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What we learned from ACC media days: SMU joins the club, keeping up with the Big 10, SEC

With commissioner Jim Phillips and SMU representatives having already taken the stand, let’s take a look at what we learned ahead of the ACC football season.

The last teams are speaking with media Thursday at ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., but with commissioner Jim Phillips and SMU representatives having already taken the stand, let’s take a look at what we learned ahead of the ACC football season.

SMU confident in ability to compete with the best

Despite being a newcomer to power conference football, the Mustangs believe they have what it takes to succeed in their first season in the ACC.

Coming off a CFP top-25 finish with a standout quarterback in Preston Stone, a strong defense and a manageable schedule, there are a number of reasons to believe in SMU’s chances as a first-year ACC program.

“I feel confident we have a team that’s going to compete,” head coach Rhett Lashlee said in his press conference. “We’re going to gain a lot from being in this conference, and I also think we’re going to add a lot of value to the conference, as well.”

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How the ACC plans to keep up financially with the SEC, Big Ten

The biggest question ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is facing is how to remain financially competitive in the changing landscape of college football.

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The drastic conference realignment that’s taken place over the last few seasons all boils down to money. And in that department, the ACC hasn’t always had the advantage. Phillips even admitted so.

“How do you close the gap? How do you be competitive?” Phillips said in his address at the ACC Football Kickoff Monday. “The ACC’s never been a league that’s led in revenue generation and distribution. We just haven’t.”

While Phillips and the ACC are aware of the conference’s past, the commissioner said he is actively trying to close that gap — and has made progress financially, which he shared Monday.

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ACC in turmoil, facing ‘incredibly harmful’ disputes with member schools

SMU’s pride in joining the ACC has been obvious for months. But while SMU seeks to attach itself to the ACC brand, some of its counterparts are striving to do the opposite, with legal battles looming between the ACC and two of its members. Florida State and Clemson are taking action against the conference while exploring eventual exit strategies.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t spend some time on the legal cases. I don’t think that’s going to change,” Phillips said. “These disputes continue to be extremely damaging, disruptive and incredibly harmful to the league as well as overshadowing our student athletes and the incredible success that’s taking place on the field and within the conference.”

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EA Sports College Football 25 hits the shelves: ‘It’s surreal’

The release of EA Sports College Football 25 has led to an overwhelming response on social media and from those who have played the game so far, but some of its biggest fans are those who are actually in it.

SMU’s four student athletes in attendance at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., Monday — quarterback Preston Stone, quarterback Kevin Jennings, tight end RJ Maryland and defensive end Elijah Roberts — began the day by playing as one another against one another on a couch and TV that EA Sports set up for them.

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“Honestly, I was most happy with the flow they gave me,” Stone said. “They gave me some really nice lettuce. They did good for me in the hair department.”

Read more here.

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