Of the three games left, Duke should scare you the most.
Not because Duke is the most talented team, it's the timing.
We're coming off an emotional loss that can linger. And the guy on the other sideline has every reason in the world to want this one.
Diaz lost the quarterback and the No. 1 receiver who helped him win the ACC: Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate.
He knows Mensah's strengths and weaknesses better than any coach we'll see. Duke will be fired up to send us home.
The stakes are clear. Win one of the last three and we're basically in the ACC Championship Game. This is the one you want, right off the top.
Set the tone and show you've moved on from Notre Dame.
Ahmmon started with the positives from Saturday's game, and there are real ones.
Barkate had a career day, around 112 yards, and it should have been two touchdowns. Elija Lofton finally got the targets people have been asking for. Dre Jacobs added a speed element nobody else on the roster has.
"He's a true 4.3 guy," Ahmmon said of Jacobs.
On one deep ball, Jacobs beat his man so fast at the line that he was 15 yards downfield before Mensah even looked his way. It ended up underthrown and drew a pass interference flag.
That's a timing thing, and timing comes with reps.
Mali is likely out for a few more weeks, so Dawson can scheme for the players he'll actually have instead of rebuilding a plan two days before kickoff.
Ahmmon's pick for the offensive player who has to step up is Daylyn Upshaw. No hesitation.
Barkate and Jacobs are outside guys. Upshaw got the nod in the slot. In Dawson's offense, the slot gets targets and opportunities by default.
"I'm not saying he's got to be Malachi Toney," Ahmmon said. "But we can't go these next few games with a slot receiver not having production. You're going to need him."
Throwing in another name, Somourian Wingo is on the field a lot, and you keep waiting for the breakthrough.
Three straight home games is the window to push young guys.
On the other side, Ahmmon said what everybody's thinking.
"We all know it's going to be Damon Wilson," he said. "Coming in with the presence from Missouri, he has to be able to get to the passer."
You know what helps a statistically bad secondary? A pass rush.
Quarterbacks have been totally comfortable against us. Get them hit, and the ball flutters, gets tipped and lands in someone's hands. We've only got four interceptions all year.
Marquise Lightfoot has done his part. Justin Scott and Ahmad Moten Sr. have done a good job pushing the pocket inside. Wilson needs to get home.
Sticking with the trenches, you saw the youth on the goal line, when Ben Congdon missed a block on a Mensah run. That's the trade-off with true freshmen, they're playing in big games for a reason but they're going to make mistakes.
Samson Okunlola also has an opportunity to turn it around against a smaller Duke front. He's had a bad month by his standards, and there's been a step back from what we saw at left tackle early in the year.
Ahmmon tied it to last year. The tackles have been giving up more pressures over the last few weeks, and the numbers back it up.
The two things that got us to the title game were running the ball and keeping Carson Beck clean. We need to lean on the basics.
Watch the full preview on today's show below:
Not because Duke is the most talented team, it's the timing.
We're coming off an emotional loss that can linger. And the guy on the other sideline has every reason in the world to want this one.
Diaz lost the quarterback and the No. 1 receiver who helped him win the ACC: Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate.
He knows Mensah's strengths and weaknesses better than any coach we'll see. Duke will be fired up to send us home.
The stakes are clear. Win one of the last three and we're basically in the ACC Championship Game. This is the one you want, right off the top.
Set the tone and show you've moved on from Notre Dame.
Ahmmon started with the positives from Saturday's game, and there are real ones.
Barkate had a career day, around 112 yards, and it should have been two touchdowns. Elija Lofton finally got the targets people have been asking for. Dre Jacobs added a speed element nobody else on the roster has.
"He's a true 4.3 guy," Ahmmon said of Jacobs.
On one deep ball, Jacobs beat his man so fast at the line that he was 15 yards downfield before Mensah even looked his way. It ended up underthrown and drew a pass interference flag.
That's a timing thing, and timing comes with reps.
Mali is likely out for a few more weeks, so Dawson can scheme for the players he'll actually have instead of rebuilding a plan two days before kickoff.
Ahmmon's pick for the offensive player who has to step up is Daylyn Upshaw. No hesitation.
Barkate and Jacobs are outside guys. Upshaw got the nod in the slot. In Dawson's offense, the slot gets targets and opportunities by default.
"I'm not saying he's got to be Malachi Toney," Ahmmon said. "But we can't go these next few games with a slot receiver not having production. You're going to need him."
Throwing in another name, Somourian Wingo is on the field a lot, and you keep waiting for the breakthrough.
Three straight home games is the window to push young guys.
On the other side, Ahmmon said what everybody's thinking.
"We all know it's going to be Damon Wilson," he said. "Coming in with the presence from Missouri, he has to be able to get to the passer."
You know what helps a statistically bad secondary? A pass rush.
Quarterbacks have been totally comfortable against us. Get them hit, and the ball flutters, gets tipped and lands in someone's hands. We've only got four interceptions all year.
Marquise Lightfoot has done his part. Justin Scott and Ahmad Moten Sr. have done a good job pushing the pocket inside. Wilson needs to get home.
Sticking with the trenches, you saw the youth on the goal line, when Ben Congdon missed a block on a Mensah run. That's the trade-off with true freshmen, they're playing in big games for a reason but they're going to make mistakes.
Samson Okunlola also has an opportunity to turn it around against a smaller Duke front. He's had a bad month by his standards, and there's been a step back from what we saw at left tackle early in the year.
Ahmmon tied it to last year. The tackles have been giving up more pressures over the last few weeks, and the numbers back it up.
The two things that got us to the title game were running the ball and keeping Carson Beck clean. We need to lean on the basics.
Watch the full preview on today's show below:
