Get ready for a gridiron deep-dive as Miami contributor Justin and I break down the college football over/under landscape, zeroing in on the high-flying Miami Hurricanes and the formidable Florida State Seminoles. Will Cam Ward ignite Miami's offense to sail past that tantalizing nine and a half win line? Join us for an episode packed with bold predictions, as we scrutinize schedules and weigh in on whether Manny Diaz's aggressive play-calling can bolster Duke's defense to make a mark this season.
Strap in as we lay out a play-by-play forecast for both Miami and Florida State's exhilarating seasons. We analyze the potential for an impressive start for the Seminoles and debate if Miami's talent, under Coach Cristobal's guidance, has what it takes to challenge the might of Clemson. With a blend of nostalgia for Miami's past glory days, and a critical eye on the future, this episode is a must-listen for every college football enthusiast eager for an insider's take on the upcoming ACC showdowns.
@TheNFLSN https://twitter.com/TheNFLSN
Get ready for a gridiron deep-dive as Miami contributor Justin and I break down the college football over/under landscape, zeroing in on the high-flying Miami Hurricanes and the formidable Florida State Seminoles. Will Cam Ward ignite Miami's offense to sail past that tantalizing nine and a half win line? Join us for an episode packed with bold predictions, as we scrutinize schedules and weigh in on whether Manny Diaz's aggressive play-calling can bolster Duke's defense to make a mark this season.
Strap in as we lay out a play-by-play forecast for both Miami and Florida State's exhilarating seasons. We analyze the potential for an impressive start for the Seminoles and debate if Miami's talent, under Coach Cristobal's guidance, has what it takes to challenge the might of Clemson. With a blend of nostalgia for Miami's past glory days, and a critical eye on the future, this episode is a must-listen for every college football enthusiast eager for an insider's take on the upcoming ACC showdowns.
@TheNFLSN https://twitter.com/TheNFLSN
Hey, welcome back to the North Florida sports network. Hope you're having a good weekend. President's Day, I try to escape my children for a minute. We're going to talk a little college football over under. We got some wind. Totals were announced. I got Miami contributor Justin on with me.
Speaker 2:We're not even a basketball town anymore. Man, I know.
Speaker 1:As we both try to think about something to talk about. We thought usually it'd be like alright, miami hoops, you know, because Miami's a basketball, but not this year. Both teams are probably on the bubble of the NIT.
Speaker 2:Do we let that poison pill Matthew Cleveland on our team? Dude, he just destroyed us.
Speaker 1:Man we talked about that on the show that recruiting class Florida State has Jaylen Worley. He hasn't really, you know, got the talent. He hasn't really done anything either. Both basketball teams struggling, but we're going to talk about football the over under the wind totals. This reminds me of the first time in a half for FSU and for Miami and for Clemson and the ACC, there are the top of the tier in that conference. What, what's your first glance when I tell you that? What's?
Speaker 2:your first thought? My first thought is in 2005, when Kirk Herb Street picked Kyle Wright to win the Heisman in Miami, to win the national title, and we know how it went.
Speaker 1:Well, this reminds me like it never happened. You know, I was kind of surprised to see Miami thrown in there with Miami, with Florida State and Clemson. I wasn't really surprised to see Florida State and Clemson at nine and a half. You know Clemson's going to be, I think, the favorite to win the conference, based on just the returning roster, but with their former quarterback now in the Knowles and it has to. You have to believe that Miami got jumped up there because of Trayson Ward and he really I wonder what that would have been without him.
Speaker 2:Maybe, possibly two games less.
Speaker 1:The over under. Yeah, Cam Ward, yeah Cam Ward. I keep saying Trayson Ward, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:I was about to say I'm like dude. Did I miss something? No, no, cam.
Speaker 1:Ward the addition of Cam Ward. I think he probably he must have added two games onto that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's. I mean, if we had, if Cristobal would just like not be on the sidelines on game days, then that nine and a half makes a lot of sense with the talent that we've got assembled now. And you've got an electric veteran quarterback behind that offensive line that Cristobal has put together. And you got the freshman kid Fletcher coming back. You got Donald Cheney coming back. In the backfield Restrepo is apparently trying to pull LeBron James and play college ball with his kid because he's coming back somehow and and you got Nicole B George coming back. And then you got, you know, reuben Bain coming back. Obviously, he was just a freshman. Last year we loaded up with some more defensive linemen top, you know, top 10 type D linemen, I mean this is now, I mean, it's not this year.
Speaker 2:If it's not this year, then it's, it's. It's another 20 years of seven and five. Yeah, Florida. State, I mean the talent's all there. It's all there, man, you got the experience, you got the talent. We don't really have the depth yet, like a couple of key injuries could really derail any hopes, but the the, the first string talent is now there. So can Cristobal not screw it up? Is basically what we're looking at. I think nine and a half. I'd have put it at nine, so you're going to play the elder.
Speaker 2:I probably would. I mean, unless we go. It's like we go through the schedule and maybe I could pick out 10 games that we could win, but I, I just got. I got no faith in Cristobal man.
Speaker 1:Right, Um, nine and a half. You know, with Clemson and Florida State and Miami they have the top tier, but do you really think this will be the year you finally see a rematch? I don't know. I mean, we say in that, for since those two got in the conference.
Speaker 1:Since Kyle, right Now you're available to have a rematch with Clemson? If you're Florida State too, I would not be surprised to see that Miami has the pieces this year with. You can see with that. That's what I saw is like wow, they know that they have the players. Now the question mark is the coach.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I mean you win seven games with the dumpster fire quarterback play we had last year.
Speaker 2:Right, you know, you get you bring in this Cam Ward kid man and I actually, for some reason last year I stumbled upon a handful of Washington state games when, you know, like on a college football Saturday when there was nothing going on, right, and and Cam Ward is a fun guy to watch. He, honestly he reminds me a lot of De'Eric King and and the one healthy year we had with De'Eric King we won the Coastal. So I mean, and they're very similar in the style of play. They're both smaller, really fast, strong armed quarterbacks and and, like I said, we've got the the skill position talent around the running backs coming back. I'm super excited to watch Fletcher this year, and that kid jumped off the screen when he got on the field last year.
Speaker 1:I just love hearing the. You know it just. It's never happened, though, but the optimism is still there. They don't go away.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, no, I, I, I, I. I said that you was back, maybe since we went nine and four without golden.
Speaker 1:Well, you had that one season with Mark Rick where you got to 10 wins.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that was a fraudulent season, dude, with Malik Rozier I mean, give me a break that that that season was a bunch of fluky end of the game miracles that got us those 10 wins. I knew that, that that wasn't us being back and I hated Malik Rozier anyways. And then when he came back the next year, you saw exactly why I hated Malik Rozier and that's cause he sucked Like that was a fraudulent year.
Speaker 1:But you know my first I think FSU is going to go over that.
Speaker 2:I, if I were to bet, I would bet FSU goes over that. I mean I looked at their schedule on. I mean maybe three losses on there. There's some tough ones.
Speaker 1:I think there's some. The ACC is got like Georgia Tech's kind of a sneaky game hey you ain't got to tell me, I know yeah. I know, did this you better? You better have your ducks in a row. And that's the first game of the season. They're coming off a really a lot of momentum at the end of the year they played Georgia well. No, they really did.
Speaker 2:Dude, it was really great bowl game too.
Speaker 1:So they're going into next year with a lot of momentum? Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:And I mean, if you, if you look at Georgia Tech's overall season, it really was the not taking a knee game that kind of turned their season around. They started playing really well. They got some confidence because you know of a fluky ending that got them a big win, but it it gave them a lot of confidence. They got Haynes King coming back at quarterback so I mean he's a veteran who was a top level recruit and, like you said, yeah, with the way they ended up the season that could be a nice jump off point for them to be. You know Georgia Tech be like a maybe an eight win school this year.
Speaker 1:Oh man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause you know North Carolina is going to take a step back without Drake, may Right, although I did see. I did see that for all my WWF fans out there, shane McMahon's son is going to be playing ball at North Carolina, oh right.
Speaker 1:Man yeah.
Speaker 2:So there's got to be some wrestling puns that will be dropping come the regular season At least. At least I will be making all kinds of stupid 90s wrestling references. Yeah Well, you know what a what a, it's the.
Speaker 1:It's that time man, it's just the slow time, yeah.
Speaker 2:No, dude, I'm actually speaking of stupid 90s wrestling. I forgot to cancel my peacock account that I had to get for the dolphins. Yeah, and the dude relying on so many people, that's exactly what they were.
Speaker 2:And now they've got me hooked because on the peacock app they have every single WWF and WCW paper View ever made, oh my goodness. So when there's no sports on, I'll put on wrestle mania 15 or whatever, and I'll just say that that'll kill three hours. And what I've enjoyed about it actually is that, um, uh, I remember the storylines, but I don't remember all the outcomes of the matches, so it's almost like watching it, uh, for the first time again. Yeah, and that's what I'm going to be doing yeah.
Speaker 2:And that that that's the life of a sports fan. When football season ends and the UFC keeps canceling fights, dude, I tried to watch a fight this weekend and between the pre-limbs and the early pre-limbs they canceled five fights.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I was like trying to get all fired up for the prelims and I'm like, all right, there's one early prelim fight and then like three fights on the prelims.
Speaker 2:And yeah, yeah, I was like damn it, man, I guess I'll watch SummerSlam from 1997. Right, and then and then for my UFC people out there, volk and Opsky got knocked out, which is hard to believe that that Volk even lost, much less got knocked out in the second the way he did. But he got, he got caught big time on the jaw and you got to think a rematch is going to be coming back with that, because Volk I mean as a first time Volk's lost in like five years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, who's your favorite? As I go back to college football, I'm just trying to think. You know, I think Georgia's got to be the clear favorite, although they're at 10 and a half as well with the with Ohio State. Oregon's at 10 and a half, texas at 10 and a half. Of those four teams, who you taking to go over?
Speaker 2:I'd probably go Texas and Georgia go over, I think I think at most those teams lose one game.
Speaker 1:Coming back to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's the big thing man with, with Carson Beck coming back and you know the NFL squad that Georgia has.
Speaker 1:Ohio State man. You know. You know we haven't had a chance to talk about Chip Kelly taking the OC job from a head coach at UCLA, going to be the offensive coordinator for Ohio State.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the only thing, Is he?
Speaker 1:probably going to get fired or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was just tired. He was just tired of doing it.
Speaker 1:It just seems like one of those kind of moves like the guy from Boston College. Did you know? Instead he just wants to call ball plays. He doesn't want to have to do everything else.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what I actually think is I think this is a bit of a long play for Kelly. I think Kelly wants to be a coordinator in the NFL. I think he took this job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he just wants to call plays.
Speaker 2:He wants to call plays and I think he wants to do it at the NFL level, right.
Speaker 1:He's been in the league, but he was like I don't want to be the head coach, you know.
Speaker 2:I don't want to do it.
Speaker 1:I don't want to respect you, you know, because you never played the game and everyone's going to be like who is this guy? And like eventually, but just call him plays, and I don't want to like recruit. That's exactly what it is.
Speaker 2:And I think this is his way of going to that. Like, if he can get the Ohio State offense to be a top five offense for a couple of years, dude you know, the NFL will come call us All right.
Speaker 1:So you got another. You got Clemson, alabama, ole Miss, nine and a half. Florida State, nine and a half. Lsu nine and a half. Kansas State, nine and a half. Michigan, nine and a half, wow, penn State, nine and a half. Missouri, nine and a half. Utah, nine and a half.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I'm surprised to see Miami in that group.
Speaker 1:I can see that's got to be, you know.
Speaker 2:well, that's just the new nature of the game, like yeah, and it makes sense if you're just analyzing the roster, right, because you can just look at the schedule.
Speaker 1:You can't. You can't put as much as you would. You know previous, as you can't like things can change from year to year. Way quicker you can.
Speaker 2:And I mean think just last year with as bad as Miami was. If Cristobal takes a knee and then we don't fall down in coverage against Louisville where a nine went team Right, exactly, I mean, and how you plug in Cam Ward instead of a true freshman or TVD, and I mean I could see how they get that number but, as a lifelong Miami fan, right.
Speaker 1:It's just there's no, there's no precedent. This is clearly going off something new. They must have a feeling in it. And well, I think, and the people that bet Miami are really, they bet optimistically, obviously, they know that Miami will you know. I just don't see nine and a half being reasonable.
Speaker 2:But let's go through the schedule and see what I come up with, because I nailed it seven and five last year.
Speaker 1:All right, you want to do it, let's do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's do it. Let's see what I come up with.
Speaker 1:All right, let's start it out. Well, you know, it starts against the Gators.
Speaker 2:That's a win, no matter, huge game.
Speaker 1:So then you got FAMU. That's a win. To then Ball State these are the three and oh, then you're at USF. That could be Watch out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll give it. I'll give us a win at this point.
Speaker 1:Florida game. Really you can't. It's going to be at Florida.
Speaker 2:It's going to be so much fun.
Speaker 1:It is. I'm so glad that that's happening finally. But if that, if you can get that win, that's one, two, three. If you win against Ball State, you're starting the year out for no.
Speaker 2:I saw this movie last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right. Then you got to go in against Virginia Tech. Who watch out there? That's your home opener. Acc home opener.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd have to look. I mean just off of last year. I'd say we beat Votek.
Speaker 1:All right, you're five and oh, you're going to cow trip out West, hmm god the cow sucks. October 5th. Yep, I'll put us at 6 and oh all, right, then there's a bye week in your headed to Louisville. Tough one here. This one's gonna be Louisville is that team they've? They've known and they've only gotten better.
Speaker 2:And that I don't know if they still call it Papa John Stadium out there in Louisville. But they actually, when they're good, they've got a hell of a home here.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I'm putting you. So what do you think there I'd live?
Speaker 2:that that's a loss.
Speaker 1:All right. Well then you have Then, following week, got your biggest games of the year. You got at Louisville, then you're at home to Florida State.
Speaker 2:I Got, I can't pick us to be Florida State, so you coming back to back losses.
Speaker 1:There you're six and two and then you're going to play former Miami coach Manny Diaz is coming back to Hard Rock To play his former team. That's gonna be a fun matchup.
Speaker 2:I think Duke beats us. Oh my god, three losses in a row well, they brought in the quarterback from Texas and you got Manny Diaz's defense with the talent that they already had there, all right, well then you.
Speaker 1:Then you got to go to Atlanta and played at at the rambling wreck.
Speaker 2:Alright, we got a revenge game. We get a revenge game, we beat Georgia.
Speaker 1:They come back. There's seven and three. Then they get way for us at home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I gotta think that's a win.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's eight and three. Syracuse on the road, watch out for them. So you got him at nine and three.
Speaker 2:Yeah, nine and three under.
Speaker 1:All right, that's three straight losses that that's reminds me of, but that if you go nine and three with that kind of depends on how the losses are. Always, you know you don't want to get blown out but they, if they're competitive games the Duke game and that would be a huge loss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm telling you I see it coming, dude that Manny Diaz is going to be pissed off. That's a Super Bowl right there one yeah, that's Manny Diaz is Super Bowl. He's got that. That freak athlete quarterback from Texas I can't remember his name, the big giant black kid that can run Um, what's his name? Ah, whatever, but they got that guy coming in a quarterback. They brought in what's his name?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, he's got a hell of a staff there. Duke's already got a solid roster that was led by the defense and you know Manny's gonna be calling defensive plays, so he's gonna be blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz. And I mean I had there hasn't been a season in like the past 20 years that the Keynes haven't lost like three or four in a row at Some point during the season.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's do. We did Miami's. Let's do floor states real quick. We're starting in Ireland against Georgia Tech. This one scares me, but I'm not going to put him down for a loss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't put him down for a loss.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's a squeaker, though, I think you yeah, it's the first game with DJ.
Speaker 2:You You're going to have to adjust the offense a little bit from what they ran last year and, like we were saying, Georgia Tech's you know, an up and coming little squad. I think that game is going to be great, but I think Florida State wins a close one. I think it's going to be a fun game.
Speaker 1:Yep. And then the next one scared me before what happened to the coach. Jeff Hathley is a good defensive coach. You saw how they played Florida State last year. They were the most competitive against that offense of anybody a full strength. Jordan Travis had everybody and they almost lost that game. And they had they did have Tray Sean Ward, but now you see he's gone Bill O'Brien now the head coach, so this was the home opener here. I think Florida State gets the win. No, no issues there. And then we have Norvel's former team, Memphis, which is going to be one of those kind of tricky games, you don't? I think they get the win there. Then they're playing the cow at home. I think they get the win there. So that's one, two, three, four and oh, I have them. And then. And then I think this is a tricky, sleepy, tough game. Smu, Yep, Add SMU.
Speaker 2:It's going to be there.
Speaker 1:It's going to be their ACC home opener. It's going to be everybody's coming. You had red Lashley, former coach.
Speaker 2:Yep, that's why I was just about to say my boy red Lashley man. I mean they'll be able to put some points on the board.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I that that. That scares me. I'm going to go, I'm going to go win here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't pick a loss. I can't pick a loss on that one, but I think that's another one, that that you have. Nobody looks at it and says like, oh no, we got to go play the ponies of.
Speaker 1:SMU. Well, no, that's right there. Yeah, that's going to be tough. And then you have the. Then you have Clemson coming into, bobby Bowdenfield DJ against his old team. That's going to be just. It's become the marquee matchup in the conference the two heavyweights, only two teams to have championships in the last Years or even come close.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the only ones, even close.
Speaker 1:Clemson is going to be on a revenge tour this year. That's going to be a tough game. I think DJ you plays one of his better games. I think they beat Clemson about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you, you know I haven't been big on Clemson for the past two years. I, I, I. At this point where we're at before spring ball, I, I pick Florida state and I want you to all right.
Speaker 1:Then we got. Then they're going to play at Duke against Manny Diaz. The Duke's never beaten Florida State. I'm not going to pick them to do it, so that'll be another tough one, that's yeah, I'm telling you, I'll be tough, that'll be tough.
Speaker 2:Duke. I think Duke's going to be a really good team this year. Well you know really good for Duke.
Speaker 1:Man, I, I am, and then. And then there's Miami, and then that's a big one. I know you pick Florida State. I can sense you're just trying to get some sort of luck.
Speaker 2:Um, and I can't, I, I can't pick Miami in a big game last year.
Speaker 1:Uh, showed me something Miami in the line of scrimmage they played, it was, it was well, it was close game. It was not like it had been previous years, when on, when you saw Manny Diaz blow out Mike Norvell and then you saw Mike Norvell go down a couple of years ago and blow Miami out, but last year was more of an even battle.
Speaker 1:I think this year it's going to be a classic. I I don't know who's going to win this game. I'm going to pick Florida State, but I would not be shocked. I think this one's going to be a great game. I think this one's going to be one of the classic games. You have two experienced quarterbacks, both transfers, both trying to put their one year mark on this rivalry, on their legacies, and it's pretty much going to come down to this game.
Speaker 2:Both talented rosters to both quarterbacks are surrounded with talent.
Speaker 1:I can't wait for it. I can't wait, Um, but then there's a. And then you got North Carolina coming to Bobby Bowden field. I'm going to give, uh, I'm going to give FSU the win there, and then add Notre Dame. That's going to be tough. Yeah, I would, I would. I got FSU coming up short there with their first loss.
Speaker 1:That's what I was going to say with their first loss, the right, but you know, this year you don't Riley Leonard there, you know, with the quarterback that really I think they upgraded that position. I think Notre Dame.
Speaker 2:I'm a big Riley Leonard fan. Dude, riley Leonard doesn't get hurt.
Speaker 1:Uh and then uh. So then it's Charleston Southern I got a win there and then it's Florida at home, which is always going to be a tough one. I still got Florida state with the win.
Speaker 2:That's one loss. I think Florida wins four games this year.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, oh my God, we can do that one later. That'll just be fun, that's. That is a murder's row If he. I will say this if he if he goes, if he makes a bowl to Shea, he might get coach of the year because you go seven and five, he goes seven and five.
Speaker 2:There's no way he's going to last.
Speaker 1:He's going to get fired. They've already I bet they got it already planned out.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you got to think so when, as soon as they saw that schedule dude with with what they've done recently, man Florida's yeah, they got tons of money.
Speaker 1:They're not going to sit back and let this happen.
Speaker 2:No, they're four and eight, they're five, dan.
Speaker 1:Mullen, which which I mean he. When you think back on it it's like wow, he was. He didn't do that bad at all.
Speaker 2:He's been their most successful coach, arguably since uh, since Meyer.
Speaker 1:Right Exit. Oh no, it's unquestionably Well. All right yeah.
Speaker 2:I know I can't wait for the FSU Miami game this year. If the schedule plays out the way that we just picked it, you're going to have a top five FSU with top 15 Miami, and then you'll, and the Hard Rock Stadium will be out of control.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, it will be, I'm going to get down to that one.
Speaker 2:We should do rank difficulty We'll do.
Speaker 1:we'll go to the schedule again as we move on and we'll rank games that you're most afraid of. You know, like I said, that at SMU game that's going to be a scary one. Georgia Tech first game of the year, that's going to be a scary one, you know, because they have their quarterback coming back. You're breaking in a lot of new guys at new positions.
Speaker 2:You're playing in.
Speaker 1:Ireland Yep, that's going to be a scary game. Miami at Miami they're I mean hunger there. Clemson I think it's a tough schedule for state Miami. On the other hand, I think this is a schedule that they you have that stretch there, but if they can start that, that Florida games really huge.
Speaker 2:I mean it really is. Yeah, I would actually teams, but it's bigger for Miami, because I mean, that's going to be the difference between four and five wins for the Gators and that's the difference between. You know my my fire.
Speaker 1:They could fire, they might fire the coach. Whoever loses that game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I mean there's a strong case to be made for that man, because I mean, if Miami rolls in there and loses to the Gators who haven't had a winning season in three years, man, that's inexcusable.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Man, I can't. I mean, I know the swap is tough, but come on, man, you know.
Speaker 1:I can't wait for that one. I was.
Speaker 2:I was looking at tickets for it, dude, and already right now there it's like 250 just to walk in the door, geez, yeah. So I guess we'll have to get a round up. Some Tallahassee Gator fans have them over to the house drink some beer, watch that game, have a little watch party with some Gator fans and me, and you could be on the same side for once.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's see. You're right, I won't be. I just it's going to be fun to finally see those two matchup again. We're, we got basketball. I guess we'll see how it plays out. We'll catch you back up with that when we talk again. But thanks for doing this, Justin, and we'll talk to you again next time right here on the North Florida Sports Network.