sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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The Islamic New Year (Arabic: رأس السنة الهجرية, Raʿs as-Sanah al-Hijrīyah), also called the Hijri New Year or Arabic New Year, is the day that marks the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. The first day of the Islamic year is observed by most Muslims on the first day of the month of Muharram. The epoch (reference date) of the Islamic era was set as 622 Common Era (CE), the year of the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra.[1] All religious duties, such as prayer, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage, and the dates of significant events, such as celebration of holy nights and festivals, are calculated according to the Islamic calendar.
SU News
Daniel Owens Releases Top Four (SI; McAllister)
Class of 2022 defensive end Daniel Owens out of Calvert Hall in Maryland has cut his list to four schools. They include Rutgers, Penn State, Maryland and Syracuse. He announced his final four on Twitter.
"Thank you to all the coaches who have been recruiting me in this process so far," Owens said on Twitter. "I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities and time you have given me. Commitment to come in due time."
"We got there and I did the workout first," Owens said after visiting Syracuse. "Took a shower and took a tour of the academic side of the campus. All of the buildings and got to go in a couple of them too. We saw the Carrier Dome and all of the renovations they're doing to that. They're doing a lot of renovations to the academic buildings as well. Then we went back to the football facilities, at which point I believe, if I'm remembering correctly, we talked to the coaches a little bit. Watched some film. They answered some of my questions. Then we took pictures (in a Syracuse uniform), talked with more coaches and got to tour the football facilities."
Syracuse's facilities made a big impression on Owens.
"It was amazing," Owens said. "They changed that Carrier Dome so much. Apparently it used to be an air lift system that held up the Dome. Now they have actual structural integrity, support, holding up the Dome. They said you couldn't open certain doors or all of the doors at once or the air would collapse the Dome. Just little things like that. Academic buildings, they are so grand. I feel like that's the best word to say. The architecture looked good, not to mention it's a great school. The athletic facilities are great as well."
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Syracuse football recruiting: 3-star Maryland DL Daniel Owens announces Top 4 (247sports.com; Bailey)
Class of 2022 defensive lineman Daniel Owens included Syracuse football in his Top 4 on Monday. A 6-foot-2, 245-pound rising senior at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, Md., Owens is also considering Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers.
"Thank you to all the coaches who have been recruiting me in this process so far," Owens wrote on Twitter. "I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities and time you have given me. Commitment to come in due time."
Rated three stars and the No. 98 defensive lineman this cycle by the 247Sports Composite, Owens received an offer from SU tight ends/inside receivers coach Reno Ferri in May. Then he took an unofficial visit to Central New York in June, working out in front of the coaching staff.
Owens has also been on campus at RU and UMD this summer. In addition to his top four schools, he also holds offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and South Carolina, among others.
Syracuse currently has 10 players committed to its Class of 2022 including three defensive linemen in Q'yaeir Price, Malachi Davis and Belizaire Bassette. The Orange will have to reload at the position with four scholarship players, including the projected starting trio, set to exhaust their eligibility this fall.
Will SU quarterbacks have more time to throw? DeVito needs it. Shrader might too (PS; $; Mink)
Tommy DeVito and his longtime trainer stood on a field in New Jersey at the end of last season.
DeVito’s ankle was in a cast, reinforcing a cold reminder that settled in as the team finished 1-10: Time is of the essence.
“I said, ‘Tommy, we’ve been on this field for many years,’ " said Leon Clarke, DeVito’s trainer. “I looked at him and said, ‘It’s time. It’s time to put it together.’ "
DeVito arrived here as a lauded recruit, though after two seasons derailed by injuries, DeVito is running out of time to meet those weighty expectations. He’ll be a fifth-year junior this fall. There’s a transfer from the SEC here to take his job. Other young quarterbacks are eager to get their shot.
Syracuse has seen its scoring plummet to the bottom of the ACC, and if DeVito doesn’t play a key part in reversing that trend this season, it’s fair to question if he will get another chance to deliver.
The offensive line, cited as a top reason for the inept offense, is more healthy, older and bolstered by another SEC-tested transfer. The top receiver is chasing down school records. There’s a stable of running backs — and a fullback — to fill the backfield.
DeVito, the presumptive starter when Syracuse opens the season Sept. 4 at Ohio, has held that mantle for three seasons. In college football, where even the best coaches are quick to make a quarterback swap in the pursuit of winning, DeVito has been afforded time to develop despite a 5-10 record as the team’s starter.
The program, stung by player departures and misses in recruiting, has had to this point little recourse to turn the offense over to another option. Syracuse is 1-13 in games started by its backup quarterback over the past five seasons and went 0-7 last year when DeVito was sidelined as a result of an ankle injury.
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Orange Watch: The best bargain in college sports is 2021 Syracuse football - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: Season tickets for $17.85 a game? When compared to NCAA football ticket prices for other ACC and Power 5 conference schools, Syracuse fans can take advantage of the best seven game entertainment value in the country.
To give you an idea of just how economical season tickets are for all seven Syracuse home games (first season SU has hosted seven Dome games since 2017), an individual game ticket to see Clemson play on Oct. 15 costs $64.
There’s simply no other better seven game deal than SU football, especially when you consider the eye-opening prices some of the sport’s traditional big-name programs (check out Ohio State) charge.
Here’s a comparison of the ACC teams and select other Power 5 schools.
| ACC SCHOOL | HOME GAMES | LEAST EXPENSIVE RESERVED SEAT/GENERAL PUBLIC |
| Boston College | 6 | $99 |
| Clemson | 6 | $380 (Plus minimum $160 donation to IPTAY) |
| Duke | 7 | $223 |
| Florida State | 7 | $250 |
| Louisville | 7 | $175 |
| Miami | 7 | $190 |
| North Carolina | 7 | $195 |
| North Carolina State | 7 | $399 |
| Syracuse | 7 | $125 |
| Virginia | 7 | $149 |
| Virginia Tech | 7 | $270 (For fans within a 75 mile radius of Blacksburg) |
| Wake Forest | 6 | $120 |
| BIG TEN SCHOOL | ||
| Maryland | 7 | $150 |
| Michigan | 7 | $527 (Plus $160 donation to the MGoBlue Fund) |
| Ohio State | 7 | $702 (Plus $750 donation to the Buckeye Club) |
| Penn State | 7 | $385 (Limited availability) |
| Rutgers | 6 | $235 |
| BIG 12 SCHOOL | ||
| Baylor | 7 | $385 (Plus $100 donation to the Bear Foundation) |
| Kansas | 6 | $155 |
| Oklahoma | 6 | $440 |
| Texas | 6 | $330 |
| West Virginia | 6 | $365 |
| PAC-12 SCHOOL | ||
| Arizona | 6 | $225 |
| Stanford | 6 | $195 |
| UCLA | 7 | $299 |
| USC | 7 | $330 |
| Washington | 7 | $515 |
| SEC SCHOOL | ||
| Alabama | 7 | $552 |
| Auburn | 7 | $495 |
| Florida | 6 | $380 (Plus minimum $100 donation to Gator Boosters) |
| Georgia | 6 | $275 |
| Tennessee | 8 | $300 |
| INDEPENDENT | ||
| Notre Dame | 7 | $600 |
Syracuse football completes first week of preseason camp (localsyr.com)
Last week was all about setting the stage, reporting back to campus, welcoming the newcomers into the program, and laying out all of the protocols that are in place as another season is about to begin.
This week, things will steadily ramp up with 6 straight days of practice before the team’s next scheduled day off.
The positives that we can mention right now off the bat is the size of the roster. With the NCAA giving everyone an extra year of eligibility, that has allowed the Orange to address one of its glaring weaknesses since Dino Babers arrived, which is depth.
Thanks to several returning fifth and sixth year players plus the addition of a healthy recruting class, the roster currently stands at 105 players, including walk-ons.
The hope is that this new-found depth, especially with the skill positions on the offensive side of the football, will give the Orange some versatility that they haven’t had in awhile.
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2021 Syracuse Football Positional Preview: Offensive Line (waer.org; Frank)
It would be an understatement to say that the Syracuse offensive line underperformed last year. According to Pro Football Focus, the Orange were the second-worst offensive line in 2020, giving up an average of 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss per game. Not only that, head coach Dino Babers had to go to his third-string true freshman quarterback, JaCobian Morgan, for the final few games of the season because of injuries to starter Tommy Devito and backup Rex Culpepper. Chris Elmore (not an offensive lineman) had to fill in at times last year because of Syracuse’s injury woes. At ACC Media Day last month, Babers did not attribute most of those injuries to practice or game action, “We had major injuries, domino effect of injuries in the offensive line. Most of them not on the football field. Most of them happening walking around campus. Just fluke things.”
After the season, Babers hired Mike Schmidt away from San Diego State to be his new offensive line coach, replacing Mike Cavanaugh, who left for Arizona State. Schmidt will be working with multiple returning starters and a couple of newcomers upfront. Better play along the offensive line is paramount to Syracuse winning more than one game this fall. With that, let’s meet the men looking to keep Tommy DeVito (or Garrett Shrader) upright this season.
Offensive Tackles
Airon Servais, Redshirt Senior
Servais is the elder statesman on the Orange offensive line, having played both tackle spots and center throughout his career. SU is counting on Servais to be a leader along the line while likely manning one tackle position, especially after the departure of Texas transfer Willie Tyler. Tommy DeVito and Servais have been together since the quarterback first saw game action in 2018, and are looking to have more success after rough endings in 2019 and 2020.
Matthew Bergeron, Sophomore
Bergeron started every game for the Orange in 2020 at both tackle spots, including eight games at left tackle. Bergeron is the other likely tackle starter along with Servais, and the coaching staff is looking for him to become more consistent as both a pass and run blocker. Left tackle is the likely position for Bergeron, considering the overwhelming number of starts he made in 2020 as a sophomore. He will be counted on as an upperclassman in 2021.
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ACC Road Show Visits 'Cuse on Friday - Syracuse University Athletics (cuse.com)
The ACC Football Road Trip will visit Syracuse on Friday, with exclusive training camp program set for the network that evening.
Hosts EJ Manuel and Dalen Cuff will be in 'Cuse for Friday's practice and will have exclusive interviews with Coach Babers and some of the players following practice – which will be featured on primetime coverage that evening.
The show will air on ACCN on Friday night at 7 p.m.
ACC Road Show is hitting all-14 campuses in the league during preseason camp, to highlight an exciting upcoming season in the league.
Tickets for the 2021 season are on sale now. Visit cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX to purchase. Fans can now purchase season tickets, partial plans and individual game tickets, however the best value for 'Cuse fans to watch the Orange this season remains purchasing a season ticket.
For less than $20 per game, fans can get access to every game of a home slate that features Clemson and Liberty – both of which finished in the top-20 of the 2020 AP Poll – matchups with longtime rivals Boston College and Pitt, an old-BIG EAST reunion against Rutgers, Wake Forest and an in-state showdown with UAlbany. This is the first time Syracuse has hosted seven home games since the 2017 season.
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The Deeper Meaning Behind Syracuse Football’s Preseason Watch List Honorees – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net; May)
At the end of every college football season, there are a plethora of awards. Each major publication seems to have their own awards and rankings. Then the NCAA has theirs. Then there are the random ones you’ve never heard of, but a school’s athletic department is sure to publicize.
The preseason is the same with just a slight tweak. Instead of awards, there are countless watch lists. Some honor the student athlete’s off-the-field service, like Kingsley Jonathan being named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. Others recognize the athletes’ playing abilities.
Syracuse Football had four players named to national preseason watch lists. Those honors include Mikel Jones making the Butkus Award list for best linebacker, Andre Szmyt making the Lou Groza Award list for best kicker, Taj Harris making the Biletnikoff list for best wide receiver, and Sean Tucker making the Doak Walker list for best running back.
Making these watch lists is an accomplishment for the players. Most of the lists consist of around 50 student athletes, so if you are on the list you have to be pretty darn good.
At first glance, Syracuse having four players honored shows that the team has a lot of individual talent. But if you dig deeper, these preseason lists tell you more about this football program — the team is underachieving and that largely lands on the coaching staff’s shortcomings.
If you have four of the top players in the country, at extremely important positions too with running back, linebacker, receiver and kicker, you should be better than a 1-10 team. Sure, some of these guys came on the scene last year and didn’t have enough time to impact the team enough to change the record. But that’s not completely true. Taj Harris was a day-one starter. Sean Tucker played in nine of the 11 games. Mikel Jones didn’t miss a game. Andre Szmyt was available all season.
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On The Block On Demand 8-9 (ESPN; radio; Axe)
Brent gives his three reasons Syracuse can be a good football team this season and shares some sound from training camp.
ESPN The Sportszilla Show 08-09-21 (ESPN; radio; Rain & Matt)
On today’s James Mitsubishi podcast, Rain and Matt talk to Chris Stacy from NYY Sports Talk, Stephen Bailey with 24/7 Sports, Alex Sims with WSYR (NewsChannel 9), plus more!
30 Minute In Orange Nation 8-9 (ESPN; radio; Steve & Paulie)
Steve and Paulie react to the weekend’s happenings in the Olympics and MLB, revisit an SU football hot take from last week, remember the late Coach Bobby Bowden and more.
Syracuse Football: Anonymous coaches can take their quotes & shove ’em (itlh; Fiello)
My column here is about Syracuse football, but I think it’s appropriate to start out with a quote from years ago by Orange basketball head coach Jim Boeheim.
“But they’re quoted from somebody else, an anonymous assistant coach. Let the assistant coach come up to me and say, ‘Gerry McNamara is overrated.’ I’d like to see one of those guys come up to me and say that.”
If you’re more than 20 years old and have been a fan of Syracuse basketball for about that long too, you likely know that’s just a clip from the infamous Jim Boeheim “without Gerry McNamara, we wouldn’t have won 10 *bleeping* games” quote.
This came after the Daily Orange printed a story about anonymous coaches and their thoughts on the season, in particular how they looked at GMac’s season. This led to a post-game press conference, profanity-laced tirade from Coach Boeheim that was not only understandable but also legendary…I love my milk in a glass container from Byrne…dairy.
Now how does this apply to football? Well, it seems that Athlon Sports does something similar to what the Daily Orange did and asks various coaches in the ACC their opinions on the teams (as they do for other conferences and teams as well). So I recently saw a link to the ACC version, a story on athlonsports.com, and I found it insulting and lame for lack of better, more family-friendly words just as Coach Boeheim did that earlier situation.
So according to these windbag anonymous coaches, the defensive line “struggles” and “lacks talent”, the offensive line is the worst in the league and you don’t even need to disguise what you plan to do, and one quote calls this team a train wreck while other teams have a similar offense game plan but “run that system better and with better players.”
IT IS TAKING EVERYTHING I HAVE IN ME NOT TO FIRE OFF A PROFANE RANT THAT WOULD MAKE RICHARD PRYOR BLUSH! THESE QUOTES ARE UTTER CRAP!!!!
Do I expect every sports media or coach to think Syracuse football will win the national championship or kiss Dino Babers’ butt? NO! But so much of this hate is just annoying and tiresome. Is it too hard to be fair and open-minded that maybe things will be different this year and not post crap like this?
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ACC Preseason Predictions For Every Game: Preview 2021 (CFN; Staff)
ACC Preseason Predictions: Atlantic
ACC Atlantic Predicted Finish
1. Clemson2. NC State
T3. Boston College
T3. Louisville
5. Florida State
6. Wake Forest
7. Syracuse
Boston College Eagles
2021 Preseason Prediction: 7-52021 ACC Prediction: 4-4
2020: 6-5, Prediction: 5-6
2019: 6-7, Prediction: 7-5
Sept. 4 Colgate W
Sept. 11 at UMass W
Sept. 18 at Temple W
Sept. 25 Missouri L
Oct. 2 at Clemson L
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 16 NC State L
Oct. 23 at Louisville L
Oct. 30 at Syracuse W
Nov. 5 Virginia Tech W
Nov. 13 at Georgia Tech L
Nov. 20 Florida State W
Nov. 27 Wake Forest W
Preview | Schedule Analysis
Clemson Tigers
2021 Preseason Prediction: 12-02021 ACC Prediction: 8-0
2020: 10-2, Prediction: 10-1
2019: 14-1, Prediction: 11-1
Sept. 4 Georgia (in Charlotte) W
Sept. 11 South Carolina State W
Sept. 18 Georgia Tech W
Sept. 25 at NC State W
Oct. 2 Boston College W
Oct. 9 OPEN DATE
Oct. 15 at Syracuse W
Oct. 23 at Pitt W
Oct. 30 Florida State W
Nov. 6 at Louisville W
Nov. 13 UConn W
Nov. 20 Wake Forest W
Nov. 27 at South Carolina W
Preview | Schedule Analysis
Florida State Seminoles
2021 Preseason Prediction: 5-72021 ACC Prediction: 3-5
2020: 3-6, Prediction: 6-5
2019: 6-7, Prediction: 7-5
Sept. 5 Notre Dame L
Sept. 11 Jacksonville State W
Sept. 18 at Wake Forest L
Sept. 25 Louisville W
Oct. 2 Syracuse W
Oct. 9 at North Carolina L
Oct. 16 OPEN DATE
Oct. 23 UMass W
Oct. 30 at Clemson L
Nov. 6 NC State W
Nov. 13 Miami L
Nov. 20 at Boston College L
Nov. 27 at Florida L
Preview | Schedule Analysis
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Syracuse Orange
2021 Preseason Prediction: 4-82020: 1-10, Prediction: 5-6
2019: 5-7, Prediction: 7-5
Sept. 4 at Ohio W
Sept. 11 Rutgers L
Sept. 18 Albany W
Sept. 24 Liberty L
Oct. 2 at Florida State L
Oct. 9 Wake Forest W
Oct. 15 Clemson L
Oct. 23 at Virginia Tech L
Oct. 30 Boston College L
Nov. 6 OPEN DATE
Nov. 13 at Louisville L
Nov. 20 at NC State L
Nov. 27 Pitt W
Preview | Schedule Analysis
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How conference realignment impacts the ACC and Duke (dukechronicle.com; Rego)
Ah, conference realignment, how nice to have you back.
As if this summer was not hectic enough for college athletics, Oklahoma and Texas finalized a 2025 move to the SEC last month, creating a future 16-team super conference. Now, the other four power conferences are in scramble mode to keep up. In the ACC’s case, multiple options are on the table, but a lengthy deal with ESPN complicates things. Let’s take a deep dive on how all this reshuffling roulette impacts the ACC, and by extension, Duke.
Duke’s place
In general, Duke’s position in all this is tough to judge. As one of the founding members of the ACC, the University’s stature as a leading voice in the conference is secure. Keeping Clemson and Florida State from joining an SEC-driven super league is an imperative, a task that could be accomplished by making key additions and potentially renegotiating the deal. It’s obvious that Duke wants the ACC to stay intact, which means from the Blue Devils’ perspective, anything should be on the table.
Media rights
Some eye-popping numbers here. For years, SEC on CBS was one of the most undervalued entities in sports television, as the conference received $55 million annually. Last December, though, the SEC struck a 10-year deal with ESPN/ABC, a partnership that kicks off in 2024 and will bring in roughly $300 million annually to the league. For context, the ACC’s contract with ESPN—a deal that began in 2019 to coincide with the birth of the ACC Network—pays $240 million a year and lasts until 2036. That’s a gap of about $4.3 million per school, not a massive differential but one that will likely expand thanks to the ratings potential that Oklahoma and Texas bring. Add in the fact that the Big Ten's and Pac-12's current media rights deal will expire in 2023 and before the 2024 season, respectively, and the ACC is at clear disadvantage in the TV realm. If only there was a major brand out there that could help offset those relative deficits…Notre Dame
Well well well. The Fighting Irish, despite their stated preference to remain independent, always find themselves inserted into the conversation, and this edition of realignment frenzy is more of the same. But despite a scheduling agreement with the ACC since 2014 and a conference affiliation for the 2020 season, the Fighting Irish remain firmly independent when it comes to football. That does not mean that the ACC will not, and should not, continue to view adding Notre Dame as a viable option.
For starters, the Fighting Irish’s deal with NBC brings in $15 million annually to the university. Last season, when Notre Dame joined the ACC and played a 10-game conference schedule, that TV revenue was added to the total amount from ESPN and divided up among all 15 schools. That sort of trade-off makes sense for both sides, as the Fighting Irish were able to compete in the ACC championship and could have represented the conference in the Orange Bowl.
Besides, with an expanded 12-team playoff on the horizon, the ACC could coax Notre Dame into joining to remove the uncertainty surrounding a shot at a national title. It’s worth a phone call—a lot of phone calls in fact—and could also add to the academic standing of the conference, which would likely appeal to Duke.
West Virginia
Another possible addition could be West Virginia, which makes geographic and cultural sense. The Mountaineers have always felt a little out of place in the Big 12 since joining nine years ago, so reuniting with old Big East foes such as Syracuse, Pittsburgh—did somebody say Backyard Brawl?—and Louisville could pay dividends for all parties. The ACC has struggled to identify traditional football rivalries that engage a national audience outside of Miami-Florida State, making this a natural maneuver. Additionally, from a men's basketball perspective—again, right up Duke’s alley—West Virginia joining would be a plus.
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You are being redirected... (accnation.net; podcast)
The Publisher of Wake Up, Conor O’Neill joins us on ACC Nation Podcast this week to talk about Wake Forest football and biscuits. That’s right, biscuits and where he thinks you can find the best morning combos. O’Neill provides a great breakdown on one of the teams that we think will be a surprise this season. In eight seasons as head coach, Dave Clawson has taken the Demon Deacons to five consecutive bowls. Will he make it six? That may depend on one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the ACC. Sam Hartman can begin writing his ticket to the NFL with a solid year and Clawson has provided him with all of the offensive weapons he’ll need to shine.
When Wake Forest fans turn to CBS it won’t be the network. Christian Beal-Smith returns to power up the running game. Last year Beal-Smith turned more than a few heads when he put up over 100 yards against North Carolina, Virginia, NC State and Virginia Tech. He’ll be joined by Michigan transfer Christian Turner and Justice Ellison.
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Georgia Tech Football: 2021 ACC Atlantic Preview (fromtherumbleseat.com; Easwaran)
There’s nothing more I can say about the state of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic division than I did two years ago:
It’s not a bit, it’s not satire, it’s not existential defeatism — this is none of that. Auburn-without-a-lake has strengthened their stranglehold on this conference every year. That’s a fact, daunting and fatiguing as it may be.
But heavy is the head that wears the crown. The winds of change blow powerfully through the thoroughfares of small-town South Carolina. A new leader behind center, a roster in flux, a program reeling (well, if you can call it that) from two consecutive years of near-misses at the mountain-top — the storm clouds have begun to gather above the red-brick facades. Carolina blue lightning shocks the air. Will there be rain on Clemson’s parade?
No. Not a drop. The clouds will clear — now, whether that happens on Labor Day Weekend in Charlotte or on the first weekend of December also in Charlotte remains to be seen, but no one really poses a threat to storm the red-brick castle.
But this is the year, if there were one. Clemson’s gate isn’t down, per se — but it is cracked open. Will someone in their conference cohort take advantage?
Well...probably not.
Teams are listed in order of projected finish.
1. Clemson
SP+ Preseason Rank: #2How they’ll win the Atlantic:
Uh, by existing. Seriously — they could play the second string for a good chunk of the conference slate and still skate into Charlotte.
How they won’t:
In 2019, I posited that the only way Clemson wouldn’t win a division title would be something like this:
But two years later, the door is a little more ajar than usual: Clemson is breaking in a new quarterback to replace the new golden boy of Jacksonville, and both the offensive and defensive lines are relatively young; overall, statistical-mentor-of-the-program Bill Connelly ranks Clemson 100th in the nation in terms of returning production. It’s possible that Clemson takes a step back in 2021 — possible, but not likely.
2. Florida State
SP+ Preseason Rank: #61How they’ll win the Atlantic:
McKenzie Milton looks like his 2018 Central Florida self for the Noles and sets the world ablaze with his arm strength again, making 2020’s underachieving receiving corps look world-beating. He’s helped by Florida State finally having an offensive line that, you know, exists. The Noles are also able to use that offensive line to run the ball effectively in spurts to take the playmaking load off of Milton. The will and spirit of Bobby Bowden propels them to some truly impressive victories over top teams (Notre Dame and Clemson, specifically). RIP, Bobby.
How they won’t:
They continue to have serious problems in the trenches, and Milton isn’t fully match-fit for week 1, resulting in a continued quarterback carousel. Alternatively, Milton is healthy, but can’t find the same consistency on the field that he had at Central Florida while playing a completely-newly-reconstructed knee — he lacks mobility and the ability to ad-lib to extend plays, both of which could be especially critical behind an already-suspect FSU OL. Additionally, losses in the secondary to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal are too much to overcome, and they get dazzled over the top by opposing quarterbacks.
3. NC State
SP+ Preseason Rank: #45How they’ll win the Atlantic:
Devin Leary is secretly Philip Rivers with a stronger WR room than Rivers ever had as a pro, and the defense lives up to its top-40 (per SP+) billing. Zonovan Knight comes out running over dudes left and right behind an offensive line that has successfully retooled in-between seasons.
The previews are getting repetitive already (and believe me, it doesn’t really get different from here), but most of the non-Clemson teams in this division are already quality half-teams — they just need to get better at the other half. NC State is pairing a (projected) middling offense with a top-40 defense, so significant offensive improvement is the name of the game for this season; if Leary and Doeren can work some magic here, the Wolfpack could have a really good year.
How they won’t:
Something will happen. Something always happens to NC State when they’re at the threshold between good and great. I’m not sure what it’ll be this time, but rest assured, if the Wolfpack is at nine wins heading into the final few weeks of the season, something will bring them down to earth.
NC State fans: I know you’re reading this, and I also know you are nodding along.
4. Boston College
SP+ Preseason Rank: #62How they’ll win the Atlantic:
Phil Jurkovec becomes Matt Ryan 2: Electric Boogaloo with the help of a deep receiving corps, and underclassman replacements for NFL draftees help ensure the defense takes a step forward. An experienced offensive line takes the next step in adopting a more modern blocking scheme.
How they won’t:
Run defense suffers mightily due to holes in the middle of the defense, and Jurkovec struggles to take advantage of his new receiving threats due to poor protection.
I’m not sure there’s much nuance to Boston College this season: we know what the offense can do, — Jurkovec has put together some really nice performances as the starter, despite being a transfer in a COVID year. Success comes down to offensive line and any defensive improvement: if it’s there, BC could be anywhere from second in the Atlantic to this fourth spot. If not...well, it could be a long season.
5. Wake Forest
SP+ Preseason Rank: #64How they’ll win the Atlantic:
Sam Hartman proves that he can power the Clawfense as efficiently as Jamie Newman did. An experienced offensive line holds up well to assault from imposing defensive lines for Clemson and Florida State. The Demon Deacon secondary bottles up opposing wide receivers, while someone in their own wide receiving corps becomes the new Greg Dortch.
How they won’t:
The defense is going to be the weak link here: can they be nationally average or better (per SP+, of course — and they’re projected to be #69)? Top 50 or 60 might be enough to have a good season, but there’s a bunch of question-marks at linebacker and safety. You can’t win every game in a shootout (as fun as that would be to watch), but they might have to and that’s just not sustainable.
6. Louisville
SP+ Preseason Rank: #47How they’ll win the Atlantic:
A projected 16th-ranked offense (per SP+) lives up to that billing and then some, as Malik Cunningham finds his footing and becomes the second coming of Lamar Jackson and another player (or players!) steps up to fill the void of noted offensive Swiss Army knife Tutu Atwell. The defense takes a massive step forward from its previous iterations under Scott Satterfield and co.
How they won’t:
Satterfield gets the can for his flirtations with other programs in past offseasons. Heck, that might happen anyway — one could argue that he has to make a Tier 1 bowl or win the division to keep his job at this point, and that...is unlikely. Louisville also has to replace talent at a number of offensive skill positions, which may increase their reliance on Malik Cunningham’s mercurial ability to make plays. The Cardinal defense is also projected to be bottom-30 in the nation (per SP+), which is not good!
7. Syracuse
SP+ Preseason Rank: #95How they’ll win the Atlantic:
They switch to running the triple option out of the flexbone. I’m almost not kidding — ‘Cuse would need to find some way to neutralize the existence of opposing offenses and grind away at opposing defenses while catching some very, very statistically unlikely and unsustainable breaks to win this division. But perchance to dream, I guess: the Orange have returning talent at quarterback in Tommy DeVito and Garrett Schrader and had extremely poor injury luck on the offensive line. Maybe DeVito starts stringing together consistently good starts and the defense is able to pressure opposing quarterbacks more effectively and cohesively? Maybe Babers adds a new wrinkle to what seems like a very basic spread attack? It’s really hard to imagine a universe where so many dominoes fall at just the right angle for Syracuse to come out on top of the rubble that would ostensibly be the Atlantic division (and maybe the American eastern seaboard at large).
How they won’t:
I mean...there’s a bunch of ways this could go, but all roads lead to ruin from where I’m seated. ¯\_(ツ)_/
...
ACC Divisions - Part 2 (RX; HM)
ACC Divisions - Part 2
The ACC is the only power conference with non-geographic divisions (SEC and B1G are both East/West, Pac-12 is North/South, and Big XII has no divisions). In "ACC Divisions - Part 1" we saw that this is definitely not making travel easier. So then, what good are the ACC's divisions?Is it about TV ratings?
I must admit, I was surprised the ACC gets as many 2+ million-viewer games as it does with the existing divisions. That's because a fair number of good TV draws are already built-in (e.g. Clemson vs. Florida State, or Florida State vs. Miami). However, the conference is still leaving a lot of potentially high TV ratings on the table by not playing certain combinations more often. For example, take a look at the five highest-rated ACC conference football games of each of the last four years; I didn't include Notre Dame games in 2020, and I highlighted all rarely-played match-ups in bold.The highest-rated ACC conference football games of 2017 were:
- Clemson @ Louisville (5.1M)
- Clemson @ Virginia Tech (4.6M)
- Miami @ Pittsburgh (4.6M)
- NC State @ Florida State (3.7M)
- Georgia Tech @ Clemson (3.5M)
- Virginia Tech @ Florida State (5.6M)
- Syracuse @ Clemson (4.6M)
- Clemson @ Boston College (3.9M)
- Virginia @ Virginia Tech (3.6M)
- Clemson @ Florida State (3.2M)
- Clemson @ North Carolina (4.4M)
- Clemson @ Syracuse (3.6M)
- Virgina Tech @ Virginia (2.8M)
- Clemson @ NC State (2.7M)
- Clemson @ Louisville (2.6M)
BGB: Top WR Pairs for 2021 (RX; HM)
BGB: Top WR Pairs for 2021
BGB has his top WR pairings for 2021.TBH, I would argue that WR is more important than QB - at least in college. There are lots of teams with a mediocre quarterback who looks better than he is because he has wideouts who pull everything he throws out of the air (said QBs almost always fail at the next level).
Here's how Big Game Boomer ranked the ACC's starting WR pairs:
- Wake
- VT
- NC State
- Pitt
- Miami
- BC
- Clemson
- UNC
ACC football power rankings 2021: Updated preseason look (247sports.com; Gates)
After months of waiting, college football is almost back. In less than a month, the sport will return to action, as teams all across the country will hit the gridiron once again, with the same goal in mind when the season comes to a close. In the ACC this year, the goal for teams is to take down the Clemson Tigers.
Under head coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson has won the last six league titles in the ACC. The Tigers are the dominant team in the ACC and nobody seems capable of knocking them off yet. But there are major changes coming to the Tigers this year, with Trevor Lawrence no longer at quarterback and there being some questions as to how Clemson will handle such a massive change. D.J. Uiagalelei has talent and might be the next great quarterback for the Tigers, but it will not be easy this year.
Teams like North Carolina, Miami and others look geared up for a big season ahead and might be capable of knocking off Clemson at the top. So, just who are the teams that ACC fans should have their eyes on this fall when it comes to the entire ACC?
Here is a look at preseason power rankings for the ACC, with the season starting roughly one month from now. The top might not be shocking for fans, but the rest of the league’s positioning could stir up some chatter.
14. SYRACUSE ORANGE
After winning 10 games in 2018, Dino Babers’ program has fallen apart. He won five games in 2019 and was able to win just one this past year, which came by 17 points against Georgia Tech. The Orange open up the year with a Power Five opponent in Week 2, facing a quickly rising Rutgers team and then they will face Liberty, who beat Syracuse last year. It’s looking like a massive uphill battle and simply put, when you win just one game the year prior, you’re going to be at the bottom of the power rankings, whether it’s based on opinion or on numbers like the FPI does.13. DUKE BLUE DEVILS
Some were optimistic about Duke’s chances after landing a Clemson quarterback transfer in Chase Brice. But Brice threw more interception (15) than he did touchdowns (10) this year and is no longer with the program. There’s a big turnaround needed and the quarterback position in 2021 will be questionable at best for the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils open up the year with two very winnable games but will hit quite the buzz saw against Northwestern — who played for the Big Ten title and the end of last year — in the third week of the season.12. WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
...Why Notre Dame will never be a full-time ACC member (augustafreepress.com; Graham)
Notre Dame has no incentive to join the ACC as a full football member, not in the near future, the near future being through 2025.
After that?
It’s not so much that the ACC needs Notre Dame, as ESPN.
Let the bidding war between ESPN and NBC commence, right?
First, to where we are now.
Notre Dame makes $15 million a year from its solo TV deal with NBC, which is a lot, but is less than the $29.5 million the ACC pays out to its members for football.
A more complete accounting of what Notre Dame brings in includes its $7.9 million partial share from the ACC and the $3.19 million that it is guaranteed from the College Football Playoff, plus any extra money that the school gets from bowl and CFP appearances.
In the end, it seems to just about even out for Notre Dame, in terms of what it would get if it was a full ACC football member.
And then there’s this: the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2019, Notre Dame brought in $118 million in football-related revenue, and Forbes had the program in 2018 posting a $72 million profit.
Notre Dame, in other words, is doing just fine, thanks.
Now, to the ACC, and ESPN.
The earliest the ACC could get Notre Dame as a full football member would be after the 2025 season, when the current deal with NBC expires.
In the meantime, we get five Notre Dame ACC games as part of the arrangement that brought the school into the league for everything else.
The ACC and ESPN get the rights to the ACC home games – three this year, two next year, four, supposedly, in 2023, though I don’t know how that one works out.
Three games a year, roughly.
Beginning in 2024, ESPN has the rights to SEC football, which is significant in this sense, because Notre Dame opens the 2024 season at Texas A&M, and in 2025, travels, for some reason, to Arkansas for a September date.
Those games, no doubt, will be in prime time.
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Other
Ryan Benz, a member of the development team selected to redevelop the ShoppingTown mall site, stands in front of his Oh My Darling restaurant in downtown Syracuse.Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
How a former trumpet player who came home is leading the charge to reimagine ShoppingTown (PS; $; Moriarty)
Carl Benz could see ShoppingTown sliding downhill during the two years he managed the TGI Friday’s restaurant there. Vacancies at the DeWitt mall were climbing.
Someone was going to have to revive this place someday, he thought.
Little did he know that the someone would be his son, Ryan, who would occasionally visit his father at the restaurant.
Ryan Benz is leading a team of four Central New York companies that has been selected by Onondaga County to redevelop the shuttered mall into a $300 million mix of retail, housing, hospitality, entertainment, offices and more.
“He’s always had great insight,” said Carl Benz, who now manages a TGI Friday’s in Orlando, Florida. “He’s an entrepreneur at heart. He’s a lot like his dad. He’s an entrepreneur, and he thinks he can envision things how they should be and how they would be if he got involved.”
His son’s company, Redev CNY, and Hueber-Breuer Construction, Dalpos Architects and Housing Visions have agreed to buy the mall from the county for $8 million. Its redevelopment will be done in phases over several years.
For Benz, 37, ShoppingTown would be the most ambitious in a string of revivals of vacant or underused Syracuse-area buildings.
He and two business partners, Steve Case and Dr. Shashank Bhatt, redeveloped two 19th Century buildings in the 300 block of South Salina Street in downtown Syracuse into 16 apartments called the Whitney Lofts in 2018. A year later, Benz and his wife, Leigh Ann, opened the Oh My Darling restaurant on the first floor and a 1920s-style “speakeasy” bar, The Fitz, in its basement.
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