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December 13, 2024 84 mins
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, at age 72, will bring his six Super Bowl rings to Chapel Hill as the new head coach at North Carolina, but will it work out? 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Each time or Clipson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan. Finally,

(00:44):
Clemson Sports Talk has come back to drive time. Hell everybody,
Lawton Swan back in the saddle once again. It is
the show that shakes the south Land. Clemson Sports talf
for you each and every afternoon as you make your
way around the great state of South Carolina and beyond,
listening to us on incredible radio stations like Fox Sports

(01:06):
Radio fourteen hundred in the Midlands, and of course brought
you in part by Mett's Plumbing seven three to two.
Drip Drip Drip. You know the jingle, all right, The
big news out of the world of college football Bill Belichick. Boy,
I didn't think I'd be talking about him a whole
lot here on the program, not to mention the fact

(01:29):
I can imagine an opportunity to maybe sit down with
Bill Belichick at the ACC kickoff this year, as he
has been named North Carolina's new head coach. Honestly, did
not have this on the Bengo card. I don't think

(01:50):
anybody had this on the Bingo card. Like if Bill
Belichick was gonna be back in coaching, I think most
people presume it would be at the NFL level, and
for Belichick, who is seventy two years old, to be

(02:10):
taking over this Star Heell program from a slightly slightly
older Mac Brown is beyond bizarre. Now there are a
lot of different angles with this. The college football game,
the collegiate game that you and I have known and

(02:32):
watched for years, has undoubtedly shifted more towards a NFL model.
And it's one of the things that I think a
lot of people who grew up on college football loved
about it. Were the players that were in college. They

(02:57):
were your classmates, they lived in your dorm, they played
basketball at the gym.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Like it.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
There was a continuity. As I joked, we were all
poor and eight Papa John's pizza. That was just the
way of the world. And now it's so different because
of how much these players are being paid and the
fact that the game that was renowned as kind of
being an amateur sport is no longer that. And Belichick

(03:30):
is widely considered the greatest head coach of all time
in the NFL, winning six Super Bowls. Now, other people
will say, pump the brakes on that he had the
all time greatest quarterback in Tom Brady, and you see

(03:51):
what happened when Brady left, and that may be true.
It's kind of a Yin and the Yang kind of deal, right,
you can't really have one without the other. But apparently
Bill Belichick's father was an assistant coach at one point
at North Carolina, which is a part of the reason

(04:12):
that he is interested, I guess, in this program of
the other. When you hear him or when you hear
his interview that he did on the Pat McAfee show,
sounds like there's a belief that he can create sort
of a feeder team to the NFL in the hopes

(04:35):
that that will attract some of the best players, maybe
from the high school level and also from the collegiate
ranks through the portal. So North Carolina tar Heel Nation
a basketball school. Now, apparently i've seen a major football

(05:03):
school button in bringing in a big name, Bill Belichick.
One of the things that I will say about this
that is so unique. I do wonder if Belichick will
stick around all that long. His son Steve is rumored

(05:26):
to be a part of this deal and possibly gonna
be named a coach in waiting. I have not seen
any more on that lately. I've been trying to keep
up with it as this news continues to break. But
North Carolina has their guy and it will be none

(05:48):
other than Bill Belichick. Crazy stuff. Now, will it work?
I think that's the great question he's got. I think
what zero college coaching experience when you look at his history.
He started with the Baltimore Colts back in nineteen seventy five,

(06:12):
and then he was with the Detroit Lions for a
few years. In nineteen seventy eight, he became a special
teams coordinator and defensive assistant for the Broncos. From nineteen
seventy nine through nineteen ninety he was in some way,
shape or form with the New York Giants, most notably

(06:35):
from nineteen eighty five to nineteen ninety when he was
the defensive coordinator and his star linebacker during that time was,
of course, Lawrence Taylor. After that, he was the head
coach with Cincinnati from ninety one to ninety five. That
did not go great. He landed with the New England

(06:55):
Patriots as an assistant head coach in ninety six. Ninety
seven to ninety nine, he was the assistant head coach
and defensive coordinator for the New York Jets for getting
the Patriots job and coaching there for twenty three years
from two thousand through two thousand and twenty three, and

(07:16):
now after being away from the game for a year,
not really getting a whole lot of opportunity at the NFL.
I think he had one NFL interview since leaving the
New England Patriots. And he will become the next head
coach at North Carolina. Six Super Bowl championships, again, NFL

(07:39):
Coach of the Year three times, and pretty instantly in
the Atlantic Coast Conference, becoming the most decorated coach, Maybe
not the most decorated collegiately, but you know, college football
when it lost, Mac Brown lost. One of the three

(08:00):
coaches that remained that had national championships, Dabo Sweeney and
Kirby Smart are the only two that remain. And while
Bill Belichick doesn't have a national championship, he arrives with
more NFL hardware combined than Sweeney and Kirby Smart have

(08:23):
together collegiately. Will it pay off? Will it work? That'll
be the big question that everybody's got on their mind.
When you think about it. There's always the stigma of
being an older coach and how that impacts recruiting. Belichick
said in a statement released by the school, quote, I
am excited for the opportunity at UNC Chapel Hill. I

(08:47):
grew up around college football with my dad and treasured
those times. I've always wanted to coach in college, and
now I look forward to building a program in Chapel Hill.
Mac Brown was paid five million dollars a year. The
rumors surrounding this deal sound like it's going to be

(09:07):
a three year deal worth thirty million dollars. I have
also heard other reports of a five year deal worth
fifty five or fifty makes a lot more sense to
me because of recruiting. But again, a very fluid situation
because when this started, it did not seem like Bill

(09:31):
Belichick to North Carolina was anything more than just a
little fun fodder. And according to Sports Illustrated, details of
the deal that he is trying to work out with
North Carolina are beginning to emerge. I'll see if I
can give you some information on that. Bill Belicha's contract

(09:51):
is expected to be three year, thirty million. That's according
to the Athletic. That's the number I heard, But it's
hard to imagine just a three year deal when you're
talking about college sports, like the tenor of the number
for recruiting needs to be four or more so that
a player who arrives would feel like he's going to

(10:17):
be there through the time that they are a part
of the program. So you know, I don't know that
he's got the personality that it takes to win on
the recruiting trail. And certainly as the year goes on,

(10:39):
next season for the tar Heels, whatever level of success
they have or don't have, will probably fairly quickly spell
his tenure. Meaning if you're only there for three years,
or if you don't have the desire to be there
very long, and you have moderate success, not great success,

(11:04):
moderate success in year one, say you're seven and five,
then how much excitement is there for people to come
and play in your program when you're only going to
be around for a couple more years? Are you following
me like you're not giving a big enough window to

(11:25):
grant some grand amount of confidence to players if you
don't have a ton of success early. Now, if you
come out of the gates, you went in games, go
to a big bowl game, made the college football playoffen
maybe recruiting and landing some players through the portal in
year two won't be so difficult. But I can't imagine

(11:46):
that people are just gonna go gung ho about going
to play for Bill Belichick, especially if he doesn't have
a significant first season, because the questions will far exceed
the results because it's not the same as it is
at the collegiate level, I mean at the professional level.

(12:09):
And ultimately, how is he received. You know, Dion Sanders,
you cannot knock what he has done out at Colorado,
and it feels somewhat eerily similar in the respect of Yes,
I think Dion's obviously interested in as players graduating, maybe
more so that people give him credit for. But when

(12:31):
you take a step back and you think about some
of the players that he's been able to get just
by the notoriety of his name, one would expect that
even though a seventy two year old head coach doesn't
bring the same level of excitement that playing for maybe
one of the greatest in the history of the NFL

(12:51):
is certainly the greatest cornerback in the NFL has, and
I think too a lot of these players that Dion's
have brought in. You know, Dion was a flashy guy.
Dion was a player that was very brash in some

(13:13):
respects and would say things that perhaps a coach wouldn't
want you to say. Well, when you go and play
for Dion and you get to have sort of that
same swagger, it's a little different than maybe going and
playing for coach Belichick, who is much more measured, doesn't
like the flash, will not like the media. I mean,

(13:35):
in my tweet that I put out about sitting down
with Bill Belichick at the ACC kickoff, I tweeted, I
can't even remember what movie it's from. Maybe it's from
The Shining when Jack Nicholson is like going down the
aisle and he's like wrecking these plates. Anyway that's gonna be.

(13:57):
I'm sure Bill Belichick at the ACC media day, I'll
be shocked if he even sits down with us. But
you can rest assured everybody there will be putting in
for it, assuming that there's no hiccups along the way
and that this all you know, ends up going through
and holds firm. We've seen, you know, contracts, not necessarily
coaching contracts, well technically, yes, we have seen coaching contracts.

(14:19):
South Carolina fans will tell you, they've, they've, they've they've
seen that song and danced before. Remember when the game
Cocks thought that they were bringing home Bobby Krimins, who
played his college basketball in Columbia. He signed on the
dotted line from Georgia Tech was coming to Columbia. I
think he was here for like two or three days

(14:40):
and then backed out. So, you know, even after the
inks dry, it doesn't mean one hundred percent of the
Belichick is going to be the head coach at North
Carolina this time, next next, next year. But at this
point that is certainly the direction that we are headed,
and it sounds as if that's going to be the
case some late changing disagreements or just Belichick walking it

(15:06):
back after recognizing how kind of crazy it all is.
The other thing too, now the college players have more
freedom and control than even the professional guys because of
the lack of contracts. So there's also I think the

(15:28):
whole question about how does he handle the players, And
you can't be gruff and all of that, because these
guys can just leave at any moment, just pack it
up into the portal. You know, there's no like contract,
there's nothing to keep them playing. So he might have

(15:51):
to kind of manage the players a little bit differently
than he would desire. It's going to be a complete change,
I would say from that standpoint. And then look, there's
there's no doubt that you know, his presence and his
personality and his name is going to resonate nationally. But

(16:16):
how long will it take him to kind of get
his feet underneath him in a completely different type ball game?
You know what I mean? It really is different. A
zero three four five, zero zero eighty six high school
football action going on today in the state of South Carolina.

(16:36):
My high school to Barnwell Warhorses playing in the two
A state championship over at South Carolina State Stadium. And
I don't know what the whole schedule is, but I
can't believe. I remember growing up you would play that,
you would play that matchup. You know, all the games

(16:58):
would be like there will be a Friday night Gameilliams
Brice and then there would be you know, a full
slate of games on Saturday at Williams Brice Stadium, and
everybody would kind of pour in. I think you just
had to buy one ticket and you can stay all day. Well,
I think they've tried to kind of curb that by
bouncing everybody out of the stadium and spacing things out

(17:20):
a little bit. But it's been over At Benedict I
thought that was a great facility. I have no idea
what it's like at se State, but shocked at the
kickoff for this game was two pm on a Thursday.
I don't I don't have any idea why that would
be a good scenario for anybody like that that's taking

(17:40):
part in the game. Fans, players, community members, like, if
you want to do it, go back to the way
it was, play a game on Friday and then play
the other games on Saturday. And honestly, if you have
to play the bigger high schools at some of these

(18:06):
larger venues if need be. And then there's the other
side of it, like a high school like Barnwell and Clinton,
they've never really played in a stadium like River Bluff
High School for that matter. Just let one of the
five a high schools, Dorman, you know, somebody with a big,
nice jumbo tron and good looking facility. Let them host

(18:29):
the smaller schools and have them all played at the
same time. Like I get it. Some there are media
members that want to be able to go to all
these games. But man, if we can't split up the
coverage and get these kids playing on Friday nights or
Saturday so that more people can be in attendance. Two

(18:49):
o'clock kickoff on a Thursday, absolutely absurd by the way.
Barnwell trailed Clinton at half twenty one to six. The
Red Devils blocked the punt just before the half and
had gotten the ball all the way down to the
four yard line before Barnwell made a stop twenty one

(19:12):
to six. Entering the second half of action, My horses
on the bad end of that one, looking for their
first state championship since all the way back in nineteen
eighty eight. Woo woo wie, that's hard to believe. All right,
quick break, we'll come back with more here on a

(19:34):
chili what has become a very chilly Thursday afternoon. I'll
see if I can pull up the lineup for the
other state championship games that will be taking place over
the next few days. As high school football in the
state of South Carolina begins to wrap up, and again
Clinton leading Barnwell down in Orangeburg in the two A

(19:56):
state championship. Stay with us here on Fox Sports Radio
fourteen hundred, rocking and rolling along with you on a
Thursday afternoon, the show that shakes the Southland into third quarter,
Clinton with a big deep ball to take a twenty
eight to six lead over the Barnwell war Horses. Coming
up tonight at seven point thirty down there in Orangeburg

(20:21):
will be Abbeyville twelve to one, taking on Cross eleven
to two in the Class one A state championship. Man,
I can't believe Abbeville's falling all the way down to
one A. They've got twelve state championships though, and they
are sure to win more. I would assume at the
one A level, if they were winning them the way

(20:41):
they were at the two A level. Then you've also
got coming up on Friday at two pm the five
A Division one state championship between undefeated Dutch Fork and Somerville,
who was also undefeated. They are thirteen to zero Dutch four.
By the way, twelve to zero that's coming up tomorrow

(21:02):
at two pm makes no sense. Then on Friday evening
at seven point thirty, get the Class four A state
championship with undefeated west Side who's thirteen to oho taking
on eleven to three South Florence. Then on Saturday at

(21:24):
noon you'll get the three A state championship with Belton Honeypath,
who is thirteen to one taking on Ocean Side Collegiate,
who is ten and three. Then the evening affair on
Saturday at six o'clock, it'll be the Class five A
Division two championship as undefeated Northwestern takes on Irmo, who

(21:48):
has one loss this year. Irmo's single loss came to
dutch Fork, who again is playing in the class in
the Class five A Division two. Really weird about that
whole thing to me following it is they've done this
peculiar Division one and Division two stuff in the past.

(22:11):
I remember they used to have the Big sixteen. I
even remember when Class two to A had two divisions,
which I've never really understood. I mean, I guess this
comes down to conferences and things like that. But you know,
last year dutch Fork played White Nole for the state
championship and that was, of course a five A state

(22:39):
championship game. And now they're into separate divisions but they
play in the same conference. So it's just it's way
too much in my opinion, they try to keep up
with as they shift each and every year. But you
know the size of your school and the way some
of these communities where they had textile plants or whatever
in them, you know, have to a degree, I guess

(23:00):
that's what's happening with Abbeyville kind of drying up down
to a one AA school. Then you've got some communities
in and around my hometown like black Bull and Williston
where those two school districts combined, and the schools I
believe are eventually going to combine. I thought this would
be the last year of Barnwell Warhorse football. But maybe

(23:22):
I'm wrong. Maybe it's not gonna be thinking that we
would get to that Barnwell County High School football now
if they wanted to be the Barnwell County Warhorses. You're
not gonna hear any argument from me, but I'm sure
you'll hear some argument from the folks so from Wilston
and Blackwell on that front. But yeah, so three days
of high school football, six games to a day, get

(23:48):
the I get the Saturday game thing like that makes sense,
But I feel like you could get more bang for
your buck went if you're gonna spread it out like that,
do three games on Friday and three games on Saturday then,

(24:10):
because to me, there's no difference in kicking off a
football game on a Friday at noon versus kicking off
Friday at two. It's still inconvenient for everybody. But run
three games, and I know they want to clear the
stadium and they want to get more, you know, Mickey

(24:31):
buy a ticket every game, and that's all well and good,
but come on, can we not do a little bit
better than two o'clock on a Thursday? And not looking
great for my horses? By the way, and mind you
where you are or shall I say when you are?
It's probably my horses have probably already been cooked too.

(24:54):
Forty five remaining in the third quarter where I am
with Clinton leading twenty eight to six. Pretty nice of
being able to watch these games on watch Fox. So
I appreciate those guys that are carrying it on fifty
seven dash too. If you're trying to catch that at
home this afternoon, so you'll get another game coming up

(25:16):
tonight with Abbeyville and Cross in the one A state
championship at seven thirty pm. That would have been nice.
I wouldn't minded. I wouldn't have really minded. Barmble playing
at seven thirty tonight. There you go. If you gotta
do a seven thirty game on Thursday, then you can

(25:36):
run two games on Friday, and you can start that
second one at what three or something, or excuse me,
that first one like three, and do that and have
it three days. But man, two o'clock on a Thursday,
I was not not loving that at all. As a
matter of fact. It was such a weird time, and
I actually forgot the game was on, you know, until

(25:57):
I rolled up to the palatial one of eight studios
and I was like, hold up a second, I think
the horses are on, and uh yeah, I flipped it on.
It wasn't great. It was already twenty one to six
when I tuned in, so I guess I didn't miss much.

Speaker 2 (26:13):
Anyway.

Speaker 1 (26:14):
High school football actually the biggest news doing in the
world of sports. Bill Belichick heading to North Carolina. But additionally,
we've got some other coaches, you might call them retreads,
some other coaches who have been in the game recently

(26:34):
making their way back to the field, two of which
make their way back after being at the destination previously.
We'll give you the update on that when we return
right here on the show that shakes the south Land,
keep it a lot on Fox Sportradio fourteen hundred. The

(26:56):
Middland said, don't forget. If you're up in Clemson, check
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(27:16):
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We'll be back with more of the show that Shakespeare
south Land and will update you on some coaching moves
in the collegiate ranks right after this Clemson Sports Talk
on Twitter at Clemson Sports. Lawton swanete out with you.

(27:38):
So several retreads in the world of college football will
begin with one that just broke a couple hours ago.
ESPN analyst Dan Mullen has agreed to become the new
head coach at UNLV. Mullen, formerly the head coach at
Mississippi STATEI and Florida, has agreed in principal to a

(27:59):
five year deal to be UNLV's next head coach. According
to Pete Fammel, the deal is yet to be signed,
but it is expected to be finalized in the near future.
Mullin last coached with the Gators back in twenty twenty one,
when he was fired after four seasons after going thirty
four and fifteen with an appearance in the SEC Championship
Game with three New Year Six Bowl games. Prior to that,

(28:24):
he coached nine years at Mississippi State and has a
career record of one oh three and sixty one during
thirteen seasons. He joined ESPN as an analyst back in
twenty twenty two. He will replace Barry Odom, who left
UNLB to take the head coaching job at Purdue back
on December the eighth. Odom went nineteen and eight in

(28:47):
two seasons with the Rebels. Odem, you might recall, was
the head coach at Missouri from twenty sixteen through twenty nineteen.
One name that will make his way back to a
place from whence he came is Scott Frost. Frost, of course,

(29:09):
rose through the ranks of coaching down at UCF, then
took the job at his albuma mater of Nebraska was
awful at Nebraska. I think he tweeted out something the
other day that said, you know what nobody tells you
is on the you know, when you're climbing the ladder

(29:29):
of success, you know that it's okay to stop when
you're when you're happy, or something along those lines. And
so Scott Frost, who left UCF he coached there from
twenty sixteen to twenty seventeen, took them to that undefeated
thirteen to zero air quote national championship season and a

(29:52):
number six fision the Associated Press Poll, earned National Coach
of the Years, boatloads of success. Left to go to
Nebraska in twenty eighteen and then just absolutely stunk, ended
up joining the Los Angeles Rams. Let me see if

(30:14):
I can let me see if I can pull Scott
Frost's record at Nebraska up for you real quick, because
I don't have it readily available. Let's see, at Nebraska
as the head coach sixteen and thirty one, ten, ten
and twenty six in the league, and was fired after

(30:36):
just three games in the twenty twenty two season. So yeah,
pretty awful. But he's now back at UCF and there's
a lot of excitement around him as He will take
over for Gus Malzan, who resigned that job to become
the offensive coordinator at Florida State under Mike Norvell. Of course,
Florida State now looking to bring in Thomas Castellana, to

(31:00):
quarterback from Boston College who was with Gus Malzon at
UCF just a couple of years ago. Malzon went twenty
eight and twenty four and four seasons in Orlando with UCF.
But the other name being retread and brought back from

(31:22):
Wincey came Rich Rodriguez, former Clemson Tiger offensive coordinator. Rich
Rodriguez is returning, not to Clemson, sorry if that sorry
if that came across that way, returning to West Virginia
Country Road. Take me home two plays, Hi belong West Virginia,

(31:48):
Mount Mama, Yeah, take me home Country Road. I think
it's pretty obvious the Good Lord blessed me with good
looks and not a singing voice. Anyway, Rich Rodriguez will
return to West Virginia after seventeen years. It's been seventeen years.

(32:10):
Rodriguez is now sixty one as he takes over the
program he once ran. During that tenure, they had three
straight ten win seasons plus a Sugar Bowl win over
Georgia back in twenty excuse me, back in two thousand
and six, and you might recall he had West Virginia

(32:32):
right at the verge of getting into the Bowl Championship
Series before they had an upset loss against pitt After
that loss, Rodriguez shocked everybody and left for Michigan, and
then there was a big legal battle over his buyout.
I think at that point too, there was some interest

(32:53):
from if I remember correctly, Alabama trying to get Rodriguez
to come there. He goes to Michigan, that doesn't work out,
and now he will return to West Virginia. Rodriguez singing
in a statement quote, I am thrilled to have the
opportunity to be the head coach at West Virginia University.
My family and I are philed with gratitude to lead

(33:14):
them out in their football program again. To look forward
to working with the many supporters, fans, and friends to
build the best football program in America. Take me home.
Rodriguez had been at Jackson State, and I'm not sure
what his situation will be with excuse me, Jacksonville State,

(33:38):
the game Cocks. I'm not sure what his situation will
be with their Bowl matchup, whether or not Rodriguez will
coach that that's coming up in eight days, so i'd
imagine he will against Ohio as Jacksonville State faces off
with the Bobcats on ESPN in the s in the

(34:01):
staff DNA cure ball. So Mullen, if you're taking notes
at home, Dan Mullen, a little bit of a retread there,
going to UNLV certified retread Scott Frost going back from
whence he came to UCF and then Rich Rodriguez seventeen

(34:26):
years in the making, returning back to Morgantown to coach
West Virginia. So that's sort of your coaching hubbub of
the day. And imagine how big that Rodriguez news would
have been had Bill Belichick not, you know, been taking

(34:46):
you know, Bill Belichick had not been named the guy
that was gonna be up next at North Carolina. I mean,
everything would have probably led with Rich rod. I'll tell
you what else. Bill Belichick overshadowed the release of SEC
schedules for next season. We'll take a look at a

(35:06):
couple of those close to home and more when we
get back stay with us. Final segment of our number
one on a Thursday afternoon. Coming up Tim Burray, we'll
get his thoughts on the Clemson Tiger football game against
SMU as Clemson enters to college football playoff for a
seventh time. So looking forward to having him on at

(35:27):
the top of the hour. But the SEC schedules came
out yesterday for twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Now.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
I've always commended the SEC for getting these schedules out earlier.
I can never figure out why it takes the ACC
so long to pull this off.

Speaker 2 (35:46):
Holy crap, I am freaking out.

Speaker 1 (35:48):
Yeah, get them out, I mean when we have I mean,
what we got going on? How hard could this be?
Isn't there a computer somewhere you could punch these things in? Anyway?
The schedules in the SEC are out now we have, Mike,
you'vea on the program on Tuesday. And the one thing
we know with the schedules is the fact that it's

(36:12):
the same games. You've just flipped the venues now you
flipped the weeks, which the order of operations on your
games in that sense can make a big difference. The
South Carolina game Cocks is where we'll begin, because we
know we've got game Cox out there that are listening

(36:33):
to the program, and they can always.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
So you could continue to peek over the fence at
the best radio showing the nation.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
Hang out with us, as the late great Cleveland Man
once said. But on August thirty first, South Carolina will
open up the regular season, much like Clemson did this
past year, in an acc SEC matchup in Atlanta against
Virginia Tech. The game Cocks will then come home and
fait South Carolina State before battling Vanderbilt at home on

(37:05):
September the thirteenth. The game Cocks will have their first
true road game September the twentieth as they go to Missouri,
and then on September the twenty seventh, they'll host Kentucky
at home before they're open dating on October the fourth. Personally,
if you're a South Carolina fan and you see what

(37:27):
your team's been this year, we'll see what they look
like in their bowl game, you assume you know the
majority of these guys are gonna come back. Although I
think the game Cocks have fourteen players that are in
the portal, but as long as Lenora Sellers is not
in the portal, you ought to be pretty good. You
would imagine so Unlike last year where I kind of

(37:48):
looked to Carolina schedule and thought, Okay, gonna be kind
of tough sledding along the way. I think this is
a favorable start. The Missouri game is the only one
that I really kind of raised my eyebrows about. Maybe
Vanderbilt's getting tougher through the portal, some of the moves
they've made. Either way, I think for South Carolina in

(38:11):
those first five games, it's four one or five and zero.
And if you're starting let's say Carolina begins next season
at like seventeen in the country, maybe fifteen, with the
hype that's around them, you win your first five games,
you're gonna be on the precipice of the top ten
as you get into some tougher conference games. On October

(38:35):
the eleventh, they'll go to LSU. Then they'll host Oklahoma
on October the eighteenth, before hosting Alabama on October the
twenty fifth. No, remember the first the game Cocks go
to Old Miss before their second open date of the season. Now,
that little four game stretch is eerily similar to the

(38:57):
four game stretch they had this year, except they kind
of exchanged LSU this year for excuse me, Texas A
and M this year for LSU next year in that
stretch with Oakhoma, Alabama, and Old Miss, that's a tough
stretch to me. That's if you're playing as good as

(39:17):
you can play. That's a three and one stretch and
more likely a two and two stretch based off of
what I've seen from South Carolina, and I would venture
to guess that the game Cocks would likely beat Oklahoma
of those three teams. And then second on that list
for me is probably on the road at LSU. I'm

(39:40):
not sure they'll beat Alabama or Old Miss. But again,
these these rosters and everything change a lot. So at
this point, if you're five and zero in your first
five games and you go two and two in your
next four, you're seven and two entering your final three
games of the season at Texas A and M, you know,
on the road in the SEC will be tough. But
at this point, I have no reason to think South

(40:02):
Carolina can't win that game eight and two, Coastal Carolina
nine and two. Then you host Clemson for a chance
to maybe get to ten wins next year. I mean,
I think that's the kind of schedule South Carolina's got
in front of them next season, potentially you could get
to ten wins. I don't see eleven or twelve on
that schedule. I think there are at a minimum two losses.

(40:26):
And if you told me that the game Cocks, if
we fast forward three hundred and sixty five days, if
you told me that they're an eight and four team
with that schedule, I can also accept that. But I
think more than likely they're looking for ten wins perhaps
going into that matchup with Clemson at the end of

(40:48):
the season, based off of what I've seen now these
other teams. And that's the beauty of college football. Like
it's real easy to sit here behind the microphone like
a lot of people do and talk and talk and
talk about how good a team is, YadA, YadA, YadA,
But until you actually go and snap the football, you know,
maybe the measure of how good we thought A and
M was was way off. Maybe the measure of what
we thought about LSU was off. And so you know,

(41:12):
I think, again, we'll wait and see with how we
judge Oklahoma and some of those teams that were kind
of down this year for next season. But at this point,
I feel pretty good about saying, you know, I think
that the South Carolina game Cocks have a chance to

(41:32):
have a really good start, and if they get through
what I would call and label the meat of their
schedule going better than you know, one to three or
zero to four, I think they got a chance to
really push for ten wins. Looking at their Slady games,
all right, it looks like it's gonna be tough sledding
for the horses. Barnwell trailing Clinton thirty five to six

(41:56):
with six minutes and forty nine seconds remaining. I believe
I talked about moving the team, shifting divisions. I think
Clinton was a three A school last year, so I
think that's why you're probably seeing them have the level
of success they're having in this ball game. They look
to have just some more skilled position players than the

(42:17):
war Horses. Do You might say they got more horses
than the horses. All right, quick break, Timbreak joins us
around the men, stay with us each time Clipson Sports
Talk with Lawton Swan. It is our number two. That's

(43:10):
drivetime rid on the show that shakes the south Land.
Clemson Sports Salt, brought to you in part by Mets
Plumb in seven three to two drip, drip drip, you
know the jingle. Tim Bray joins us here on a Thursday,
as I'm still looking my wounds from the Barnwell Clinton
matchup down in Orangeburg, Clinton. That last check for me
was up thirty five to six. I think it's safe

(43:31):
to say that ball game is over. Tim Burray joins us. Though, Tim,
welcome in hope. You were doing well, sir, doing great lot.

Speaker 2 (43:39):
And how you doing today?

Speaker 1 (43:40):
Man? I tell you I'm glad we're talking Clemson football
Collge fotball playoff and not Clemson football bowl season. That's
for sure. Sure sure makes for a more interesting fadder
when you can talk about the possibility of advancing.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
That's absolute, absolutely correct. Yeah, it was quite a turnaround
in one week. And what a game it was Saturday night.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
So walk us through, Nolan. Who's yours fifty six yard kick? Tim?
Where does it rank in terms of, you know, fifty
six yard distance? And also from the standpoint of there
been significant field goals in Clemson history, where would you
put it in that list as well?

Speaker 2 (44:23):
Well? First of all, overall, it was the fourth longest
field goal in Clemson history. Spencer Benton at a sixty
one yard, and there were two fifty seven yards won
by Obetta Ririan, the won by Chris Gardaki, but this
was the furthest one that was made away from home
and obviously was the longest game winner. The longest last

(44:46):
play of the game field goal was the forty six
yarder by Chris Gardaki against Georgia in nineteen eighty six.
But as far as you know the meeting, I mean,
you know, I think it's number one. I mean, you
kick a field goal that sends you to the College
Football Playoff, you know, I don't think there's any kick

(45:08):
tick compares to the importance of that.

Speaker 1 (45:11):
Yeah, And also I guess the financial implications of it,
with the amount of money that Clemson will get from
the College Football Playoff appearance as well, a lot of
coin on the line with that kick. And you know,
to watch that game play out the way it did,
with Clemson's scoring early tim and then SMU battling back,
I think you certainly knew that SMU had it in them,

(45:33):
But when it all kind of got down to the end,
it felt a lot like that South Carolina game. Clemson
had the ball with six minutes and changed it could
have closed it out couldn't do it, and that gave
SMU the ball, much like it gave South Carolina the
ball the game. Cocks, fortunately for them, were only down
four where SMU was down seven. I mean, the eerie
similarities to the way those two games closed had me

(45:54):
in the press box wondering if Clemson was going to
get out of there with a win.

Speaker 2 (45:57):
Yeah, you're you're one hundred percent right. I mean, were
few differences. Obviously that South Carolina's laid touchdown with a
minute of eight to go, you know, put them in
the lead, and with SMU it just tied the game.
And then of course, uh you know we made a
play on offense and throwing the ball to uh Antonio

(46:18):
was without there being a turnover, So you know, the
worst of differences, But you're right, it was you know,
it was it was similar. We have been involved some
comebacks lately. Of course, the Pittsburgh game was was was
that way when Kidd had a fifty yard scoring run.
And then you go back to the last game last
year when we had a long drive against Kentucky to

(46:40):
win the game.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
Tim Bray with us here on a Thursday recap in
Clemson's victory of SMU this past weekend and tim when
they're you know, when they get that first down after
the incredible kick return from Adam Randall uh and and
they've got just a few seconds left on the clock,
three seconds when that timeouts called, what do you think
that they're gonna Do you think they're going to kick
it or do you think they're going to try to

(47:02):
throw one deep?

Speaker 2 (47:03):
Well, I'm thinking they're going to try to kick it
because I've been to practices and I know that Whosier
has a live leg. Now I've seen him make some
from that distance. I've seen him miss them from that
that distance. But I've got to be honest with it.
Also crossed my mind, should we really attempt this and
risk having a run back I have to get blocked
and run back the other way and lose the game,

(47:25):
Like you know, what was it Virginia Tech that's going
to touchdown on a field goal return. So, I mean
that crossed my mind too. But you know, from a
percentage standpoint, as you go out and you try that
kick and he just seem it perfect and it went through.

Speaker 1 (47:44):
Well, you know, the weak side of Clemson's field goal
protection has kind of been that left side. And I
didn't know if it was strategy, you know, I feel
strategic or what. But to get that ball on that
left hash. If you go back and watch the kick,
because of where lined up, SMU's got the majority of
their rushers on that right side of the line. And man,

(48:07):
I tell you, I'm not so sure Tim, if that
thing's you know, right down Main Street, if you're having
to kick it from midfield, if that kick doesn't perhaps
get blocked. With the way things have been with that
left side, I think Clipson either strategically did that and
felt like he was better from that left hash or
it was just a little bit of good fortune for
the Tigers.

Speaker 2 (48:28):
Yeah. I actually don't know if that was the involved
in the design of the play or or not. And
but you know, unfortunately Antonio got an extra three yards
at the end and I think that made, you know,
made a difference, and no down on the call thought
it'd be real good from sixty But if you see
Ryan Hennessy's video from underneath the goal post, I think

(48:52):
maybe fifty seven would have been the bax on that one.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
Yeah, it was close, that's for sure. It was tight.
Tim Murray with this year on the program. So now
Clemson will advance him, they'll face Texas, They'll go out
to Austin for that game, a homecoming for k Clubbing.
The storylines are incredible on that front and for the
Tigers a chance to venture out to Austin, Texas Daryl K.

(49:17):
Royal Memorial Stadium. What are your thoughts about this matchup
in the fact that you're going to be on the
road at Texas for the opening round.

Speaker 2 (49:25):
Well, you know, you look at Texas in their in
their season, and you know, obviously there are two toughest
games are both at Georgia, and they lost them both.
One I thought Georgia really dominated the game, the other
one in the season championship was certainly pretty even. But
you know, other than that, they I guess they don't

(49:46):
have a top twenty five win or somebody that we
actually have a top twenty five win against SMU, and
I don't think they have one. But they've got great stats,
especially on the defense. They're they're in the top two
in the country and uh yardage given up per game.
I'm to only giving up one hundred and forty three
yards a game. Passing that Texas and Notre Dame a

(50:09):
actually won two in that category. In terms of passing
efficiency defense, they're number one yards per attempt allowed. I
think they're number one. They're the only pass defense statistic
they're not high, and is completion percentage. They're forty third
in the country in completion percentage. Once is actually in

(50:30):
the top twenty in in that that statistic. But you know,
if it's if you look at what we've done rushing
the ball here recently, it hasn't been that great because
math has been been hurt and so you know, we
were able to throw the ball against SMU, and going

(50:50):
into the game, SMU's pass defense was not that great.
Their rush defense was terrific, and it was terrific against us.
So you do worry a little bit about that that
if Luncton is better as a passing team right now,
they're going against the team that's really good at past defense.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
Tim Bray with us here on the program, cross referencing
Texas and Notre Dame's history. I'm guessing Tim, you've never
been to this stadium before based off the timeline of events,
Am I accurate? This will be your first visit.

Speaker 2 (51:18):
Yes, my first visit to Austin for a football game.
I worked three World Match Play Championships in Austin for
NBC Sports. I've been to Austin. It's a very nice place.
I didn't have the time to venture over to the
football stadium and check that out. Will be the first
time I've seen the stadium. Obviously, it's a tremendous facility

(51:41):
and so to be quite an atmosphere.

Speaker 1 (51:44):
The first time for the Tigers as well facing off
with the Texas Longhorns is That matchup will kick off
December twenty first, four pm on T and T and
on Max which is formerly known as I Get HBO
and Cinemax. Tim Has Clemson played before on on T

(52:05):
and T? Are you aware?

Speaker 2 (52:06):
I think the Texas A and M game in two
thousand and four was on one of those turner stations. Okay,
exactly TNT, but I think it might have been.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
Tn T or maybe TBS. I'm not I'm not sure
that I know.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
Yeah, yeah, two four and I was at that. I
was at that game Texas A and M. But at
the now we did play on you know, TBS had
a Saturday night package in the early nineteen eighties and

(52:42):
we played We played Virginia in nineteen eighty either two
or eighty four, and it was it was in that
Saturday night real wackage. Yeah, so it was either eighty
two or eighty Well it must have been. It had
to be because we couldn't be on TV in eighty four.

(53:02):
So yeah, it was eighty two, and I think we
won forty eight to nothing. But yeah, in nineteen, in
the early eighties, TBS had the only had the only
primetime Saturday night package.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Oh wow, man, I did not know that. Do you
do you remember or recall who was on the broadcast
team for that? I really I would have no idea.

Speaker 2 (53:26):
I'm I can't remember if he was the studio commentator
or whether he was at the game, And you would
think I remember this, But I know Paul Horning was
involved in the broadcast somehow, along with Alex Bucketts, who
was a former South Carolina player. So but I can't

(53:46):
remember if they were in the studio or whether they
were at the game.

Speaker 1 (53:50):
Tim Bray with us here on the program again, talking
about Clemson's matchup with Texas as the Tigers advance topping
SMU thirty four thirty one, a walk off winner from
Nolan Hoosiers just thirty minutes or so from his hometown.
That will send Key Club Nick back to his hometown.
And I also found some irony tim that those touchdowns

(54:11):
from from Clubnick to westc And I'm sure you guys
probably acknowledged this in the booth were two Texas guys
hooking up against SMU for those scores, and now those
two will probably be called on pretty heavily in this
matchup against the Longhorns as well.

Speaker 2 (54:27):
Yeah. Absolutely, obviously at the time, and we didn't know
that those scores would end up sending us to Texas,
to the state of Texas. But but yeah, and you know,
westco had a great game of the one hundred and
forty three yards I think I may catches and two
touchdowns and yeah, he and he and Moore booth been

(54:47):
you know, very good this this year. But West Coast
yards for catches among the leaders in the ACC and
his his production was really important in that in that game.
But yeah, it is interesting that those guys have been
going home to Texas. I'm sure a lot of you
saw the video of the announcement in the Reeves Building
when we were going to play Texas and the cameras

(55:10):
zeroed in right in on Cad, so he got a
big kick out of that. Of course, he's played in
that stadium before against quint Ewers when they played in
the state championship. I think it was twenty twenty one,
and Quinn's team won the game. Owers actually had better
stats for three hundred and fifty three yards and Caid

(55:31):
was eighteen for twenty. But he's here for two hundred
and twenty one. But I guess his team was superior.
He didn't have to throw as much.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
Yes, somebody said, Cad, had you beaten Youwers every time
they faced off in high school?

Speaker 2 (55:43):
I had.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
I had no idea, but hey, there you go.

Speaker 2 (55:46):
Yeah, I don't know that they played. I don't know
how many times they played. I know they played once
for sure, in a state championship, but hower many times.
I mean, I don't think k lost at least his
last three years of high school.

Speaker 1 (55:58):
So yeah, now, Tim, I saw Jeff Scott, former Clemson
offensive coordinator, tweet out just a kind of a little
paragraph about, you know, his thoughts on Adam Randall, and
one of the things I tweeted after the game is,
do not forget how important that kickoff return was and

(56:18):
for Randall's story to kind of have that chapter now
in it, even though it's a it's a short chapter
in terms of what it meant to that game, but
to be ready for that opportunity, I mean, what does
that say in your mind about Adam Randall? I don't
even really need to say. What does it say about
Sweeney's program? What does it say to you about Adam Randall?

Speaker 2 (56:39):
Yeah? No, absolutely for him to of course be the
starter going into the season and basically not seeing as
much time because of the two five star receivers that
we recruited, who are very good players obviously, and we
just documented with Westco did. But yeah, it certainly says
a lot, you know about Adam who you know, he's

(57:03):
still a very talented player and and you know, and
could still have a big impact. But yeah, I mean
he wasn't even now he practices every day and I
think as a kickoff returner, but obviously he hadn't been
doing that all year, and so he had to come
in when ains got hurt, and he showed his abilities

(57:24):
with a forty one yard return that was thirteen yards
longer than he climpsed a kickoff return this year.

Speaker 1 (57:29):
Listen I was thinking, he looks so natural. I don't
know what they'll do in this game against Texas, but
he would be my kickoff returner. He looked really good.
I know only I have a small sample size, but man,
he looks smooth.

Speaker 2 (57:41):
Yeah, absolutely, you know, I really at this point, I
don't know what Haines's status is in light of his injury,
but he's after that play, he certainly deserves to at
least give me one more there.

Speaker 3 (57:55):
What happens?

Speaker 2 (57:56):
Oh man?

Speaker 1 (57:57):
Yeah, all right, Tim Brays with us. Tim, let's turn
attending to some news just kind of around college football. Obviously,
Bill Belichick expected to be the next head coach at
North Carolina, replacing Mac Brown. Everybody knows Belichick from his
time in the NFL. This will be his first venture
to the collegiate ranks. What was your take your take away,

(58:19):
your thoughts on that news when it came.

Speaker 2 (58:21):
Out, Well, it's a little bit you know, rolling the dice.
But then you can make the case that college football
is heading towards the pro model. We're seeing more and
more schools that are hiring a general manager that is,
you know, kind of lead recruiter, and you got to
have a guy who's going to manage the portal and

(58:43):
the nil and you know the money situation that's going
to be prevalent, almost like a salary cap in college
football next year. So you know, from that standpoint, you
know who's got more experience than that that would be
out there as a candidate then Bill Belichick. So you
know that certainly makes a lot of sense. I mean
I watched the press conference. He certainly won the press conference.

(59:05):
He talked about his willingness to recruit to go into
kids' homes when when that's deemed to be necessary. So, uh,
you know, you figure from an X and O standpoint,
he's going to know certainly know what he's doing. You know,
he's going to bring in an outstanding staff. Sounds like

(59:26):
it'll be a mixture of people who have, you know,
been in the NFL, but also have college experience too.
So it's going to be very interesting to see. But
I tell you it's going to be good for the ACC.
It's going to bring a lot of eyeballs to ACC games.
It's certainly going to be intriguing next year when when

(59:46):
Clemson goes to North Carolina. Actually texted with coach when
he last night that that you realize you'll have a
chance to have beaten the coach with the most college
national championships and the coach with the most Super Bowl championship.
So that can't be a very long listed. Oh Steve Burrier,
that did it. He actually beat Belichick when he was

(01:00:08):
the coach at the Redskins and then beat him beat
the Saban when he was the coach at at South Carolina.
So that's a little bit of research something a Halter.

Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
Wow, Yeah, well, I said, I guess Davos when he's
no longer the most decorated head coach in the Atlantic
Coast Conference. I don't know. I'm just like trying to
figure it out, man. It is. It is wild final
thing we got about a mint and a half. Rich
Rodriguez going back to West Virginia seventeen years later didn't
have that one on a Bengo card either.

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
Tim talk about a guy who's really rebuilt his uh,
you know, his curry one. You know, West Virginia to Michigan.
He kind of failed at Michigan and then he went
to Arizona. Things didn't go really well Arizona, and then
you know, he resurfaces at Jacksonville State, and you know,
they win the conference championship. I guess it was the

(01:00:57):
second year. And but you know, it is interesting because
obviously when he left West Virginia to go to Michigan
and he had things really rolling in West Virginia, they
were one game away for playing from the national championship,
a bitter loss to Pittsburgh in the final game of
the season. I can't remember what you was, maybe two
thousand and seven. So it is interesting that. Of course

(01:01:23):
he's a grad of West Virginia, So I'm happy for him.
Always like Rich when he was here, he was great
with me, he's great with the media, and so I
wish him nothing but the best.

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Yeah, I think he's got a great opportunity now with
the Big twelve sort of shifting their landscape a little bit,
with Texas and Oklahoma being out as well. We'll see
how that opens up for him. Again. Tim Bray's on
Twitter at Tim Beray, Tim, have a wonderful Thursday. Thanks
for hanging out with us.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
Sounds good. There you go.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
That's Tim Burray hanging out with us yere on a
Thursday afternoon eight zero three four five zero zero eighty six,
speaking of Texas and heading out there. My dad back
in nineteen fifty seven was stationed. I believe he told
me down in Corpus Christy, Dad, if I misspeak on that,
you can hit me up later him and as somebodies

(01:02:11):
drove up to watch South Carolina play Texas a twenty
seven to twenty one game Cock victory in Texas nineteen
fifty seven. That was unbelievable, quick break. We'll come back
with more here on a Thursday. That was Timbarey before
the grip, before the break. Excuse me? Always great there,
Ha almost said, that's Timberrey before the great. That might

(01:02:31):
be the first time I've ever made that mistake. Anyway,
let me tell you guys, if you are headed up
to Tiger Toown anytime soon, bring your best to game day.
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(01:02:53):
during the holiday season, you'll get ten dollars back in rewards.
The Alumni Haul rewards program's spectacular. You can roll them over,
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Shop at Alumni Hall online as well alumni haul dot
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you can pick it up. Saves your time. You're don't

(01:03:13):
have to wait in the line. Go check them out.
Alumni Hall the best Clemson shopping experience around, all right.
Tim Bray there before the break talking about the Clemson
Tigers and this college football playoff that we've got coming up, man,
And I tell you, the more I think about it,
the more I'm excited about where we are in the

(01:03:35):
sport with this little playoff. It's not perfect. I think
we're gonna probably see some tweaks, and I think, you know,
no matter how many times you simulate something, you just
never know. But I think for this thing to play out,
it's really gonna kind of tell us the story about

(01:03:58):
how exciting it can't potend be. And I really hope
it is. By the way, I mentioned the other day
Sam Acho at ESPN picking Clemson to beat Texas.

Speaker 2 (01:04:13):
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:04:14):
I saw on social media a screenshot of his full
bracket that he's put together, and I'll give you the
rundown of it. He's got number twelve Clemson beating Texas
to advance to take on Arizona State. That game will
be played in Atlanta. He's got number eight Ohio State
beating Tennessee and facing off with Oregon. That game, I

(01:04:39):
believe is going to be played at the Rose Bowl.
He's got number six Penn State. Let me double check
that just to make sure, yes, the Rose Ball. He's
got number six Penn State beating SMU with number six
Penn State facing off with Boise State at the Fiesta Bowl.

(01:05:02):
And then he's got Notre Dame beating Indiana and facing
off with Georgia in the All State Sugar Bowl. So
he's got every home team in the first round winning
except for Texas, where he's got Clemson advancing. Let's not
forget this is a kid that played at Texas or

(01:05:26):
a guy that played at Texas. His brother also I
believe played at Texas. In the second round, he's got
Clemson beating Arizona State in Atlanta and advancing to the
semi finals where they will face Oregon, who he has
beating Ohio State. So Clemson and Oregon in one of

(01:05:47):
the two semi finals. Then he's got Penn State beating
Boise State, and he's got Georgia beating Notre Dame, setting
up a matchup between Penn STATEK and Georgia in the
other semi final. He's got the Bulldogs the number two
seed going to the championship game. And he's got Clemson

(01:06:12):
beating Oregon and facing off in a rematch of the
opening game of the season for these two teams, Clemson
and Georgia, right back in the same venue where it
took place months ago. Samacho predicting a rematch of Clemson
in Georgia for the National Championship. Oh, and I didn't

(01:06:36):
get to this. Samacho picks Clemson to win the whole thing.
And now if you're going, I don't know this Samacho guy,
he's on ESPN. He put in his bracket the way
he did it in front of a camera on television.
He picked your Clemson Tigers to run the table in

(01:06:57):
a rematch against Georgia to win the National Championship in
year one. I chose picking the lowest seed or the
highest seed, however you want to say it, right, the
twelve seed to win the whole thing. Sambacho picking Clemson

(01:07:22):
to win it all. Now that's one man's pick. That's
one man's pick. But either way, Ocho likes it. And
get this, I saw some stats on k Clubnick today.
So Dylan Gabriel is the starting quarterback for Oregon and

(01:07:46):
a lot of people would argue Dylan Gabriel's one of
the best quarterbacks in the country. Gabriel this season has
twenty eight passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns. That's a
total of thirty five touchdowns. Aid club Nick has thirty
three passing touchdowns at seven rushing touchdowns this season. That's
forty kid Clubnick with five more touchdowns all of those

(01:08:09):
passing touchdowns than Dylan Gabriel. Total yards k Clubnick three thousand,
seven hundred and sixty one compared to Gabriel's three thousand,
seven hundred and fifty So club Nick's got in by
eleven yards there interceptions Clubnik has just five. Gabriel's thrown six.
Strength of schedule most of you will say, well, that's
cause Clempson didn't play. Nobody swanee. I hear you game, Cocks,

(01:08:31):
I can hear you through the microphone. I don't even
need a headset on. I can just hear you guys
through the microphone. Clempson's Strength to Schedule thirty fifth, Oregon's
thirty fourth CAID Club. Nick's numbers better than Dylan Gabriel.
How crazy is that? I know, it's wild, It really

(01:08:57):
is wild. And Dylan Gabriel, by the way, one of
the four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, along with Travis Hunter,
Ashton Genty and cam Ward k Klubnick not on the list.
What a season he's had. We'll see if you can
continue it on and Kenny put together the type of

(01:09:19):
college football playoff performance. And apparently sam Icho thinks he's
gonna have as Icho picks Clemson to win the whole thing.
I was stunned when I saw it. All right, quick break,
we'll come back with more here on a Thursday afternoon.

(01:09:40):
It is the show The Shakespeare south Land Clemson Sports
Talk right here. Keep it a lot on Fox Sports
Radio fourteen hundred the Midlands, and of course you could
catch the program anywhere in the world on the iHeartRadio app.
And don't forget to download podcast editions of the show.
We also put those up on our website. Clemsonsports Talk
dot Com, Rocking and Rolling the show the stakesa south Land.

(01:10:02):
All right, So Bill Belichick, as you heard Tim Burray
talk about, did meet with the media earlier today to
talk about taking this job at North Carolina. We'll play
you a little bit of his introductory press conference here,
as it is the biggest news in college football, big
news in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I have no idea
how long he'll be there. Again, I said, you know,

(01:10:26):
you can look at the situation with South Carolina and
former Georgia Tech head basketball coach Bobby Crimmins. I mean,
there was a press conference and he never coached a
game for the game Cocks. As a matter of fact,
he went back to Georgia Tech. Now I'm not saying
that's what's going to happen here, but again, until Bill
Belichick coaches a game at North Carolina, I will wait

(01:10:50):
and see if he's actually going to coach a game
at North Carolina. Anyway, here's some of what he had
to say earlier today up in Chapel Hill.

Speaker 4 (01:11:01):
Well, Chancellor of Bubba, thank you. I can't express my
gratitude to both of you with Ward trustees for this
amazing opportunity. I've always always wanted a coach in football,
coaching college football.

Speaker 2 (01:11:18):
And.

Speaker 4 (01:11:21):
It just never really worked out. Had some good years
in the NFL, so that was okay, But this is
really kind of a dream come true. I grew up
in college football with my dad as a coaching Navy
for fifty years. So as a kid, all I knew
was college football, and and so it's great to come
back home to Carolina and you know, back in an

(01:11:45):
environment that I really grew up in. You know, when
you're little, you don't remember everything. Obviously I was too
young to remember a lot of things from Carolina, but
as I grew up, you know, you hear the same
story over and over and over over again.

Speaker 3 (01:12:00):
And so.

Speaker 4 (01:12:03):
One story I always heard was Billy's first words were
beat Duke. So full circle. But again, very grateful and
appreciative for the opportunity. This is a great process. I've

(01:12:26):
learned so much about the university and the support that
we have for the football program, and this is, you know,
obviously a great educational school and and the kids here
are outstanding, and we want to know transfer that over
to the football field and have an outstanding football team
with those student athletes. So you know, I'm here to

(01:12:50):
to as Bubba said, teach, develop uh and build the
program and in the way that I believe in and
so grateful to have Michael, you know, with me in
this process. Michael and I have worked together for going
on the way back over thirty years, and you know,
he has a great knowledge of the general manager role

(01:13:12):
of if you will, in this type of position with
terms of you know, scouting two sets of players, high
school players and college portal players, as well as dealing
with some version of it's called salary cap, which is
now you know, part of college football. So all that
band said, I look forward to working you know here.

(01:13:35):
I talked to the players a little earlier, and you
know it was a great opportunity to to start to
get to know them and and start to build the program.
And I'm I'm excited to continue that process. And also
I met with coach Kitchens, who will be you know,
the first member of the staff that we hire, and
you know, I have a ton of respect for him

(01:13:56):
as well as for Mac. You know, there's a lot
of respect for Mac and his his career, what he's done.
So I also look forward to you know, connection with
him down the road.

Speaker 1 (01:14:06):
But.

Speaker 4 (01:14:08):
Excited to be here, Excited to be in college football,
Excited for the opportunity to build and develop young student athletes,
young men and prepare them for their life either in
the NFL or professionally. But the lessons they learn will
be be professional lessons. They'll be pros in all areas,
and that's what we want to develop as long as

(01:14:30):
as well as having a winning program, successful program, but
we want to develop good people and good kids.

Speaker 1 (01:14:37):
So there you go, just a little bit. Bill Belichick's
press conference there at North Carolina beat Duke. His father,
Steve Belichick, coach a North Carolina from nineteen fifty three
to nineteen fifty five before going to Navy, and Belichick
wasn't lying. His dad was at Navy for forty three years,

(01:14:58):
from nineteen fifty six to nineteen eighty nine. Bill Belichick's
dad continued to live, I believe, in Annapolis, passing away
in two thousand and five. But was his father played
for the Detroit Lions if you can believe that in
nineteen forty one, and also played for the Great Lakes

(01:15:22):
Navy in nineteen forty two. That was, I guess. During
World War two. He was a part of that group.
But either way, you know, for North Carolina, whether it
works out or not, whether his son Steven joins him
or not, you know, it's quite the coup for them

(01:15:44):
in terms of publicity. And he is the most decorated
coach collegiately at this point without coaching a college game. Now,
he's not the most decorated collegiate code that would still
belong to I guess at this point Dabo Sweeney slightly

(01:16:05):
over Kirby Smart, and if you believe Sam Acho, those
two guys will be battling for the national championship here
before long. But man, what a unique stat Timbarey gave us.
Dabos Sweeney, if he can beat Bill Belichick next year,
would have a win over the winningest college coach, Nick Saban,

(01:16:25):
and a win over or the most successful or what
did Tim said? I can't remember the exact terminology, Maybe
the guy with the most championships at the collegiate level
and the pro level. If Clemson can get a win
over North Carolina next season, And then additionally the fact
that Steve Spurrier also has that by virtue of beating

(01:16:48):
Nick Saban and also having beat Bill Belichick. So kind
of a cool little a cool little tie there for
everybody here in the state of South Carolina, with the
possible ability of that taking place this season when Clemson
ventures up to North Carolina to take on the tar Heels.
I'd give you their schedule, but I can't. I can

(01:17:08):
give you the SEC schedules, but not the ACC's. The
ACC's schedule maker still has, you know, time, keep the
brand in the oven a little bit longer. It's just
not quite done yet. Swannye give us some more time
eight zero three four or five zero zero eighty six.
Speaking of giving us some more time, they're gonna give
us about seven more minutes and fifteen seconds when we

(01:17:29):
get back for the final segment on a Thursday afternoon.
Stay with us.

Speaker 3 (01:17:38):
What have you done for me lately? It's a fair question.
Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Don't forget history.
Look you for us at Clemson. The answer to the
questions what have you done for me lately? And what
have you done?

Speaker 2 (01:17:57):
Always are the same.

Speaker 3 (01:18:04):
We win.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
Sometime sometimes.

Speaker 1 (01:18:50):
Final segment on a Thursday afternoon, college football continues. We've
got bowl matchups looming, We've got college football playoff matchups
about a week away from taking place. I'm telling you
weird weird stuff. We've got Navy and Army this weekend

(01:19:16):
Saturday at the Cricket Celebration Bowl. We've got Jackson State
and sc State at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. We've
also got South Alabama and Western Michigan at the Crampton
Bowl in Montgomery nine pm on ESPN Tomorrow on the program,
we'll have a little bit of a retrospective edition of

(01:19:38):
the show. We'll probably drop maybe the the William Qualkinbush
interview sliced up in our number one, and possibly Mike Eva.
Just to save myself a little bit of time. I
got some traveling I gotta do, heading up to Raleigh.
My son's playing in a soccer event up in Raleigh. Also,

(01:20:00):
speaking of that area, I'll actually be in Kerry, North Carolina.
The College Soccer National Championships are taking place this weekend.
And you know, the ACC is the pre eminent soccer
league in the country, but at the College Cup this year, man,

(01:20:22):
it is a unique field for sure. Now Ohio State,
who Clemson would have faced if the Tigers could have
gotten past Wake Forest Wake Forest got beat by Ohio
State three nil for the right to go to the
College Cup, so they are in it. But the other

(01:20:43):
teams in the College Cup kind of blew my mind.
It'll be Ohio State versus Marshall in one matchup, and
on the other side, Denver and Vermont not a single
ACC team in the mix. I mean there were ACC

(01:21:07):
teams in the mix. As I mentioned Wake Forest losing,
you also had SMU getting beat. You had Pitt losing
against Vermont. And so instead of potentially putting three of
the four teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference gets nobody

(01:21:29):
in the College Cup, which will be played this weekend
up in Carry, North Carolina, right where I'm going to
be so looking forward to being up there for that,
and I think they might try to take some of
the players that are playing over to the event. I
think the event got some tickets available for the players,
so we'll see if we end up getting an opportunity

(01:21:52):
to go and see either of those matchups. I think
one's Tomorrow night at seven point thirty, the other at
five something. Probably not, but maybe on Sunday Sunday at
eight pm. That'd be a little late night arrival. That's
about three and a half hour drive up to that area.

(01:22:12):
And I gotta tell you, from here from the Midlands,
trying to go to that part of North Carolina, that's atrocious.
I mean it is bad. Like there's no great route
to like Raleigh, North Carolina from Columbia, South Carolina I

(01:22:36):
was looking at today. I may just go up Highway One. Honestly,
the distance like this becomes a debate. Do you care
about the miles or the time. I almost find myself
saying I care more about the miles because it's like

(01:22:59):
a few fifty mile difference. That's over one hundred miles
round trip difference in the drive, and the time difference
is only like fifteen minutes. So is it worth Is
it worth fifteen minutes to save myself fifty miles? Either way?
I feel like it is like I feel, I feel

(01:23:22):
like the fifty extra miles are gonna feel longer than
the fifteen extra minutes, if that makes sense. I mean,
I'll just slow roll it up Highway One the whole way.
See little towns I've never seen before. Stop at quaint
little grocery stores and gas stations, get a red bull

(01:23:46):
and bubblegum, and call the day. Yeah, fifty miles, but
only fifteen minutes. I think I'm going Highway one. Let
me know. Look, I it's all got a day to decide.
Text me if you make this, if you take this
route a lot betwixt here and Raleigh or carry North Carolina.

(01:24:10):
Let me know the best path, because I have no idea.
But if I do get a chance to get to
a College Cup matchup, I may very.

Speaker 2 (01:24:19):
Well do it. We'll see.

Speaker 1 (01:24:20):
I wonder if Mike Noonon is gonna be up there.
I have to shoot Coach Noonan a little text, see
if he's going to be in the area for that one.
Either way, we gotta get out here again. If they
get to tim Beray, awesome catching up with him. Looking
forward to chatting up with you tomorrow as we get
your set for the weekend and we get as we
get closer and closer to kick off of Clemson and Texas.

(01:24:44):
Hard to believe, but it's right around the bend. We'll
be back tomorrow. Until then, it's always I'll take care
now and go Tigers.
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