Look at this Beef

Yes, Josh Cram has opinions. There is nothing that entertains the audience and the masses more than me being bothered. And yes, he's got attitude.

Really, none of the game made sense to me. And that's exactly why you love him. When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together. You're on The Drive with Josh Cram. We made it to a Friday drive. It is WSJS, new stock sports for the Triad, where it'll be a busy Friday from coast to coast this evening and late night and early morning. At seven o'clock, our high school football game of the week on WSJS is West Forsyth at East. When we're finished from Kernersville, we'll go out to Tucson, where at 1030 p.m., Duke faces Arizona for a top 20 showdown in hoops. Then at 1230 a.m., as our heads are touching the pillow, you can throw UNC Hawaii on the TV in a game that we just learned freshman Ian Jackson will be back for.

But the hoops can wait. It seems that everyone has written off the Carolina Panthers ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs visiting uptown Charlotte this weekend. Maybe that's for good reason. Then again, maybe it isn't.

But know this. There is a case for the Panthers hanging around with the champs in this game. There is a case for it. And this is that case. Even though Kansas City is coming off a loss, which should lead to them playing motivated, playing focused football.

Carolina should be able to match that intensity because the Panthers are viewing this game as if it's their Super Bowl. They're not going to say that. You'll have players say, this is just like any other game. We're treating it the same way. No, they're not.

They are not. Not coming off a bye. There are things you're saving in the playbook, things that you've been scheming up for because you know that the standard in the NFL has been set by that coach, that quarterback, that team.

You don't see them all that often. And they're in your building and they hear all the stuff on the outside where everybody believes you're a sacrificial lamb to Kansas City. Since they've lost to the Buffalo Bills, their first loss of the season now. Carolina isn't going to fear to feel inferior when Kansas City takes the field. Carolina should be able to play with confidence. They've won two straight games. They are coming off a bye. Meanwhile, it's Kansas City that had the scheduling quirk here of having to play consecutive road games. And they come in leaking oil a bit, having lost to Buffalo.

And don't forget, before that game, probably should have lost to Denver, who had that field goal blocked and otherwise would have won an arrowhead. So that's all framing. That's all storyline angles to this game. That stuff that media cares about. Not so much players in the locker room. Now, what's an X's and O's case for Carolina hanging around in this game? It's ball control.

It's having possession of the football. A big part of the reason Buffalo beat Kansas City was the fact that Buffalo nearly had the ball ten minutes more than Kansas City had in the game. There's all this talk about Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, all the stars that are on offense. It's hard for those stars to be stars if they're not on the field. And Carolina does have the ability to control the football.

Chuba Hubbard, who just got his big deal, he is fourth in the NFL currently in rushing. Think about how hard that is. Think about how difficult it is when your team's not good. Thus, you're having to throw a lot to catch up in games, particularly in the second half.

You're not trying to drain the clock out, leading. How hard it is for a team with Carolina's record to have a running back who's fourth in the league in rushing. That speaks to how good Chuba Hubbard is, how good he's been, why he's deserving of that deal.

And Carolina is getting healthier. They should be better in the run game. Icky Iquanu, who had been banged up, he's going to be able to go at left tackle. Jonathan Brooks, top running back taken in the draft, second round pick. He will make his Panthers debut on Sunday against Kansas City. That's a player Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo, have not seen on tape that Carolina has. And likely is scheming stuff up during the bye week to try to use as a weapon as a tool against Kansas City. So that's the running game. In the passing game, Carolina's getting one of the most effective possession receivers back in the lineup, Adam Thielen. We haven't seen him since he caught that touchdown in Carolina's first win of the year against the Raiders way back in week three. He's going to be back in the lineup too. And if Kansas City has one flaw with its defense, the flaw is they are bottom third in the NFL in takeaways. They only have nine takeaways this year, not even in double figures. So if Carolina wants to win this football game, the way they do it is by keeping Mahomes off the field, taking care of the ball, which is Dave Canales' mantra, running it, you add, you bring Aquano back in the lineup.

You're already running it well with Chuba. Here's Jonathan Brooks. That is the path to hanging around and it's shortening this football game. That's what it is. And what we've learned if you've been paying attention to Kansas City this year is that this is not a KC team that runs away and hides from people. It's not Tyreek Hill over the top. It's not this flamboyant offense that's just going to run you out of the building. They haven't been that this year.

They haven't done that really to anybody. Like in their nine wins, here are the margins of victory in the nine times they've won. Two, six, seven, ten, thirteen, seven, five, one, seven. Those are the margins of victory that Kansas City has had this year. Nothing more than 13 points. Yet Carolina is a home ten and a half point dog in this game. We do have best bets. That's not listed in best bets.

We're staying away from it from the best bet standpoint. But here's the pick you can hold me accountable for. Kansas City still wins the game, but the Panthers hang around. Chiefs 28, Carolina 20. There is a case for the Panthers hanging around and potentially a few things breaking their way. A monumental upset happening in Charlotte. Don't completely disregard it going into the game. On X at WSJS radio, if you want in. That's why we're streaming video in addition to YouTube and Twitch, Will Dalton.

He's the executive producer of this show. W.D., what's your excitement level for Chiefs Panthers this weekend? I'm really excited for it.

And for all the reasons that you just laid out is why I told you at the beginning of the week. I don't think like I think the Panthers could make a game out of this. I don't think the Chiefs are going to run away with it. Like my prediction on the score. Twenty six, twenty chiefs.

Twenty six, twenty chiefs. Yeah. What's your excitement level in Duke, Arizona when you get done with high school football tonight? I'm excited to see that just because it's the rematch. Caleb Love versus Duke. The rematch?

Absolutely. Winning the camera last year. It's the ninth time that Caleb Love's gone up against Duke. And it's going to be a good one.

It's going to be a thirty for thirty one day. Caleb Love against Duke. So getting into that, as mentioned, tonight will be the ninth and likely final time Caleb Love faces the Blue Devils. The team that he's most going to be associated with in his career.

For the shot that he hit in New Orleans a couple of years ago, two and a half years back. So what will his final act be against the Blue Devils? Probably an L at McHale Center, even though it's in Arizona. And Duke lost it. Cameron to Arizona a year ago. You should expect scary Duke to make an appearance for them to travel across the country. Duke gets the last laugh against Caleb Love and Arizona.

And here's why. Arizona is going to be bothered by Duke's length. Last year, sitting courtside at Duke in Arizona. It was obvious what the difference in that game was. And it was not Caleb Love who had a pedestrian game until hitting free throws in the final minute. That overshadowed all the other stuff that he did.

Very typical Caleb Love. Hey, this is the thing that gets the most attention at the end of the game. Let's overlook some of the bad shots that he's taken.

Sure. What was the difference in Arizona winning? Omar Balo, Kashad Johnson were these terrific bigs that Duke had difficulty matching up with. They didn't have Derek Lively in the lineup anymore at that point.

They missed him a great deal. Kyle Filipowski, more of a finesse big, if you could even call him that. So Arizona had its way with Duke inside.

Not anymore. One, Johnson and Balo aren't there anymore. They brought in a mid-major transfer that, you know, I think it's the kid from Oakland they brought in that beat Kentucky, lost to NC State in the tournament.

Townsend, he's on Arizona now. Fine, but he's undersized. Not one of those true dominant bigs like Balo was as a seven-footer. And Duke on the other end has NBA length. This is an NBA roster in terms of how it looks. Every player who will take the Florida night for Duke is 6'5 or taller.

And one of those guys is Cooper Flagg. And he's not a normal freshman. Normally, you'd be concerned. Oh, especially for a reclassified freshman going on the road for the first time. That's concerning for a freshman.

What about the environment? Not concerned with this guy. 26 points, 11 boards against Kentucky. And he didn't even have that great of a game.

Under 50 percent from the field had those turnovers at the end. He's going to be even better than that tonight with more eyes being on him again. Khan Knipple was bad, particularly in the second half of that game against Kentucky.

He's going to be better than that, too. And remember, despite the fact Knipple was bad and, you know, Cooper had those turnovers and Duke was just abhorrently terrible at the line or from the three-point stripe, they still were a few plays away from winning that game. Duke going to play better tonight at McHale Center. And while the freshmen will get all the attention, Duke added enough experienced Blue Devils to surround the Knipples, the Malawatches, the flags of the world to steady this team in a hostile road environment. Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor are back, of course. But the three experience transfers of Mason Gillis from Purdue and Malik Brown from Syracuse and Seon James coming in, too, those are the guys that will round out this rotation. And we're going to see a really strong Duke performance tonight.

Duke as an underdog wins at Arizona this evening, getting the final laugh against Caleb Love. Looking forward to the NFL. We said we didn't have Panthers chiefs on the card.

It's a stay away. We have three, maybe four selections for Sunday's games to get to, and we'll hand out those picks and best bets next on the drive. And now on with the show. Back to the drive with Josh Graham. We were right on it with NC State last night. It was going to come down to the very end.

Nine points, way too much. So our week from a betting standpoint, starting off well. Steelers, Browns, as heard on WSJS last night, an upset there, the Browns winning the game. Got some news to report related to that will. We've said for six straight weeks, my brother's 150 person survivor pool hasn't eliminated any players.

It got down from one hundred and fifty to three. And for six straight weeks, those final three won to stay alive. However, one of those three players took the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.

Oh, man. The remaining two, including my brother, have the Miami Dolphins. So if Miami wins Sunday, then. It's down to a final two.

Because one was knocked off yesterday. OK, we're turning our sights to the NFL. We'll get to state Georgia Tech last night, 15 minutes from now, we'll return back to college. We turn our sights to three NFL picks and best bets. I'm not a betting duck.

Care to make it interesting? You know you do. You're on. Call me in on this. Your best bet. But my money's on the other team.

This is Josh's best bet. We're on a bit of a heater. Six and three last weekend. Forty seven and forty five for the year.

We had that win last night. NC State plus nine against Georgia Tech. Three NFL picks close to four. We might have a bonus pick to throw in here. Let's start with a pick that I love.

And you're bound to hate. Give me the Tennessee Titans plus eight at the Houston Texans. I see everywhere that the most bet sides in terms of the public this week. Detroit and Houston. Those are the teams being bet on the most. Understood with Detroit.

Not so much with Houston. Let's start with the Titans. Because I was paying attention to Minnesota, Tennessee last week because we had Minnesota.

I noticed something. Tennessee hasn't quit yet. Tennessee still plays hard. In fact, their defense is good. Will Lavis had a decent game in the loss. Threw for two hundred ninety five yards in it. There are some things to like with what Tennessee did and the team they're going up against is incredibly overpriced.

Houston. A lot of this has to do with hype going into the year and focusing on the quarterback. They don't blow out teams.

They play down to their competition quite a bit. And they're on a short week after playing the Dallas Cowboys riding high. This is a divisional game and Tennessee's just getting too many points. Don't know if they win the game.

But yeah, more than the touchdown. Give me the candy with the Titans. We like another division underdog going on the road. Cardinals plus a point at Seattle. The wrong teams favored here.

And the double and triple check this. But yeah, Seattle is favored by a point for some reason. Yes. Seattle in San Francisco had a dramatic last minute drive led by Gino Smith to win that game. And they're in the running for the win.

The division. All that's fair. Great win for Gino Smith. Great win for Coach McDonald.

The whole deal. But this idea that Seattle deserves a ton of points and to be favored just because they're playing at home. It's unfounded. Like Seattle is not as scary of a place to play as it's been framed nationally. In fact, the Seahawks have lost their last three home games, two of them in blowouts by. They lost in a blowout to San Francisco, lost in a blowout by twenty one points to the Buffalo Bills. They lost to the Giants on their home field who just released Daniel Jones earlier today. Meanwhile, who's at the top of the NFC West standings right now? That'd be Arizona and Arizona's coming off a bye and Arizona's won four straight games. And here's how their last two have gone. Twenty point win. Twenty five point win. Give me the Cardinals plus a point going into Seattle.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. And the last one that we'll have for the card. Give me the Baltimore Ravens and the Harbaugh Bowl Monday or the Harbaugh, if you will. Monday Night Football.

You can listen to the game on SJS. Baltimore was the better team than Pittsburgh Sunday. Justin Tucker. It was a freak scenario. Missed two kicks, freak turnovers to Peyton Wilson, capitalizing on one of those. The former NC State linebacker getting his first career interception. Baltimore's was the better team than Pittsburgh. And they are a better team than the Chargers are. The Chargers record doesn't speak to how mid they can be.

And even on Sunday night, oh, you're great for half. And then you nearly blow it against a bad Bengals team. The the Ravens are buttoned up. The Ravens are coming all the loss. Give me the better team.

Yeah. Laying two and a half points. But I like the fact it's under a field goal. And give me big brother to beat up on little brother.

Don Harbaugh hasn't lost to his brother, Jim, including in the Super Bowl. Ravens on Monday Night Football minus two and a half. And then this is just the bonus play for you guys, because it'd be difficult. I don't know how W.D.

even puts this on a graphic. So this is just a bonus tip for those who are listening and watching the show. We're going to hear some betting lingo. We're going to tease Miami from seven and a half point favorites, six points to one and a half. So a six point tease has Miami go down from seven and a half to one and a half. And that's parlayed with Green Bay, who's a three point favorite against San Francisco, being flipped to a three point underdog.

So the tease, both these things would have to hit at the same time. Miami winning by more than a point. Green Bay getting three points, so not losing by more than three against San Francisco. That's minus 120, I think, on FanDuel. So we're on that. And also give me Duke as an underdog tonight. Are you kidding? Plus 114.

Yeah. Give me the Blue Devils to beat Arizona tonight, too. So some bonus plays there and best bets in review in addition to that tease in Duke basketball. Titans plus the eight in Houston, the Cardinals plus a point in Seattle and the Ravens laying a small number at the L.A. Chargers.

Scary home field advantage. Have you ever met an L.A. Chargers fan for real? Come on. I don't think I know any.

Exactly. New San Diego Chargers fans don't know any L.A. Chargers fans. Having overtime, Brandon Miller did the voice of our high school football game of the week. Dave Pulaski has joined us in studio. Dave, we've started a new tradition on this show.

Whenever the Charlotte Hornets win, we play Eric Collins calls. So before we get into the football, would you like to yes. Would you like to dig into some of EC's work from last night's win? Absolutely.

I love Eric. So W.D., remember I told you to take the over on the mellow ball props after he was benched the other night? Yeah. Well, he went for thirty five, including this make courtesy of FanDuel Sports TV Hornets.

Will the mellow shoot it? Why not? Your ball, kid.

How do you do? This is the type of energy I expect on high school football tonight, Dave. That's a style I can't replicate, but I can bring that same energy just in a different way. Yeah. Brandon Miller had a career high thirty eight on his twenty second birthday. W.D., did you know first time in Hornets history, two players went for thirty five plus in the same game? I did not know that.

Now you do. Happy birthday to Brandon Miller. But with Charlotte up to inside five seconds left to go in overtime, it came down to getting a rebound with Detroit looking to intentionally miss a free throw. Here's E.C. and Del Curry setting the scene. Were they hungry? What is cut up like coleslaw even mean? I also just look at this beef. Something feels like it's versatile there. I've used that on a goal line play before. Here comes the beef package. Yeah. Tonight, Dave Pulaski when East Forsythe's lining up in the goal line package is going to say, look at this beef.

Hey, if we got a defensive tackle in the backfield as a fullback, no doubt. Look at this beef. I don't know what's funnier, that part cut up like coleslaw or Del Curry's like guttural reaction.

The just seeing three big guys come into the game. Like, yeah, I it almost sounds like when I am firing up the grill will firing it up. Get some barbecue out there like coming in. Look at this beef. Look at this beef.

And then after you eat said beef, the reaction that you have. Something like that. OK, so back to the game. Here were the final seconds again from Hornets TV. Taj Gibson, everyone. It is the year of our Lord.

Twenty, twenty four. Taj Gibson's making plays at the end of the game. We're in a number 67 jersey.

Shout out. OK, now let's get to our high school football game of the week. What a night we have in store on WSJS. Seven o'clock kick. Six thirty pregame.

A couple hours from now, right down the road in Kernersville, East Forsythe facing West Forsythe. And then we have a ten thirty tip tonight on SJS out at McHale in Arizona, McHale Center, where Duke basketball is facing Arizona. A top twenty match up. It's a great night.

But getting into the high school game. East versus West. Wasn't this like a game decided within the margins the last time they played?

Yeah, this just happened a couple of weeks ago. And what a thrilling way to end the regular season. It was forty eight forty two. West Forsythe actually led thirty five twenty one at halftime, trying to get their first conference title since twenty nineteen and spoil East's undefeated season. East Forsythe rallies back. They get a block punt. They get a touchdown. They get another touchdown. West Forsythe answers with a touchdown. East Forsythe answers with a touchdown. They're trading heavyweight blows back and forth and it comes down to the final drive and the Eagles score with nine seconds left to get a forty eight forty two victory.

Should we be worried at all about East? I know there was like a score very late in last week's game that made that one look pretty close, right? Yeah, the score was closer than what the game was.

And there was a seventeen point cushion against Butler in the fourth quarter. And then the week before that, was that game in Clemons or was that game in Kernersville? For East Forsythe. Oh, that was in Kernersville.

OK, that was a couple of weeks ago. OK, so I mean, West has played East tough the last couple of times they've had second half leads on them. And East came back to win both of them. Is East our is that the title contender you feel best about from the tryout? Reedsville. OK, I guess Reedsville belongs in its own category for reasons better obvious. Reedsville, I would put Grimsley two. Oh, over over East.

Yes. Yeah, Grimsley is the number one seed. They have home field all the way through. They don't have to play Weddington potentially until the regional final. And you could have East and Weddington meet up in that semifinal for a potential all Triad regional final between East and Grimsley, which is what we would all love to see. OK, so what you're telling me tonight is we might have another competitive football game between East and West. Yeah, I mean, these two teams, they just bring the best out of each other. And there's something about this rivalry, even though East Forsythe has won five in a row going back to twenty nineteen. West has played them really tough under Kevin Wallace. They've had their chances.

And rather than having to wait a year and stew on this game, now they can get right back out there three weeks later and try and get their vengeance. You bring they bring the best out of each other. You bring personally the worst out of W.D. when you wear Met stuff the week that Juan Soto is being courted so far by teams across. We could both agree, like, don't let him be on the Dodgers, right?

Yes, I don't need that. I love that the Yankees announced that they had a good meeting with him because what are you going to say? Are you going to say a bad meeting sucked? Our AGM accidentally called him Jose.

So we have no shot. I mean, what it really is. What would a good meeting consist of? It's quite a week in New York altogether with the Soto stuff. Judge being named MVP, Luis Hill being named Rookie of the Year. And then in football, the Jets fire a GM and then the Giants release Daniel Jones.

As W.D. points out, just another victim of the Carolina Panthers. If you lose to the Panthers, something's happening to a coach or to a quarterback. Yeah, they beat the Raiders. And then a few weeks later, the Raiders fired their OC right after the Panthers beat the Saints.

Gone is Dennis Allen. Yep. Yep. Last year was Arthur Smith after they beat the Falcons.

That's right. Last year he gets fired after that. And then the Giants lose in Germany to the Panthers. And it's all right. We've had it with Daniel Jones now. We can't do this anymore.

And he's been released after that awkward statement he put out. Panthers wins with a grim reaper. That's what it is. So Kansas City, you have that meme with the grim reaper going door to door. That's it. That's Bryce Young.

He is the grim reaper. Andy Reid going to be looking for a job on Monday. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce break up next week.

Whoa! You heard it here first. You did. If the Panthers beat the Chiefs on Sunday, we're going to get the Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce break up news. Oh, let it happen. It's going to happen if the Panthers win that game. We'll talk more about that game in a little bit. Getting broadly to high school playoffs, you know, staying focused here because we have East for Seif, West for Seif tonight. 7 o'clock kick, 6.30 pregame, Duke basketball after that.

Busy night on SJS. Any surprises round one of the playoffs last week? The only semi-surprise was Mount Tabor losing as badly as they did to Independence. I thought that could have been a toss-up game.

I thought Mount Tabor had the worst possible draw. Because not only do you get Independence in the first round, a team that made the regional final last year, but then had they gotten past them, they would have had to go to Huff this week to take on the Huskies who were undefeated this year. So that was about as bad a first couple of rounds for a draw as you could possibly have. But I was pretty stunned by the way that game played out. I thought that was going to be a nip and tuck battle back and forth in Winston-Salem.

But, I mean, Independence just took the bull by the horns and just blew them out of their own building. Give me something fun on the way out since now you've called this game twice in the last three games. Surely you have something good in terms of nuggets, notes for East versus West. Alright, fifth all-time playoff meeting. 2-2 is the series in the playoffs.

Oh, we're doing the Duke-Carolina thing! Please tell me it's within points. Did you add up the points? I didn't add up the points. I can. Last time they met it was very one-sided for East.

It was 49-0 a couple of years ago. But, we'll see. Alright, tonight 7 o'clock. East for Seif in Kernersville. Phasing West for Seif on WSJS.

A reminder that you cannot... I mean, you don't just have to be listening on the radio waves to catch this game. You can listen on WSJS.com as well later on tonight, wherever you might be. We, right now, if you're just listening on the radio, we're streaming video. YouTube, Twitch, and X, you can find us.

Just search The Drive with Josh Graham. We have our podcast that you can subscribe to, so we get it. You might not be able to catch all three hours of the show. Understood. The best hour of what we do available on demand for you, including this conversation here. If that's how you're listening to us, well, two thumbs up to you.

That's not how this message wasn't intended for you. If you haven't subscribed, what are you doing? The Drive with Josh Graham Pod and on YouTube. WD and I will be at Panthers Chief Sunday with some content on the field at Bank of America Stadium after the final whistle sounds. Dave Polaski, have a great call tonight, my friend. Thanks, buddy.

Appreciate it. Ah, the change up, because it's Friday and we're visiting with David Glenn. It's lovely cruise before we get to our rhinestone rhinestone cowboy in just a little bit. David Glenn is weekly visit one benefit to being up later. Having a newborn in my life is I'm not all that concerned, D.G. about the ten thirty Duke Arizona tip tonight or even the twelve thirty a.m. North Carolina Hawaii game later this evening. But for you, what's your strategy in consuming the hoops and all the football that we have this weekend? The what we used to call the DVR.

If I remember correctly, have it being a dad of two myself, except they're grown. There might be times where you are awakened between one thirty a.m. and three thirty a.m. So you got some background noise just waiting for you or whatever your duties might have to be at that emergency situation. So, yeah, I'll record. I mean, I'll catch the beginning of the Duke game since that's even as an older guy. I'm not going to bed at eleven o'clock.

But but yeah, I'll see. I'll catch the first half and I'll try to avoid what happened to me recently where Georgia Tech scored on NC State. And I and I thought the game was over with six minutes to go. And obviously there was a whole lot of action in that football game in the final six minutes. Yes, we do need to talk about the football. But getting to Duke, Arizona tonight.

How I asked this question earlier today. I'm not talking in terms of best player. I'm not even talking really in terms of most beloved, but post-Hansborough, I think Caleb Love as the decades pass because of the shot he hit in New Orleans is going to be remembered maybe more than any other Tar Heel. Like like in terms of like, oh, I know who that guy is because of this moment. How do you best capture Caleb Love's Tar Heel career as he gets set to perhaps face the Blue Devils for the final time tonight? I think your point about as time passes is a really important one, because I think the current snapshot of Caleb Love is that he was a guy who put up some big numbers sometimes, but was a very tricky fit in terms of both basketball and his personality and chemistry, and sometimes was a little reckless with his shot selection and wasn't really a true point guard. And he was part of the some of the best moments that Carolina had during his time there. But he was also central to some of the worst moments that the Tar Heels had during his time there. So I think his current reputation in the eyes of most Carolina fans is an extremely complicated one with as much negative as positive.

Now, five, 10, 15, 20 years ago, I think your point is well taken when it comes to an iconic moment. He's going to live forever because of what he did to the Duke Blue Devils. But I don't think he'll ever come anywhere near the most beloved players like a Michael Jordan way back, like a Tyler Hansbrough more recently, even like a Joel Berry or a Marcus Page among more recent Carolina guards. His is going to be a complicated legacy and Caleb Love's a complicated guy.

Do you know what it is exactly? Like if you flip it to the other side of the ledger, it's Caleb Love is Austin Rivers. In the sense of like you can look at the 2015 National Championship Duke team and not any player on that team has the name recognition that Austin Rivers does. And any time you bring up Boston Rivers, everybody knows exactly where your head's going.

And they're not thinking about Lehigh and Greensboro, where it ended, even though that it is attached to a negative. And there was some chemistry issues behind the scenes as the years go on and you get further away removed from that. When you think Austin Rivers, you think what you did in that rivalry. And in Caleb's case, there is no bigger shot in the history of that rivalry than the one he hit. Yeah, Austin Rivers, you say it.

What do I think of Smith Center? You know, what was it? A seven, a charging seven foot Carolina defender. Tyler Zeller. Tyler Zeller.

Tyler Zeller. He, of course, buries the shot. Rivers does.

His teammates swarm him. They're celebrating in front of the Carolina fans. So you're right.

I mean, that's a great parallel and you're right. They both do have complicated legacies, but the casual fan is going to far more remember the iconic moment. The more serious fan that follows this stuff more closely, I think is going to have a hard time shaking the roller coaster nature of both of their tenures in that rivalry. NC Sports Network didn't say that at the top.

You need to follow DG stuff if you don't already. David Glenn joining us here on WSJS. Getting to the big picture for ACC football. It would be it would seem to me that the best case scenario for the ACC is for Miami to win its last two games, SMU to win the last two games and for SMU to beat Miami in a great game in Charlotte. That is the one scenario where you could get two teams potentially into the CFP if some other stuff cooperates as well.

But how do you see it? Do you still open the door to the possibility that the ACC could get two teams into the 12 team playoff? Your scenario is the best path for the Atlantic Coast Conference, right? Mustangs went out, Canes went out close game in the ACC title game. And because the committee has already said it respects Miami's resume a little bit more than it does SMU's resume. Obviously, the Mustangs beating the Hurricanes would be that route to maybe two teams. I'm not ready to count out, you know, the same scenario except as Miami beats SMU in the ACC title game. You're right.

It would be harder for the Mustangs to get in. But if I'm Jim Phillips, ACC commissioner right now, I'm pointing out, for example, that the main elements in these debates when you're talking about one loss resumes for now, it includes how bad was your one loss, who beat you, by how much, where was the game, et cetera. Remember that SMU's only loss right now is to a nine and one BYU team that is also in the college football playoff picture. And it was by three points.

And they didn't have and Kevin Jennings wasn't even firmly in place. Yes, a high quality loss without even plugging the guy that's now you're starting quarterback in on a full time basis. So there's nothing wrong with SMU's loss. And when it comes to their wins, I understand. I'd say they have four good wins, SMU, but no great wins. But I'd also point out, Texas doesn't have a great win. Penn State does not have a great win. And the same committee has them in the top five.

Now, I know why. Because Texas is mashing its opponents. Right. But what's the best team the Texas Longhorns have beaten to this moment? Vanderbilt. Six and four Vanderbilt. And if it's not that, it's five and five Michigan. Those are the two best wins on Texas' resume.

Now, I'll say this. They play A&M next week, which obviously would be the best win. They have that that maybe SMU does not. But the team that's right behind Texas a few spots is Notre Dame, who was respected enough despite having a much worse loss than SMU has losing to NIU. They bump up a spot by beating whom last week by three touchdowns?

Virginia. It's going to be an indicator to see what happens if SMU goes into Charlottesville this week and handles their business. If they do, does the committee treat that with the same respect they paid to Notre Dame by putting the Irish ahead of Alabama and the poll that came out earlier this week?

I would hope SMU gets that respect if they can beat Virginia convincingly. And unfortunately, style points matter. Yeah.

You can. There is no way right now that the committee could honestly say that they are not looking at style points. They are. To me, the starting point again is how good are your best wins and how bad is your one loss if you have one? And the committee is going way deeper than that. The committee is emphasizing how badly teams are mashing each other.

And I don't think that's a great way to do it. In fact, of course, you know, margin of victory has been a matter of debate over the years in how much weight you're allowed to put on that, because they didn't want to incentivize bad sportsmanship where a team wasn't content to win by 20, because they were afraid if they didn't win by 40, the committee wouldn't respect the victory enough. I don't think SMU's resume is being treated fairly as we speak. And if in the end there are only two losses, maybe it's an 11-1 Big 12 champion BYU and a 12-1 ACC champion Miami. Those would be as good of a two losses as you can have.

Well, you did bring up something interesting right there. And yet we already have SEC teams with two losses that are really high and in the top ten as we speak. If you're the ACC, you should be rooting for BYU as well. That has to be brought up that if BYU is a champion, then that inflates resume as well. And the way, don't overlook this as well, the way Florida has played of late is inflating Miami's resume because of what they did week one, going into the swamp and handling their business against the Florida Gators.

D.G. is with us here, getting local. How much do you read into that 24-7 report about Mac Brown indicating to people around him that he intends to come back next year? Because the language of it seemed like, sure. Yeah, Roy Williams was talking about talking to recruits the week that he retired. Nick Saban, the day before he retired, was talking to candidates, interviewing candidates for an OC opening before stepping down. OK. And also the fact Inside Carolina generally breaks a lot of this stuff.

That's a 24-7 outlet. And I didn't see anything with an Adam Smith or a Greg Barnes byline saying anything about Mac Brown status for next year. So what do you read into it? Well, I think Mac is a proud guy and Mac believes that he has earned the right to have a bigger voice in his future than a typical coach. Right. He's somebody that in both of his tenures has done great things the first time.

Good things this time. Getting to six wins means you're automatically going to be in a bowl game every year during Mac Brown 2.0. That's not high highs, but that's a level of consistency that the Tar Heels have not had in quite some time. Mac Brown also has a lot of really strong supporters among big money boosters. So, again, I think he has a bigger voice in his future than most. And remember, there's always recruiting repercussions if he if if he's getting questions from high school seniors or maybe guys who know they're going to put their name in the transfer portal. One thing I've found over the years that it is a leaked story is not by accident. A leaked story has some recruit in mind or some potential transfer in mind. There's a message that Carolina football needs to get out that those young people who will commit to the Tar Heels if it's still Mac Brown that they need to hear.

It doesn't happen by random, those leaked stories. So I believe that Mac Brown's mindset is that as a 73 year old man, he wants to coach at least one more year. I think his mindset is I've made it to a bowl again. So why wouldn't I get another year whether the finish is, you know, eight and four or six and six and then who knows what happens in a bowl game. But imagine if Mac Brown finishes nine and four somehow, you know, there's no argument that he shouldn't have a whole lot of say in his future in Chapel Hill. If it's eight and four, it's the best coaching job that I think he's done in his return back to Chapel Hill.

And also keep note of what's happening across the country. The settlement, the house settlements, a real thing. And I think that plays a role in why a lot of schools are out there saying big money programs are saying, yeah, we're going to stay with Billy Napier. We're going to stay with a lot of these guys and kind of see what this looks like before we go paying large buyouts in order to move on to someone else. How about NC State that would owe Dave Doran $15 million if they wanted to fire him?

Exactly. And I'm glad you bring up NC State. So next week, the stage is just about set. A lot still on the table for Mac Brown and what could be his last game at Keenan Stadium. State has won three straight games in the series with Carolina. They need the win to be bowl eligible.

What angle, what side of the ledger has the most interesting storylines to you? To me, it's can Mac Brown win when he has the slightly better team? And when I say the slightly better team, NC State has a true freshman at quarterback. He's been good at times, but he has been rough at times and exploited by opposing defenses at times. Carolina, when Kamin Rucker has been healthy, has actually been a pretty good defense.

Without Kamin Rucker, they were horrendous, including that 70 burger they gave up against James Madison. So I think there's pressure on Mac Brown to win at home. He told us at ACC kickoff way back when that among his highest priorities this year was just to get fans off of his back for, among other things, two things. Two straight years of late season slides and three straight losses to NC State.

He said those are two of the things he hears about the most on the, you know, the rubber chicken circuit and its speaking engagements and other booster events. Well, next week's game encapsulates all of the above, right? Like, depending on what happens against Boston College, it could be eight and four with a chance to finish nine and four. But he could avoid, he could dodge the late season slide that has haunted him for two years in a row. He could break the three game losing streak to the arch rival down the road, and then he could get the Tar Heels into a better bowl game. So, you know, because Dave Doran is protected, I think, by that buyout money, a five and seven record, while you and I both know, would leave the Wolves howling. If Dave Doran both misses a bowl and fails to beat the Tar Heels, man, they're going to be howling. But what the administration sees is going to be different than what the Wolfpack fan base sees. So there's fascinating storylines on both sides of the equation, but I think there's even more layers to it for the Tar Heels because there have been times that Carolina has not had the better team. I think with Omarion Hampton on offense, that running game, plus that improved defense, and being at home, I think the Tar Heels should win this year's game. And we'll see if Mack Brown can pull it off. They should have won the game two years ago with Drake Mayock, quarterback, going up against Ben Finley, but State wins it. They try to plant a flag, but unfortunately, it's a turf field there at Keenan.

They had a difficult time trying to do so. David Glenn, NC Sports Network, thank you so much for the time, my friend. Have a great weekend. Always good to be with the Superdad. W.D., thanks for the lovely Cruz intro, man. Brings a tear to my eye. I appreciate y'all.

Always. It was a nice touch on your part. Lovely Cruz before we get to our version of that, which is stranger, harder to explain. A little bit, you know, rougher around the edges.

Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell. At any rate, the drive brought to you in part by our friends at the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina. It's about that time. It's pretty cold out. Oh, you see the frost on the grass this morning. And it's about that time for a run in the cold that warms the heart. The YMCA of Northwest North Carolina's Mistletoe Run kick off the holiday season by registering for the half marathon 5K or one mile fun run. Whether it's your first time running or running a 5K, that is, I'm sure you've run before, or your experienced half marathon or the Y wants to celebrate with you. Run the race.

Stay for the fun. There'll be music, cheerleaders, mascots, food trucks, bounce houses, and more. Mistletoe Run presented by Bell Davis and Pitt. Proud to be the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina's largest fundraiser and proceeds benefit the children of our community by providing financial assistance and funding for youth programs like swim lessons, summer camp, before and after school care, and much more. To learn more about the Mistletoe Run, YMCA NWNC.org. WD, you've got pregame coverage for high school football that begins in a little over a half hour.

East Versailles facing West Versailles from Kernersville. And then after that, Duke basketball facing Arizona. It's a big night on WSJS. But we're not done with today's show quite yet. We have Ryan Stone Cowboy, we have Glenn Campbell, we have Ticket to the House as well. What do we have in it? It's one of the great games of hide and go seek of all time. That's next on The Drive.