On The Pony Express - SMU Mustangs Podcast · Billy Embody, Bill Armstrong, Hayden Howerton

All-Access AM: ACC Spring Football Buzz | Eric Mac Lain on what to watch in the ACC in 2026 | Clemson, Chad Morris

April 2, 2026·46 min·3 clips

Eric Mac Lain says watching Chad Morris coach Clemson's spring practice brought back PTSD — the intensity of immediate public corrections and screaming was something he hadn't seen in years.

Billy Embody opens from a remote spot after watching SMU get after it during spring ball. He brings Eric McLean into the conversation and the scope quickly widens from the Mustangs to the ACC as a whole. The early focus is on spring football and the storylines developing over the course of what was March and now into April. From there, the discussion turns to the College Football Playoff rules and why automatic access for conference champions matters so much. Eric says the ACC cannot afford another selection-process mess, because it can leave the end of a season feeling close to catastrophic. That leads naturally into Duke's ACC football championship and what that title meant for the league. The conversation notes that Duke not only won the football crown, but also stands out as the first program at the major level to win football, men's basketball, and women's basketball conference championships. That opens into a bigger question about what a top athletic department should look like. From there, the show shifts to scheduling and what comes next. Eric likes the move toward nine conference games because it should help the tiebreaker picture sort itself out. He also thinks the league should be willing to play stronger schedules and reward teams for doing it. Miami comes up as an example of a team that got rewarded for playing a strong schedule. Eric is not opposed to 11 Power Four games, even if he admits that is a heavy load. The larger point is that the sport should be willing to embrace that kind of competition more openly. Billy then asks about Virginia and Duke and whether they can stay among the ACC's top teams. Duke gets the more skeptical read. Even so, Eric goes out of his way to praise Manny Diaz and call him one of the best coaches in the country. The conversation keeps circling back to coaching quality, roster fit, and the way schedule strength shapes what a team can become. The opening sponsor read includes Horn Legend, and Billy closes by thanking Horn Legend and Support Tequila. He also reminds listeners about the show's Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning schedule and asks them to subscribe before signing off.

As heard by us

ACC spring talk that connects playoff rules, scheduling, and tiebreakers to real football stakes.

Billy Embody uses a spring ball check in at SMU as a way into a broader ACC conversation with Eric McLean. They get into playoff selection rules, Duke's football title, Miami's schedule, and where Virginia and Duke fit in the league picture.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

ACC spring buzz and the conference-wide playoff stakes are already in focus.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from On The Pony Express - SMU Mustangs Podcast