A HUGE ACC matchup is coming up

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Go to flex seal products.com forward slash three ton lift to learn more about how one drop lifted three tons for demonstration purposes only. We spent way too much time complaining about the league. I would like to point out the Florida State's still in it. So, go Seminoles. I am team Florida State getting back to what they used to be. Said this before, when FSU was at their peak in the Bobby Bowden era, that was about as much fun as college football was going to be. I mean, they were.

Unbelievably exciting. They were dominant. You know how many losses they had in a 14 year span? From 87 to 2,000. 19 losses. Total.

Total. 14 straight years. At least a top five finish at the end. At least AP top five. Actually, the last of those years was fifth. Everything else was top four. An incredible run.

As good as anybody has ever had. In a different era of college football, by the way. Back when it was way more random to win a national championship. So I'm here for Florida State being back.

So I want that out front. And we'll talk more about what it means to the ACC going forward. But there's a big game coming up in about two and a half weeks in Charlotte that I think North Carolina has to win. Because they are carrying the ACC flag into that. I don't know if Adam Smith agrees or not inside Carolina. At Adam underscore Smith underscore IC, you have almost as many underscores as Victoria does in her X handle.

How are you, my friend? It's too many. But I mean, Victoria is my favorite person in sports media, so that checks out. But you know what? You were telling the Florida State story there, weren't you, when you brought me on.

Is that right? For whatever reason, when you were going through that, I was magically transported back to, I'll never forget, covering a Wake Forest FSU game back in the day. And Wake had a running back named Micah Andrews. And Wake had beaten him that night. I think it was a Thursday night game, although I could be wrong on the date. But I'll never forget him saying, man, you see those spears on those helmets and you think they're gods.

That was a great quote. Because that's what Florida State, that was what they were. They were the dominant force, not the dominant force, but a dominant force in college football for a decade and a half. And I know they had a really good run under Jibo Fisher for four or five years, but basically they've been just eh since then. And look, they can complain all they want. Let's talk about the Tar Heels. Not so much the Tar Heels. It's fine.

No, no, I did it. I screwed the whole thing up, Adam. I don't want to talk so much about the game coming up in two Saturdays, but how are they right now dealing without Tez Walker at wide receiver and the uncertainty? I mean, it's you know, you feel like it's a collective holding of the breath, you know, like I think for UNC, there's so many different angles to it. There's so many different layers to it.

And it's such a complex, it's straightforward in some ways, but it's complex in others. You know, they just don't know when they're going to hear back from the NCAA. They don't have right.

They don't have a timetable. And as you very well know, I mean, the NCAA will just they drag its feet on anything. So I mean, think back. Think back to the Butch Davis.

Oh, wow. Remember the Butch Davis days when it was literally like a Where's Waldo type situation in pregame warm up because you didn't know who was going to be held out or who was going to be able to play. I mean, it was like that on a weekly basis. But, you know, if you go if you go to UNC practice, which we do, we do every day. You know, Tez Walker is out there practicing with the first team.

You know, he's a starter at one of the outside receiver spots. And they are they are sort of we've written, you know, they're taking like a confident look at this. They're taking an optimistic, a hopeful, a confident view of this thing. And, you know, they're they're planning on him playing. I don't know if that is misplaced, but that's how they're at least preparing.

Now, when we get in a week and a half into game week and you're really a couple of days away from playing, preparing for South Carolina. I don't know if that changes. I don't know if he's not practicing.

I don't know what you do there. You know, I don't know if he's I guess he would not be in uniform if he's not eligible in September the second and Charlotte. Right.

But if you're at practice, he's practicing. But, you know, as is I'm sure you've covered, you know, you know, Mac talked yesterday after practice. And, you know, he he he said, I'm banking on Charlie Baker.

Right. You know, the new president. I mean, he essentially called him out. He did. It's not like Charlie's going to make this decision. It was a great line where he said they're sitting up there in Indianapolis behind closed doors. I mean, it was the you know, it was a classic sort of Mac Brown.

We're going to put you know, they're they're putting they're trying to put the public relations sort of for more press on the NCA here. I'm on that. Here's the thing about Mac. Adam, I wish he wouldn't have said that it was unfair when you could always transfer because I don't think it was. I did. Nobody get the players benefited. What? I don't understand what's wrong with that. If a player wanted to trade, players aren't transferring for any other reason. Other I mean, there's NIL reasons. But at this point, I mean, the good players, they want to play.

They want to play in meaningful games. So I have no problem when a play if a player wants to do that. And I wish Mac wouldn't have said it was unfair when it was only one transfer or when you could always transfer. And it was unfair now. I just wish he wouldn't have said that. But Charlie Baker, I've always been I've always been for paying the players and I'm pro player.

So same here. Yeah. I mean, we you know, it's funny we we we spend all this time talking about athlete welfare. And the NCAA is almost actively fought against that without really fighting against that. What is their plan B if Tez Walker can't play?

Well, then it becomes a situation of where I think you're going to see some some lawsuits like. Well, just setting that aside, I'm talking about who are the go to receivers. There's this Heisman Trophy quarterback that we really want to see throwing the ball to guys who can get open and get down the field. So what are they looking right?

What are they looking at? What is Drake may going to be looking at if it's not Tez Walker? Well, here's the deal are the defense is another story, but they are deep at receiver. They're deep at running back. They're deep at tight end. And they have that, you know, they UNC did lose Josh Downs and Antoine Green to NFL, but they they have plenty of weapons. It's just just a touch on Tez. I personally think that if Tez Walker plays, he could take UNC from good to great. I think UNC will be good this year. I think with Tez Walker, they could be great. Now could be totally wrong about that.

That's just my opinion. But they have plenty of guys. Tez obviously was a transfer from Kent State.

They got Nathan Cullum out of the portal from Georgia Tech. He looks a lot like Josh Downs. I mean, they're the same build. They're both twitchy, you know, really shifty slot guys. I mean, he could really, you know, Josh Downs called basically was 100 cats in the last two years for the Tar Heels. But I don't think you're going to see those numbers from Nate McCollum. But, you know, I think he's I think he's going to be a go to type of target.

I mean, they have guys on the outside. JJ Jones has played a lot of snaps. Kobe Paysor is sort of a underrated receiver who when Josh Downs was hurt last year, Antoine Green was hurt last year. He had some monster games at app. He had a huge game in the Holiday Bowl against Oregon. He's a guy that can produce.

Gavin Blackwell can produce. They have they have the weapons. And I mean, they certainly have the deepest tight end room in the ACC. I'm not sure how that I'm not sure if the ACC is known for deep tight ends. But it's certainly three guys that tied in in John Copenhaver, Bryson Nesbitt and Kamaria Morales that could start at most places. And, you know, those guys those guys should be really good. So I think I think Drake will have plenty of guys to throw. And I don't think his production will fall off. It's just that with Walker six three on the outside and he can just fly. He just sort of he's just sort of a difference maker in what he can give you down the field over the top.

All right. Let's let's move to the other other question that will either allow North Carolina to be really good or prevent them from being really good. Adam Smith inside Carolina is joining us here on the Adam Gold show. I thought as even though they tried to soften it last year by saying, I know we were we were ranked last, but we really were playing better. I don't think their defense at any point last year could be considered good.

Can do they have what it takes to be good? I'm not even asking great, but good on defense. AG, I think they'll take average. I think if you're a UNC fan, you would take rising.

I'm not trying to be mean or funny, but like, I think you would take just average. Because if you look at it, you know, UNC won nine games, won the coastal division, went to the ACC championship last season. And a lot of it was in spite of that defense.

Now, there were moments where they came up with some game ceiling, game clinching plays, but there were other moments where, you know, the numbers that Drake may put up last year. The yards that he threw for the touchdowns that he threw for, he led them in rushing. Right. There's only six quarterbacks since 2010 that have put up those numbers in college football. Four of them won the Heisman Trophy. You know, they they won a lot of those games in spite of that defense.

Right. Dead last in the league. One of the worst in the FCS, FBS and sacks pressure rates. You know, like it was total QBR against. It was not good. But I don't think there's any way they could be worse. Well, that's encouraging to have to legit. They have two legit star type players at linebacker Cedric Gray and power echoes.

Yes. Gray took a long look at going to the NFL after last year. Didn't like the gray that he got. I mean, I think some guys would have gone, but he wants to be one of these first day first two day pick. And no one had more tackles in the FBS last year than Cedric Gray. The UNC linebacker. Right. You know, I think that they can be, you know, deep on the defensive line.

They have to be able to create more pressure and they have to be able to try to generate some more turnovers. It's just stuff they didn't do. And then the defensive backfield, they're completely remade remade from the top down. Great lies gone. That was a controversial, contentious thing. I mean, one of the greatest players in Mac Brown's history. Yeah.

And he's not around anymore. And they've got they got a new cornerback coach in Jason Jones. They're going to have new starters at cornerback and Marcus Allen and Elijah Hussey.

They have new safeties through the transfer portal. And, you know, interesting the way Gene Chisick is phrased that he sort of phrased it. You know, the pressure up front starts in the back. We've got to be able to hold up on the back end to be able to get to the quarterback. So I mean, I think they can be improved.

I think if they're if they if they're healthy enough, they can be improved. And, you know, this is this is a situation where Gene Chisick was and he's a guy who's won two national championships. It was the defense coordinator at Texas under Mac. He won as a head coach when Cam Newton did some pretty good things at Auburn. You know, he's I mean, he's a proud guy.

He's not one of these boastful guys that goes around bragging. But he was embarrassed by some of those numbers they put up and some of the way that the narrative around UNC is being, you know, just wonderful on offense and dreadful on defense. And it's going to be interesting to see what they come out like against South Carolina on the defensive side of the ball, because that's where you're your UNC fan.

That's where you're like laser focus. Can we be better? Because that can be the key or probably will be the key in two of North Carolina's best eras right before I got here in the late mid early to mid 90s and actually maybe mid to late 90s. And then in that Butch Davis run for just a few years, Carolina was great along the defensive front. And if they can be good on the defensive front, I think they have a chance.

If they can't, Drake may win us a bunch of games. Adam Smith, I appreciate your time. We will do it again soon. Enjoy practice or whatever you're doing on this Wednesday, sir. Thank you so much. You bet.

Always great to catch up, A.G. You got it. Adam Smith from inside Carolina. Almost as many hashtags as Victoria. Almost. Is he just one or two shy? He's got two. He's got two hashtags. Yes. So you have you have three. I think you have all the cool kids do.