a weekend.

It would be a lot more laid back and then they realized, boy, there's a lot going on. Football's big business. Make a big deal. Taking a page from our friends in the Southeastern Conference. Go to a hotel.

Bring everybody in and blow it out for two days. Now three days strong here at ACC Football Kickoff. We'll talk with Eric McLean of the ACC Network in just a couple of seconds.

You may see him just sort of sit down right here in the camera shot if you are watching us online. Commissioner spoke today. It was an absolute, I mean, it was exactly what you would have expected from someone who is very interested in kind of maintaining what college football has been over ever. He is very much somebody who is interested in kind of maintaining at least some sort of connection to the collegiate model and that is an idealism that I respect. I just don't share it but I totally understand because this is the way it has been done and that has been successful for college sports but we have a new era.

We also have the man himself. Oh man, you're gonna do that? You're gonna make me flex too? Come on, baby. Eric McLean from the ACC Network is here. Also, Gramlich and McLean Podcast. I have not seen Kelly.

Where is she? Well, here's the deal. So, you know, the ACC expanded to three days. Awesome.

We're super excited. They also moved it to Kelly's massive family beach weekend. So, you know, priorities. I understand family takes precedent and so she's on a beach somewhere probably with a drink in her hand and a sandwich on the other with the baby running around in the sand. Oh, well good for her.

But I'm here with you. Don't they? Well, you lose. You lose.

Don't they have the internet? She could she could join. We could just pop up like a drone or something. Fly it around.

She could do all that. So, here's what struck me as you guys were on stage. Eric McLean, ACC Network. You're on stage. You are already, I think you might play this year. Your enthusiasm for what we are going to see starting at the end of August and for the next three and a half months. Your enthusiasm is already through the roof. Dial it back.

Yeah, no, I can't, man. I'm so passionate about this league. So passionate about the game and college football and what that has done for me. The opportunities that football has opened that I never thought possible.

Never thought that I'd be in this situation. And so, I feel like I have to give all of that back on each and every day basis. And so, I get excited when we're doing new things and when we're doing cool stuff. And man, just to be on site.

There's nothing like it. And we've done it in bits and pieces these last four years. But for us to be somewhere every single Saturday, the juice, the excitement, and quite frankly, like I said up there, the student athletes deserve a platform of that nature to be on their campus, to celebrate them.

And man, I'm so glad I get to be a part of it and truly amazing. You played not that long ago. It's getting quicker, further. I get it. Right. But like you were an ACC champion at Clemson. And again, it wasn't that long ago where that program became one of the behemoths in the sport. But so much has changed. It is remarkable.

I've been doing this for 25 years. When I started doing this, the ACC was ahead of the SEC in revenue payouts. But it was like $9 million per school.

Now, $9 million doesn't even get you Starbucks. So can you believe the difference from when you played to where we are today? No. I mean, it's such drastic changes. And I feel like it all happened at once, right? There was some incremental things, cost of attendance, and the rules that were changing as I was exiting. Back in my day, they couldn't give us a bagel and a peanut butter sack or whatever together. That was a meal that was impermissible by the NCAA. Why was the bagel okay? The bagel was fine. The peanut butter made it a meal.

I mean, what are we doing? It was great that those changes happened. But then it was like this just wave of everything changing and all at once. And the biggest thing is we got to get some rules in place, federal rules, everybody playing by the same ones. But no, I never thought that we would see the changes this quickly. Now, maybe over a course of time, but it was like, hey, 2020.

Here's it all, all at once. Eric McLean, ACC Network, I want to talk about actual teams and players for a second. And then maybe we'll fight over when the federal need for federal rules, which I'm on the other side of that. There are a lot of good teams. Clemson had a rough year last year, by their standards, right by their standards, because by anybody else's standards, we'd be celebrating. Oh, yeah. But by their standards, and we understand like when Alabama doesn't win 11 games, we go all the is the dynasty over, right?

That's this is our brain. And we did that with Clemson. It kind of been building a little bit to that they haven't been quite as great even though the records have been good. Where are they? Are they still I was looking at the, like the most good players if you go like, first team, first team, second team, third team, they have the most good players.

And it's really not close. They have the most good players. Where are they? Yeah, I think they're back. I think that, you know, these last two years have been so stalled by quarterback play, so stalled by the offense not being the offenses of pass that I played in that we were used to seeing that that could score that could produce that could move the ball that could do whatever you wanted. We hadn't seen that in two years, we saw a very handicapped, handcuffed offense that that was put in tough situations and didn't have answers.

And quite frankly, that that hurt them severely, even some really good defenses. These last couple of years that were just, there was too much on them, you know, to win football games, and they did enough to, you know, win a championship and play in New Year six. But at the end of the day, as you mentioned, Clemson expects to be in a playoff Clemson expects to play for a national championship. And I think they're back to that because of quarterback play, because of a change in offensive coordinator, a change in philosophy scheme. I mean, if we want to be quite honest, Clemson was a half a football away from being back in the playoff. If they beat South Carolina, they're in the playoff as a one loss ACC champion. And so I think when you look at all of that, all the changes Dabo Sweeney made this off season, Clemson's back and yet he still won't embrace the portal, right?

Well, you know, what's interesting about that is that though, this year in particular, I do agree in some other years where you're like, come on, what are we doing this year? All those guys that came back, he doesn't have room. I mean, unless he's kicking guys out, he doesn't have room to go to the portal. But you look at defensive end, not a lot of depth, that would have been a nice place.

Hey, can you go get somebody? But Adam, he's a guy, if you sign up, you commit, he's with you for life. And that's the way he is. And maybe that's to a fault. But but he's doing okay. And it will be interesting.

Does it ever happen? And who's the guy like, right? I know that the quarterback, you know, Northwestern, you know, coming back home, and, you know, somebody great grandsons there, but like a real transfer, it's gonna be interesting to who's the first one. Eric McLean of the ACC network is here with us at Operation Football. It's Florida State back. Back to what? Back to back back to back to back to contending.

Yeah, I mean, having a legitimate chance to win this league. Oh, yeah, sure. Yes.

Yes, I think so. I think when you look at the depth, you look at the talent, you look at the star players, a lot of the similar things, which you just said about Clemson, those guys are sprinkled everywhere. I've got my, you know, kind of top five players at East position coming out in a week or so here.

I'm doing those lists. And it's like, my gosh, here's another guy. Here's another guy. Here's another guy, you know, for FSU. And so, with all that in mind, with all the production, all the experience back, I say yeah, to that now, are they ready for a national championship?

I don't think so. Are they ready to do this every year? That will be interesting. A lot of guys are leaving after this year.

So how can they continue to rebuild? But this upcoming season is going to be a lot of fun. Oh, I, you know, was it week for week for week week one week for we're tuned in FSU holy mackerel. Like, you know, Matt Brown complains about the schedule, which frankly, I mean, whatever. You're, he's worried about playing state and club Clemson and then state to end.

That's right. The regular season. And he doesn't like opening with South Carolina either wish it like, we could talk about that issue. I wish I had a preseason game, right? I get it.

I think they should. Yeah. But now what Florida State's doing? Oh, yeah. LSU in week one.

And then on the road and Death Valley, the real Death Valley. Come on week four. I mean, we'll find out before September is over. Yes. Whether or not FSU is for we really will.

And that's what's so fascinating is, man, we're gonna know right off the bat. And even if you slip in one of those games, the opportunity is still there. Right. And without divisions, you still have an opportunity to play in an ACC championship to win an ACC championship and to put yourself in the best, you know, place to be.

And it was funny. You know, you mentioned the commissioner's forum earlier. Somebody asked them, you know, with the expansion of playoff and, and are we going to see more teams do what LSU is doing playing, or excuse me, FSU playing teams like LSU, these big time guys, the only thing about that, man, they're locked in for the next 40 years. Like teams are already scheduled and things of that nature.

So good on getting in it. And I actually get out anything. Yeah, I think you can we we know teams have tried schools have tried the see, I'm of the mind that the ACC shouldn't schedule up that they should schedule, like take a page out of the SEC playbook. And like, when as many games as you can, right?

Because ultimately, that's all people really pay attention to is what's your it is fascinating. I am. I love those out of conference matchups, man, the way that everything's formatted now. Just even from a player perspective, when we opened with Troy, no offense to Troy, right? There wasn't the same level of intensity as when we opened with Auburn, when we opened with Georgia. Now I never opened against an ACC opponent.

I'm sure it would have been very similar. But just to have that big game, where you're, you know, it's coming. You got all summer to look at it all fall camp. And you've got to be at your top of your game.

It's just, it's fun, man. But I do hear what you're saying about let's get the wins however you can. I mean, that's to me that that's there's no mechanism really to reward non conference schedule. How will Clemson bounce back after the Labor Day loss at Duke?

I hope I get to go to that game. First of all. Secondly, if you really think that we need to make some kind of crazy. We got to get it going. But I'm excited for that game because I think outside of the triangle outside of the tobacco road area, and maybe just the state of North Carolina, people are sleeping on Duke. I mean, Vegas, I think has them at six and a half, a team that just won nine games, that has everybody back offensively that has a quarterback that is, I think, going to blossom even better, which how do you do that?

I don't know. A run game that's elite, a great offensive line led by a couple of NFL type guys. The defense a lot like Chapel Hill in North Carolina. If it can get marginally better, look out, who knows what Duke can do?

Like, I'm sort of kidding. Like, we can make it interesting. Well, I will definitely pick Duke to win that game.

Everybody knows that the week, the Friday before Labor Day, I will pick Duke to win that game. But the reality is, it is a good football team. Oh, no question. And that is a that is a weak one's always dangerous.

Yes. And that is a little bit of a dangerous spot for the Tigers in week one. I think Drake May is the best quarterback in the league, right? I actually think Riley Leonard is the second best in the league. He's so dynamic both ways.

And Duke's got good wide receivers, including the converted quarterback, Jordan Moore, who is a dynamite dynamite player. All right, real quick, we got about a minute and a half here. So why do we need Congress to step in? Why don't we just get rid of laws altogether?

It's not like, just totally wild, wild west. Yeah, but it was settled. Sure. We'll figure it all out. Because the problem is that we have all these different rules. We don't even need rules.

Sure. Now that NIL is legal, you don't even need rules. Well, the fascinating piece of it is that I'm with you, if we're going to do that, I just want it to be equal. I don't want state A to have these rules state B. And now there's this competing thing of, well, why would I even go there, I can't profit the way I can, I can't interact the way I want to.

So that's my only thing. So whether it's rules or no rules, they can't be the middle, it can't be where we are. So we need to go one way or the other. So as you said, I'm not necessarily big government, let's go, let's go. But I am, let's all play by the same rules, the same type of things, or play by no rules, because there can't be this discretion of, well, the state of Texas can do this, the state of New York can do that.

For instance, and I'll make this example. BMW has a big plant in Spartanburg, right? Yes.

Leading producer in the world, by the way. There you go. Shout out South Carolina. Um, I was just in Spartanburg not that long ago, believe it or not.

The if BMW Spartanburg wanted to give you an x five to go play a Clemson, right? Okay, should be fine. That should be that I have no problem with that.

And if we legislate against it, it's gonna happen. Sure. Sure. So why not?

It already has been great for 60 years. That's right. So that's my that's my point.

It'll be interesting. You're the same one. I appreciate you are a TV star.

Eric McLean from the ACC network. Some people don't think horses and people communicate. We call those people not horse people. Not horse people don't know you and your horse share a unique bond, or that your horse knows you know they like your dogs, but not so much the barking at Sentinel horse nutrition. We don't knock not horse people. We're too busy focusing on horse people's horses with extruded nugget feeds for exceptional nutrition and formulas for every need. Our wide choice of feeds makes it easy to find the fit for your horse's health. Find theirs at BeatSentinel.com.