Week 3 of the college football season is underway tonight with the Georgia Tech - Miami game. All eight Big East teams are in action this Saturday. There are only three losses to non-conference opponents through the first two weeks, two of which belong to Syracuse. The other was UConn's heartbreaking loss to North Carolina in the final seconds last Saturday. Without further ado, let's take a look at this week's matchups:
South Florida (No Line) over Charleston Southern (Saturday, 7PM)
USF fans have probably been bored to tears with games so far vs. Wofford (a 40-7 win) and Western Kentucky (a 35-13 win). If that isn't bad enough, they'll want to slit their wrists after another mindless sleeper this weekend vs. Charleston Southern. The Bulls have one more game to work out any kinks before travelling to Tallahassee to take on Florida State next weekend, followed by the beginning of conference play next week at Syracuse.
Navy (+9) over Pitt (Saturday, 6PM)
This is supposed to be Pitt's year to win the Big East, but, as stated in this space previously, bad things tend to happen when Dave Wannestedt is roaming the sidelines. Pitt hasn't been tested this year with wins over Youngstown State and Buffalo, but will be when second year head coach Ken Niumatalolo brings his Midshipmen to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Navy is coming off of a win Louisiana Tech, but more importantly, a 31-27 loss to Ohio State in Columbus two weeks ago. The Mids almost erased a 15 point 4th quarter deficit scoring two touchdowns in four minutes before having the game tying two point conversion attempt intercepted and returned. The most amazing story of this game is that 6 of Navy's 18 first downs in this game came via passes. That's 33 per cent! If Navy's passing game is at least decent enough to keep opponents guessing, they'll be very successful this year. Pitt will have its hands full trying to win this game, let alone cover.
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Syracuse (+3) over Northwestern
Syracuse wraps up its Big 10 portion of the schedule this week with Northwestern at home. I'm picking Syracuse to not only cover, but also win the game outright. Follow the logic. They lost to Minnesota in OT, then lost at Penn State but did not get humiliated. This is the weakest of the three teams, it's a home game, and Syracuse has had two weeks to gel. Coach Marrone will get his first of what Orange fans hope to be many Gatorade showers on Saturday night.
UConn (+10.5) over Baylor
The Bears received votes in the AP Poll and senior linebacker Joe Pawelek was named Big 12 defensive player of the week on the heels of Baylor's 24-21 victory at Wake Forest. Although it was a road win against a BCS conference team, it is in no way, shape or form worth of 10.5 points this week vs. UConn. Let's not forget the Huskies' battle with another ACC foe last week. The 12-10 loss to then # 19 North Carolina is far more impressive than what Baylor did, in spite of that fact that the Huskies came up short.
Kentucky (-10.5) over Louisville
Sorry Cardinals fans, but time have changed. Football in the state of Kentucky now belongs to the Wildcats, at least for now. The silver lining is that this Saturday's loss will only accelerate the long overdue firing of Steve Kragthorpe, at one point the healing process can truly begin.
Auburn (-4) over West Virginia
The Big East desperately needs a win here as this is one of two huge statements games this weekend vs. other BCS schools, but it probably won't happen. The Mountaineers defense has allowed a combine 40 points vs. Liberty and East Carolina and will likely be without junior defensive end Scooter Berry who injured his shoulder vs. East Carolina. Auburn is at home and has scored 86 combined points in its first two games.
Cincinnati (-2.5) over Oregon State
This would be the other statement game that Big East desperately needs to win. The Bearcats can climb the rankings and position themselves for a potential national title run with a win over a Pac 10 opponent. Oregon State beat Portland State in Week 1 and struggled to beat UNLV last week. Tony Pike and company put on a clinic vs. what was supposed to be a solid Rutgers defense in week 1.
Florida International vs. Rutgers
Coming tomorrow ... Stay Tuned
Showing posts with label Syracuse Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syracuse Football. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
THE NATALE FACTOR
It all came to me while watching the Syracuse vs. Minnesota game on Saturday. No, it wasn't the Greg Paulus interception during OT to open the door for an eventual Golden Gophers win. It was the first half, where the prodigal son did all of the little things right in his return home to the Carrier Dome.
He showed the kind of leadership you'd expect to see from your 5th year senior QB. He let his skill players make plays, he played smart, he played within himself and most importantly he didn't turn the ball over (less the botched shotgun snap on the first play from scrimmage).
These are the kinds of things that we should expect from Natale headed into today's home opener. It is also exactly what Schiano means when he talks about "game management" which he so often has during camp. In many ways, Natale represents the last piece of the Scarlet Knights offensive puzzle. With one of top 10 offensive lines in the country (according to Phil Steele), a talented trio of running backs and a mix of experienced, big play and emerging wide receivers, all we need is for Natale to establish enough of a balance in the passing and running games to allow all of the talent around him to make plays and not make any mistakes along the way. If he can play this role, consistently, beginning today with the first series from scrimmage then Natale, and Natale alone at QB gives the Scarlet Knights its best chance to win against the Bearcats.
He showed the kind of leadership you'd expect to see from your 5th year senior QB. He let his skill players make plays, he played smart, he played within himself and most importantly he didn't turn the ball over (less the botched shotgun snap on the first play from scrimmage).
These are the kinds of things that we should expect from Natale headed into today's home opener. It is also exactly what Schiano means when he talks about "game management" which he so often has during camp. In many ways, Natale represents the last piece of the Scarlet Knights offensive puzzle. With one of top 10 offensive lines in the country (according to Phil Steele), a talented trio of running backs and a mix of experienced, big play and emerging wide receivers, all we need is for Natale to establish enough of a balance in the passing and running games to allow all of the talent around him to make plays and not make any mistakes along the way. If he can play this role, consistently, beginning today with the first series from scrimmage then Natale, and Natale alone at QB gives the Scarlet Knights its best chance to win against the Bearcats.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
PAULUS LOSES POISE IN FINAL MINUTES
The last time Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone set foot in the Carrier Dome, Microsoft just released its first version of Windows, Huey Lewis and the News were at the top of the Billboard charts and Marty McFly just took his first ride in Doc Brown's DeLorean. The year was 1985 and Marrone was an offensive limeman on a Syracuse team that lost to West Virginia 13-10.
Yesterday Marrone looked to take his team back in time, to a place where bowl berths were virtually assured and Big East championships always a possibility. Not even the most die hard of Orange fans expect Marrone to lead the team to a bowl game this year, but they would like to see some tangible evidence that the team is at least headed in the right direction. Under former head coach (and current Michigan defensive coordinator) Greg Robinson, the team suffered four straight losing seasons, never amassing more than four wins or finishing higher than seventh in the Big East.
The last time Greg Paulus set foot in the Carrier Dome he led his high school team (Christian Brothers Academy, located in a Syracuse suburb) to a 41-35 victory over a New Rochelle team that featured Ray Rice and Glenn Lee (both of whom went on to star at Rutgers) to win the state championship. Paulus was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 but decided to give up football to play basketball at Duke. He was Mike Krzyzewski's starting point guard for three years before losing the starting job in his senior season. He took advantage of a little known NCAA rule that allows a fifth year of eligibility for two sport players at two different schools. He enrolled at Syracuse and earned the starting job.
Marrone wasted little time in naming Paulus his starter after just one week of practice this summer (Paulus did not paricipate in spring practice). He made a strong statement with this decision. Paulus is not the future of the program, as this is his one and only year of eligibility. Marrone should have started sophomore Ryan Nassib if he was interested in having something to build on for next year. He also could have started senior Cam Dantley if he was interested in building off of last year's Notre Dame game in which Dantley managed two fourth quarter 68 yard touchdown drives in Syracuse's come from behind victory in South Bend. Instead, Marrone decided to go with a publicity stunt. He feels that the "Local Boy Makes Good" headlines are more important that building a program of which the university and city can both be proud.
Truth be told, although Paulus did not put up great numbers (19-31-167-1-1), he did not do a bad job of managing the offense. He kept his team in the game and gave them a chance to win - for the first 59 minutes. After Minnesota's field goad knotted the score at 20 with 57 seconds left to play in regulation, Paulus had one last shot to lead the Orange down field and win this game. The first play from scrimmage was a 7 yard completion to Mike Williams (in bounds) that was whistled dead with 45 seconds left on the clock. The next snap did not come until the clock was at 25 seconds. Paulus could not get his team to the line fast enough and inexplicably burned 20 seconds. His biggest sin came in overtime when he threw an interception on a 3rd and 5 play. Minnesota did a good job of covering the receivers and Paulus was being chased around the backfield. He had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. Charlie Weiss could have run a 40 yard dash in the same amount of time. Most quarterbacks would have thrown the ball 10 rows into the stands and settled for a field goal. A quarterback that is playing in his first college football game is expected to make that mistake.
The problem is that Paulus is not an 18 year old kid. He's a fifth year senior who will not be coming back next year. Syracuse cannot afford to watch Paulus make mistakes this year and then start over with a new quarterback next year. Orange fans have rallied behind Marrone and are genuinely happy with yesterday's performance. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help build for the future. It's been a long time since a meaningful football game was played in Syracuse and people are counting on Marrone to turn this program around. Too bad he is focused on marketing gimmicks rather than doing the job that he was hired to do.
Yesterday Marrone looked to take his team back in time, to a place where bowl berths were virtually assured and Big East championships always a possibility. Not even the most die hard of Orange fans expect Marrone to lead the team to a bowl game this year, but they would like to see some tangible evidence that the team is at least headed in the right direction. Under former head coach (and current Michigan defensive coordinator) Greg Robinson, the team suffered four straight losing seasons, never amassing more than four wins or finishing higher than seventh in the Big East.
The last time Greg Paulus set foot in the Carrier Dome he led his high school team (Christian Brothers Academy, located in a Syracuse suburb) to a 41-35 victory over a New Rochelle team that featured Ray Rice and Glenn Lee (both of whom went on to star at Rutgers) to win the state championship. Paulus was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2004 but decided to give up football to play basketball at Duke. He was Mike Krzyzewski's starting point guard for three years before losing the starting job in his senior season. He took advantage of a little known NCAA rule that allows a fifth year of eligibility for two sport players at two different schools. He enrolled at Syracuse and earned the starting job.
Marrone wasted little time in naming Paulus his starter after just one week of practice this summer (Paulus did not paricipate in spring practice). He made a strong statement with this decision. Paulus is not the future of the program, as this is his one and only year of eligibility. Marrone should have started sophomore Ryan Nassib if he was interested in having something to build on for next year. He also could have started senior Cam Dantley if he was interested in building off of last year's Notre Dame game in which Dantley managed two fourth quarter 68 yard touchdown drives in Syracuse's come from behind victory in South Bend. Instead, Marrone decided to go with a publicity stunt. He feels that the "Local Boy Makes Good" headlines are more important that building a program of which the university and city can both be proud.
Truth be told, although Paulus did not put up great numbers (19-31-167-1-1), he did not do a bad job of managing the offense. He kept his team in the game and gave them a chance to win - for the first 59 minutes. After Minnesota's field goad knotted the score at 20 with 57 seconds left to play in regulation, Paulus had one last shot to lead the Orange down field and win this game. The first play from scrimmage was a 7 yard completion to Mike Williams (in bounds) that was whistled dead with 45 seconds left on the clock. The next snap did not come until the clock was at 25 seconds. Paulus could not get his team to the line fast enough and inexplicably burned 20 seconds. His biggest sin came in overtime when he threw an interception on a 3rd and 5 play. Minnesota did a good job of covering the receivers and Paulus was being chased around the backfield. He had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. Charlie Weiss could have run a 40 yard dash in the same amount of time. Most quarterbacks would have thrown the ball 10 rows into the stands and settled for a field goal. A quarterback that is playing in his first college football game is expected to make that mistake.
The problem is that Paulus is not an 18 year old kid. He's a fifth year senior who will not be coming back next year. Syracuse cannot afford to watch Paulus make mistakes this year and then start over with a new quarterback next year. Orange fans have rallied behind Marrone and are genuinely happy with yesterday's performance. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help build for the future. It's been a long time since a meaningful football game was played in Syracuse and people are counting on Marrone to turn this program around. Too bad he is focused on marketing gimmicks rather than doing the job that he was hired to do.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
BIG EAST PREVIEW WEEK 1
Everyone is anxiously awaiting what is prematurely being dubbed the "Big East Championship" game on Monday afternoon between Cincinnati and Rutgers. It doesn't make much sense to speak of conference championships before a single snap has taken place. Additionally, there is plenty of football to be played long before the titans take the field in Piscataway. Let's look at the rest of the Big East match ups this weekend:
Minnesota (-3.5) over Syracuse (Saturday, Noon, ESPN2)
The odds makers made this one an easy pick. The outcome of this game was never in doubt and the spread is small enough to make this one a no brainer. Minnesota comes into the Carrier Dome losers of 5 straight (including a 55-0 thrashing by Iowa and a 42-21 loss to Kansas in the Insight Bowl) they did start off 7-1 last year and have 18 starters returning this year. By contrast, Syracuse had 18 scholarship players leave the program. Orange fans are rightfully excited by the arrival of first year head coach Doug Marrone but should not expect miracles.
West Virginia (No Line) over Liberty (Saturday, Noon, SNY)
This one should be a laugher as the Mountaineers open up vs. an FCS opponent from the Big South Conference. West Virginia certainly is a different team than it was two years ago after having lost 4 offensive stars to the NFL (Steve Slaton - 2008 Texans, Owen Schmitt -2008 Seahawks, Darius Reynaud - 2008 Vikings and Pat White - 2009 Dolphins) but still have some offensive firepower. The departure of UConn's Donald Brown to the NFL means that Noel Devine returns as the leading rusher in the Big East at 6.3 yds/carry. Quarterback Jarrett Brown is 2-0 as a starter and has never lost a game in which he entered with the lead. It will also be interesting to see this team begin the transition from "Rich Rodriguez' team" to "Bill Stewart's team."
Pittsburgh (No Line) over Youngstown State (Saturday, 1PM)
While Pitt will easily roll over its FCS opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference, the real question here is what will happen with the rest of their season? The Panthers were once again praised for their recruiting class in 2009, and were picked 1st in the Big East media poll. Is Bill Stull the quarterback that can lead the Panthers to a BCS berth? It will be difficult to replace LeSean McCoy (1,448 yds., 21 touchdowns) and LaRod Stephens-Howling (312 yds., 5 touchdowns) at tailback, especially with true freshman Dion Lewis (don't worry - if he gets hurt, he'll be replaced by true freshman Ray Graham). The Pitt two-deep is currently littered with freshman (15 to be exact). There is also the Dave Wannestedt factor. He has no problem recruiting, but has difficulty bringing the best out of his players and also gets out coached each and every Saturday. Is this really a championship team?
USF (No Line) over Wofford (Saturday, 7PM)
This is the Bulls' first of two FCS opponents this year (the other being Western Kentucky). USF should win this game handily over its opponent from the Southern Conference. The Bulls have the talent this year to make a run for their first ever Big East Title and BCS berth. Quarterback Matt Grothe enters this year only 287 yards behind Pat White on the Big East Total Offense list (which he could rack up vs. Wofford) and only 1,287 yards behind former Louisville quarterback Chris Redman who holds the Big East record. That record is well withing reach for this season. On the other side of the ball, defensive end George Selvie is just as exciting. The two-time All-American decided to fore go the NFL draft this spring and will return to anchor the Bulls defense. He routinely runs over anybody not named Anthony Davis on his way to opposing quarterbacks.
UConn (-5) over Ohio (Sunday, 7PM)
The biggest question in this game is not whether or not UConn will cover the spread (they will), it's whether or not Ohio can sell out 24,000 seat Peden Stadium with tickets going for $5 each. The economy is currently in the toilet and UConn-Ohio is not exactly Florida-Georgia, but $5 to see a Division IA College Football game is a great deal no matter the circumstances. Let's see if the people of Athens agree. UConn should fall back to the bottom half of the Big East this year after losing six players to the NFL Draft, including Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher in 2008.
Louisville (No Line) over Indiana State (Saturday, 7:30 PM)
Indiana State is already 0-1 this season after losing their season opener to Quincy last Thursday. Yes, Quincy, an NAIA school. Not even Louisville, with all its troubles, can lose to Indiana State. The remnants of Bobby Petrino's time in Louisville are almost gone. Most of his players have either graduated, transferred or otherwise lost eligibility. This is truly Steve Kragthorpe's team now, and that's not a good thing if you're a Louisville fan. A sub .500 finish is certainly possible for the Cardinals this year. Even worse, they may finish behind Syracuse.
Of course, all of this is just the undercard. These games will hold us over until the main event on Monday afternoon. Until then - enjoy your weekend.
Minnesota (-3.5) over Syracuse (Saturday, Noon, ESPN2)
The odds makers made this one an easy pick. The outcome of this game was never in doubt and the spread is small enough to make this one a no brainer. Minnesota comes into the Carrier Dome losers of 5 straight (including a 55-0 thrashing by Iowa and a 42-21 loss to Kansas in the Insight Bowl) they did start off 7-1 last year and have 18 starters returning this year. By contrast, Syracuse had 18 scholarship players leave the program. Orange fans are rightfully excited by the arrival of first year head coach Doug Marrone but should not expect miracles.
West Virginia (No Line) over Liberty (Saturday, Noon, SNY)
This one should be a laugher as the Mountaineers open up vs. an FCS opponent from the Big South Conference. West Virginia certainly is a different team than it was two years ago after having lost 4 offensive stars to the NFL (Steve Slaton - 2008 Texans, Owen Schmitt -2008 Seahawks, Darius Reynaud - 2008 Vikings and Pat White - 2009 Dolphins) but still have some offensive firepower. The departure of UConn's Donald Brown to the NFL means that Noel Devine returns as the leading rusher in the Big East at 6.3 yds/carry. Quarterback Jarrett Brown is 2-0 as a starter and has never lost a game in which he entered with the lead. It will also be interesting to see this team begin the transition from "Rich Rodriguez' team" to "Bill Stewart's team."
Pittsburgh (No Line) over Youngstown State (Saturday, 1PM)
While Pitt will easily roll over its FCS opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference, the real question here is what will happen with the rest of their season? The Panthers were once again praised for their recruiting class in 2009, and were picked 1st in the Big East media poll. Is Bill Stull the quarterback that can lead the Panthers to a BCS berth? It will be difficult to replace LeSean McCoy (1,448 yds., 21 touchdowns) and LaRod Stephens-Howling (312 yds., 5 touchdowns) at tailback, especially with true freshman Dion Lewis (don't worry - if he gets hurt, he'll be replaced by true freshman Ray Graham). The Pitt two-deep is currently littered with freshman (15 to be exact). There is also the Dave Wannestedt factor. He has no problem recruiting, but has difficulty bringing the best out of his players and also gets out coached each and every Saturday. Is this really a championship team?
USF (No Line) over Wofford (Saturday, 7PM)
This is the Bulls' first of two FCS opponents this year (the other being Western Kentucky). USF should win this game handily over its opponent from the Southern Conference. The Bulls have the talent this year to make a run for their first ever Big East Title and BCS berth. Quarterback Matt Grothe enters this year only 287 yards behind Pat White on the Big East Total Offense list (which he could rack up vs. Wofford) and only 1,287 yards behind former Louisville quarterback Chris Redman who holds the Big East record. That record is well withing reach for this season. On the other side of the ball, defensive end George Selvie is just as exciting. The two-time All-American decided to fore go the NFL draft this spring and will return to anchor the Bulls defense. He routinely runs over anybody not named Anthony Davis on his way to opposing quarterbacks.
UConn (-5) over Ohio (Sunday, 7PM)
The biggest question in this game is not whether or not UConn will cover the spread (they will), it's whether or not Ohio can sell out 24,000 seat Peden Stadium with tickets going for $5 each. The economy is currently in the toilet and UConn-Ohio is not exactly Florida-Georgia, but $5 to see a Division IA College Football game is a great deal no matter the circumstances. Let's see if the people of Athens agree. UConn should fall back to the bottom half of the Big East this year after losing six players to the NFL Draft, including Donald Brown, the nation's leading rusher in 2008.
Louisville (No Line) over Indiana State (Saturday, 7:30 PM)
Indiana State is already 0-1 this season after losing their season opener to Quincy last Thursday. Yes, Quincy, an NAIA school. Not even Louisville, with all its troubles, can lose to Indiana State. The remnants of Bobby Petrino's time in Louisville are almost gone. Most of his players have either graduated, transferred or otherwise lost eligibility. This is truly Steve Kragthorpe's team now, and that's not a good thing if you're a Louisville fan. A sub .500 finish is certainly possible for the Cardinals this year. Even worse, they may finish behind Syracuse.
Of course, all of this is just the undercard. These games will hold us over until the main event on Monday afternoon. Until then - enjoy your weekend.
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