August 1, 2025 • 9 mins
College football content creator, Ty Hildenbrandt joins the show to preview the upcoming season, as he talks about expectations for both power conference schools from the Palmetto State, he outlines his expectations for Bill Belichick at North Carolina & more
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We got to continue to preview the season, get thoughts
from other folks that know the game and love the
game out there. And our next guest is a part
of the Solid Verbal podcast. Those guys do a great job.
Ty Hildenbrandt joins us here on the Mack and Bone
Show as we count down the days. Four weeks right
(00:22):
now to week one, only three to week zero? Ty,
what's going on? Man? I assume you are ready for
football season. I am tingling as you are saying this,
you're doing this lead in I am tingling. Yes, a
matter of weeks. It's finally about to be here. I'm excited, guys,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hey man, we like our next topic, what gives you
the football tingles? We're we're going to write that down.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I like that we were talking earlier about some of
these big Week one matchups, specifically for the ACC. It's
no secret anybody tie the ACC is fighting for respect
and they got to actually win some of these games
to start to get it. The big one involving an
ACC team is that Clemson LSU game. Have you how
(01:05):
much have you thought about that Week one matchup? Do you, like,
have a leen already?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
A month out.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What are you thinking.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I'm all in on Clemson this year, and you know so,
probably to my detriment just because it's I think blinded
me a little bit from other things maybe that are
going on at a conference. But look, I mean everyone's
going to be focused on that game to your point, right,
Everyone's going to be focused on that big one. LSU
(01:31):
coming to town. Obviously, there's real national significance there in
terms of the playoffs. It'll be an early barometer for
where both conferences are at add or near the top.
So I think that will be certainly very very important.
But to the broader point, yeah, the ACC if it
wants to, I guess pick up where it left off
last year where I got two playoff teams in needs
(01:53):
to show out in week one and there's gonna be
some opportunities to do that. I mean, they're not all
as high profile as LSU at Clemson. I think that
one will get most of the attention, but even games
like Syracuse against Tennessee, Like can Syracuse hold its own
against Tennessee that might have some bearing on how people
feel about the conference, at least at the start of September.
(02:13):
Alabama coming to town against Florida State. Florida State trying
to get up off the bat from last season, needs
to kind of show itself a worthy competitor for Alabama.
So there's gonna be plenty of opportunities here beyond that
one at the very top. But yeah, I'm Clemson's like
my preseason number one team. I'm going all in on Clemson.
I've got them winning that one in Week one against
(02:34):
LSU at home.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So when you say you're all in you have them
number one. Does that mean that that Clemson is your
national title pick this year?
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I haven't gotten that far quite yet in my predictions.
I'm still working my way through the SEC. But let's
put it this way, I'd be very surprised if Clemson
weren't the ACC title winner, and if they weren't going
into the playoff with a wolehead of steam. I mean,
they've got, I think, a schedule that works to their favor.
They've probably got a roster that stuff that's the most
returning production of anybody in the country. There's a lot
(03:07):
of reason to feel really good about the Tigers. So
they will absolutely be in that conversation and in that
field of twelve, I need to think a little bit
more deeply about how far I have them going.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Now, you guys did a great tiers list on the
Solid Verbal. You did an hour long podcast previewing the
ACC season. I believe it was you tie that had
a team as the second best team in the conference.
I don't think anybody else has. Do you want to
explain who that is in your reasoning behind your second
best team?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
I can, And let me just preface it by saying,
anytime you kind of go out in a limb and
don't realize you're going out in a limb until you
look at what everyone else has projected, Yeah, it's not
a great feeling to be honest with you. But I'm
on Pitt. I'm on Pitt. I like Pitt. This year,
Pitt misses both Clemson and SMU on their schedule. They
get Louisville in Miami at home, and I think I
(04:02):
am just sort of enchanted by the duo of Eli
Holstein and a really solid running game. Look, it's a
team that I think last season specifically has a lot
it needs to clean up. For sure. It is not
by any means a finished product. But I think what
we saw from Holstein once he started to come into
(04:24):
his own left me with optimism that the offense is
going to get better this season if they can figure
out a way to get a little bit of a
pass rush, if they can just make marginal improvements across
the board. I think it's a really interesting case in
this year's ACC season. So yeah, it wasn't so much
a projection to just be different. I genuinely feel like
(04:46):
Pitt is going to have a good season and I'm
excited to see what they've got.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
All right, let's talk because you guys did this whole
episode on you know ACC and preview in the ACC
Solidverbal podcast. Everybody look for it, and let's talk about
where you're at on Bill Belichi, the Bill Belichick experience
at UNC once they actually get on the field and
get out of the headlines, what do you expect from
(05:11):
the tar heels. Well, it's hard to say.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I mean, nobody seems to have a clue as to
what any of this is going to look like. And
that doesn't mean, you know, whether you're talking about a
product in the field or there nothing both behind the scenes.
You know, we've interviewed North Carolina people on our show
and everybody just sort of shrugs, right. So, even though
there is a ton new on defense, I'd be stunned
(05:35):
if Bill Belichick didn't find some way to improve that
side of the ball, especially given this schedule. This is
a team that gave up a ton of big plays
last season, especially through the air, and so I think
he will find some ways to clean that up. I
also like Geo Lopez, who they bring over from South Alabama,
so I think there are some concepts that they can
mix in that will make them look a little bit
(05:56):
different on offense. I wouldn't want to touch the win
total with like a ten foot poll. I think it's
at seven and a half at least the last time
I checked, because I think first and foremost, you've got
somebody like a Bill Belichick who's got so much knowledge
about the game. It would be a very big surprise
to me if you just came in there and suddenly
the whole thing bottoms out and it's a full on disaster.
(06:18):
Even though the pr campaign in the offseason has sort
of been out, I still expect this is going to
be a pretty good team with a good schedule. That
might take a little bit of time with forty one
or fifty one transfers in or fifty one out forty
one in. Excuse me to kind of get their guys
and figure out who their playmakers are. But I think
they're set up well enough that this is potentially, you know,
(06:42):
an eight and four of all things go well, a
nine and three kind of team.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Hi, what's your expectation for South Carolina and the game
Cocks this year? Of all the many teams we talk about,
it feels like they have the widest range in people's opinion.
Some have them, you know, they could be a top
forty forty five team. Some think they might be a
playoff team. What's the tihode brand assessment of what we
might see from the game Cocks this year?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I mean South Carolina is an interesting case, right because
you've got big names like Lenoras Sellers who people are
gonna know come draft time, and Dylan Stewart another one
who might be the best pass rusher in the country.
And a guy like a Nick Harbor who's just a
freak athlete. I think those three guys distract from the
fact that this team just lost an absolute ton on
defense last year, and I think they're gonna be better
(07:29):
on offense, They're probably gonna be worse on defense. If
a brutal schedule with six of their last seven potentially
against top fifteen caliber teams, I've got them pretty far down.
I'm looking at my list here, maybe like fifth, sixth,
seventh from the bottom in the SEC. I think, like
most South Carolina teams under Shane Beemer, they will be plucky.
(07:50):
They are always the kind of team that can knock
you off if you don't get their full attention. But
I think the underlying thing with South Carolina is that
they're very on that top line with some of the
athletes that they have, but the depth isn't there otherwise.
So I'm not quite as bullish on South Carolina as
I expected to be before I started doing all my research.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So do you have the ACC with multiple playoff teams? Again?
How many playoff teams would you give the ACC if
you had to do a preseason You know, guess I.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Was thinking about this the other day. I've got them
with one right now, I've got them with one as Clemson.
I think the way that it broke out for me,
I have or I'm going to have four in the SEC.
Three in the Big ten, probably two in the Big twelve,
one in the ACC Notre Dame, and then probably Boise State,
(08:43):
is what I'm thinking right now. I'm not even sure
if that adds up to twelve. It's kind of early.
But generally, give me a little bit of grace here, fellas.
But otherwise, yeah, I generally that's kind of how I'm
thinking about the playoff field.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, if you want us to add one more team
for you, we can always work that out for it.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Throwing, I think you're only a fifteen. Let's put an
ACC team in there, all right?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Okay, great, Greg Sanky just sent a texting you add
more to me at twelve this year.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I've already had the sixteen. No, I think you're only
at eleven, is what I meant to say. That that
backfired on me at Backfie.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Look, they've got till December first to come up with
a new playoffs system for next year, so we don't
want to give them any ideas.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yeah, man, true, How can we find the solid verbal
in your content and all the great work you guys
are doing.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, hey, thanks for the invite. You can find me
at solid verbal dot com. Just google the solid Verbal
College Football podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can
find us. We call our community the for bowler Hoods,
so all are welcome.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
To join us. That's awesome, man, Well thanks for joining us.
I'm glad I could make you tingle this morning. My man,
college football doing it, keep healing it, keep tingling, and
keep up the good work. We appreciate you all right, guys,
have going
We got to continue to preview the season, get thoughts
from other folks that know the game and love the
game out there. And our next guest is a part
of the Solid Verbal podcast. Those guys do a great job.
Ty Hildenbrandt joins us here on the Mack and Bone
Show as we count down the days. Four weeks right
(00:22):
now to week one, only three to week zero? Ty,
what's going on? Man? I assume you are ready for
football season. I am tingling as you are saying this,
you're doing this lead in I am tingling. Yes, a
matter of weeks. It's finally about to be here. I'm excited, guys,
thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hey man, we like our next topic, what gives you
the football tingles? We're we're going to write that down.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I like that we were talking earlier about some of
these big Week one matchups, specifically for the ACC. It's
no secret anybody tie the ACC is fighting for respect
and they got to actually win some of these games
to start to get it. The big one involving an
ACC team is that Clemson LSU game. Have you how
(01:05):
much have you thought about that Week one matchup? Do you, like,
have a leen already?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
A month out.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
What are you thinking.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I'm all in on Clemson this year, and you know so,
probably to my detriment just because it's I think blinded
me a little bit from other things maybe that are
going on at a conference. But look, I mean everyone's
going to be focused on that game to your point, right,
Everyone's going to be focused on that big one. LSU
(01:31):
coming to town. Obviously, there's real national significance there in
terms of the playoffs. It'll be an early barometer for
where both conferences are at add or near the top.
So I think that will be certainly very very important.
But to the broader point, yeah, the ACC if it
wants to, I guess pick up where it left off
last year where I got two playoff teams in needs
(01:53):
to show out in week one and there's gonna be
some opportunities to do that. I mean, they're not all
as high profile as LSU at Clemson. I think that
one will get most of the attention, but even games
like Syracuse against Tennessee, Like can Syracuse hold its own
against Tennessee that might have some bearing on how people
feel about the conference, at least at the start of September.
(02:13):
Alabama coming to town against Florida State. Florida State trying
to get up off the bat from last season, needs
to kind of show itself a worthy competitor for Alabama.
So there's gonna be plenty of opportunities here beyond that
one at the very top. But yeah, I'm Clemson's like
my preseason number one team. I'm going all in on Clemson.
I've got them winning that one in Week one against
(02:34):
LSU at home.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So when you say you're all in you have them
number one. Does that mean that that Clemson is your
national title pick this year?
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
I haven't gotten that far quite yet in my predictions.
I'm still working my way through the SEC. But let's
put it this way, I'd be very surprised if Clemson
weren't the ACC title winner, and if they weren't going
into the playoff with a wolehead of steam. I mean,
they've got, I think, a schedule that works to their favor.
They've probably got a roster that stuff that's the most
returning production of anybody in the country. There's a lot
(03:07):
of reason to feel really good about the Tigers. So
they will absolutely be in that conversation and in that
field of twelve, I need to think a little bit
more deeply about how far I have them going.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Now, you guys did a great tiers list on the
Solid Verbal. You did an hour long podcast previewing the
ACC season. I believe it was you tie that had
a team as the second best team in the conference.
I don't think anybody else has. Do you want to
explain who that is in your reasoning behind your second
best team?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
I can, And let me just preface it by saying,
anytime you kind of go out in a limb and
don't realize you're going out in a limb until you
look at what everyone else has projected, Yeah, it's not
a great feeling to be honest with you. But I'm
on Pitt. I'm on Pitt. I like Pitt. This year,
Pitt misses both Clemson and SMU on their schedule. They
get Louisville in Miami at home, and I think I
(04:02):
am just sort of enchanted by the duo of Eli
Holstein and a really solid running game. Look, it's a
team that I think last season specifically has a lot
it needs to clean up. For sure. It is not
by any means a finished product. But I think what
we saw from Holstein once he started to come into
(04:24):
his own left me with optimism that the offense is
going to get better this season if they can figure
out a way to get a little bit of a
pass rush, if they can just make marginal improvements across
the board. I think it's a really interesting case in
this year's ACC season. So yeah, it wasn't so much
a projection to just be different. I genuinely feel like
(04:46):
Pitt is going to have a good season and I'm
excited to see what they've got.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
All right, let's talk because you guys did this whole
episode on you know ACC and preview in the ACC
Solidverbal podcast. Everybody look for it, and let's talk about
where you're at on Bill Belichi, the Bill Belichick experience
at UNC once they actually get on the field and
get out of the headlines, what do you expect from
(05:11):
the tar heels. Well, it's hard to say.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I mean, nobody seems to have a clue as to
what any of this is going to look like. And
that doesn't mean, you know, whether you're talking about a
product in the field or there nothing both behind the scenes.
You know, we've interviewed North Carolina people on our show
and everybody just sort of shrugs, right. So, even though
there is a ton new on defense, I'd be stunned
(05:35):
if Bill Belichick didn't find some way to improve that
side of the ball, especially given this schedule. This is
a team that gave up a ton of big plays
last season, especially through the air, and so I think
he will find some ways to clean that up. I
also like Geo Lopez, who they bring over from South Alabama,
so I think there are some concepts that they can
mix in that will make them look a little bit
(05:56):
different on offense. I wouldn't want to touch the win
total with like a ten foot poll. I think it's
at seven and a half at least the last time
I checked, because I think first and foremost, you've got
somebody like a Bill Belichick who's got so much knowledge
about the game. It would be a very big surprise
to me if you just came in there and suddenly
the whole thing bottoms out and it's a full on disaster.
(06:18):
Even though the pr campaign in the offseason has sort
of been out, I still expect this is going to
be a pretty good team with a good schedule. That
might take a little bit of time with forty one
or fifty one transfers in or fifty one out forty
one in. Excuse me to kind of get their guys
and figure out who their playmakers are. But I think
they're set up well enough that this is potentially, you know,
(06:42):
an eight and four of all things go well, a
nine and three kind of team.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Hi, what's your expectation for South Carolina and the game
Cocks this year? Of all the many teams we talk about,
it feels like they have the widest range in people's opinion.
Some have them, you know, they could be a top
forty forty five team. Some think they might be a
playoff team. What's the tihode brand assessment of what we
might see from the game Cocks this year?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I mean South Carolina is an interesting case, right because
you've got big names like Lenoras Sellers who people are
gonna know come draft time, and Dylan Stewart another one
who might be the best pass rusher in the country.
And a guy like a Nick Harbor who's just a
freak athlete. I think those three guys distract from the
fact that this team just lost an absolute ton on
defense last year, and I think they're gonna be better
(07:29):
on offense, They're probably gonna be worse on defense. If
a brutal schedule with six of their last seven potentially
against top fifteen caliber teams, I've got them pretty far down.
I'm looking at my list here, maybe like fifth, sixth,
seventh from the bottom in the SEC. I think, like
most South Carolina teams under Shane Beemer, they will be plucky.
(07:50):
They are always the kind of team that can knock
you off if you don't get their full attention. But
I think the underlying thing with South Carolina is that
they're very on that top line with some of the
athletes that they have, but the depth isn't there otherwise.
So I'm not quite as bullish on South Carolina as
I expected to be before I started doing all my research.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So do you have the ACC with multiple playoff teams? Again?
How many playoff teams would you give the ACC if
you had to do a preseason You know, guess I.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Was thinking about this the other day. I've got them
with one right now, I've got them with one as Clemson.
I think the way that it broke out for me,
I have or I'm going to have four in the SEC.
Three in the Big ten, probably two in the Big twelve,
one in the ACC Notre Dame, and then probably Boise State,
(08:43):
is what I'm thinking right now. I'm not even sure
if that adds up to twelve. It's kind of early.
But generally, give me a little bit of grace here, fellas.
But otherwise, yeah, I generally that's kind of how I'm
thinking about the playoff field.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well, if you want us to add one more team
for you, we can always work that out for it.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Throwing, I think you're only a fifteen. Let's put an
ACC team in there, all right?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Okay, great, Greg Sanky just sent a texting you add
more to me at twelve this year.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I've already had the sixteen. No, I think you're only
at eleven, is what I meant to say. That that
backfired on me at Backfie.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Look, they've got till December first to come up with
a new playoffs system for next year, so we don't
want to give them any ideas.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yeah, man, true, How can we find the solid verbal
in your content and all the great work you guys
are doing.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yeah, hey, thanks for the invite. You can find me
at solid verbal dot com. Just google the solid Verbal
College Football podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can
find us. We call our community the for bowler Hoods,
so all are welcome.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
To join us. That's awesome, man, Well thanks for joining us.
I'm glad I could make you tingle this morning. My man,
college football doing it, keep healing it, keep tingling, and
keep up the good work. We appreciate you all right, guys,
have going
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