Mark Packer, from the ACC Network, tells McElroy & Cubelic what he thinks of the ACC in 2024 & what college football questions he wants answered during the season
16:17 Share

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big ROAS man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.

LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance.

Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors...

You're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. See ebaymotors.com. This Chalks 94.5 podcast is brought to you by Millennium Satellite and Video. Log on to msbnow.com. TV excellence everywhere. That's Millennium.

McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. 720 a.m. Thursday, July 25th right here on JOX 94.5. Don't forget you can listen online at joxfm.com or grab that app in your app store. Just search WJOX, iPhone, Android. Download it for free.

Bill Smith Buick GMC is the GMC dealer of the year. That's right. The very best that GMC has to offer is right here in our backyard, right up the road in Coleman. You'll be glad that you went there.

and shopped with the seven-time national champion. The deals that you'll get there, you just won't find anywhere else. That's why shopping locally, you're literally costing yourself money. You might as well take the short drive up to Kona, buy a 65, exit 310, Highway 31. You can go and check out the inventory that they have on the lot. It's ridiculous just how many vehicles they have and how many price points they are able to meet. Like a 2,500 GMC Sierra Denali.

This thing is loaded. I mean, big old vehicle, gorgeous truck, $91,270 is the list price. Take $5,500 off, down to $8,570.

plus 5.9% for 84 months. It's deals like that that keep people coming back. That's why Bill Smith has a 75% repeat customer rate, which matches just about anybody else in the entire Southeast. So go see the GMC dealer of the year right at the road in Coleman off I-65, exit 310 Highway 31, or you can shop online. Have a good one. Right to your driveway, BillSmithVUHMC.com.

All right, you see him on the ACC Network coming off covering ACC Media Days, a home game there for Mark Packer, joining us now on the Buyer's Right Hotline. Mark, before we go into specifically the ACC, we were talking questions that you have about this college football season because there's going to be so many things that are new.

What's maybe a question about how anything's going to operate, be it conference championship games, playoffs, selection committee, rivalry games, whatever that is that you just feel like you're most uncertain about and can't come up with an answer to so far?

Uh, let's see. I 65 exit three, 10 Bill Smith, 75% return. You know, I needed Denali. That's the first thing. Go get your one. We'll get you taken care of. We'll get you taken care of Pac-Man. They'll deliver it to Charlotte for you. I,

I understand. Listen, the enthusiasm of that read alone will get me through the last day of day four of ACC Media Day. It's long, isn't it? I feel like ACC Media Day has always been three days. Maybe it was two there for a minute. Then it went to three. Four is like you're in Twilight Zone now. It's a beast. Yeah. Yeah.

Right.

In fact, it's going to maybe be worse because teams that normally would never have a chance to be in the college football playoff are now going to be teetering on that 13, 14, and 15 spot. It's kind of like NCAA basketball. When it went from 64 to 68, they're like, oh, that'll solve it. Well, no. The teams that finished 69, 70, and 71, they're still pissed off. So we will have that. We'll still have a ton of debates.

You know, there's going to be a cluster. You can see it coming already. There's going to be a cluster of nine and three teams, whether it's from the SEC, the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, or anywhere else, that will sit there and go, hey, listen, we deserve that last spot. So I'm intrigued to see how all that plays itself out.

The conference championship games will take care of itself and all that stuff. And I'm also kind of curious to see, Cole, too, how teams are making the transition into new leagues. I mean, you guys are there in the heart of the SEC, the best league in the country. Oklahoma and Texas, incredible brands. What do they bring? I think you already got a sense of that at Media Day where everybody was talking about, well, it's Texas. They come rolling in with the attitude, hey, Texas, we're going to do this. Hey, Texas didn't even dominate their own league. I mean, that was Oklahoma.

And yet they were kind of, you know, put to the side. Maybe the ACC may be the least affected because I don't think SMU, even though it would be the best of the three, but Cal and Stanford aren't going to be a factor as far as the ACC championship. SMU, I think, can cause some trouble.

But, you know, watching what Oregon does and Washington when they roll into the Big Ten, I'm kind of intrigued to see how all that stuff's going to play out. It's going to be fun. It really is, Pac. And I look at the ACC in general. I think there's three legitimate contenders. I think you know which three those are. Florida State, Clemson, Miami, whatever order you have. Then you have a collection of about five teams that I'm pretty interested in. In really no particular order, Virginia Tech, SMU,

North Carolina, Louisville, and NC State. Those are kind of the next five. Is there anyone else I should be adding to that list? Or is there someone maybe in that group of five that I should be taking away?

Well, I think you're on it, Greg. Again, we don't know anything. We haven't been to practice. Obviously, there's been no games yet. But, you know, and I think you and I talked about this last year, that Louisville was the team. When you look at the schedule, you know Jeff Brom can flat-out coach offense, that they could have been that team. Well, they turned out to be that team, right? I think there is one of those in the ACC this year. And I do think Miami, Florida State, Clemson, talent-wise, are better than everybody else. But, you know, I think you're on it, Greg.

But, you know, we've still got coaching issues with Miami. Can they get over the hump? We'll find out a bunch in their first game against Florida. I think Clemson and Florida State are really talented. But, hey, is anybody buying the fact that you can trust your life with DJU or Cade Klubnick until you see it, especially in big games? So, again, there's question marks with those guys. But I think the other team is Virginia Tech. And, again, you look at production coming back. Kyron Jones is a dynamic guy.

From an offensive standpoint, Lane Stadium, a great environment. And much like Louisville a year ago, look at the schedule. You know, you look at Virginia Tech's schedule. They go to Miami on a Friday night, late September. They get Clemson at home in November. Who knows what the weather will be like? But other than those two, you look down the rest of that schedule and you're like, well, you know, maybe they slip up at Syracuse. I mean, I see a bunch of wins. And the object is to win a bunch of games and be one of the two teams that get you to Charlotte.

It would not surprise me if you're looking at somebody off the board, not from the Sunshine State or from Death Valley. I think Virginia Tech could be that team, which is much like Louisville a year ago.

Mark Packer of the ACC Network joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline talking ACC Media Day. So you mentioned Miami there, and I'm interested just to hear from you and what you're hearing. We talked a lot last week about what that opening game means to Florida. A lot of that has to do with the coach perceptually being on the hot seat for a lot of people, how difficult their schedule is. But, of course, it's a big game. It's a rivalry game, and it's one that I think both teams need. But how much emphasis, how much talk is there in ACC country around how important that game might be for Miami? Yeah.

A ton. In fact, I would throw that game in there. Clemson, Georgia, we know that one. But, you know, Tennessee, NC State on September 7th right here in Charlotte, I put that in that category too. But Miami and Florida, Cole, it kind of feels like, hey, the winner of that game sits there and goes, hey, listen, we've turned the corner. We're ready to roll. The loser of that game, I mean, I almost cringe to think what happens there. I mean, I think both coaches are feeling it.

We talked to Coach Cristobal yesterday, but I'm going to tell you, this Cam Award, and we saw him play at Washington State, dynamic playmaker. On paper, and I've said this probably 10 times since they've been joining the league, on paper, Miami looks really, really good. But you've got to be able to close the deal. And I think that first game, man, circle it. And it is such a humongous game from not only a W standpoint, the mindset standpoint, but

But if you're Miami, that's also one of those kind of games that down the road when you start talking about can the ACC get multiple teams in the college football playoff, you know your champion's gone, but hey, can you generate a second or possibly a third team? Those are the kind of games you must win. Miami's got to win at Florida. NC State's got to beat Tennessee. And Clemson's got to make sure that either they win or make sure they don't get destroyed by Georgia in week one.

When you look at, at Miami, I think you're a hundred percent spot on really like them a lot. Uh, I think,

I think they're being talked about appropriately. The team that's not getting talked about enough is NC state pack. And I know that they're trying to piece some pieces together. I get that losing Peyton Wilson's a challenge. I know what he was from production standpoint, from a leadership standpoint. Uh, I think you immediately upgrade a quarterback with Grayson McCall. I think because of Grayson McCall, you had a bunch of other guys that decided to come along. Jordan waters from Duke, a couple of good whiteouts. Uh,

I think NC State is extremely dangerous. And I don't know if I see them as like a playoff contender, but I think they could knock one off like Tennessee or one of the ACC championship foes. So why is it that NC State's kind of flying under the radar?

Well, you know, it's funny, Greg, living in North Carolina. When North Carolina gets a lot of hype, they normally just lay an egg. When NC State gets a lot of hype, they lay an egg. Both of those teams, ironically, kind of are better when they're flying underneath the radar. But I'm with you with NC State. Now, granted, we're going to find out early in September. I mentioned that Tennessee game, which, again, another huge game on both sides of the ledger.

And it's right here in Charlotte, neutral site. But they also go to Clemson a couple weeks later. And NC State has had almost zero success in Death Valley. So, you know, getting off to a good start would certainly be critical. You know, Tony Gibson is still going to have a good defense despite the loss of William Payton in the middle.

But I think offensively, they're going to be light years ahead of where they were a year ago. So I think they're a dangerous team. I think their schedule may be a little more difficult than what I think I see in Virginia Tech. But if I had to say, hey, give me two teams outside of Miami, Florida State, and Clemson that can stir the pot, make some noise, and perhaps get to Charlotte to play for a championship,

NC State and Virginia Tech are the answers to the question. And keep in mind, NC State's not won an ACC football championship since 1979. Rabid fan base, and they are beyond hungry. They're famished to try to win a championship. Mark Packer of the ACC Network joining us on the Bars Right Hotline. Pack, there are a couple quarterbacks in the league that you've already mentioned that haven't been mentioned that I feel like haven't

have some concern and maybe some question marks around them, but at times have also proven what they can be. Uh, Kate Klubnick, DJ UA on Galilee. Um, let's take Cam Ward out of it. Cause I think most people just believe that's going to be a good fit and that's going to work. Who's the quarterback that maybe people are on both sides of the fence with that you think actually does take that step and does exceed expectations this fall.

Boy, I don't know. If your life depended on it with both Florida State and Clemson, that's why I'm kind of apprehensive. I think talent-wise, roster perspective, you're completely comfortable. But when those two quarterbacks are good, those teams are going to be good. But I just need to see consistency on that front. I will give you a name of a guy. In fact, I met him yesterday for the first time.

And we talked about Louisville. Greg had mentioned in a second about Louisville, maybe being one of those teams that can duplicate the success of a double-digit season. Tyler Shuck, a transfer from Texas Tech. You know what? He walked in to the media room yesterday, sat down with us. The dude's 6'5". He just got married in November. He is a grown man now. In fact, when you talk to him, you think he's 35 years old. And he's kind of an interesting guy.

piece to me to see what happens with Louisville for the season and also at quarterback because you know Jeff Brown's going to dial up some great stuff for him so he'd be a guy to keep an eye on and of course you know the one team that nobody's talking about in fact I just ran into their coach about five minutes ago right before you guys called that's Fran Brown and what they're going to do up in Syracuse and you know all of a sudden you start taking a look at what he's done in a short period of time I know they haven't played any games yet but

but Kyle McCord and what he did at Ohio state. I'm curious to see what he does at Syracuse. And I'm not telling you that they're going to be a team that you're going to see in the ACC championship, but they could be a team in that dome and that environment. If they do get things turned around, that may be able to knock a couple of people off that nobody's expected. Lastly, pack. No, one's talking about Clemson. I feel like as a real player nationally week one, they get Georgia schedules, brutal, um,

But at the same time, I mean, it's still Clemson. I think they have really good pieces defensively. I think we have unfairly jumped to a conclusion on Cade Klubnick that is a bit premature. He might ultimately be who he was this year, who he was last year, and that, I think, would be concerning. But he might very well grow before our eyes and become a difference maker. So why is it that Clemson's kind of under the radar relative to their usual top five, top eight preseason rankings?

Well, I think offensively, Greg, as you know better than anybody, it's one thing to beat the quarterback and say, hey, you've got to lead us. But, man, you've got to have dudes around you. I think Clemson's wide receiver core the last couple years has been average at best. And when you started talking about that great run Dabo had, man, look at the wideouts and the weapons. I mean, granted, you had great quarterbacks with Deshaun and Trevino.

and Trevor Lawrence, but they also had ridiculous wide receivers that could go make a play. Clemson's wide receiver group the last couple years, like I said, on a scale of 1 to 10, you'd say, man, maybe a 5. So they brought in some freshmen. Again, I got to see it to believe it first. Again, everyone gets all kind of hype coming out of high school. But Clemson's wide receiver play has got to be better. I mean, Klubnick's got to be better, but the wide receivers have to be better too. And if all of a sudden they can score –

like they used to, I mean, that defense is going to be salty. They're going to be really, really good on the defensive side as they normally are. The Clemson's offense the last couple of years has been almost stagnant.

And it's hard to win in today's game where you say, hey, listen, we just can't go vertical and scare you going downfield. It's hard to put together a 10-play drive. And, in fact, on top of that, the QB efficiency, they've been the worst in the league the last three years. So it's a combination of a lot of things. But Club Dick's got to have a great year for Clemson to get back to where they expect to be

as a legitimate elite national championship threat. Speaking of quarterbacks, and you mentioned NC State, Tennessee, is anybody talking about Grayson McCall? I mean, all he's done is win games, throw touchdowns, and not many interceptions. And I know it's been a different level of football, but he's got to be 25, and he's played a ton of football. He's played a ton of ball. So is there a chance for him to have a monster year?

I think so. Again, I like what Dave Dorn's done with the input through transfer portal. We're going to talk to Grayson, ironically, coming up in about an hour when we start our coverage this morning. But he's going to, again, for NC State to get to where they want to be, it's like everybody else. I mean, your quarterback better be pretty good. Yeah.

It's hard to win in college football, the NFL, Pee Wee football, high school football, if your quarterback is just, yeah, whatever. I mean, it's just tough to win. But Grayson McCall's got huge upside, and I think NC State offensively this year will be 1,000% better than they were a year ago. And like Greg said, that's one of the reasons why I think NC State can be dangerous. Pat, great stuff. Thanks for the time. Definitely appreciate it, and I look forward to catching up with you again. Have fun at ACC Media Days today.

All right, boys. Y'all be good. Always a pleasure. Yes, sir. There you go. Mark Packer, ACC Network, joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline. Remember the WRM group where relationships matter for all your insurance needs. Look to Buyer's Right Insurance. I want to follow up with that quarterback question from the ACC for you, G-Mac. There are some names there that I think people have kind of forgotten about.

We'll look through them next right here on McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance.

Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors...

You're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. See ebaymotors.com.

If you're a facilities manager at a warehouse and your HVAC system goes down, it can turn up the heat. Literally. But don't sweat it. Grainger has you covered. Grainger offers over a million industrial-grade products for all your operations, including warehouse HVAC maintenance. And even better, they offer access to experts and fast delivery, so you and your warehouse can both keep your cool.

Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done. Former Navy SEAL Sean Ryan shares real stories from real people from all walks of life on the Sean Ryan Show. Tucker Carlson, what is it that you think that people gravitate towards? I'm not self-aware. I refuse to be self-aware. I don't even look in mirrors at all.

which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have, I've gotten in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.