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No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Milk Chocolate Day!
Milk chocolate, celebrated today with National Milk Chocolate Day, is made of cocoa, sugar, and milk. The proportion of each ingredient in the chocolate varies by brand and country of origin. Milk chocolate is the most popular kind of chocolate in many countries. Most of it is sold in the United States and Europe, but markets in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia have been ascendant in recent years. Although dark chocolate is now touted for its health benefits, the same was done for milk chocolate as well, especially for children, during its early years. Milk chocolate was first made in 1875 when Daniel Peter, a Swiss chocolatier, added his chocolate to the newly-discovered sweetened condensed milk of Henri Nestlé. It soon became popular in America and Europe.
SU News
Here's the 5 most interesting notes from SU's time at ACC Kickoff (PS; $; Leiker)
The 2023 ACC Kickoff draws to a close Thursday in the Queen City, but Syracuse football’s time at the event wrapped up two days ago.
The Orange was the first program to speak Tuesday morning at the three-day media event that precedes the start of fall camp. Coach Dino Babers, quarterback Garrett Shrader, linebacker Marlowe Wax and tight end Oronde Gadsden represented SU.
Through time at the podium and in smaller breakout sessions with media afterward, here are five of the most interesting things Syracuse’s contingent said.
Wax makes team’s first comments on LeQuint Allen
Wax, a team captain for the Orange, was the first from the program to speak about the situation involving running back LeQuint Allen.
Allen sued Syracuse University in June over what he alleged was a wrongful suspension; in July, Allen’s lawyer and SU settled the matter out of court and he is returning to the team.
Allen was unable to participate in team activities for a little over a month while serving the suspension before the lawsuit temporarily paused it.
“We were just supporting him in all ways we can because we know LeQuint as a person,” Wax told syracuse.com about what morale was like in the locker room at that time. “He was going through something, and we’re gonna go through it with him. Stand by his side. Fight it with him. That’s all it was.”
There was widespread support on social media from Orange fans throughout the ordeal, which Wax said made him happy to see.
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Syracuse Football: 3-star QB/athlete who visited ‘Cuse set to release top 3 (itlh; Adler)
Andy Bass, a talented three-star quarterback/athlete in the 2024 class from Oklahoma who holds a Syracuse football scholarship offer and officially visited the Hill last month, is preparing to trim his list of contenders still in the running for him.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Bass, a standout for Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, is an ultra-athletic prospect who has won state championships in football as well as track and field. Earlier this week, he said via Twitter that he plans to disclose his top three on Saturday, July 29.
Throughout his recruitment, Bass has amassed nearly 20 scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs. He received a ‘Cuse offer on May 31 of this year.
Besides the Orange, his offer sheet includes Oklahoma, Kansas State, Kansas, Princeton, Air Force, Army, UConn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Kent State, Navy, New Mexico State, North Texas, Penn, UNLV and Yale.
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Syracuse football position preview: Running Backs (TNIAAM; Wall)
As we approach the start of camp for the Syracuse Orange football team, it’s time to dig in and look at the position groups. Today we look at the running backs.
Sean Tucker has departed for Tampa Bay and taken his 1060 yards with him. Garrett Shrader had 150 carries for 453 yards in 2022, but the Orange would probably like to reduce his attempts this season.
Now that we know LeQuint Allen is back, this position feels like it can be a strength in the offense. Allen carried the ball 41 times for 274 yards, including the 90-yard run against Wagner. We saw his receiving ability in the bowl game when he had 11 receptions. Allen demonstrated speed, ability to run pass routes, and showed he could be called upon to throw the ball. Can he hold up in pass protection? Is he ready to be a lead back? Players and coaches have a lot of faith in his ability so I think Orange fans should be excited to see him in that lead role.
Behind Allen is Juwaun Price and a quartet of newcomers with JUCO transfers Deston Hawkins and JJ Branham along with freshman Ike Daniels and Muwaffaq Parkman. It’s an untested group, but the early schedule should allow Dino Babers to get them some touches. Will one of them become a short-yardage/goal line back? Can someone take the reins as the 2nd back capable of giving Allen a breather?
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New Broncos uniform combo will look familiar to SU fans (PS: $; Axe)
What in the name of Floyd Little is going on here?
The Denver Broncos unveiled a new “snowcapped” white alternate helmet with their throwback “D” logo this week.
It’s a sharp-looking helmet that will invoke memories of Little, the Syracuse legend and Hall of Fame running back, John Elway, Shannon Sharpe and other Broncos legends.
It didn’t take long to realize that when the new helmet is paired with Denver’s orange uniforms, it strikes an eerie resemblance to the Syracuse University football team when it wears the same uniform combination with white helmets and orange jerseys.
Axe: An early prediction for SU football record and this year’s breakout star (mailbag) (PS; $; Axe)
Axe me your questions and I’ll tell you no lies.
We had inquiries come in on Syracuse football, ACC realignment, the upcoming Savannah Bananas visit to Syracuse and the heinous act of putting ketchup on a hot dog for this edition of the mailbag.
To send in a question, email it to baxe@syracuse.com, message me on Twitter at @BrentAxeMedia or Threads at brent_axe.
Let’s get to it.
Ryan asks on Twitter (or X if you prefer): “Last year helped Dino, but didn’t remove him from the hot seat. What does back-to-back bowl seasons do for him, and what does a losing season do? Extra: Power rank the position groups on each side of the ball for ‘Cuse Football (Off - QB, RB, WR, TE, OL) (Def - DL, LB, CB, S).
Ryan, I’m gonna dodge your first question on Dino Babers for now, but not for long. I’ll answer it in a different format in the not-so-distant future. As we say in the media business, stay tuned.
As to not completely avoid the inquiry, here are those power rankings for you.
1. Wide Receiver
-The best player on the team, Oronde Gadsden II, resides here. I think there’s quite a few players in this group that could bust out in new offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s re-tooled passing attack as well.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...ers-shake-taylor-swift-eras-tour-18265046.php (sfchronicle.com; Warren)
Sam Warren is a recent graduate from Syracuse University who majored in newspaper and online journalism. He wrote for the school newspaper, the Daily Orange, and interned as a sports reporter for Syracuse.com and with the communications staff for Syracuse University Athletics. While he enjoys watching and writing about sports, Warren has talent on the field as well, as he just finished his final season as a slot receiver for the university football team. Warren was born and raised in the Bay Area and has been an avid consumer of the Sporting Green since his youth, so joining The Chronicle this summer is a dream opportunity for him. When not playing, watching or writing about sports, Sam enjoys working out, playing golf and learning guitar in his free time.
Hundreds of San Francisco 49ers fans flocked to the team’s practice fields Thursday morning, eagerly awaiting quarterback Brock Purdy’s first public throws since he injured his elbow in the NFC Championship Game in January.
The quarterback’s return drew a crowd, yet a different fan base caused more commotion in the Levi’s Stadium parking lot during the 49ers’ second practice of training camp.
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans arrived in “Swiftie Clara” in the waking hours of Thursday, some as early as midnight, trying to get their hands on official merchandise on the eve of the singer’s Eras Tour, with shows Friday and Saturday at the 49ers’ stadium.
As Levi’s preps for approximately 58,000 concertgoers to attend each show, the 49ers are preparing for football supremacy in Santa Clara rather than a run-in with the celebrity this weekend.
It’s not that the 49ers have “Bad Blood” with Swift, although the West Reading, Pa., native has announced publicly her allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles, who stopped the 49ers short of the Super Bowl. They’ve just got “Blank Space” in their trophy cabinet they’d like to fill with their sixth Lombardi Trophy later this season.
Hundreds of San Francisco 49ers fans flocked to the team’s practice fields Thursday morning, eagerly awaiting quarterback Brock Purdy’s first public throws since he injured his elbow in the NFC Championship Game in January.
The quarterback’s return drew a crowd, yet a different fan base caused more commotion in the Levi’s Stadium parking lot during the 49ers’ second practice of training camp.
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans arrived in “Swiftie Clara” in the waking hours of Thursday, some as early as midnight, trying to get their hands on official merchandise on the eve of the singer’s Eras Tour, with shows Friday and Saturday at the 49ers’ stadium.
As Levi’s preps for approximately 58,000 concertgoers to attend each show, the 49ers are preparing for football supremacy in Santa Clara rather than a run-in with the celebrity this weekend.
It’s not that the 49ers have “Bad Blood” with Swift, although the West Reading, Pa., native has announced publicly her allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles, who stopped the 49ers short of the Super Bowl. They’ve just got “Blank Space” in their trophy cabinet they’d like to fill with their sixth Lombardi Trophy later this season.
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Coughlin makes cut for Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration (PS; AP)
Versatile running back Roger Craig, and two-time Super Bowl-winning coaches Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan advanced to the next stage of consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The selection committees cut down the list of candidates from 31 seniors and 29 coaches and contributors to 12 in each category in results announced Thursday.
The 12-person committees for each group will meet next month to pick up to three senior candidates among players who last played no later 1998, and one coach and contributor. The finalists will be part of the Hall’s class of 2024 if they are supported by at least 80% of voters next January.
Coughlin, a native of Waterloo, New York, played for Syracuse under Ben Schwartzwalder and shared a backfield with teammates Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. Coughlin later returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Frank Maloney.
Craig was a key part of San Francisco’s dynasty in the 1980s with his ability as a physical runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season in 1985, and led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl.
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Gainesville's Koven Smith (2) celebrates with teammate Carrington Knight (26) after scoring a touchdown. Smith has been offered by Syracuse University. Photo by Doug Stroud Photography
Turnout remains high for Gainesville's football program (insidenova.com; Fawcett)
Dan Bruton faces an unusual situation as Gainesville High School prepares for its third football season.
The Cardinals may have too many players try out this season. And if that’s the case, Bruton will have the unpleasant task of cutting players.
“I’ve never been in this situation before,” said Bruton, who also served as head coach at Forest Park and Briar Woods high schools before starting the Gainesville program. “I don’t want to cut.”
Gainesville could have 120 players for all three levels (freshman, junior varsity and varsity). And it’s possible Gainesville will reach that number without having to make cuts.
But it’s also possible that the Cardinals will exceed 130 players. If that happens, it becomes a safety issue because the school doesn’t have enough equipment for that level of demand.
As practices officially begin this week, Bruton has planned for both contingencies. If the numbers are too high, Bruton said he would do at least two rounds of cuts, the first coming before the players don pads and the second when they do after the first three days of practice.
Last season, Gainesville had 127 players, with teams at each level. But only eight were seniors. Even with some additional turnover because of players choosing not to return, available roster spots remain at a premium.
The situation puts Gainesville in an enviable position compared to many other programs that are seeing their numbers decline to the point where in some cases they have only enough players for a varsity team.
In addition to losing only a few players, Bruton attributes the higher than usual turnout to Gainesville being a new school.
The Cardinals also have high expectations after going 4-6 in their first varsity season. Bruton won’t say more, but it’s clear Gainesville could contend for one of the eight playoff spots if certain things fall their way.
“Age-wise, we were a junior varsity team,” Bruton said. “But skill-wise we had some high level kids.”
That starts with the return of leading rusher Koven Smith and receiver Aidan McClafferty. Both were first-team all-Cedar Run District selections last season. Smith, who has a scholarship offer from Syracuse University, finished with 1,125 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, while McClafferty, who has five scholarship offers, caught 46 passes for 896 yards and 13 touchdowns.
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ACC News
https://www.cbs17.com/sports/nc-sta...-carolina-state-wolfpack-football/(cbs17.com; Crammer, Eberly)
The N.C. State football team entered the 2022 season with lofty expectations, as well as hopes of winning the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1979.
Following an injury-plagued couple of months that saw four different quarterbacks start for the Wolfpack, the team ultimately crawled its way to an underwhelming eight-win season. One year later, these expectations haven’t changed for those inside the program.
Heading into his 11th season at the helm, N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren isn’t shying away from his aspirations of winning a conference title.
“I think the ceiling is being the best in the league. That’s our goal,” Doeren said Thursday at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “We can’t control the stats and all the things outside of the ACC. We’ve got to try to win the ACC.”
The Wolfpack has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, finishing in second place in the ACC Atlantic Division in 2017 and 2021. However, it’s now about getting over the hump and putting themselves in the championship hunt.
Statistically, N.C. State has been among the best in the ACC on the defensive side of the ball. The Wolfpack ranked No. 20 in total defense and No. 11 in scoring defense this past season. Despite losing key pieces, people within the program feel like the secondary is even deeper than it was last year.
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'We've got to be more aggressive': UNC football looks to mend defensive struggles (dailytarheel.com; McCormick)
Early last season, a negative feeling arose around UNC football’s defense.
The defense looked bad, and ultimately — it was.
The Tar Heels gave up 61 points in a two-point win at Appalachian State in the second game of the season. They then allowed 45 points to Notre Dame in their first loss of the season three weeks later. From that point on, the defense’s struggles were well known.
By the end of the year, the Tar Heels still ranked last in the ACC in defense.
But as members of the team took to the podium at ACC Football Kickoff on July 27, senior linebacker and last season’s ACC leader in tackles, Cedric Gray, pushed back on those narratives.
“It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth when people talk about our team and talk about how bad of a defense we've been sometimes,” Gray said. “Especially being the leader of a defense, I kind of take that personally.”
After giving up an average of 39.5 points in four non-conference games, the Tar Heels’ defense saw a drastic improvement in conference play, improving to 25.8 points allowed per game.
Gray also said he thought UNC was playing its best defense late last season. Despite the fact that the Tar Heels lost their last four games of the season, there seems to be a belief that they can build off the positive foundation from the end of last season.
“I think we've done a lot of different things this offseason to improve,” Gray said. “I think, first and foremost, our (defensive line) has improved tremendously. I think we've added some new wrinkles to the pass rush game.”
UNC ranked last in the ACC in passing defense and bottom three in rushing defense. But according to head coach Mack Brown, improving the defense all starts with stopping the run.
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Will FSU finish on top? Here are my 2023 ACC football predictions | Kassim (yahoo.com; Kassim)
Florida State football continues being the trendy pick to win its first ACC Championship since 2014.
The Democrat was live at the ACC Football Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday. Being at the media days, I was presented with an opportunity to fill out a ballot.
Here are my selections for order of finish in the ACC, along with who I have as the preseason ACC Player of the Year.
The ACC preseason media ballot is released early next week.
The Seminoles are coming off a 10-win season, return a lot of talent and have improved via the transfer portal entering Year 4 under head coach Mike Norvell. They also bring in potential impact freshmen. The returns of quarterback Jordan Travis and defensive end Jared Verse give FSU as much firepower, if not more, than any other ACC team, at the top of its roster. The Seminoles are a legit threat to make the College Football Playoffs.
Heisman and championship hopes: How Jordan Travis and FSU players are dealing with hype
2. Clemson
The Tigers have out-recruited FSU at the high school level consistently over the last few years. Because of that, Clemson has more depth than the Seminoles when looking toward its bench. How sophomore QB Cade Klubnik progresses could go a long way in determining if the Tigers are a CFP contender and can continue their conference dominance.
3. Miami
Count me as a believer in Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke. Yes, he had a down year in 2022 but he was dealing with injuries all season and never looked 100%. The Hurricanes have added 42 new scholarship players (16 transfers, 26 freshmen) to their roster and head coach Mario Cristobal used the term "rebuild" a ton in his press conference. The Miami defense should also be improved.
4. North Carolina
Drake Maye has a strong argument as the conference's Player of the Year honors. However, losing top receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL Draft and a suspect defense has me lower on the Tar Heels despite being led by a future first-round pick.
5. NC State
6. Duke
7. Pittsburgh
8. Louisville
9. Wake Forest
10. Syracuse
11. Virginia Tech
12. Boston College
13. Georgia Tech
14. Virginia
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Wake Forest Is Committed To Football | 2023 ACC Football (youtube; video; ACC DN)
Speaking with the media at the 2023 ACC Kickoff, Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson spoke about how the old narrative that the Demon Deacons are not committed to football would go away, because it is not true. Clawson spoke about all the money and new facilities that Wake has invested into the football program and believes that Wake Forest's facilities are as good as any other team's in the country.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article277673758.html (charlotteobserver.com; Effress)
Mitch Griffis has been enrolled at Wake Forest for four years, yet he’s only a sophomore — by football standards, anyway.
His freshman year was impacted by COVID, granting him an extra year of eligibility, and he redshirted his second season with the Demon Deacons, making last year his first without restriction. Entering 2023 as a redshirt sophomore, Griffis is poised to take over the starting quarterback role.
“It’s a dream come true. I grew up an ACC football fan, growing up wanting to be a starting college quarterback,” he said. “So the fact that it’s here it’s kind of surreal, but I’m really excited for it.”
It’s his offense to lead. But Wake returns only five offensive starters, and he has big shoes to fill.
Quarterback Sam Hartman, who transferred from Wake to Notre Dame in early January, led the 2022 Deacs to a 8-5 overall record and their fifth bowl win in the past seven years.
Wake’s record the past two seasons with Hartman at the helm was 19-8, and in 2022 it finished with 36.1 points per game and a program-record 43 passing touchdowns. On top of that, each of the past three Wake quarterbacks earned All-ACC honors when they were starters: John Wolford (2017), Jamie Newman (2019) and Hartman (2021-2022).
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Calculating the Top 50 Blue Bloods... (RX; HM)
Calculating the Top 50 Blue Bloods...
How blue is your favorite team?
Using a proprietary mathematical formula which is kept locked up in a safe, Kyle Umlang has computed who the Top 50 College Football "Blue Bloods" are:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/kyleumlang/viz/CollegeFootballBlueBloods/BlueBloods
Here are the ACC Blue Bloods:
That's every team except Duke, Louisville, and Wake Forest in the Top 50. In all fairness to the Cards, they haven't been playing at this level long enough to be a Blue Blood yet.
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What Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said about dismissing TJ Dudley from the team (greenvilleonline.com; Long)
Clemson football dismissed redshirt freshman linebacker T.J. Dudley on July 19 for a "violation of team rules." He subsequently entered the transfer portal about two weeks before the start of preseason practices.
At ACC media days Thursday, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney commented on the decision to kick Dudley off the team.
“It was a disappointing situation because he’s a good kid and a man,” Swinney said. “He had a chance to be a great player for us this year, so that definitely hurts us. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got rules and sometimes it’s just best to get a fresh start. We wish him well.”
Dudley's dismissal left Clemson with seven scholarship linebackers on its 2023 roster. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter are the star duo at the center of the Tigers' defense. The rest of the group, even if Dudley were still part of it, lacks experience. Sophomore Wade Woodaz has the most snaps (180) of among Clemson returners besides Carter and Trotter. Redshirt freshman Kobe McCloud played three defensive snaps in 2022, and true freshmen Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton are brand new to the college ranks.
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Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi appears to take shots at Penn State offense during ACC Kickoff (pennlive.com; Linder)
Did Pat Narduzzi take a shot at Penn State Thursday?
Well, the Pitt coach apparently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he didn’t intend to offend the Nittany Lions, but just about everybody else seemed to surely think shots were fired.
So what did the Pitt Panthers head man say?
Well, in an interview with the Post-Gazette during the ACC Kickoff, he was asked about his quarterback situation.
The Panthers have a pair of transfers who figure prominently in that discussion. The starter is slated to be former Pine-Richland High and Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec. But one of the guys behind him is former Penn State quarterback Christian Veilleux.
And Narduzzi took the time to make it clear that it is going to take Veilleux some more time to adjust to what he believes is the Panthers’ more complex offensive system.
“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand new for him,” Narduzzi said. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense. But it’s a totally different offense. This offense is NFL-style with sophisticated terminology.”
Again, in Narduzzi’s defense, he apparently made it clear that he didn’t mean to offend Penn State.
Penn State was taking part in Big Ten media days so no word yet as to whether Franklin and his guys, with their unsophisticated, not real, offense were offended anyway.
https://www.si.com/college/louisville/football/2023-acc-media-days-takeaways (SI; McGavic)
The Atlantic Coast Conference held their annual Football Kickoff media event earlier this week, and you can imagine, the Louisville football program was present and had plenty to discuss regarding the upcoming season.
Below are some of the more impactful takeaways points over the course of the three-day event in Charlotte, N.C.
Louisville will kickoff the 2023 season vs. Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 1 as part of the Aflac Kickoff Game.
Brohm is very clearly in "win now mode."
Usually whenever a new coach takes over a program, they are either inheriting a downtrodden team or experience a mass exodus of top flight talent. Fortunately for head coach Jeff Brohm, neither was the case.
Not only did Louisville manage to go 8-5 last season, he was able to limit the amount of impact playmakers that entered the transfer portal, while simultaneously adding a plethora a new talent from the high school ranks and the transfer portal. Because of this, Brohm is expecting Louisville to be competitive in year one under his watch instead of being in a transitionary period.
"In today's age of college athletics it's about winning now," he said during Louisville's formal ACC Kickoff presser. "It's about doing it, in my opinion, with our current football team and any new pieces we've added, and we want to do that in year one, and it's important that you do that."
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Recruiting Rankings as of 2023 July 26 (RX; HM)
Recruiting Rankings as of 2023 July 26
Here's the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings from July 26th as we normally see them, with ACC teams plus ND highlighted:
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Links, News and Rumors - 2023 July 27 (RX; HM)
Links, News and Rumors - 2023 July 27
From FBSchedules: Power 5 programs playing at Group of 5 venues in 2023
One ACC team is caught up in this insanity...
Note: Duke and NC State both play at UConn, and Boston College visits Army but I guess they don't count those as "G5" teams? Even so, surely Wake Forest at Old Dominion must count, right?
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Realignment: How Much Does it Hurt? (RX; HM)
Realignment: How Much Does it Hurt?
How much does the loss of Colorado hurt the Pac-12? Well, it sure ain't on the same level as losing USC - but how does it compare to other losses suffered by the Pac-12 and other conferences?
++ since 2012 (TCU joined: Texas and Oklahoma)
+++ since 2011 (CU joined; USC, UCLA, Colorado)
However, if you go back to the BCS era, this is what each conference has lost:
Using the same general methodology as above, when S. Carolina and then Maryland left the ACC it cost the conference 2/12 = 16.6% of its membership and 9/60 = 15% of its all-time championships in football (but only one since FSU joined in 1991). Of course, Maryland also hurt the ACC as a men's basketball loss.
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FSU football: Does Colorado to the Big 12 help the Noles leave the ACC? (chopchat.com; Hunt)
FSU football has to find more money by any means necessary if they want to continue competing with the elite programs in the SEC and B1G. It’s something FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford has brought to the Board of Trustees, and voiced to the ACC.
The problem is the ACC is in no position of leverage to negotiate a new TV contract, which doesn’t expire until 2036.
The ACC can’t add any more teams, unless it’s Notre Dame, but that’s not going to happen because they want to keep their independence. Also, adding more teams means the ACC has the split the money they have among MORE programs, which decreases the amount each program gets, so that’s not going to work.
However, news broke Wednesday night that might be of great importance to ultimately helping FSU football get out of the ACC.
The Pac-12 has failed to negotiate a new TV contract and has now lost one of its members in Colorado. Now, Colorado isn’t a valuable piece because they have been a terrible program over the last two decades and that TV market isn’t particularly great.
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Other
One Webster's Landing is the latest historic Syracuse building to be turned into apartments. VIP Structures is building 34 one-bedroom apartments in the building, which was constructed in 1893 as a warehouse for Jacob Marshall & Son, operator of a hide, wool and leather business. (Provided photo)
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2023/...ilding-to-be-transformed-into-apartments.html (PS; $; Moriarty)
Work has begun to turn a historic Syracuse building into apartments featuring brick walls, exposed wooden beams and impressive views of downtown.
VIP Structures launched the nearly $7 million project this week, beginning the building of 34 one-bedroom apartments on all five floors of One Webster’s Landing.
The apartments will feature brick arched windows and doorways, ceilings up to 13 feet high, exposed brick walls, new hardwood floors, exposed wooden joists, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and in-unit laundries.
Amenities will include a fitness center, a bicycle storage room, on-site parking exclusive to the building, and a ground-level courtyard with picnic tables and grill.
Monthly rents are expected to be $1,625 to $1,775. Square footages will range from 553 to 827.
David Nutting, VIP’s chairman, said pre-leasing is expected to start Jan. 31, with tenant move-ins starting June 1.
The red-brick landmark building comes with a lot of history.
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Milk chocolate, celebrated today with National Milk Chocolate Day, is made of cocoa, sugar, and milk. The proportion of each ingredient in the chocolate varies by brand and country of origin. Milk chocolate is the most popular kind of chocolate in many countries. Most of it is sold in the United States and Europe, but markets in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia have been ascendant in recent years. Although dark chocolate is now touted for its health benefits, the same was done for milk chocolate as well, especially for children, during its early years. Milk chocolate was first made in 1875 when Daniel Peter, a Swiss chocolatier, added his chocolate to the newly-discovered sweetened condensed milk of Henri Nestlé. It soon became popular in America and Europe.
SU News
Here's the 5 most interesting notes from SU's time at ACC Kickoff (PS; $; Leiker)
The 2023 ACC Kickoff draws to a close Thursday in the Queen City, but Syracuse football’s time at the event wrapped up two days ago.
The Orange was the first program to speak Tuesday morning at the three-day media event that precedes the start of fall camp. Coach Dino Babers, quarterback Garrett Shrader, linebacker Marlowe Wax and tight end Oronde Gadsden represented SU.
Through time at the podium and in smaller breakout sessions with media afterward, here are five of the most interesting things Syracuse’s contingent said.
Wax makes team’s first comments on LeQuint Allen
Wax, a team captain for the Orange, was the first from the program to speak about the situation involving running back LeQuint Allen.
Allen sued Syracuse University in June over what he alleged was a wrongful suspension; in July, Allen’s lawyer and SU settled the matter out of court and he is returning to the team.
Allen was unable to participate in team activities for a little over a month while serving the suspension before the lawsuit temporarily paused it.
“We were just supporting him in all ways we can because we know LeQuint as a person,” Wax told syracuse.com about what morale was like in the locker room at that time. “He was going through something, and we’re gonna go through it with him. Stand by his side. Fight it with him. That’s all it was.”
There was widespread support on social media from Orange fans throughout the ordeal, which Wax said made him happy to see.
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Syracuse Football: 3-star QB/athlete who visited ‘Cuse set to release top 3 (itlh; Adler)
Andy Bass, a talented three-star quarterback/athlete in the 2024 class from Oklahoma who holds a Syracuse football scholarship offer and officially visited the Hill last month, is preparing to trim his list of contenders still in the running for him.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Bass, a standout for Heritage Hall in Oklahoma City, is an ultra-athletic prospect who has won state championships in football as well as track and field. Earlier this week, he said via Twitter that he plans to disclose his top three on Saturday, July 29.
Throughout his recruitment, Bass has amassed nearly 20 scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs. He received a ‘Cuse offer on May 31 of this year.
Besides the Orange, his offer sheet includes Oklahoma, Kansas State, Kansas, Princeton, Air Force, Army, UConn, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Kent State, Navy, New Mexico State, North Texas, Penn, UNLV and Yale.
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Syracuse football position preview: Running Backs (TNIAAM; Wall)
As we approach the start of camp for the Syracuse Orange football team, it’s time to dig in and look at the position groups. Today we look at the running backs.
Sean Tucker has departed for Tampa Bay and taken his 1060 yards with him. Garrett Shrader had 150 carries for 453 yards in 2022, but the Orange would probably like to reduce his attempts this season.
Now that we know LeQuint Allen is back, this position feels like it can be a strength in the offense. Allen carried the ball 41 times for 274 yards, including the 90-yard run against Wagner. We saw his receiving ability in the bowl game when he had 11 receptions. Allen demonstrated speed, ability to run pass routes, and showed he could be called upon to throw the ball. Can he hold up in pass protection? Is he ready to be a lead back? Players and coaches have a lot of faith in his ability so I think Orange fans should be excited to see him in that lead role.
Behind Allen is Juwaun Price and a quartet of newcomers with JUCO transfers Deston Hawkins and JJ Branham along with freshman Ike Daniels and Muwaffaq Parkman. It’s an untested group, but the early schedule should allow Dino Babers to get them some touches. Will one of them become a short-yardage/goal line back? Can someone take the reins as the 2nd back capable of giving Allen a breather?
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New Broncos uniform combo will look familiar to SU fans (PS: $; Axe)
What in the name of Floyd Little is going on here?
The Denver Broncos unveiled a new “snowcapped” white alternate helmet with their throwback “D” logo this week.
It’s a sharp-looking helmet that will invoke memories of Little, the Syracuse legend and Hall of Fame running back, John Elway, Shannon Sharpe and other Broncos legends.
It didn’t take long to realize that when the new helmet is paired with Denver’s orange uniforms, it strikes an eerie resemblance to the Syracuse University football team when it wears the same uniform combination with white helmets and orange jerseys.
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Axe: An early prediction for SU football record and this year’s breakout star (mailbag) (PS; $; Axe)
Axe me your questions and I’ll tell you no lies.
We had inquiries come in on Syracuse football, ACC realignment, the upcoming Savannah Bananas visit to Syracuse and the heinous act of putting ketchup on a hot dog for this edition of the mailbag.
To send in a question, email it to baxe@syracuse.com, message me on Twitter at @BrentAxeMedia or Threads at brent_axe.
Let’s get to it.
Ryan asks on Twitter (or X if you prefer): “Last year helped Dino, but didn’t remove him from the hot seat. What does back-to-back bowl seasons do for him, and what does a losing season do? Extra: Power rank the position groups on each side of the ball for ‘Cuse Football (Off - QB, RB, WR, TE, OL) (Def - DL, LB, CB, S).
Ryan, I’m gonna dodge your first question on Dino Babers for now, but not for long. I’ll answer it in a different format in the not-so-distant future. As we say in the media business, stay tuned.
As to not completely avoid the inquiry, here are those power rankings for you.
1. Wide Receiver
-The best player on the team, Oronde Gadsden II, resides here. I think there’s quite a few players in this group that could bust out in new offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s re-tooled passing attack as well.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...ers-shake-taylor-swift-eras-tour-18265046.php (sfchronicle.com; Warren)
Sam Warren is a recent graduate from Syracuse University who majored in newspaper and online journalism. He wrote for the school newspaper, the Daily Orange, and interned as a sports reporter for Syracuse.com and with the communications staff for Syracuse University Athletics. While he enjoys watching and writing about sports, Warren has talent on the field as well, as he just finished his final season as a slot receiver for the university football team. Warren was born and raised in the Bay Area and has been an avid consumer of the Sporting Green since his youth, so joining The Chronicle this summer is a dream opportunity for him. When not playing, watching or writing about sports, Sam enjoys working out, playing golf and learning guitar in his free time.
Hundreds of San Francisco 49ers fans flocked to the team’s practice fields Thursday morning, eagerly awaiting quarterback Brock Purdy’s first public throws since he injured his elbow in the NFC Championship Game in January.
The quarterback’s return drew a crowd, yet a different fan base caused more commotion in the Levi’s Stadium parking lot during the 49ers’ second practice of training camp.
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans arrived in “Swiftie Clara” in the waking hours of Thursday, some as early as midnight, trying to get their hands on official merchandise on the eve of the singer’s Eras Tour, with shows Friday and Saturday at the 49ers’ stadium.
As Levi’s preps for approximately 58,000 concertgoers to attend each show, the 49ers are preparing for football supremacy in Santa Clara rather than a run-in with the celebrity this weekend.
It’s not that the 49ers have “Bad Blood” with Swift, although the West Reading, Pa., native has announced publicly her allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles, who stopped the 49ers short of the Super Bowl. They’ve just got “Blank Space” in their trophy cabinet they’d like to fill with their sixth Lombardi Trophy later this season.
Hundreds of San Francisco 49ers fans flocked to the team’s practice fields Thursday morning, eagerly awaiting quarterback Brock Purdy’s first public throws since he injured his elbow in the NFC Championship Game in January.
The quarterback’s return drew a crowd, yet a different fan base caused more commotion in the Levi’s Stadium parking lot during the 49ers’ second practice of training camp.
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans arrived in “Swiftie Clara” in the waking hours of Thursday, some as early as midnight, trying to get their hands on official merchandise on the eve of the singer’s Eras Tour, with shows Friday and Saturday at the 49ers’ stadium.
As Levi’s preps for approximately 58,000 concertgoers to attend each show, the 49ers are preparing for football supremacy in Santa Clara rather than a run-in with the celebrity this weekend.
It’s not that the 49ers have “Bad Blood” with Swift, although the West Reading, Pa., native has announced publicly her allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles, who stopped the 49ers short of the Super Bowl. They’ve just got “Blank Space” in their trophy cabinet they’d like to fill with their sixth Lombardi Trophy later this season.
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Coughlin makes cut for Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration (PS; AP)
Versatile running back Roger Craig, and two-time Super Bowl-winning coaches Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan advanced to the next stage of consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The selection committees cut down the list of candidates from 31 seniors and 29 coaches and contributors to 12 in each category in results announced Thursday.
The 12-person committees for each group will meet next month to pick up to three senior candidates among players who last played no later 1998, and one coach and contributor. The finalists will be part of the Hall’s class of 2024 if they are supported by at least 80% of voters next January.
Coughlin, a native of Waterloo, New York, played for Syracuse under Ben Schwartzwalder and shared a backfield with teammates Floyd Little and Larry Csonka. Coughlin later returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Frank Maloney.
Craig was a key part of San Francisco’s dynasty in the 1980s with his ability as a physical runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season in 1985, and led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl.
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Gainesville's Koven Smith (2) celebrates with teammate Carrington Knight (26) after scoring a touchdown. Smith has been offered by Syracuse University. Photo by Doug Stroud Photography
Turnout remains high for Gainesville's football program (insidenova.com; Fawcett)
Dan Bruton faces an unusual situation as Gainesville High School prepares for its third football season.
The Cardinals may have too many players try out this season. And if that’s the case, Bruton will have the unpleasant task of cutting players.
“I’ve never been in this situation before,” said Bruton, who also served as head coach at Forest Park and Briar Woods high schools before starting the Gainesville program. “I don’t want to cut.”
Gainesville could have 120 players for all three levels (freshman, junior varsity and varsity). And it’s possible Gainesville will reach that number without having to make cuts.
But it’s also possible that the Cardinals will exceed 130 players. If that happens, it becomes a safety issue because the school doesn’t have enough equipment for that level of demand.
As practices officially begin this week, Bruton has planned for both contingencies. If the numbers are too high, Bruton said he would do at least two rounds of cuts, the first coming before the players don pads and the second when they do after the first three days of practice.
Last season, Gainesville had 127 players, with teams at each level. But only eight were seniors. Even with some additional turnover because of players choosing not to return, available roster spots remain at a premium.
The situation puts Gainesville in an enviable position compared to many other programs that are seeing their numbers decline to the point where in some cases they have only enough players for a varsity team.
In addition to losing only a few players, Bruton attributes the higher than usual turnout to Gainesville being a new school.
The Cardinals also have high expectations after going 4-6 in their first varsity season. Bruton won’t say more, but it’s clear Gainesville could contend for one of the eight playoff spots if certain things fall their way.
“Age-wise, we were a junior varsity team,” Bruton said. “But skill-wise we had some high level kids.”
That starts with the return of leading rusher Koven Smith and receiver Aidan McClafferty. Both were first-team all-Cedar Run District selections last season. Smith, who has a scholarship offer from Syracuse University, finished with 1,125 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, while McClafferty, who has five scholarship offers, caught 46 passes for 896 yards and 13 touchdowns.
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ACC News
https://www.cbs17.com/sports/nc-sta...-carolina-state-wolfpack-football/(cbs17.com; Crammer, Eberly)
The N.C. State football team entered the 2022 season with lofty expectations, as well as hopes of winning the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference championship since 1979.
Following an injury-plagued couple of months that saw four different quarterbacks start for the Wolfpack, the team ultimately crawled its way to an underwhelming eight-win season. One year later, these expectations haven’t changed for those inside the program.
Heading into his 11th season at the helm, N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren isn’t shying away from his aspirations of winning a conference title.
“I think the ceiling is being the best in the league. That’s our goal,” Doeren said Thursday at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. “We can’t control the stats and all the things outside of the ACC. We’ve got to try to win the ACC.”
The Wolfpack has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, finishing in second place in the ACC Atlantic Division in 2017 and 2021. However, it’s now about getting over the hump and putting themselves in the championship hunt.
Statistically, N.C. State has been among the best in the ACC on the defensive side of the ball. The Wolfpack ranked No. 20 in total defense and No. 11 in scoring defense this past season. Despite losing key pieces, people within the program feel like the secondary is even deeper than it was last year.
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'We've got to be more aggressive': UNC football looks to mend defensive struggles (dailytarheel.com; McCormick)
Early last season, a negative feeling arose around UNC football’s defense.
The defense looked bad, and ultimately — it was.
The Tar Heels gave up 61 points in a two-point win at Appalachian State in the second game of the season. They then allowed 45 points to Notre Dame in their first loss of the season three weeks later. From that point on, the defense’s struggles were well known.
By the end of the year, the Tar Heels still ranked last in the ACC in defense.
But as members of the team took to the podium at ACC Football Kickoff on July 27, senior linebacker and last season’s ACC leader in tackles, Cedric Gray, pushed back on those narratives.
“It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth when people talk about our team and talk about how bad of a defense we've been sometimes,” Gray said. “Especially being the leader of a defense, I kind of take that personally.”
After giving up an average of 39.5 points in four non-conference games, the Tar Heels’ defense saw a drastic improvement in conference play, improving to 25.8 points allowed per game.
Gray also said he thought UNC was playing its best defense late last season. Despite the fact that the Tar Heels lost their last four games of the season, there seems to be a belief that they can build off the positive foundation from the end of last season.
“I think we've done a lot of different things this offseason to improve,” Gray said. “I think, first and foremost, our (defensive line) has improved tremendously. I think we've added some new wrinkles to the pass rush game.”
UNC ranked last in the ACC in passing defense and bottom three in rushing defense. But according to head coach Mack Brown, improving the defense all starts with stopping the run.
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Will FSU finish on top? Here are my 2023 ACC football predictions | Kassim (yahoo.com; Kassim)
Florida State football continues being the trendy pick to win its first ACC Championship since 2014.
The Democrat was live at the ACC Football Kickoff at The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday. Being at the media days, I was presented with an opportunity to fill out a ballot.
Here are my selections for order of finish in the ACC, along with who I have as the preseason ACC Player of the Year.
The ACC preseason media ballot is released early next week.
ACC Projected Order of Finish
1. Florida StateThe Seminoles are coming off a 10-win season, return a lot of talent and have improved via the transfer portal entering Year 4 under head coach Mike Norvell. They also bring in potential impact freshmen. The returns of quarterback Jordan Travis and defensive end Jared Verse give FSU as much firepower, if not more, than any other ACC team, at the top of its roster. The Seminoles are a legit threat to make the College Football Playoffs.
Heisman and championship hopes: How Jordan Travis and FSU players are dealing with hype
2. Clemson
The Tigers have out-recruited FSU at the high school level consistently over the last few years. Because of that, Clemson has more depth than the Seminoles when looking toward its bench. How sophomore QB Cade Klubnik progresses could go a long way in determining if the Tigers are a CFP contender and can continue their conference dominance.
3. Miami
Count me as a believer in Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke. Yes, he had a down year in 2022 but he was dealing with injuries all season and never looked 100%. The Hurricanes have added 42 new scholarship players (16 transfers, 26 freshmen) to their roster and head coach Mario Cristobal used the term "rebuild" a ton in his press conference. The Miami defense should also be improved.
4. North Carolina
Drake Maye has a strong argument as the conference's Player of the Year honors. However, losing top receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL Draft and a suspect defense has me lower on the Tar Heels despite being led by a future first-round pick.
5. NC State
6. Duke
7. Pittsburgh
8. Louisville
9. Wake Forest
10. Syracuse
11. Virginia Tech
12. Boston College
13. Georgia Tech
14. Virginia
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Wake Forest Is Committed To Football | 2023 ACC Football (youtube; video; ACC DN)
Speaking with the media at the 2023 ACC Kickoff, Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson spoke about how the old narrative that the Demon Deacons are not committed to football would go away, because it is not true. Clawson spoke about all the money and new facilities that Wake has invested into the football program and believes that Wake Forest's facilities are as good as any other team's in the country.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article277673758.html (charlotteobserver.com; Effress)
Mitch Griffis has been enrolled at Wake Forest for four years, yet he’s only a sophomore — by football standards, anyway.
His freshman year was impacted by COVID, granting him an extra year of eligibility, and he redshirted his second season with the Demon Deacons, making last year his first without restriction. Entering 2023 as a redshirt sophomore, Griffis is poised to take over the starting quarterback role.
“It’s a dream come true. I grew up an ACC football fan, growing up wanting to be a starting college quarterback,” he said. “So the fact that it’s here it’s kind of surreal, but I’m really excited for it.”
It’s his offense to lead. But Wake returns only five offensive starters, and he has big shoes to fill.
Quarterback Sam Hartman, who transferred from Wake to Notre Dame in early January, led the 2022 Deacs to a 8-5 overall record and their fifth bowl win in the past seven years.
Wake’s record the past two seasons with Hartman at the helm was 19-8, and in 2022 it finished with 36.1 points per game and a program-record 43 passing touchdowns. On top of that, each of the past three Wake quarterbacks earned All-ACC honors when they were starters: John Wolford (2017), Jamie Newman (2019) and Hartman (2021-2022).
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Calculating the Top 50 Blue Bloods... (RX; HM)
Calculating the Top 50 Blue Bloods...
How blue is your favorite team?
Using a proprietary mathematical formula which is kept locked up in a safe, Kyle Umlang has computed who the Top 50 College Football "Blue Bloods" are:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/kyleumlang/viz/CollegeFootballBlueBloods/BlueBloods
Here are the ACC Blue Bloods:
That's every team except Duke, Louisville, and Wake Forest in the Top 50. In all fairness to the Cards, they haven't been playing at this level long enough to be a Blue Blood yet.
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What Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said about dismissing TJ Dudley from the team (greenvilleonline.com; Long)
Clemson football dismissed redshirt freshman linebacker T.J. Dudley on July 19 for a "violation of team rules." He subsequently entered the transfer portal about two weeks before the start of preseason practices.
At ACC media days Thursday, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney commented on the decision to kick Dudley off the team.
“It was a disappointing situation because he’s a good kid and a man,” Swinney said. “He had a chance to be a great player for us this year, so that definitely hurts us. It’s unfortunate, but we’ve got rules and sometimes it’s just best to get a fresh start. We wish him well.”
Dudley's dismissal left Clemson with seven scholarship linebackers on its 2023 roster. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter are the star duo at the center of the Tigers' defense. The rest of the group, even if Dudley were still part of it, lacks experience. Sophomore Wade Woodaz has the most snaps (180) of among Clemson returners besides Carter and Trotter. Redshirt freshman Kobe McCloud played three defensive snaps in 2022, and true freshmen Jamal Anderson and Dee Crayton are brand new to the college ranks.
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Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi appears to take shots at Penn State offense during ACC Kickoff (pennlive.com; Linder)
Did Pat Narduzzi take a shot at Penn State Thursday?
Well, the Pitt coach apparently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he didn’t intend to offend the Nittany Lions, but just about everybody else seemed to surely think shots were fired.
So what did the Pitt Panthers head man say?
Well, in an interview with the Post-Gazette during the ACC Kickoff, he was asked about his quarterback situation.
The Panthers have a pair of transfers who figure prominently in that discussion. The starter is slated to be former Pine-Richland High and Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec. But one of the guys behind him is former Penn State quarterback Christian Veilleux.
And Narduzzi took the time to make it clear that it is going to take Veilleux some more time to adjust to what he believes is the Panthers’ more complex offensive system.
“Christian is a guy that, well, things are brand new for him,” Narduzzi said. “He’s coming from a one-word offense to a real offense. But it’s a totally different offense. This offense is NFL-style with sophisticated terminology.”
Again, in Narduzzi’s defense, he apparently made it clear that he didn’t mean to offend Penn State.
Penn State was taking part in Big Ten media days so no word yet as to whether Franklin and his guys, with their unsophisticated, not real, offense were offended anyway.
https://www.si.com/college/louisville/football/2023-acc-media-days-takeaways (SI; McGavic)
The Atlantic Coast Conference held their annual Football Kickoff media event earlier this week, and you can imagine, the Louisville football program was present and had plenty to discuss regarding the upcoming season.
Below are some of the more impactful takeaways points over the course of the three-day event in Charlotte, N.C.
Louisville will kickoff the 2023 season vs. Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 1 as part of the Aflac Kickoff Game.
Brohm is very clearly in "win now mode."
Usually whenever a new coach takes over a program, they are either inheriting a downtrodden team or experience a mass exodus of top flight talent. Fortunately for head coach Jeff Brohm, neither was the case.
Not only did Louisville manage to go 8-5 last season, he was able to limit the amount of impact playmakers that entered the transfer portal, while simultaneously adding a plethora a new talent from the high school ranks and the transfer portal. Because of this, Brohm is expecting Louisville to be competitive in year one under his watch instead of being in a transitionary period.
"In today's age of college athletics it's about winning now," he said during Louisville's formal ACC Kickoff presser. "It's about doing it, in my opinion, with our current football team and any new pieces we've added, and we want to do that in year one, and it's important that you do that."
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Recruiting Rankings as of 2023 July 26 (RX; HM)
Recruiting Rankings as of 2023 July 26
Here's the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings from July 26th as we normally see them, with ACC teams plus ND highlighted:
| Rank | Team | Commits | Avg | 5-stars | 4-stars | 3-stars | below |
| 1 | Georgia | 25 | 93.42 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 18 | 93.34 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Florida | 21 | 91.72 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Michigan | 26 | 90.76 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | Alabama | 15 | 93.4 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | Penn State | 24 | 90.66 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| 7 | Notre Dame | 22 | 90.61 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | Clemson | 17 | 91.4 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | USC | 17 | 91.82 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 18 | 91.25 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 18 | 91.39 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | LSU | 20 | 90.5 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Oregon | 20 | 90.54 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | Florida State | 17 | 90.56 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 16 | 90.88 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| 16 | Miami | 18 | 89.4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
| 17 | Stanford | 28 | 87.75 | 0 | 6 | 22 | 0 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 16 | 90.15 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 | Nebraska | 24 | 87.57 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 0 |
| 20 | Texas | 15 | 90.29 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Commits | Avg | 5-stars | 4-stars | 3-stars | below |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 20 | 88.67 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 24 | 87.64 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 0 |
| 23 | Purdue | 21 | 87.85 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 1 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 13 | 90.66 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | Georgia Tech | 23 | 87.2 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| 26 | Ole Miss | 17 | 88.19 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| 27 | Auburn | 12 | 91.48 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | Iowa | 20 | 87.35 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 23 | 86.97 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 0 |
| 30 | Mississippi St | 16 | 88.28 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 31 | Texas Tech | 18 | 88.4 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| 32 | Rutgers | 22 | 86.79 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 0 |
| 33 | Duke | 20 | 86.95 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
| 34 | Pittsburgh | 20 | 86.89 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
| 35 | Virginia Tech | 16 | 88.06 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| 36 | Vanderbilt | 21 | 86.49 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| 37 | Arizona | 18 | 86.8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| 38 | Cincinnati | 18 | 86.58 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| 39 | West Virginia | 18 | 86.19 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 40 | Illinois | 17 | 86.24 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Commits | Avg | 5-stars | 4-stars | 3-stars | below |
| 41 | Kansas | 15 | 86.84 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 |
| 42 | Arizona State | 17 | 86.93 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| 43 | UCF | 13 | 87.83 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 44 | Kentucky | 14 | 87.98 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| 45 | Maryland | 16 | 86.57 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| 46 | Wake Forest | 18 | 86.81 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
| 47 | Syracuse | 16 | 86.11 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| 48 | Louisville | 14 | 87.15 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 49 | Michigan State | 12 | 88.09 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 50 | Washington | 12 | 88.73 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 51 | Iowa State | 16 | 85.68 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 52 | NC State | 12 | 86.7 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
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Links, News and Rumors - 2023 July 27 (RX; HM)
Links, News and Rumors - 2023 July 27
From FBSchedules: Power 5 programs playing at Group of 5 venues in 2023
One ACC team is caught up in this insanity...
Note: Duke and NC State both play at UConn, and Boston College visits Army but I guess they don't count those as "G5" teams? Even so, surely Wake Forest at Old Dominion must count, right?
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Realignment: How Much Does it Hurt? (RX; HM)
Realignment: How Much Does it Hurt?
How much does the loss of Colorado hurt the Pac-12? Well, it sure ain't on the same level as losing USC - but how does it compare to other losses suffered by the Pac-12 and other conferences?
According to Andrew's first tweet...
- the AAC lost 27% of the teams, 74% of the champions +
- the Big 12 lost 20% of the teams, 60% of the champions ++
- the Pac-12 lost 25% of the teams, 9% of the champions +++
++ since 2012 (TCU joined: Texas and Oklahoma)
+++ since 2011 (CU joined; USC, UCLA, Colorado)
However, if you go back to the BCS era, this is what each conference has lost:
- Big East: Miami, VT, BC, Pitt, Syracuse, WVU, Louisville, Rutgers
- AAC: Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, UConn
- Big XII: Nebraska, Colorado*, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma
- ACC: S. Carolina, Maryland
- Pac-12: USC, UCLA, Colorado*
Using the same general methodology as above, when S. Carolina and then Maryland left the ACC it cost the conference 2/12 = 16.6% of its membership and 9/60 = 15% of its all-time championships in football (but only one since FSU joined in 1991). Of course, Maryland also hurt the ACC as a men's basketball loss.
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FSU football: Does Colorado to the Big 12 help the Noles leave the ACC? (chopchat.com; Hunt)
FSU football has to find more money by any means necessary if they want to continue competing with the elite programs in the SEC and B1G. It’s something FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford has brought to the Board of Trustees, and voiced to the ACC.
The problem is the ACC is in no position of leverage to negotiate a new TV contract, which doesn’t expire until 2036.
The ACC can’t add any more teams, unless it’s Notre Dame, but that’s not going to happen because they want to keep their independence. Also, adding more teams means the ACC has the split the money they have among MORE programs, which decreases the amount each program gets, so that’s not going to work.
However, news broke Wednesday night that might be of great importance to ultimately helping FSU football get out of the ACC.
The Pac-12 has failed to negotiate a new TV contract and has now lost one of its members in Colorado. Now, Colorado isn’t a valuable piece because they have been a terrible program over the last two decades and that TV market isn’t particularly great.
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Other
One Webster's Landing is the latest historic Syracuse building to be turned into apartments. VIP Structures is building 34 one-bedroom apartments in the building, which was constructed in 1893 as a warehouse for Jacob Marshall & Son, operator of a hide, wool and leather business. (Provided photo)
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2023/...ilding-to-be-transformed-into-apartments.html (PS; $; Moriarty)
Work has begun to turn a historic Syracuse building into apartments featuring brick walls, exposed wooden beams and impressive views of downtown.
VIP Structures launched the nearly $7 million project this week, beginning the building of 34 one-bedroom apartments on all five floors of One Webster’s Landing.
The apartments will feature brick arched windows and doorways, ceilings up to 13 feet high, exposed brick walls, new hardwood floors, exposed wooden joists, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and in-unit laundries.
Amenities will include a fitness center, a bicycle storage room, on-site parking exclusive to the building, and a ground-level courtyard with picnic tables and grill.
Monthly rents are expected to be $1,625 to $1,775. Square footages will range from 553 to 827.
David Nutting, VIP’s chairman, said pre-leasing is expected to start Jan. 31, with tenant move-ins starting June 1.
The red-brick landmark building comes with a lot of history.
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