sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Apple Cider Day!
Apple cider is everywhere this time of year—a mainstay of farmers markets and festivals. An adult version of the popular drink can also be ordered at the bar. This boozy cider is actually truest to the drink's earliest form, with roots dating back millennia.
Until relatively recent history, apples weren’t for eating. In fact, they were often too bitter to just munch on. Instead, for thousands of years, people would press them for the juice and leave it to ferment, letting it bubble away until it turned into boozy hard cider, according to the National Apple Museum.
Evidence of apple trees growing along the banks to the Nile River can be found dating back to about 1300 B.C., but there's no evidence that ancient Egyptians ever used them for cider. However, considering how much the Egyptians enjoyed beer (and that they were one of the first cultures to brew it), they did have some notion of the joys of fermenting alcoholic beverages.
SU News
Still alive: Syracuse football dominates Duke 49-6 (Brent Axe recap) (PS; Axe)
The Syracuse University football team didn’t just snag a must-win in Durham, N.C., on Saturday night.
The Orange also earned your attention for another week.
Syracuse is now 4-6 on the 2019 season, and that’s not much to write home about, but it keeps the Orange in the hunt for a bowl game.
So they’ve got that going for them. Which is nice.
Syracuse’s 49-6 win over Duke doesn’t completely remove the stink of what came before Saturday.
Earning your first win over Power Five school and first ACC victory of the season on Nov. 16 is not ideal, but it will have to do.
“It’s just one game,” Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said after the game. “That’s all it is, one football game. But how important a football game it was to us was extreme based on the things that have gone on in the last two weeks. So I’m really excited for them. I’m really excited that they have the experience of winning again. This game is so difficult. Winning and losing is so small. It’s so small. For them to have an opportunity to play a game and win the game they way they did is really ...”
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A ‘Bear’ returns, giving Syracuse football the freshest DT in the ACC (stock watch) (PS; Mink)
Syracuse football is 4-6 after a 49-6 victory at Duke.
This week’s stock watch takes a look at the players and themes rising and falling heading into the Orange’s road trip to Louisville.
STOCK UP: McKinley Williams
Dino Babers wasn’t going to boast about his senior defensive tackle’s impact in Saturday’s win at Duke.
Syracuse may have gotten itself in trouble this season with players worrying about basking in the limelight. Saturday’s win saw a host of contributors make plays. Like last year, guys didn’t seem to care who got credit. Syracuse created its own energy and brouhgt its own hype to wind-swept Durham, N.C.
Babers, no doubt, wants to bottle that feeling heading into next week’s game at Louisville.
But Williams added another freaky, physical presence to the interior of the defensive line that at times became too much for Duke’s patchwork offensive line to handle.
Nicknamed “Bear,” Williams tag-teammed with Josh Black and KJ Ruff to give SU the type of interior rotation it expected to have all season.
Williams is going to be the freshest defensive tackle in the ACC the rest of the way. Out since early August with a foot injury, Williams has not logged the mileage and absorbed the pounding those guys on the inside willingly take on week after week.
That’s an asset could pay major dividends in the last two games against two of the most explosive offenses in the ACC.
And, yes, Williams will have eligibility in the 2020 season because of the four-game redshirt rule that went into effect in 2018.
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Syracuse football opens as two-score underdog at Louisville (PS; Burrows)
Syracuse football is a two-score underdog for Saturday’s road game against Louisville.
The Orange opened as an 8.5-point underdog against the Cardinals, according to Vegas Insider. The over/under is 63.5.
The line immediately saw some shifts, originally changing to Louisville by seven points before jumping back up to Louisville by nine points on Sunday afternoon.
Syracuse (4-6, 1-5) is coming off a dominating 49-6 win over Duke on Saturday. The Orange excelled on the ground, with both Moe Neal and Jarveon Howard rushing for 115 yards and a TD.
Louisville (6-4, 4-3) took down NC State on Saturday, 34-20, behind four touchdowns from Micale Cunningham and two touchdowns from Marshon Ford.
The Orange defense allowed just two field goals in Steve Stanard’s debut as the Syracuse defensive coordinator.
“I think the main thing is we eliminated some complexities and let the guys really play, instead of trying to be perfect,” Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said after the win. “(We) let energy and enthusiasm cover some things instead of trying to be exactly right.”
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Steve Stanard may need to do more than perform to become SU football’s permanent DC (commentary) (PS; Bailey)
The cameras panned to Dino Babers as Syracuse football’s head coach strode toward midfield after his team’s 49-6 win over Duke on Saturday night.
Down the sideline, though, it was interim defensive coordinator Steve Stanard who had Gatorade poured over his head by Lakiem Williams, Alton Robinson and McKinley Williams. Wearing a gray hoodie and an ear-to-ear smile, Stanard capped his demonstrative debut with a cold head of hair -- one that probably got ly as he walked 150 yards to the team’s locker room on a 40-degree night with 15-mile-per-hour winds.
Thirteen days after replacing Brian Ward as the Orange’s defensive coordinator, Stanard commandeered the defense’s best performance since a 20-0 shutout of Liberty in Week 1. A unit that allowed 58 points to Boston College closed ranks during a bye week, simplified run fits and coverages, and played with the effort and attitude to match its talent and experience. Three straight turnovers, including an Andre Cisco pick-six, highlighted the bounce-back performance that also saw the Blue Devils score zero touchdowns and dual-threat quarterback Quentin Harris get bottled up repeatedly.
Stanard ran with the opportunity to “start painting his portrait” that Babers outlined at his Monday press conference. And the first brushstrokes were intriguing.
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Duke football hits new low in 'stunning' defeat to Syracuse (dukechronicle.com; Trivedi)
Duke's blowout loss against Virginia wasn't pretty but explainable—it came on the road against a solid Cavalier squad. The Blue Devils fought to the bitter end against rival North Carolina and fell in heartbreaking fashion, certainly an emotional loss but not unexpected. A third straight loss to then-No. 15 Notre Dame was largely expected, as the Fighting Irish were unquestionably the more talented and athletic team.
However, Saturday night's 49-6 loss to Syracuse at home is a new low for the Blue Devils this season. The Orange entered the contest without a single conference win, never had a two-score lead against a Power Five foe and had zero defensive touchdowns. All three stats are true no longer, as Syracuse stunned a Duke team that struggled —at some times looking inept—on both sides of the ball, lacked energy and were demoralized.
"There’s frustration. Those are four games in a row so obviously after like a blowout two in a row at home," said Blue Devil safety Dylan Singleton. "This is definitely the most stunning result of the year. We felt like we were a better team than Syracuse. We definitely felt like we could beat them at home but that didn’t happen tonight."
The energy level at Wallace Wade was tempered to start the game, with a (generous) stated attendance of 16,286 in a stadium that can hold over 40,000 spectators. Although the offense started the game moving the ball well, a confusing third-and-15 run call left A.J. Reed attempting a 44-yard field goal as the powerful crosswinds ripped through Brooks Field. After the attempt missed wide left, Syracuse marched down the field and took a lead they would never cede.
"I think we were definitely moving the ball well offensively. You know one penalty here, a mis-yardage play here, a loss yardage play there," Blue Devil quarterback Quentin Harris said. "We just have to do a better job finishing drives."
Syracuse tacked on another touchdown by gashing the Duke rushing defense, but the Blue Devils held the Orange scoreless in the second quarter and Reed connected on a 51-yard kick before the break to give Duke a hint of momentum heading to the locker room.
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https://www.citrustv.com/sports/on-...s-duke-49-6-in-a-must-win-game/(citrustv.com; video; Healy)
When Syracuse (4-6, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) stepped on the field Saturday night, it was clear something was different. Two weeks off proved to be all the difference for the Orange as they traveled South and trounced Duke (4-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) 49-6 on Saturday.
Syracuse returned from its break with a new defensive coordinator, a new-look offensive line, and a renewed sense of urgency. Defensive end Kendall Coleman said the bye was crucial in shifting the team’s attitude to have all the pieces come together.
“We had two weeks, two weeks to figure out who we wanted to be and how we wanted to end the season,” Coleman said. “I think tonight was more of a statement that was made for ourselves as a look in the mirror of, we’re more than capable of being who we want to be and we just gotta go out and act on it.”
The defense, which had been struggling, was the showstopper and the pace-setter for the Orange, racking up an impressive four sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a touchdown.
Some of this was in part thanks to new interim Defensive Coordinator Steve Stanard, who took over when Babers fired Brian Ward after a loss to Boston College that saw over 500 yards of offense allowed. Defensive End Kendall Coleman said Stanard’s insistence on simply pushing yourself, regardless of who you are or the score, helped piece together the puzzle.
“We eliminated some of the complexities and really let the guys play,” Head Coach Dino Babers said. “Instead of trying to be perfect, take some of that energy, that enthusiasm, just cover some things instead of trying to be exactly right.”
The biggest thing for the team, however, was the fact that it now finally has its first conference win of the season, and it snapped a four-game losing streak.
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INDEFENSIBLE: Duke football dismantled by lowly Syracuse team, bowl eligibility in doubt (dukechronicle.com; Kolin)
With Duke in a likely must-win game in order to secure bowl eligibility, one would expect the Blue Devils to come out fighting with a sense of urgency.
Yet, when Syracuse took over for its first offensive possession, it certainly didn’t appear that way.
The Orange promptly tore apart Duke’s defense, with quarterback Tommy DeVito finding a wide-open Trishton Jackson for a 50-yard gain on the team’s first snap. Three plays later, an identical slant route from Jackson resulted in an 18-yard Syracuse touchdown.
That opening score was just the start of the most embarrassing Duke loss in an already disappointing 2019 season, with the Blue Devils falling 49-6 to Syracuse in front of an extremely sparse crowd at Wallace Wade Stadium Saturday. The Orange victory was their first against a Power Five team this year.
"There's not a lot to say that's not obvious," head coach David Cutcliffe said. "It seems like now I say the same thing every week here—that we practiced well. I'm tired of hearing myself say that—obviously we haven't."
While a lack of urgency plagued Duke in the first half, it was turnovers that buried the Blue Devils out of the locker room, with two Harris interceptions and a Mataeo Durant fumble on consecutive possessions gifting Syracuse three straight touchdowns in the third quarter, building an Orange lead the Blue Devils just couldn’t recover from.
At first, it did seem like Duke (4-6, 2-4 in the ACC) was getting off to a hot start.
Harris and company marched right down the field on the Blue Devils’ first offensive possession, breaking into Syracuse territory after just four plays. But the team’s offense soon derailed. Two incompletions and a false start brought the team to third-and-15, forcing the Blue Devils to use an early timeout to talk things over.
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Sunday Rewind: A Look Back at the Syracuse Game - Duke University (goduke.com)
Duke football dropped a 49-6 decision to Syracuse on Saturday.
Despite the outcome, there were some positives that came out of the game. Let's take a quick rewind to see how everything unfolded.
After recording a sack on Saturday afternoon, redshirt sophomore linebacker Shaka Heyward has now posted at least one take down in each of Duke's last three games. He has produced 29 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery during that three-game stretch. With 47 tackles on the season, Heyward is three stops away from becoming the 23rd freshman in Duke history to register 50+ tackles in a year.
SAAAAAACK??@S_Heyward05 drops the QB and Syracuse will punt when we start the second quarter.#GoDuke
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 16, 2019
Redshirt junior kicker AJ Reed went 2-for-3 on field goals for the day. The Prattville, Ala., native missed a 44-yarder before converting from 31- and 51-yards out. That 51-yarder was a career best for Reed, beating his previous best of 50 yards recorded against North Carolina A&T earlier this season. Reed became the sixth player in Duke history to record multiple field goals of 50+ yards in a season, joining Sims Lenhardt (1998), Brent Garber (2002), Matt Brooks (2004), Joe Surgan (2008) and Ross Martin (2012, 2013 & 2015).
??????@_AJR48 connects from 31 yards out!
Duke 3
Syracuse 14#GoDuke
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) November 16, 2019
Can he kick it? (Yes he can) ??
Career-long 51 yard field goal for @_AJR48 ??????
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Louisville Football: Cards Favored By Nine Over Syracuse - The Cardinal Connect (thecardinalconnect.com; Staff)
Scott Satterfield and the Louisville Cardinals will be favorites in consecutive ACC games for the first time this season when host Syracuse on Saturday.
Per Vegas Insider, the Cards are nine point favorites over the Orange.
Louisville improved to 6-4 against the spread with their 34-20 win over NC State on Saturday, covering the four points.
The line immediately saw some shifts, originally changing to Louisville -7 before jumping back up to Louisville -9 by late Sunday afternoon.
Dino Babers squad hasn’t been able to sustain the momentum they established in 2018. Cuse was ranked 22nd in the preseason poll, but just picked up their first ACC win over the weekend.
Out of nowhere, the Orange demolished Duke, 49-6 improving to 4-6 on the season. Not only was this Syracuse’s first ACC win, it was also their first win against a power five team.
The Orange are 3-7 against the spread this season.
The turnaround: Why Saturday's win over NC State meant so much to Louisville's players (C-J; Robinson)
With bowl eligibility just two minutes away from being clinched, Caleb Chandler and a few of the Louisville football players had an idea.
As a sign of gratitude to their head coach, they wanted to dump a cooler full of ice water on him. But as the clock ticked down people had second thoughts about drenching Scott Satterfield, the orchestrator of one of the biggest turnarounds in the country this season.
“Some people said it was too cold,” said Chandler, Louisville's left guard.
Chandler turned to offensive coordinator Dwayne Ledford, who told them to do it.
"It’s never too cold,” Chandler said Ledford told him.
As the final seconds ticked away in Louisville’s 34-20 win over NC State, Chandler and fellow offensive lineman Jean-Luc Childs grabbed the cooler and ran toward Satterfield. Water hit Satterfield's back and then the Carter-Finley Stadium turf on a 33-degree and windy night.
But Satterfield isn’t one to get mad about that, especially in that moment. Louisville (6-4, 4-3) had just clinched bowl eligibility.
Saturday’s win ensured the Cardinals will play in a bowl game for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. Defensive tackle G.G. Robinson has seen three of those bowl games, but after last year’s 2-10 season, he has a greater appreciation for this level of success.
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Virginia Tech Hokies Ranked #25 in the AP Poll for the Week. (gobblercountry.com; Fahvaag)
for Hokie Mark
You are not looking at the wrong link, or a mistake. Your Virginia Tech Hokies are ranked #25 in this week’s AP Poll.
We're Back!
No. 25 in the latest @AP_Top25#Hokies
That makes us the only ranked ACC team, besides #3 Clemson in the AP Top 25. The next closest is Virginia with 23 votes at #28.
The Amway/USAToday Coaches Poll has us hovering at #26 right out of the official rankings. We have been a bit behind in the coaches’ polling occasionally. Eventually they sort of even up. I know that Bryan is sort of reticent about this. I would normally be, as well. Virginia Tech has been better as a dissed underdog than a ranked opponent; however, this is just too sweet to pass up as something to really enjoy.
On September 28th, this team was woosie... It was stunned, and lost. There was no structural talent reason for the roller-coaster ride September that ended in a complete disaster on a Friday evening in Blacksburg.
The firebirds were out, and the boo birds were warming up their warble.
Then, on October 5th, an entirely different Virginia Tech Hokies stepped on to the field in Coral Gables. This team hasn’t looked back. In fact, it really hasn’t lost a football game since. Everyone knows that Notre Dame was handed a win. So the current Hokie rebirth has been very much uninterrupted.
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Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff Predictions: After Week 12 (CFN; Staff)
These projections are all going to go haywire when it’s time to really do this for three reasons.
1) The SEC. In some way, shape and form, LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Florida will all likely be in the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six games. That screws up the whole SEC pecking order, meaning there will be a few big openings against good Power Five teams.
If Mississippi State loses to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl and doesn’t become bowl eligible, and/or if Tennessee doesn’t get to six wins … uh oh. There could be as many as five bowls that have to fill open SEC spots, which is a problem because …
2) There won’t be any Power Five at-large teams to choose from. There will be some very, very good teams playing some very, very mediocre Group of Five teams because there simple won’t be enough options. And that means …
3) This is all going to be screwed up by a few bowls that will jump the gun. The Belk, AutoZone Liberty, Franklin American Mortgage Music City, and Academy Sports + Outdoor Texas will all be desperate for an SEC team. All of a sudden, Kentucky and Tennessee could be the most beloved programs in college football. The bowls that don’t get them might have to scramble for the best available MAC team.
2019-2020 Bowl Projections: Week 12
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl
Friday, December 20
2:00 ET, ESPN
Thomas Robinson National Stadium, Nassau, Bahamas
MAC vs. Conference USA
Projection: Ohio vs. Florida Atlantic
Last Season: FIU 35, Toledo 32
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl
Friday, December 20
7:30 ET, ESPN2
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
American Athletic vs. at-large
Secondary: MAC, and if not, Conference USA
Projection: Tulane vs. Ball State
Last Season: Ohio 27, San Diego State 0
Cure Bowl
Saturday, December 21
1:30 ET, CBS Sports Network
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
American Athletic vs. Sun Belt
Projection: Temple vs. Georgia State
Last Season: Tulane 41, Louisiana 24
New Mexico Bowl
Saturday, December 21
2:00 ET, ESPN
Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium, Albuquerque, NM
Conference USA vs. Mountain West
Projection: Southern Miss vs. Nevada
Last Season: Utah State 52, North Texas 13
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl
Saturday, December 21
3:30 ET, ABC
Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL
American Athletic vs. MAC
Projection: Charlotte* vs. Miami University
Last Season: UAB 37, Northern Illinois 13
Camellia Bowl
Saturday, December 21
5:30 ET, ESPN
Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL
MAC vs. Sun Belt
Projection: Toledo vs. Arkansas State
Last Season: Georgia Southern 23, Eastern Michigan 21
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl
Saturday, December 21
7:30 ET, ABC
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Mountain West (champion) vs. Pac-12
Projection: Hawaii vs. Cal
Last Season: Fresno State 31, Arizona State 20
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Saturday, December 21
9:00 ET, ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Conference USA vs. Sun Belt (champion)
Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Appalachian State
Last Season: Appalachian State 45, Middle Tennessee 13
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl
Monday, December 23
2:30 ET, ESPN
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
American Athletic vs. Conference USA
Secondary: ACC
Projection: UCF vs. WKU
Last Season: Marshall 38, USF 20
SoFi Hawai’i Bowl
Tuesday, December 24
8:00 ET, ESPN
Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union Field at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
BYU vs. American Athletic or Mountain West
Projection: BYU vs. Wyoming
Last Season: Louisiana Tech 31, Hawaii 14
Walk-On’s Independence Bowl
Thursday, December 26
4:00 ET, ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
ACC vs. SEC
Secondary: American Athletic, Conference USA
Projection: Florida State vs. Memphis
Last Season: Duke 56, Temple 27
Quick Lane Bowl
Thursday, December 26
8:00 ET, ESPN
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
ACC vs. Big Ten
Secondary: MAC
Projection: North Carolina vs. Michigan State
Last Season: Minnesota 34, Georgia Tech 10
Military Bowl Presented By Northrup Grumman
Friday, December 27
12:00 ET, ESPN
Navy-Marine Corps. Stadium, Annapolis, MD
ACC vs. American Athletic
Projection: Louisville vs. Navy
Last Season: Cincinnati 35, Virginia Tech 31
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Friday, December 27
3:20 ET, ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
ACC vs. Big Ten
Projection: Wake Forest vs. Nebraska
Last Season: Wisconsin 35, Miami 3
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JHowell's Picks - 2019 Week 13 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks - 2019 Week 13
Below are the projections for the NCAA FBS football games through the games of 11-23-2019. Games against non-FBS teams (e.g. Mercer vs. UNC) are excluded. The favorite is listed first with the projected margin of victory (i.e., the line) in parenthesis. 'TP' represents the total number of points expected to be scored in the game and 'Odds' represents the odds of the favorite winning straight-up (not against-the-spread). source: http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cfpred.txt
Thursday, November 21, 2019
#104-NC State (-0.5) @ #113-Georgia Tech (TP=50 Odds=.510)
Saturday, November 23, 2019
#13-Notre Dame (-24.5) vs. #73-Boston College (TP=61 Odds=.833)
#33-Virginia (-14.5) vs. #91-Liberty (TP=51 Odds=.753)
#34-Miami (FL) (-14) vs. #107-Florida International (TP=50 Odds=.746) @ Miami, FL
#41-Wake Forest (-13.5) vs. #88-Duke (TP=58 Odds=.715)
#43-Louisville (-14.5) vs. #89-Syracuse (TP=62 Odds=.712)
#44-Virginia Tech (-2) vs. #38-Pittsburgh (TP=51 Odds=.541)
BYE: Clemson, Florida State
SUMMARY
The Projected Blowouts: Notre Dame over BC, UVA over Liberty, Wake Forest over Duke and Louisville over Syracuse.
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Poll-ish Logic - 11/18/19 (RX; HM)
Poll-ish Logic - 11/18/19
Here's a triple look at the top 25 + a few more - from Massey's composite computer rankings, the AP top 25, and the Coaches Poll:
| Massey | AP Top 25 | Coaches Poll | |||
| Rank | Team | Rank | Team | Rank | Team |
| 1 | Ohio St | 1 | LSU | 1 | LSU |
| 2 | LSU | 2 | Ohio State | 2 | Ohio State |
| 3 | Clemson | 3 | Clemson | 3 | Clemson |
| 4 | Georgia | 4 | Georgia | 4 | Georgia |
| 5 | Penn St | 5 | Alabama | 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Alabama | 6 | Oregon | 6 | Oregon |
| 7 | Oregon | 7 | Utah | 7 | Oklahoma |
| 8 | Utah | 8 | Oklahoma | 8 | Utah |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 9 | Penn State | 9 | Penn State |
| 10 | Michigan | 10 | Florida | 10 | Florida |
| 11 | Florida | 11 | Minnesota | 11 | Minnesota |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 12 | Michigan | 12 | Michigan |
| 13 | Minnesota | 13 | Baylor | 13 | Baylor |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 14 | Wisconsin | 14 | Wisconsin |
| 15 | Auburn | 15 | Notre Dame | 15 | Notre Dame |
| 16 | Baylor | 16 | Auburn | 16 | Auburn |
| 17 | Cincinnati | 17 | Cincinnati | 17 | Cincinnati |
| 18 | Memphis | 18 | Memphis | 18 | Memphis |
| 19 | Iowa | 19 | Iowa | 19 | Boise State |
| 20 | Boise St | 20 | Boise State | 20 | Iowa |
| 21 | Appalachian St | 21 | SMU | 21 | SMU |
| 22 | SMU | 22 | Oklahoma State | 22 | Appalachian St |
| 23 | USC | 23 | Appalachian St | 23 | Oklahoma State |
| 24 | Oklahoma St | 24 | Texas A&M | 24 | Texas A&M |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 25 | Virginia Tech | 25 | San Diego State |
| next 15 | Others receiving votes: | Others receiving votes: | |||
| 26 | Washington | 26 | Indiana | 26 | Virginia Tech |
| 27 | Iowa St | 27 | Iowa State | 27 | Air Force |
| 28 | Air Force | 28 | Virginia | 28 | Indiana |
| 29 | Texas | 29 | Navy | 29 | Navy |
| 30 | Navy | 30 | Air Force | 30 | Virginia |
ACC Bowl Tracker - 11/17/19 (RX; HM)
ACC Bowl Tracker - 11/17/19
Already Bowl-Eligible:
Clemson 11-0 (likely playoff-bound)
Virginia 7-3
Pitt 7-3
Virginia Tech 7-3
Wake Forest 7-3
Louisville(!) 6-4
Miami 6-4
Florida State 6-5
Needs one more win
Boston College 5-5 (@Notre Dame, @Pitt)
Needs to win out
NC State 4-6 (@Georgia Tech, UNC)
Syracuse 4-6 (@Louisville, Wake)
UNC 4-6 (Mercer, @NC State)
Duke 4-6 (@Wake, Miami)
Eliminated
Georgia Tech 2-8
MY PROJECTION:
Of the teams not yet qualified for bowl participation, I give 5-win BC only about a 40% chance (10% to beat ND, 30% to beat Pitt) to get that 6th win. Of the 4-win teams, the one in the best position is definitely UNC since they have an FCS game to get them to 5 wins - but they will still need to find a way to beat NC State in Raleigh. I don't like Syracuse' or Duke's chances to win either of their remaining games, much less both of them.
BOTTOM LINE: right now I'm looking at 9 bowl-eligible teams from the ACC this season.
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Other
The ultimate Christmas assembly job: Syracuse’s new downtown tree (PS; Eisenstadt)
Mark Merrill and James Arena climbed what looked like a grown-up jungle gym Friday morning in Clinton Square. They wore work boots and Carharts. A bucket full of bolts hung next to them.
The carpenters were building Syracuse’s Christmas tree.
For the first time, the city has dropped its Rockwellian tradition of scouting the perfect pine, chopping it down and delivering it to the center of the city to a crowd of delighted and skeptical spectators who wondered out loud: Will it be tall enough? Will it be full enough?
Instead, Christmas will be perfectly formed unscented steel and plastic this year, and for the years to come.
The carpenters are part of a six-person team that will build, light and decorate the new 42-foot artificial Carolina tower tree. The 80 boxes were delivered to the city in August.
Imagine a playset on steroids -- each part is color coded and labeled. Arena and Merrill matched the reds to reds and greens to greens as they bolted together each new layer, climbing ever higher. And though they are building a tree of the future, a hint of old-school remained: They had sorted their nuts, bolts and washers into old coffee cans and buckets.
Today, electricians will climb the same path, plugging in each of the 400 pre-lit branches on the four-story steel tower.
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