sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Halloween is a holiday that is rooted in, and was influenced by, both pagan and Christian traditions. On one hand there are the influences of Celtic harvest festivals, such as the Gaelic festival Samhain, and on the other hand Halloween stems from All Hallows' Eve, which is the night before the Christian holiday of All Hallows' Day—or All Saints Day. Halloween traditions were culled from these influences, and from varied traditions that different countries celebrated. The amalgamation of these influences helped to create what we now know as Halloween in the United States.
SU News
Dino Babers talks offensive adjustments, injury updates after Virginia Tech blowout (DO; Miller)
In last week’s Monday press conference, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said that he’d “be surprised” if the Orange offense didn’t go back to 4-0 form after three-straight conference losses. Clemson, UNC and Florida State outscored Syracuse by 88 points over that span, and the offensive struggles persisted against the Hokies. With that differential growing to 116 after Thursday’s game, Babers’ comments aged poorly.
Babers said the stretch of games following the Atlantic Coast Conference skid would be less competitive, making the offensive issues the team dealt with less apparent. Yet, Virginia Tech’s pass rush is among the best in the country, and it bullied the SU offensive line throughout. Those struggles dug an insurmountable hole as SU trailed by 27 points at the half.
Syracuse (4-4, 0-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) has four games remaining, all of which are against conference foes who have similar records. The Orange must win at least half of those to make a bowl game, and Babers knows they must improve offensively to do so.
Here are some observations from Babers’ weekly press conference three days after getting blown out by the Hokies, 38-10:
What happened in Blacksburg?
Babers said he went back and “really watched the tape” to see where Syracuse went wrong against Virginia Tech. The biggest thing, he said, was the momentum. They got walloped early and couldn’t adjust in time....
Week 9 Media: BC at Syracuse - Boston College Athletics (bceagles.com)
Match-Up: Boston College (5-3, 2-2 ACC) at Syracuse (4-4, 0-4 ACC)
Date and Time: Friday, Nov. 3 • 7:30 p.m.
Location (Stadium): Syracuse, N.Y. (JMA Wireless Dome)
Television (Stream): ESPN2 (WatchESPN)
Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM
GAME NOTES
FIRST-AND-10
» Boston College begins a four-game, ACC stretch in November at Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 3 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.» Friday’s game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Anish Shroff (play-by-play) and Andre Ware (analyst) are in the booth with Paul Calcaterra (reporter) on the sidelines.
» Coverage on the Boston College Sports Network begins 30 minutes prior to kickoff on WEEI 93.7 FM. Jon Meterparel (play-by-play) is joined on the call by former BC linebacker Pete Cronan in the booth and quarterback Scott Mutryn on the sideline.
» Boston College trails the all-time series, 22-34, as 2023 marks the 100th year of the rivalry with Syracuse. BC is 9-21 all-time against the Orange on the road.
» The series started with a 10-0 Syracuse win in 1924, followed by BC’s first win, 19-12, in 1944. The series picked up in regularity in 1958 with 43 meetings over the next 47 years.
» Since 2015, the road team has won seven of eight games between the two sides with Syracuse claiming a home win in 2021.
» The Eagles are riding a four-game win streak; their first since starting 4-0 in 2021. BC last won five in a row in 2010.
» Boston College started the season 1-3 for the second consecutive year and fifth time since 2011. The Eagles last rallied from 1-3 to reach a bowl game in 2017.
» Quarterback Thomas Castellanos leads the country for rushing yards by a QB at 673, which ranks 39th among all rushers. His nine rushing TDs are tied for 12th in the country and tied with Caleb Williams (USC) for most by a quarterback.
» Cornerback Elijah Jones is tied for the ACC lead, and fifth in FBS, in both pass break-ups (10) and interceptions (3).
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https://syracuse./news/how-are-syracuse-football-s-transfers-doing-this-year- (r1vals.com; Sears)
In the modern era of the transfer portal, more players are on the move around the country than ever before. Some players that felt underutilized look ahead to greener pastures, while some teams that need an upgrade at a position look to pry away talent from each other.
With the season over the halfway mark, it’s as good a time as any to check in on how Syracuse football's athletes that transferred out this past year have fared.
For simplicity sake we’ll go alphabetically by last name.
Carter was one of the bigger losses through the portal for SU, but he hasn’t paid off his $107k NIL value for OSU either, as he had just two solo tackles through six games before injuring his leg against Penn State.
Easily the biggest loss for Babers’ squad, “Duce” Chestnut was one of the most talented cornerbacks in years for SU and left the same year they lost Garrett Williams to the NFL draft, essentially resetting SU’s cornerback room to square one.
Chestnut has faded into the background of a very talented LSU roster, playing in four games and compiling four solo tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one pass defensed and one interception.
Geer was an ascending player for SU before his transfer and locked down a starting spot right away for the Gamecocks. He’s been a solid big body for his position, with five games played and three solo tackles made, a half tackle-for-loss and a pass defensed.
Jackson is probably having the best year of any transfer out of SU to date, making an immediate impact for the Red Wolves and compiling 23 catches for 433 yards and six touchdowns, one rush for five yards, and nine punt returns for 59 yards.
Lamson is next up in terms of transfer success after Jackson, albeit in a part-time role as more of a rushing-threat QB. On the year for the Cardinals, he’s 31 of 65 for 416 yards and one interception as a passer, and has 71 attempts for 171 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/football/bleav-in-syracuse-episode-86 (SI; podcast; The Bleav)
Bleav in Syracuse podcast episode 86, presented by Bet Online, is out! We discuss the Orange's debacle at Virginia Tech, Dino Babers job security and preview the matchup with Boston College. You can subscribe and listen on your favorite podcasting platforms as linked below.
Syracuse football hasn’t had a 4-game losing streak this bad since? (podcast) (PS; podcast; Axe)
The Syracuse University football team has a four-game losing streak to Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State and Virginia Tech in which it has been out-scored 150-34, a gap of 116 points.
OK, that’s bad.
But surely there was a worse streak in the losing days of the Greg Robinson era, right?
Right?
Check out Episode 27 of Syracuse Sports to find out how far back we had to go to find the answer. The deep dive was inspired by a voicemail left by Jeff, a Syracuse Sports listener.
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Syracuse will make West Coast trip in first year of 17-team ACC scheduling model (PS; Leiker)
The ACC revealed its new 17-team scheduling model for 2024 through 2030 on Monday following the additions of SMU, Cal and Stanford earlier this fall with conference realignment.
Syracuse football will be one of eight schools to make a trip to the West Coast next season, as it’s slated to visit Cal. The Orange will host Stanford.
The new model remains division-less and increases conference matchups from 56 to 68 each year. Programs will play eight conference games each season and will play every other member of the conference at least twice — home and away — through seven seasons.
The model does not change how the ACC Championship Game participants are determined. As is the case this year, the teams with the top two in-conference win percentages will play for the title.
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Syracuse Football: My open letter to Orange football amid losing streak (itlh; Fiello)
Dear Syracuse football players, staff and administrators,
My name is Chuck Fiello Jr. or Orange Chuck on social media. I’m not a journalist or an expert on football. I don’t want to be a critic or objective. I’m simply happy being a fan who likes blogging about my love of the program and just optimistically loving watching and supporting my Orange.
I don’t overanalyze play calling or technique. I don’t watch sports to pretend I’m a coach or player. I don’t set expectations without understanding things can change or I’m done nor do I ask too much of my team. I just want to relax and enjoy rooting for the team I’ve loved for 40 years.
So when this season started 4-0, I was happy and excited for the season. When it went to 4-4 with 4 straight bad losses, I felt disappointed but not overly upset at anyone. I don’t enjoy seeing the hate spewed on a Syracuse football program I love, though I feel everyone is entitled to feel how they wish.
My open letter to Syracuse football.
But I also know we have 4 games left this season. Win all 4 and it’s an 8-4 finish, which is a good one for this program. Win 2 at least and you’re bowl eligible and a bowl game is still a goal most find acceptable for the program. So I’d say winning between 2 to 4 of the games can still still mean some form of success. Also finishing strong sends a signal that this program never gave up.
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...ut-for-season-jeremiah-wilson-moved-to-safety (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers announced two roster changes for the remainder of the 2023 season. First, offensive lineman Kalan Ellis is out for the season and will redshirt due to an injury suffered in the preseason. Second, Jeremiah Wilson is moving from cornerback to safety.
Ellis was a start last season and showed a lot of promise as a freshman. He was injured during training camp, however, and has not been able to return. Coach Babers said on Monday that the injury was the exact same as the one that ended Oronde Gadsden's season.
Wilson is an interesting case. He began the season as one of the starting cornerbacks opposite Isaiah Johnson. He even had a pick six in the season opener and played well at Purdue. However, he was benched after giving up some big plays in subsequent games in favor of Jayden Bellamy. Now, despite Bellamy dealing with an injury, Wilson is changing positions.
That means if Bellamy is unable to go, Syracuse will likely look to redshirt freshman Greg Delaine as the other starter at corner.
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https://mikefarrellsports.com/featured/squeezed-orange-dino-babers-should-be-fired (mikefarrellsports.com; Nederveld)
When Dino Babers took over Syracuse in 2016, he promised an exciting offense that would not huddle. A much-needed breath of fresh air for a once-proud program that has been in the abyss after firing Paul Pasqualoni in 2004, a career 107-59-1 coach who was coming off back-to-back 6-6 seasons. Since then, Syracuse has only had five seasons with six or more wins.
The Greg (lovingly referred to as Gerg) Robinson era was disastrous. Ten wins, half of them vacated, were all Robinson could muster in four full seasons. On the way out, he read "The Little Engine Who Could".
Doug Marrone started to turn the program around, winning eight games and the Pinstripe Bowl twice in four seasons. Unfortunately for the Orange, he left for the Buffalo Bills job. Leaving the Orange to promote DC Scott Shaffer. He won seven games and the Texas Bowl in 2013, won a combined seven more games in 2014 and 2015, and was fired.
Early Promise
Before he took over the Syracuse position, Babers spent two years at Bowling Green and two more at FCS Eastern Illinois before that. All four seasons ended in a winning record, and three ended in a conference championship. Before that, he spent three years at Baylor under Art Briles, where he learned the no-huddle offense....
ACC News
ACC Announces Future Conference Football Schedule Model (theacc.com)
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today its future football schedule model for the next seven years, 2024 through 2030. With the addition of the ACC’s three new member institutions next summer – University of California (Cal), Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Stanford University – the new football scheduling model will go into effect beginning with the 2024 season. After more than a month of significant discussions, the format has been adopted by the league’s athletic directors.
The 2023-24 Football Schedule Model was revealed live on ACC PM: Football Schedule Model Release at 6 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
The new schedule will continue with no divisions, feature 17 schools and will increase the number of annual conference matchups from 56 to 68. The top two teams based on conference winning percentage will compete in the ACC Football Championship Game on the first Saturday in December at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Cal, SMU and Stanford to the ACC and look forward to having them compete beginning in the fall of 2024,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Throughout the entire scheduling model process, the membership was incredibly thoughtful and purposeful in building a creative, flexible and aggressive conference scheduling model while keeping the student-athlete experience at the forefront. The excitement and anticipation for our teams, alumni and fans will undoubtedly build as we look ahead to the future of this incredible conference.”
The approved format will continue to have each member institution play eight conference games per season, with all 17 teams playing each other at least twice over the next seven seasons – once at home and once on the road. The current 14 conference teams will play a total of three times each in California over the seven years and none will travel west to California in back-to-back seasons.
The new scheduling model protects 16 annual matchups. Of the 16 matchups, 11 are retained from the current 3-5-5 schedule model, two are restored rivalries from the divisional format in Miami-Virginia Tech and NC State-Wake Forest and the three new schools fill the remaining three. The annual protected matchups are Boston College-Syracuse, Boston College-Pitt, Syracuse-Pitt, North Carolina-Virginia, North Carolina-Duke, North Carolina-NC State, NC State-Wake Forest, NC State-Duke, Duke-Wake Forest, Virginia Tech-Virginia, Florida State-Clemson, Miami-Florida State, Miami-Virginia Tech, Stanford-Cal, Stanford-SMU, and Cal-SMU.
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Breaking down the ACC's matchups: Analysis, 2024 schedules, protected rivals (ESPN)
The ACC released its new scheduling model for 2024-2030 on Monday, accounting for the additions of Cal, Stanford and SMU, which officially begin league play next season. The league protected 16 annual rivalry games. It limited travel to the West Coast for the 14 current ACC members who will each play a total of three times in California through 2030, and none will travel to California in back-to-back seasons.
ACC reporters Andrea Adelson and David Hale weigh in with their early thoughts on the new format.
What's your first impression from the release?
Adelson: The league did a good job protecting the games it absolutely had to protect, like Florida State-Miami, Florida State-Clemson, Duke-North Carolina and Virginia-Virginia Tech (among others). Having Stanford, Cal and SMU play each other annually also is a no-brainer. I am also delighted that Miami-Virginia Tech and Wake Forest-NC State are back on as protected games after they were dropped this season when the league went to no divisions and a 3-3-5 scheduling model. There will be questions, of course, about fairness. Florida State, for example, has two protected games and Clemson has only one. Georgia Tech and Louisville have zero. We still do not know yet how Notre Dame will factor into the rotation, either. But on the whole, the fact that travel to the West Coast will be mitigated for current ACC teams, geography was a central factor in scheduling, and the biggest, best rivalry games were preserved means the league did yeoman's work in creating this schedule for 17 teams scattered literally across the country.Hale: Let's address the obvious right off the bat: There was no perfect plan for scheduling. In the era of bloated conferences and nationwide competition, everyone has to make a few compromises. In all, the ACC did a solid job addressing the bulk of the core concerns by preserving key rivalries, limiting cross-country travel and providing enough marquee matchups to keep TV partners happy. Should Florida State be upset that, more years than not, it will have Miami, Clemson, Florida and likely Notre Dame on the schedule, when some of its top ACC competition won't have quite so tough a haul? Well, Florida State being upset at the ACC is not new regardless. The Notre Dame question, however, remains the biggest one still lingering. How will the inclusion of the Irish as a nonconference partner for five or six games impact competitive balance? Does Notre Dame's annual game against Stanford count toward its contractual obligation with the ACC now that Stanford is an ACC member? As always, there are a few loose ends still in need of tying.
2024 game we're most excited about
Adelson: When the 3-3-5 scheduling model came out for this season, I was extremely vocal about my displeasure with losing Miami-Virginia Tech, a throwback rivalry from their Big East days. While the game might have lost some of its national luster in recent decades as both programs faltered, more often than not their games always delivered. Up until this season, the game had been played every year since 1992. While that number is relatively small considering the other rivalries in the conference, Miami was independent for a large portion of its history, and aside from Florida State, Virginia Tech had emerged as its biggest rival once it joined the Big East. Three of their past four games were decided by a touchdown or less, and if we want to go further back into history, these teams played 11 times as Top 25 opponents....
ACC unveils new football scheduling model (theathletic.com; $; Vannini, Tanor, Marks & Navarro)
The ACC announced Monday night its new scheduling model for the 2024 through 2030 seasons to accommodate the league’s expansion to 17 teams.
Last month, the ACC announced that California, SMU and Stanford will join the league as new members for the 2024-25 academic year. As a result, the league was forced to scrap a new scheduling model that was introduced for the 2023 season that eliminated divisions and gave each school three permanent opponents.
Here are the highlights of the updated schedule:
- Each team will still play eight regular-season conference games.
- All 17 teams will play each other at least twice in a seven-year span.
- There are 16 annual protected matchups for the next seven years:
- Boston College vs. Syracuse
- Boston College vs. Pittsburgh
- Cal vs. Stanford
- Clemson vs. Florida State
- Florida State vs. Miami
- Miami vs. Virginia Tech
- NC State vs. Duke
- North Carolina vs. Duke
- North Carolina vs. NC State
- North Carolina vs. Virginia
- Pittsburgh vs. Syracuse
- SMU vs. Cal
- SMU vs. Stanford
- Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
- Wake Forest vs. Duke
- Wake Forest vs. NC State
- Georgia Tech and Louisville are the only two programs without a protected rivalry.
- The two programs coming from the Pac-12 each have a winning record against current ACC schools — Stanford is 11-10 while Cal is 13-11-1. SMU is 16-17-2 all-time vs. its new league-mates. Almost one-third of those games have been against Georgia Tech, which is 8-2-1 against the Mustangs.
- Florida State and Virginia are the only two teams in the league that have never played any of three new members.
Minimize travel headaches
Travel logistics were, understandably, among the chief concerns when the ACC first opted to add Cal, Stanford and SMU, and to some extent, they’re still going to be annoying for teams making cross-country trips. But credit to the ACC for at least attempting to minimize the time-zone-hopping that both its current and future members will have to do.The two West Coast schools will have to make only three eastward ventures per season, with their fourth conference away game either against one another or SMU. Similarly, only forcing current members out west three times in a seven-year span — and never in consecutive seasons — is about as ideal as possible. Still: Do you think anyone at Miami is excited about that 6.5-hour flight to Cal next season? Me neither. — Brendan Marks, ACC staff writer
What does this mean for SMU?
When Florida State visits Dallas in 2024, SMU football will officially feel back in the big time. This is a program that used to play Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and others annually in the Southwest Conference, but when the SWC collapsed in 1995-96, SMU was left in the wilderness of the WAC, Conference USA and the American. Now the Mustangs will host one of Florida State, Miami and Clemson in six of the next seven seasons. They won’t have natural rivalries, and annual games against Cal/Stanford won’t fill that, but the home schedule at Gerald J. Ford Stadium is going to change in a major way. The stadium has a capacity of 32,000, slightly larger than Wake Forest for the second-lowest in the ACC, and it’s currently undergoing renovations with a new end zone complex.SMU’s central location was a key in easing Cal/Stanford travel, and the league is considering holding more events in Dallas as a hub. In the week after SMU announced its move to the ACC, the school said it had seen a 30 percent increase in basketball season tickets and hundreds of new football season tickets sold. Expect that to keep going up. — Chris Vannini, national college football reporter
Monday Measure: Florida State looks like the ACC's only hope for a CFP bid (yahoo.com; Cooper/Bromberg)
The ACC’s hopes for a representative in this year’s College Football Playoff seem to have been dwindled down to just Florida State.
The Seminoles are 8-0 and came in at No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25. We’ll see how high they’re ranked when the first batch of rankings from the CFP selection committee is unveiled on Tuesday night, but how the rest of the ACC fares may be more noteworthy.
Only a few weeks ago, the ACC had five ranked teams, with Clemson just on the outside of the Top 25. But now it’s down to just two with Louisville coming in at No. 15.
Louisville is 7-1 overall and 4-1 in ACC play following a shutout victory over Duke. The Cardinals and Virginia Tech — yes, Virginia Tech — are the only two teams with just one loss in conference play. The Hokies’ recent resurgence has been a promising sign for coach Brent Pry, but a bowl berth is a more realistic goal for VT than getting to the conference title game.
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ACC power rankings Week 10: Florida State, Louisville on collision course for ACC Championship Game (greenvilleonline.com; Keepfer)
With four weeks left in the regular season, all signs are pointing toward a Florida State vs. Louisville showdown in the ACC Championship Game.
The Seminoles are alone atop the league standings, have won 14 straight games dating back to last season and are the first league team to reach six ACC victories this season.
We knew Florida State would be good; Louisville not so much.
Picked for an eighth-place finish in the ACC preseason poll, the Cardinals are perched in second place and reaping the rewards of an accommodating schedule – namely, a slate devoid of Florida State, North Carolina and Clemson.
The Seminoles remain fourth in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, followed by Louisville at No. 15. North Carolina is the third and final ACC team ranked, hanging on at No. 25.
Here’s how the league’s teams stack up this week:
1. Florida State (8-0, 6-0)
Last week: 1This week: at Pitt
What to know: Not sure there’s any way of slowing the ’Noles, who have scored 30 or more points in 14 consecutive games.
2. Louisville (7-1, 4-1)
Last week: 2This week: vs. Virginia Tech
What to know: Jeff Brohm has the Cardinals on the fast track to success, but one question lingers: How did they lose to Pitt by 17?
3. Miami (6-2, 2-2)
Last week: 4This week:at NC State
What to know: Super Mario? The Hurricanes have scored 20 or more points in every game this season and are 2-0 in overtime contests.
4. North Carolina (6-2, 3-2)
Last week: 3This week: vs. Campbell
What to know: UNC coach Mack Brown after Saturday’s 46-42 loss at Georgia Tech: “I can’t answer what happened …” Bottom line: Tech has upset a ranked Tar Heels for three consecutive years.
5. Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-1)
Last week: 8This week: at Louisville
What to know: The Hokies are alone in third place in the ACC but face three of their final four games on the road.
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https://www.si.com/college/georgiatech/football/acc-football-week-ten-power-rankings-2023 (SI; Caudell)
It is a new week, which means a new set of ACC Power Rankings.
Florida State is close to clinching a spot in the ACC title game, but that is the only thing that seems like a given in this conference right now. The race to see who plays Florida State is going to be one of the most interesting storylines to follow over the next four weeks, with Louisville, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Miami, NC State, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Boston College all having just one or two losses in the conference. It is going to be an exciting race to see who can make the championship game.
So who moved up and who moved down in this week's ACC power rankings?
14. Pitt (2-6)- Last week: 14
It just keeps getting uglier for the Panthers, who are now 2-6 after getting destroyed by 50+ points against Notre Dame on Saturday. There is just nothing good to say about the Panthers right now, who are one loss away from being unable to make a bowl. The bad news for Pitt is they have to face Florida State on Saturday.
13. Syracuse (4-4)- Last week: 12
The Orange keep sliding in the power rankings. Syracuse has now lost four in a row and they have all been blowout losses. The latest was to Virginia Tech in what was a pretty surprising result. This team feels like it might not make a bowl game, despite starting 4-0 and while injuries have a lot to do with that, this team just does not look right in any phase right now and head coach Dino Babers might be on the hot seat.
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Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain talk ACC football - Gramlich and Mac Lain (M&G; podcast; M & G)
The ACC football schedules have been released through 2030! Let's react. Presented by Ingles Markets.
JHowell's Picks 2023 Week 10 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks 2023 Week 10
JHowell.net has posted projections for Week #10 of the 2023 season. Below are JHowell's ACC football game projections through the games of 11-04-23 (including future ACC teams), followed by some commentary of my own; let's see if his computer can pick the "dogs"...
Thursday, November 2, 2023
#35-Duke (-10.5) vs. #81-Wake Forest (TP=44 Odds=.721)Friday, November 3, 2023
#65-Boston College (-0.5) @ #80-Syracuse (TP=52 Odds=.511)Saturday, November 4, 2023
#3-Florida State (-26) @ #97-Pittsburgh (TP=55 Odds=.879)#10-Notre Dame (-10) @ #48-Clemson (TP=49 Odds=.691)
#11-Oregon (-26) vs. #85-California (TP=62 Odds=.851)
#16-Louisville (-16.5) vs. #70-Virginia Tech (TP=50 Odds=.793)
#29-Miami (FL) (-2.5) @ #51-N.C. State (TP=51 Odds=.544)
#40-Southern Methodist (-7.5) @ #91-Rice (TP=57 Odds=.624)
#61-Washington State (-15) vs. #114-Stanford (TP=60 Odds=.730)
#64-Georgia Tech (-3.5) @ #92-Virginia (TP=59 Odds=.555)
COMMENTS:
ACC Underdogs, more than 14: Pitt (to FSU), Cal (at Oregon), VT (at Louisville), Stanford (at Washington State)....
Return to Sacksburg 2023 (RX; HM)
Return to Sacksburg 2023
If you want to stop the pass, you have to sack the quarterback!
In 2023, the key to winning is offense - but defense remains important. After all, you don't want the other team's offense to win the game for them! While there are many other important elements of a good defense which this doesn't address, it's better to have a pass rush than not - and Virginia Tech (30 sacks) and Miami (28 sacks) are a couple of pass rushing teams (NC State, Pitt, Syracuse and Florida State aren't so bad at it, either!). Virginia Tech is tied for 4th in the nation in terms of team sacks; Miami is tied for 8th. (Texas A&M and Penn State lead the nation with 32 sacks each).
Other
I-481 construction at I-81 and Brighton Avenue in Syracuse on Friday, September 22, 2023. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.comN. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com
Ask questions about I-81 and I-481 construction at upcoming NYSDOT open house (PS; Breidenbach)
The New York State Department of Transportation has scheduled an open house to provide information about construction at the southern interchange of Interstates 81 and 481.
The open house will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 at Clary Middle School, 100 Amidon Drive, Syracuse.
Construction has already started as part of the $2.25 billion effort to replace the aging elevated highway through downtown Syracuse. It is the second contract intended to build up I-481 to handle high-speed traffic expected to travel around the city.
The project improves the southern interchange and modifies the I-481 exit in DeWitt and the bridge over the CSX rail yard.
The second contract, worth $384.5 million, went to a group of contractors calling themselves CNY Alliance.
The first contract was awarded in January, for $296 million to a group called Salt City Constructors LLC. That project is intended to widen lanes and build a higher-speed interchange where I-81 meets I-481 north of Syracuse.
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Tree House, one of the biggest names in craft beer, plans new location in Upstate New York (PS; Cazentre)
One of the most sought-after brands in East Coast craft beer is planning to open a brewery / taproom in Saratoga Springs.
Tree House Brewing plans to open the brewery sometime in 2024 in a location on Route 9 across from Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), the company announced through its social media channels on Friday.
“We are pleased to announce that in the coming year Tree House will open a brewery, taproom, and outdoor experience in Saratoga Springs, New York!,” its Facebook post said.
The new location will be the sixth for Tree House, and its first in New York state. The company was founded in central Massachusetts in 2011 and now has its flagship location in Charlton, between Springfield and Worcester.
It has added three other locations in Massachusetts (Tewksbury, Sandwich and Deerfield) and one in Woodstock, Conn.
“Saratoga Springs is famous for its vibrant arts and music scene,” the Facebook post continued. “This history aligns with our passion and support for music and the arts in ways we almost find too good to be true. To say that we are excited to become a part of the community would be an understatement.”
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ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd to play newly renamed Empower FCU Amphitheater in Syracuse (PS; Herbert)
Two Southern rock legends are coming to the newly renamed Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview.
ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform at the Empower FCU Amphitheater in Syracuse on Aug. 15, 2024, as part of their “Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour” dates. Special guest Outlaws will open the concert at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. through Live Nation. Prices may vary.
It’s the third show announced for the Amp’s upcoming first season with a new naming rights sponsor. The amphitheater was renamed Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview in a 7-year deal worth $4 million. (The venue opened in 2015 as the Lakeview Amphitheater and had been known as St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview, or St. Joe’s Amp, since 2018.)
Other Empower FCU Amphitheater concerts booked for next summer include country stars Lainey Wilson (June 21) and Jordan Davis (July 18).
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