sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to International Traffic Light Day!
The upside down traffic light on Tipperary Hill might get worldwide recognition every St. Patrick's Day, but the country's first traffic light was manufactured in Syracuse. According to the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Crouse Hinds Company, started by Huntington Beard Crouse and Jesse Lorenzo Hinds in 1894, built the traffic light that was installed in Texas in 1921. The Salt City got its first traffic light three years later on the corner of State and James streets.
SU News
Syracuse Football: Orange heads to pre-season camp on Aug. 6 (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse football will soon begin its pre-season practice schedule where the entire team is together and players are in pads.
As Syracuse football waits for more details on its 2020 campaign, including dates of its league games and its non-conference opponent, Orange players will transition into their pre-season fall camp beginning this Thursday, Aug. 6.
Syracuse football communications officials have sent out a press release to media members outlining when the ‘Cuse will hold these full-team, padded practices.
The Orange will have 16 pre-season practices, running from Aug. 6 until Aug. 23, with two days off. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, all of these practices are closed to the media as well as the general public. Head coach Dino Babers and certain players will be available for virtual interviews via Zoom.
Syracuse football commencing its pre-season calendar is a product of a timeline approved by NCAA officials in June. Originally, the ‘Cuse was supposed to kick off its 2020 campaign on Sept. 4 at Boston College.
However, amid the pandemic, Atlantic Coast Conference leaders last week unveiled a proposed scheduling model that entails 10 conference contests and one non-conference clash.
Other Power Five conferences have announced their 2020 dockets as well, with the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC opting for only conference games, while the Big 12, like the ACC, is proposing one non-conference battle in addition to its league slate.
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Position Breakdown: Secondary — 2020 Syracuse Football preview - The Juice Online (the juice; Cheng)
As we countdown to kickoff in September, we’re going to be doing a unit-by-unit preview each week over the summer. This week, we’re taking a look at the secondary, which will return plenty of talent, but also loses two starters.
WHO’S OUT
Syracuse lost plenty of experience and depth from 2019, with seven contributing players (Scoop Bradshaw, Antwan Cordy, Christopher Fredrick, Evan Foster, DuWayne Johnson, Carl Jones, and Kyle Strickland) all graduated. Cordy used a rare sixth year of eligibility, having been granted multiple waivers from the NCAA because of injury issues during his career, and was one of the final links to the Scott Shafer era. Bradshaw, Cordy, Fredrick and Foster were starters at one time or another in their SU careers.
The Orange also lost Allen Stritzinger, who put his name into the transfer portal. In 29 games as a reserve defensive back, he recorded 27 tackles and four passes defended. Stritzinger has one year of graduate transfer eligibility left, and likely left because he was listed as the backup rover to Coley on the spring depth chart.
PROJECTED STARTERS
- Trill Williams (CB): Williams made the final play of the 2019 season for Syracuse, ripping a ball away from a Wake Forest wide receiver for the game-winning 94-yard touchdown. He finished with 38 tackles last season as the primary nickelback.
- Andre Cisco (BS): Syracuse is adding a third safety in its new defense, which means that monikers like “free” and “strong” safety no longer apply. Cisco is now the ‘Boundary Safety,’ charged not only with coverage, but also with run support. A year after he was an All-American, Cisco was a 2019 All-ACC Second Team selection as a sophomore, and is the active FBS leader in interceptions (12).
- Eric Coley (ROV): Coley was the primary backup at both safety positions last year, and finished fifth on the team in tackles. He was listed atop the depth chart at the rover position, a hybrid between a linebacker and safety.
- Smurph Greenwood (FS): The position is called “Field Safety,” and will be a position battle heading into summer camp. Greenwood and Neil Nunn (more on him below) are two freshmen coming off their redshirt year that are the front runners for the starting job. Greenwood appeared in one game in his redshirt year.
- Ifeatu Melifonwu (CB): Melifonwu tied for SU’s team lead last season with 10 passes defended, and returns as the team’s starting cornerback. He’s made 18 starts so far as a redshirt junior.
- Cam Jonas: The third-year safety hasn’t played a college snap yet, but was listed as the backup to Cisco on the spring depth chart. He was ranked the 29th safety in his class by ESPN.
- Garrett Williams: Williams is listed as the primary backup to Williams at cornerback. He appeared in four games in his redshirt season on special teams. The North Carolina native was a three-star recruit in high school.
- Neil Nunn: Nunn was one of Syracuse’s top signees in the 2019 class, ranked 307th overall by 247 Sports. The highly-touted Nunn was one of Florida’s top players, and has the versatility to play safety or corner. He and Greenwood will battle for the starting position.
- Adrian Cole: Cole appeared in two games as a redshirt, and is listed as the backup to Melifonwu. The former three-star prospect played high school ball at Plantation (Fla.).
- Devon Clarke: The redshirt senior has been primarily a reserve safety and special teams player in his four years on campus. He switched to cornerback in 2020, and in 11 games, he’s recorded six tackles and a pass breakup.
Syracuse Football: Can Orange get back to bowl contention in 2020? (saturdayblitz.com; Costanz)
Syracuse football struggled in 2019 and were unable to finish with a winning season. Will the infusion of youth lead to a bowl game for the Orange in 2020?
In 2018, head coach Dino Babers led the Orange to their first 10 win season since 2001. Syracuse walked into last season with relatively high hopes being ranked No. 22 in the nation entering 2019. They were brought down to earth quickly, with two blowout losses against Maryland and Clemson by a combined score of 104-26.
An up-and-down season that included a four-game losing streak led to Syracuse being on the outside looking in on bowl season.
Babers now walks into 2020 with three losing seasons at Syracuse, it begs to wonder if his time in central New York is running low. And 247Sports pegged Syracuse with the 59th best recruiting class for 2020, coming off a 2019 season in which they ranked 57th.
The Orange ranked in the back of the pack in many offensive and defensive stats in the ACC last season. They will have to be more than just a middling unit on both sides of the ball, if they want to hang with the big dogs in the conference.
The talent is just not there when compared to Clemson which ranks at the top and North Carolina which continues to rise. They will have to prove that they can stand out in the upper echelon of the Atlantic division. Winning against teams such as Louisville, Wake Forest and Florida State will be the key to doing so.
Which units stand out when looking at this Syracuse team for the 2020 season?
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SU Football Team Unveils Camp Schedule (spectrumlocalnews.com; Larson)
The first of 16 practices over the next three weeks is slated for Thursday as the Syracuse football team begins preparations for the 2020 season.
What You Need To Know
- Syracuse opens its 2020 football training camp this Thursday.
- The Orange will practice 16 times between Thursday and the first day of classes, August 24.
- All of this year's training camp workouts will be closed to the public and the media.
- Head coach Dino Babers will begin his fifth season with a virtual press conference Thursday at 12:30pm.
Head coach Dino Babers will begin his fifth season at the helm with the first of several virtual press conferences on Thursday at 12:30pm, followed by two players selected by SU, most likely including starting quarterback Tommy DeVito. Babers will also speak to the media via Zoom on Monday the 10th and Monday the 17th.
Syracuse is still awaiting its game schedule for 2020, which is expected to be released by the ACC sometime in the next week or so. The first of the 11-game regular season will be played in mid-September.
Duce Chestnut commits, Syracuse beats out several ACC programs for 4-star CB - ACCSports.com (accsports.com; Geisinger)
Duce Chestnut of Camden (N.J.) High committed to Syracuse, which gives head coach Dino Babes a significant addition in the 2021 class.
A 4-star prospect, Chestnut ranks as the No. 61 corner back in 2021 and a top 20 overall player in the state of New Jersey.
Late last week, Chestnut announced a top five that featured Syracuse, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State and Rutgers. However, the 5-foot-11 defensive back also had offers from NC State, Michigan and West Virginia, among others.
Chestnut cited the success of Andre Cisco — Syracuse’s defensive ace the last three seasons — and a relationship with assistant coach Nick Monroe, the primary recruiter, as the keys to his commitment.
4-star CB Duce Chestnut commits, would be Syracuse football’s highest-rated recruit in a decade 4-star CB would be SU football’s highest-rated recruit in a decade
— syracuse.com (@syracusedotcom) August 2, 2020
Niko and Matt discuss new-look college football season with former SU star Damien Rhodes (cnycentral.com; video; Tamurian, Hauswirth & Rhodes)
College football season is almost here, but it won't look quite the same as it did in years past.
The coronavirus pandemic halted every major sport in the world for roughly four months, as pro leagues like the NBA, WNBA, NHL and MLB have gotten their respective seasons underway.
The majority of those are now being played inside of a bubble, but that's near to impossible to accomplish with college football student-athletes.
Solvay native who walked on to SU football, served in World War II dead at 106 (PS; Bailey)
Former Syracuse football walk-on and World War II veteran Mike Chemotti has died at 106 years old.
A man who spent almost all of his life in the Solvay area, aside from his service time, Chemotti was honored in 2017 as SU’s oldest living veteran alumnus.
Modesto “Mike” Chemotti was born Jan. 30, 1914 as the son of immigrants from Austria. He gradua
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https://notredame./news/rating-notre-dame-s-2020-acc-opponents-part-i-10-to-6 (; Somogyi)
The who and where have been established with Notre Dame’s 10-game ACC football schedule this year in which the Fighting Irish will be eligible to compete for the league championship.
Now it’s about when the games will be played.
Clemson is the clear favorite to capture its sixth consecutive ACC title, while Notre Dame on paper is the second-best team in the 15-team league after posting the sixth-best record (33-6) in the 130-team Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) the past five years. No one else in the conference is better than 23-16 over that span.
In the first of our two-part series, we count down from No. 10 to No. 6 who we believe will be the least formidable to strongest challenges to defeat and prevent the Fighting Irish from playing in the ACC championship either on Dec. 12 or Dec. 19. Tomorrow we continue with teams No. 5 to No. 1.
This countdown is subject to change depending on how the schedule is assembled.
10. Duke (5-7)
Last Meeting: Nov. 9, 2019, Notre Dame 38, Duke 7
Offense: Most glaring about a Blue Devils unit that was 114th among 130 FBS teams in total yards per game was how bereft it was of speed and explosiveness.
Thus, 13th-year head coach David Cutcliffe will take over the play-calling duties. Hired as the new line coach was Greg Frey, previously of Florida State and Michigan, and who will have the benefit of four starters returning.
Quarterback Chase Brice enrolled as a graduate transfer from Clemson after having a hand in the Tigers’ run to the 2018 national title. Top returning rusher Deon Jackson averaged only 3.7 yards per carry in 2019.
Defense: The Blue Devils return one of the better bookend tandems in the league with Victor Dimukeje and Chris Rumph II, who combined for 15 sacks last year. Still, it was 77th in scoring defense and allowed 39 points per contest during a five-game losing streak in October and November.
Summary: Cutcliffe has worked wonders at what used to be the worst Power Five program in the country, but Duke is still only 10-22 in the ACC the past four seasons.
Last year, Duke collapsed to a 1-5 finish, among it a 38-7 loss at home to Notre Dame and a 49-6 embarrassment at home to Syracuse.
9. Syracuse (5-7)
Last Meeting: Nov. 17, 2018, Notre Dame 36, Syracuse 3
Offense: New coordinator Sterlin Gilbert from Northern Illinois was hired to aid quarterback Tommy DeVito — who was sacked an astounding 44 times last season, most in the FBS. The receiving corps is a strength despite Trishton Jackson leaving early for the NFL.
Defense: Seven starters have to be replaced while new coordinator Tony White, from Arizona State, attempts to go from a 4-3 to 3-3-5 alignment with a rebuilding front.
Safety Andre Cisco’s 12 career interceptions are the most among active FBS players.
Summary: In 2018, the Orange had its lone top-25 finish over the past 17 years, finishing 10-3 and No. 15 in the Associated Press poll — and still was thrashed by Notre Dame in a 36-3 defeat. That in a nutshell captures the disparity between the two.
Syracuse couldn’t build on its 2018 success, and couldn’t implement much with their new coordinators this spring because of the cancellations from the coronavirus pandemic.
8. Georgia Tech (3-9)
Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 2015, Notre Dame 30, Georgia Tech 22
Offense: Last year was a massive adjustment under first-year head coach Geoff Collins after transitioning from a triple-option scheme under his predecessor.
The 2019 Yellow Jackets ranked 124th nationally among 130 teams in scoring with a paltry 16.7 points per contest. They also were three-and-out on 40-percent of their possessions. Quarterback James Graham completed only 45.1 percent of his passes for 1,164 yards.
It might take at least one more year to get up to ACC-level speed.
Defense: With the offense sputtering, the defense eventually wore out last season, allowing 32.4 points per game to rank 104th. Sixth-year senior linebacker David Curry leads the charge after recording a team-high 97 stops in 2019.
Summary: A good case could be made that the Ramblin’ Wreck should be in the 10th spot, but it is a road game, which is why they are not.
The future is showing promise after signing a No. 24-ranked recruiting class (one spot behind the Irish) in the 2020 cycle. Plus, the Ramblin’ Wreck added four transfers with potential impact, among them former Notre Dame safety Derrik Allen.
Getting to .500 will still be a challenge in 2020.
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UNC Football: Ranking the 2020 ACC opponents for the Tar Heels (keepingitheel.com; Adkins)
We take a look at the new UNC Football schedule that was introduced earlier this week by the ACC as they hope to play this Fall
On Wednesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a new plan for the 2020 college football season, introducing a 10-game conference schedule. It also features one non-conference game per team that must be held in the state of that ACC team.
So good news.
ACC football is coming back, and so is head coach Mack Brown and the Carolina Tar Heels as they look to continue the progress the football program made last season.
The Tar Heels showed true promise last season finishing with a record of 7-6, and despite not having the best record in the ACC they without a doubt made statements throughout the season.
That included the nail biter game against the Clemson Tigers, and ringing the victory bell against arch-rival Duke. UNC’s offense was a big improvement and now Sam Howell and his top targets Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome are back and now have their stage set as they look to bring the offensive fire into 2020.
As Tar Heels fans look to a new season, here are the teams that the Heels will face, ranked from easiest to toughest, on their journey to an ACC championship.
10. Syracuse (Home)
To top the list we have this season’s easiest opponent, the Syracuse Orange football team, led by head coach Dino Babers.
Syracuse, an up and down team, who finished 2-6 in the conference with an overall 5-7 record, are still looking to find their way in the ACC. The bright spot for Syracuse is their junior quarterback, Tommy Devito, who passed for 19 touchdowns tying Donovan Mcnabb, and Ryan Nassib for touchdown passes for a sophomore last season. Despite great quarterback play and a balanced run game, Syracuse failed to keep up with hotter offenses averaging 28.2 points a game while giving up 30.7 points per game.
Syracuse, who comes in with 20 3-star recruits for the 2020 class and are led by Latarie Kinsler, has definitely beefed up their defense, but so early into the season with little training camp, expect the experience of the Heels to shine through in route to a blow out.
The two teams last met in a thriller during the 2018 season with Syracuse pulling it out for the win. This is a different UNC team, however, and they should be the favorites in this one, especially at home.
This could be a trap game, but expect the Heels to completely control this game on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The hope is that this isn’t a letdown for the Tar Heels in this match up, depending on when the two teams actually meet during the season.
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ESPN FPI updates most likely ACC Championship matchups (247sports.com; Crawford)
Following the ACC's schedule reveal, ESPN has updated its Football Power Index projections league-wide, an early glimpse at how the conference might be won this season. According to updated ACC title odds, Notre Dame — now eligible to play in the league championship game — is a co-frontrunner with Clemson.
Notre Dame's 2020 schedule now reflects four new matchups against ACC competition and the others against league foes on the previously announced slate remained the same, including a much-anticipated meeting in South Bend with Clemson.
With ESPN's update, Virginia Tech's chances to win the ACC dropped to just 2.3 percent, a significant decrease and the most for any league team, while Louisville's opportunity to be a first-time title team improved.
ESPN defines its FPI as a "measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 10,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily."
Here's a look at the ACC's six likeliest league title game matchups in Charlotte, per ESPN's FPI update:
NOTRE DAME VS. VIRGINIA TECH
FPI chance at happening: 1 percent
The word: This one's a longshot, but it made ESPN's list of six most-likely ACC Championship matchups. It would take both of these programs likely beating Clemson, which is a reach at best considering the Tigers haven't lost a game vs. a league opponent since 2017. Fuente is 20-12 against ACC teams in his Virginia Tech career and was a game away from representing the Coastal in last year’s title game.
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Taking a look at potential winners, losers under new ACC football schedule (thetimesnews.com; Smith)
North Carolina coach Mack Brown walked into a meeting room a couple of days ago and found his assistants poring over the Atlantic Coast Conference’s new modified football schedule, taking stock of the matchups and plotting paths for teams this fall, if the season can be conducted.
“Our coaches were looking at everybody’s schedule to see, in their minds, who had the best schedule,” Brown said Friday, “and who had the toughest schedule, and who had the best chance to win with the schedule they have. I said you all know that doesn’t matter. Nobody asked it, nobody cares. You’d better be worried about our schedule, not anybody else’s.”
Still, while squashing that scene at the Kenan Football Center and doling out those orders in a move befitting his more than 40 years in coaching, Brown could relate to the hopeful vibe of the room in that particular moment.
“At a time where there’s so many tough things out there for all of us, it’s kind of a new buzz,” he said, during a video conference with reporters. “This is fun and this is unique, and I think we’re all trying to figure it out.”
The ACC has declared its intent to play football this fall, if public health guidelines allow in this time of coronavirus, with a reshaped schedule of 10 conference games plus one non-league game for each team including Notre Dame, which competes in the ACC in all sports except football and hockey.
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Rx: Divisionless Now! (RX; HM)
Rx: Divisionless Now!
When the ACC first announced it would be playing the 2020 football season without divisions - but with a conference championship game between the top two teams - I initially assumed it had received an exemption from the NCAA rule requiring two divisions and round-robin play. When I realized it had not - and this season is 100% legal within the existing rules - it got me thinking...
The 2020 Scheduling Model
This year the ACC plans to play an 11-game football schedule with 15 teams, all in a single division. The schedule includes 10 conference games, meaning each team is set to play all but four of its conference mates while keeping one non-conference game. For most teams that will be a home game since there's virtually zero chance of getting a power five opponent at home or away. So six home and 5 road games.
The reason this schedule is legal under NCAA rules is because the ACC championship participants will not exceed 12 games (it will be their 12th); the special conference championship game rule is to allow for a 13th game (or possibly a 14th if one of the teams played at Hawaii).
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Links, news and rumors - 8/5/20 (RX; HM)
Links, news and rumors - 8/5/20
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From CardiacHill's "Love Your [ACC] Neighbors": who really IS my [ACC] neighbor?
Glad you asked...
| Team | Four Closest ACC Opponents | |||
| BC | Syracuse | UVa | Pitt | Duke/VT |
| Syracuse | BC | Pitt | UVa | VT |
| Pitt | UVa | VT | Syracuse | Louisville |
| Louisville | VT | Pitt | GT | Clemson |
| UVa | VT | Duke | UNC | WFU |
| VT | WFU | UVa | UNC | Duke |
| WFU | NC St | UNC | Duke | VT |
| Duke | UNC | NC State | WFU | UVa |
| UNC | Duke | NC State | WFU | UVa |
| NC State | Duke | WFU | UNC | VT |
| Clemson | GT | WFU | UNC | Duke |
| GT | Clemson | FSU | WFU | UNC/Duke |
| FSU | GT | Clemson | Miami | NC State |
| Miami | FSU | GT | Clemson | NC State |
As the article points out, there are some inherent conflicts here: some team might be in another's top four but the reverse is not the case, or an important rival might not be in the top four at all. Still, this isn't a bad starting point for permanent rivals should divisionless scheduling become a regular feature of ACC football.
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Other
Onondaga County to pay $125,000 to settle dispute with builder of amphitheater (PS; Knauss)
Onondaga County lawmakers today agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a long-running dispute with Gilbane Building Co. over the construction in 2015 of the county’s $49 million amphitheater on Onondaga Lake.
Gilbane was about to take the dispute to court, which would have exposed the county to high legal fees plus the possibility of an adverse judgment, said Bob Durr, the county attorney. The settlement will avoid those risks, he said.
“This was the lower cost option,‘' Legislature Chairman David Knapp said.
The dispute centered on an underground storm sewer at the site, which collapsed under the weight of vehicle traffic and had to be replaced, Knapp said. Gilbane, which absorbed the additional cost, maintained that the sewer had been installed according to the specifications it was given, which were wrong, Durr said.
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