HOUR 1 | Segment 2 - ACC rebrands, eyeing SMU’s rise, QB transfers, and Clemson’s path.

What this episode covers

Transcript Diesel: And we do thank Musten Kapassi of Kapassi Glass for getting us here to the Hilton Uptown Charlotte. Wire to Wire with Diesel and Cole Bryson live here from Radio Row, Cole. Built in the ACC. The messaging, like you alluded to in the last segment, different from what it was last year. Last year it was the "Conference of Quarterbacks." And obviously, last year, Cade Klubnik, there was a lot of hype about him coming into the season. Didn't come to fruition. This year, you know, like I said, the—the quarterbacks are coming in from other conferences to fill the ranks of the ACC. Built in the ACC. Your thoughts on the verbiage there? You know, I—you could certainly point to an SMU and say they are a program that is being built in the ACC right now because just a couple of years in this league, they've already made their mark, and they have an opportunity, obviously, to uh do it again this year. Cole Bryson: Well, number one, you have to have some kind of catchphrase, right? You have to have some kind of slogan. So I guess that's what Chat GPT told them to use. Um, you know, I—I think the conference, Diesel, is kind of on the verge of forming a new—I don't want to say a new tradition, but a new identity. I mean, you've—this is a conference that doesn't look the same now as it did 10 years ago, 15 years ago. I—this is a conference that is—is maybe we're not seeing it right now, but I think is starting to form a new identity. Clemson's the old guard, right? Florida State, the big brand—they're nothing but a brand now. I mean, they—they sell stickers and they have guys that dress up in—what are the colors? Garnet and gold, or whatever they call their—uh, their—their colors, right? And they're irrelevant. Florida State's irrelevant. And—and I hate to say that at the ACC Kickoff, but you have SMU, who's a good team. Miami's rise back to national dominance and as good as they were last year and as good as they're going to be this year. It's just—it's transforming between, you know, in front of our very eyes. Diesel: So if uh—if Clemson finds a way to get back to the ACC Championship game this year, win it, they get to the playoff, and they make a run, is it going to be "The Boys Are Back" next year? Cole Bryson: Could be. Could be. The boys are back in town. Diesel: Yeah, it's a very good—very good observation there. Uh, Cole, we had a great chance to sit down with Tom Luginbill of ESPN earlier. He's obviously watched more football than you and I ever will. He's been covering it for years and years. You actually worked with him temporarily for a game, where you were holding the flashlight in his face to make sure he looked good on television. Let's hear from Tom Luginbill and his thoughts on this conference and the way that it looks in 2026. Diesel: It's Wire to Wire with Diesel and Cole Bryson, Day number one, ACC Kickoff here at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Sitting down at the table right now with us, Tom Luginbill, legend of the game. Uh, I don't know if—if you like being called a legend of the game, but I'll—I'll do it. Uh, welcome to the show. Uh, the signage around us this year, a little different than it was last year. Last year it said, "The Conference of Quarterbacks." This year it's "Built in the ACC." Is this conference, in your mind, building to a point where it can start to achieve parity with the bigger conferences, or do they still have a lot of work left to do? Tom Luginbill: Well, I think every conference has its own challenges. I think it's important when you have—anytime you have a team that made a national championship appearance and had the run that Miami had in the playoffs, that shines a—a bright spotlight on your conference. And it kind of—all the things that maybe weren't going right, they kind of dissipate and fade off into the background because the focus is on the positives. So anytime you can have that, I think that's really, really important. What—what I think is—is—is critical fo ...

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