Miami's resurgence huge for ACC's reputation
Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry explain why the ACC needs its big football brands like Miami to sustain elite success.
Video Transcript
We have to start with Miami.
Mm-hmm.
We were just talking about them.
They reached the national championship game.
No longer a question of, you know, like, "Hey, is Miami back?
Can they be back?"
They are back.
Mm-hmm.
We expect them to be elite again.
We They're the heavy favorites to win the ACC, and again, top 10 team to start the year.
People are expecting them to be back in the college football playoff.
What does that mean for the landscape of college football, that we're in this place?
I mean, I, I think it's huge for the ACC.
Yeah.
Huge.
Like, that's why you have these big football brands.
They have not won the ACC since joining the conference in '04, which is crazy, but it feels like this is gonna be the year.
The roster is loaded, they've re- they've, they've back-filled positions where they've lost talent, but it feels like they're one of the teams where college football is better when Miami is relevant.
Yeah, it's an interesting thing because I feel like I That's a statement I default to, but then there's also this idea of, like, well, that's just me being nostalgic about, like, you know- Maybe.
But, like, wasn't it cool- Is, is- that at the national championship game, Michael Urban and all these guys- Oh, y- all right.
Now- were just, like, look- You're gonna, you're gonna bring up my favorite, and it'll be like- Oh, yeah.
You fan- was it cool?
You fangirl a little bit.
But, like, I mean, Indiana's at the top of the mountain right now.
Is college football any worse?
I think it's fun when you tie in the nostalgia.
I So- And you bring back those teams- I guess that's my point, like- and- I think the nostalgia play is huge, but I just, like, I need s- I need somebodies in the ACC to be good.
Agree.
And it doesn't have to be Miami.
I, I think, though, part of what I think college football is healthiest, I do think you have some regional balance.
Sure.
Which is what hurts with losing the Pac-12 is now some of those teams are in other conferences and whatnot.
But I do think, you know, to, like, to activate South Florida and, like, for Miami to be a thing, like, it's cool.
It's a big deal.
It is.
It's definitely cool.
And, it, it, it is something culturally that matters.
So I think that's big, but I also think in general, and I talked to Jim Phillips, ACC commissioner, about this, the people that invest in football need to be good in football.
Need to be good.
Like, football is driving so many decisions, and the ACC's always been in this weird push/pull where, like, basketball history, and, like so many people who are kinda basketball purists versus, like, football is deciding where college sports is moving.
Right.
And so it is a big deal to have one of your football powers actually be a football power, especially with Clemson falling off- Mm-hmm and we'll get to them in a second.
But obviously, to your point, you need multiple teams.
Yes.
You need multiple teams in the playoff, and you need just kind of like that narrative to shift, that it's not a one-bid conference.
Right.
I'm with you on that.
And I do, to your point, like, I'm playing devil's advocate, but, like, I do think college football is, is It feels more like college football when you have Miami in the mix, and I think that people appreciate that who view the sport.
But, like, if, if Pitt was around, for example, and they were the, the top of the conference, like, as long as somebody's there that can make a legit run at a title, like, that's what, that's what the ACC needs more than anything.
Like, it should be your brand, you want it to be your brand, but somebody's gotta be there.
It's actually, the best comp is Clemson for this, where Clemson was head and shoulders above everyone else.
They were recruiting at a different level and, you know, we can all think about some of those great quarterbacks and receivers and those teams.
It didn't matter that the rest of the league wasn't close, because they could just get through the ACC schedule and then go play LSU, Alabama- Right whoever, Ohio C, in the CFP, and they were contending for national championships.
And this is, like, when I think about where the ACC and the Big 12 are.
And again, Texas Tech is trying to change this, but the ACC should have that top, those top-end teams.
Mm-hmm.
It should have national title contenders, whereas the Big 12's trying to manufacture it, right?
Like, those teams are closer to each other, but the ACC has the brands and the investment- Yes and it should be able to do that.
Florida State should be there.
Wow.
Clemson should be there.
Agree.
SMU is spending like they want to be there.
Want, they wanna be there, yes.
So they're Like, they're there and those brands are in this conference.
You just need multiple- Yes to do it at the same time.
Which- Has been a problem and it might be a lot to ask for as of right now, because everything's so crazy, but that's what they need.
Yes.
Yes.
So Miami, though, should be good.
They should be.
I mean, I think the quarterback, Darren Mensah- Mm-hmm coming over from Duke, I think he's better, should be better than Carson Beck was.
Well, now, I don't know.
I watched Carson Beck in the Hall of Fame Game, and I mean, he might, I mean, he might be in Canton one day the way he was spinning the rock.
Who knows?
Anyway.
I think- Yes, Mensah should be better- Yeah than Carson Beck was last year.
But, and, and listen, Beck was good enough to get them the national championship game.
Yes, he was.
But there were times where you just could feel that he didn't trust himself with the deep ball.
They didn't trust him to call certain things.
No.
And you know, Mark Fletcher was huge to help get them to the title game as well.
Mark Fletcher is one of the best players in college football that we don't talk about nearly enough.
I agree.
I agree.
He is phenomenal, and runs behind a line, which- That should be really good again because they've got an offensive line guy as their head coach.
I'm, I'm here for all of it.
Yes.
I, I, I am too.
Again, you're replacing, like, multiple f- first round NFL talents on offensive and defensive lines, but this is a coach that built this roster and builds his teams from the lines of scrimmage out.
Yes.
And I trust that it will work.
I'm with you totally.
Mark Fletcher.
The, the skill position players on Miami are awesome.
Yeah.
We haven't even talked about Malachi Thornton yet.
And- Well, he's pretty good and yeah, we get two more years of him in college.
He is also someone who I think can get in the Heisman Trophy race.
He should be.
If he, if they target him- Yes and, like, other teams don't shut him down, he's the household name.
He's the Jeremiah Smith that you need to be to have a shot to do it as a receiver.
And he's just a walking highlight reel.
So, so they have the dudes.
Mm-hmm.
They're going to reload the positions that we trust Mario Cristobal to do it.
And I think he shed his big game, whatever people wanna say, that he couldn't coach or manage the, the game- So I think- Right that's the biggest thing that's holding the public back from being all in on Miami.
But, but the way that they won the games to get to the title game, like the way that they beat Texas A&M- I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong.
What I'm saying is I think people still haven't been able to, to jump that hurdle yet.
Th- those were some massive- I'm with you games and, and positioning and the clock management.
Like all those things- No doubt.
No doubt were important.
And it, you know, they had a shot in the national championship game.
They sure did.
It was just an interception by Beck.
Well.
Which he does do sometimes.
Every once in a while.
But so my point is, I'm, I get it.
I get why we're saying Miami and who- Right in the ACC.
They're the right team to be going all in behind, and I do expect them to win the ACC for the first time since 2004.
