THE ROAR: ACC Expands, Appetizers, Blackout, Play Big

ACC EXPANDS. I wrote this last night, hoping to find out if there would be any news the following day, and as expected, Pete Thamel from ESPN reported that the ACC is expanding-- a Westward Expansion if you will. This expansion adds Stanford, Cal, and SMU and moves the league to 18 members with 17 football schools-- Notre Dame being the lone holdout.

I’ve been against this from the start unless the Irish are in. I don’t know what this means for the future, but here’s what I will say about SMU. Good move, Mustangs. They just grabbed a life raft that Oregon State and Washington State would love to have.

In addition, I am aware that SMU had offered to forego any revenue from the ACC for a period of seven years. However, given the rapid pace of change in the world of football, I believe that the college football landscape will be completely revamped before the completion of the agreement. The reason it’s significant for SMU is that they essentially booked a seat at the big boy table when the next big changes in realignment take place. Had they not taken the deal, they would likely never be in one of the “Power” leagues.

APPETIZERS. Last night's matchups were nothing more than an appetizer for college football fans across the country. The biggest game of the night featured No. 14 Utah hosting Florida, marking the Gators' first non-conference road game outside of the Sunshine State since 1991. 

Utah Utes took an early lead by scoring a touchdown on a 70-yard play on their first attempt. Florida struggled and was trailing by 24-3 by the start of the fourth quarter. However, they managed to score their first touchdown of the season to reduce the margin to thirteen points, ending the game with a final score of 24-11.

If there is a bright side for Florida, quarterback Graham Mertz went 31-44 for 333 yards, but the Gators' inability to run the football told this story as they finished with just 13 yards on 21 carries.

In other news, NC State struggled to knock off Uconn on the road, holding on for a 24-14 win in Brennan Armstrong’s debut with the Wolfpack. Armstrong threw for 155 yards and rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the contest, but it wasn’t a pretty outing for the team. If Dave Doeren’s squad is going to challenge in the ACC, they better clean up.

The contest between the Wolfpack and the Huskies was marred by a scary incident as NC State’s Rakeim Ashford was hit on the sideline and lay motionless for more than 10 minutes as a hush fell over the crowd. Following the game Doeren noted that the preliminary reports seemed to be positive for Ashford.

BLACKOUT. Speaking of appetizers? Many college football fans in bars across the country on Thursday night, only got as far as consuming the small dish or drink before realizing dinner was over. The plug was pulled on ESPN's telecast of Utah vs Florida abruptly before the kickoff by Charter Spectrum, leaving football fans hungry and over 14.7 million subscribers in utter disbelief, furious, and in the dark.

Subscribers were never informed or warned of the disagreement between Charter Spectrum and Disney's television networks, such as ABC, ESPN, FX, etc., until the blackout, which also closed the curtain on the U.S. Open tennis tournament coverage. Presently, the dispute is not resolved and subscribers are left with four rotating messages on their screens. 

Unfortunately, the messages will likely be a sight for sore eyes for days and yes, that could mean the entire first full weekend of college football. But there are options available (YouTube TV, Hulu, etc.), including a 7-day free trial from FuboTV, to get you through the weekend.

GOOD LUCK!!!

PLAY BIG. Dabo Swinney met with the media yesterday and shared his thoughts on freshman WR Tyler Brown. The Greenville native has surprised this fall and has earned the right to step onto the field early on in his career. 

@clemsonsportstalk Dabo Swinney gives his thoughts on freshman WR Tyler Brown #ACC #Clemson #CollegeFootball ♬ original sound - Clemson Sports

 

 

Here’s what Swinney had to say about Brown.

"He's just a really good football player. I mean, he can really run,” Swinney noted yesterday. “Surprised in that because I hadn't coached him yet. You see the skill and all that, but just how quickly he's been able to pick things up.”

Brown, who earned a spot on special teams as well, could be a bright spot this season and has challenged some of the best wideouts on the roster.

“He's got really, really good ball skills, strong hands. He's a great finisher after the catch,” Swinney stated. “He's got some compact power to him, which I didn't really expect that this early from him. He plays bigger than he is."

If you didn't have Brown on your Bingo card for making a big play early, perhaps you should trade it in for a new one.

SONG OF THE DAY. Seems fitting. 🤷

 - ”California - by Phantom Planet -

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OFF THE PATH. Somehow, I keep wandering into strange medical notes, but here’s one for you. A pig kidney has survived inside a human for six weeks. The reason this is significant is that we don't have enough organ donors, and ultimately, this could be huge for individuals on dialysis. 

According to Gizmodo: “Surgeons at New York University have reportedly reached another milestone in making pig-to-human organ transplants a reality. They now claim to have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that has survived inside a human body for six weeks and counting—the longest period yet. It’s likely that larger clinical trials will be in the near future.

The procedure was performed by a team from the NYU Langone Transplant Institute in mid-July. It’s the fifth such animal-to-human transplant done by the team, with their first performed in September 2021. The organs are derived from pigs genetically modified by the company Revivicor to avoid the problem of rejection by a person’s immune system. The recipients of these transplants so far have largely been people declared brain-dead, and whose bodies their families have allowed to be kept mechanically alive for a time while the donated organ is monitored. This current transplantation involved a 57-year-old brain-dead man with a functional heart who was placed on ventilator support.”

Unreal!

See y'all tomorrow!

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