On a recent episode of the “Field of 68: After Dark” podcast, host Rob Dauster decided to cram the entire ACC into one spot in the list of the preseason’s top 10 winners, stirring up comments from fans, including joke accusations of “cheating.”
This unconventional approach, to honor the conference’s collective progress, left some standout programs feeling overlooked. Is the entire conference that much better than the field in 2025? Let’s take a look.
Podcast Hosts Cram Entire ACC in Top 10 Offseason Winners
Grouping the entire ACC together in the top 10 offseason winners list immediately raised eyebrows among the Field of 68 hosts.
Rob Dauster, one of the show’s analysts, openly admitted, “So, I might have cheated a little bit putting this list together. I wanted to make sure that I got San Diego State on the list because I don’t think we could do this without talking about them, and I didn’t know who to cut between NC State and Louisville. So, I just put the ACC overall.”
He continued, “I might have cheated a little bit, but yes, NC State had a fantastic offseason.” This candid confession highlighted both the difficulty of narrowing down the list and the desire to acknowledge multiple deserving programs.
The hosts griped about the fairness of this move, and the fans bellyached about it. By granting a group entry, the list avoided having to rank individual teams, which some said diminished the accomplishments of programs that had especially strong offseasons.
The playful charge of “cheating” underscored the larger debate about how to measure success in a competitive field.
Winners and Losers: Who Got Overlooked in the Offseason Rankings?
When it comes to ACC teams, many people have pointed to NC State and Louisville as having some of the most impressive offseasons around. NC State really grabbed the spotlight by bringing in Will Wade as their new coach and landing some big-name transfers like Darrion Williams, Tre Holloman, and Ven-Allen Lubin.
Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, arguably the best available player in the portal, has committed to NC State, he announced on social media Thursday. https://t.co/Nb6pUtu5do pic.twitter.com/n5ymczHcXa
— Matt Phillips (@SFAgentPhillips) June 2, 2025
With all these new faces, their roster is getting attention from all over the country. Louisville also made some major changes, and it looks like they’re setting themselves up for a big comeback this season.
By grouping the ACC, these individual stories risked being lost in the shuffle. As Jeff Goodman argued, “They absolutely have to be a top-10 winner… How the hell can you not have NC State in your top 10 winners?”
RELATED: Top Analyst Predicts ACC Podium Finish for Will Wade’s NC State After Huge Commitment
The collective ranking, while acknowledging the conference’s overall improvement, inadvertently overshadowed teams that had made particularly bold moves.
Other programs outside the ACC, like San Diego State and Michigan, were also involved in the discussion. San Diego State’s presence helped the ACC claim the combined spot because Dauster had a tough time trying to squeeze all the deserving teams into a small space.
This punctuated the larger problem with offseason rankings: how to balance the vibes of conference-wide improvement with keeping the spotlight on individual successes.
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