sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Blue Jean Day!
An American cultural icon, and one of the most popular pieces of clothing in the world, blue jeans, or simply, jeans, are worn and celebrated today on National Blue Jeans Day. Blue jeans got their start in the nineteenth century. Jacob Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada, had been making pants for miners, but they weren't sturdy enough, with pockets and a button fly that were particularly susceptible to tears. In 1871, a miner's wife asked him to make them stronger, and he responded by using metal fasteners to make copper riveted trousers. On May 20, 1873, Davis partnered with Levi Strauss to patent the riveted pants, and then to sell them, with Strauss running the business and Davis working as production manager. By the time their patent expired in 1890, Levi Strauss & Co. was well on its way to being one of the most iconic brands of jeans. It was that same year that they started making their pants with blue denim, which was more flexible than the duck cloth they had been using; with their 501 style, their jeans became blue jeans.
SU News
Brown gets deep during his introduction: ‘It just comes out real’ (PS; $; Carlson)
New Syracuse football coach Fran Brown spoke the quiet parts out loud. Over and over.
He expects to lose his expensive defensive coordinator after three seasons. Part of the allure of the Syracuse job is the salary. He wants to retire from coaching early and take care of his family.
Coaches often cut off communication with parents after successfully recruiting their children. They tell fans they’ll stay forever. They cut back on recruiting once they reach the big chair.
He wants Syracuse alumni around, primarily because the current players benefit but also because the program needs their money. His program needs the support of other fans too, at a level they might not be accustomed to, at least if Syracuse wants to have a winner.
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Fans react to Fran Brown being the 31st Syracuse Football Coach (localsyr.com; Skiba)
A new era in Syracuse football is underway.
On Monday, Dec. 4, Fran Brown was officially introduced as the 31st head coach in program history. A hire that Orange Nation has been waiting for.
Syracuse will play South Florida in Boca Raton Bowl
“With the way it’s been going the last few years, we’ve been doing something a little bit different,” said SU fan Colin Smith. “I think with him coming in here, there’s a lot of potential based on his tenure and what he’s done before. I think this could be good for ‘Cuse.”
At Monday’s news conference, Brown talked about his childhood and how he became the person he is now. A story that’s earning respect from fans.
“He’s come from the ground up. The kids respect that so much that he’s built his life out of nothing, and the players are going to love him for that,” said SU fan Bill Nester. “He’s going to make the best of these players and get them into good programs where they can move forward with their lives as well. Not only here at Syracuse, but above and beyond at Syracuse.”
With all the excitement after Fran Brown’s conference today, some may be quick to forget Syracuse will taking part in their fifth bowl game in 10 seasons later this month. They’ll face South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl. But some fans are already looking to 2024.
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Fran Brown talks recruiting, community in introductory press conference (DO; Miller)
Fran Brown sat, stoic and concentrated, as Director of Athletics John Wildhack introduced him as Syracuse football’s next head coach. Brown made his way to the podium and applause rang through the hall – his face finally cracked into a smile for the first time when he picked up a Syracuse football jersey with “Brown” and “44” on the back.
“Just looking at that alone, Jim Brown, Fran Brown, just having that alone is a blessing right there,” Brown said of seeing his name on the back of the jersey.
After being cut from the National Football League, Brown fought his way into the coaching ranks and quickly ascended to become a top defensive backs coach at Georgia two years ago. When the position opened, Brown reached out to Wildhack about the head coaching vacancy. They talked multiple times and Wildhack said, above all, it was the consistent praise and genuine nature that sold him on Brown.
The top recruiter in the 2024 class, according to 247 Sports, takes pride in the genuine relationships that he forms with athletes and their families. Everything he’s done up to this point has served the goal of becoming a Power Five head coach. And now that he is one, Brown said he’s going to outwork everyone.
Here are some takeaways from Brown’s introductory press conference on Tuesday morning:
Recruiting with authenticity
Whether it’s players or coaches, Brown said he wants people to know that anyone who comes through Syracuse will be successful because of their time there. He’s recruiting “differently” than those who came before and plans to build on current success. Anyone who does commit to SU will do so because Brown was honest with them about its culture and expectations.“I was always able to go out and recruit, get the best players, but it wasn’t because I was saying all this stuff or selling all this stuff at Temple, it was because of the relationships,” Brown said. “I’m going to talk about life, helping young men become closer to the man above … That’s how I recruit. I recruit just being genuine, telling kids the truth.”
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'I'm here for life': The Fran Brown era of Syracuse Football begins (wrvo.org; Pukatch)
A new era of Syracuse University Football began Monday as new football head coach Fran Brown held his first press conference Monday.
Brown said he wants to bring back the tradition of the great football that was here before him.
"I'm looking for that Pasqualoni-DeLeone era, man," Brown said. "I want to bring that back and I hope that you guys want that back. I'm ready to have fun. We are going to run the ball. We are going to play the good defense. We're going to stop the run. We're going to hit, and actually everybody going to ask what offense you're going to run? Whatever, they can't stop."
Athletic Director John Wildhack said Brown's vision matched his passion and commitment, sharing that Brown met with the team and the academic support staff in the first 24 hours of his arrival.
"Coach Fran's character and values are a perfect match for our university and for our community," Wildhack said. "He spent the last 15 years preparing for today his experience at Temple, at Baylor, at Rutgers and Georgia have him well-prepared to lead our program."
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The Juice Online - Rapid Reaction: Fran Brown right coach at right time for Syracuse Football (r1vals.xcom; Bierman)
Syracuse introduced Fran Brown as its 31st head coach on Monday.
He comes over from Georgia where he was the defensive backs coach, and comes in with impressive recruiting credentials. He's widely known as one of the top recruiters in college football with deep ties to the Northeast and New Jersey.
RAPID REACTION
It had already been a whirlwind day and a half stretch for Fran Brown, when he was formally introduced Monday morning as the 31st head coach in Syracuse's 134 seasons of playing college football.
There had been the private jet flight up from Athens roughly 12 hours after Georgia had its 29 game winning streak snapped by Alabama in the SEC title game in Atlanta, a concise, yet enthusiastic, Orange-flavored greeting at the airport, hours of meetings and introductions on campus, and the oh-so-important first night dinner at Vito's, the popular East Syracuse hangout of many SU fans.
Already planning his first recruiting excursion as SU head coach for later Monday, here are three takeaways from the one hour introductory press conference:
1) Coach Fran's Syracuse connections run deep.
From attending his first college football game on August 25, 1997, when Syracuse routed Wisconsin 34-0 in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in the N.J. Meadowlands, busing up from his native Camden, N.J. to watch boyhood neighbor Donovin Darius star for the Orange, to his close relationship with the late George DeLeone on both the Temple and Baylor staffs, and seeking the blessing of Paul Pasqualoni to accept the 'Cuse job, Brown already bleeds Orange.Brown also mentioned his instant bonding with senior deputy athletics director (and Philly native) Herm Frazier, and Kevin Coyle who served as defensive coordinator under Coach P from 2001-03, then later was Brown's defensive backs coach during his two-year playing tenure (2007-08) with the Cincinnati Bengals. Coyle, currently the DC at Fresno State, may be back to join the staff (consultant?) according to a hint or two during Brown's remarks.
2.) The foundation of Brown's coaching philosophy and life development is labeled "DART."
Brown made clear that he will hold his players and staff to the four elements that make up the acronym. They are:*Detail
*Accountability
*Relentlessness
*Toughness
Building the foundation of each player following the same mantra, Brown said, is the key to the vision he sold SU administrators and the search committee in his late pitch to become a candidate for the job.
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Campanile to coach Syracuse in bowl, remain on staff under Brown (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football interim head coach Nunzio Campanile will lead the team in its appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 21, new head coach Fran Brown said Monday.
Brown also said Campanile will be retained for his 2024 staff, though he did not specify a role.
The news came during Brown’s introductory press conference as Syracuse University’s 31st head football coach Monday morning.
Campanile was in attendance.
“If you’re asking if [Campanile’s] gonna be on staff, yeah, he is,” Brown said. “Because of him, we get to watch 15 more practices and we get one more game. He did a good job. I just loved how he was able to keep the staff together.”
Campanile, a New Jersey native like Brown, was hired January 2022 as the Orange’s tight ends and inside receivers coach, working with star players Oronde Gadsden II and Dan Villari. He was promoted to interim head coach for the final week of the regular season, leading SU to a win over Wake Forest and a bowl berth.
Campanile and Brown worked together at Rutgers from 2020-21. Campanile has spent most of his career as a tight ends coach but has also been a running backs coach and offensive coordinator.
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Brown details his vision for Orange (press conference recap) (PS; $; Carlson)
New Syracuse football coach Fran Brown held his first press conference on Monday morning, one day after arriving in Central New York.
The speakers included Syracuse Chancellor Kent Syverud, athletic director John Wildhack and Brown.
Below are some of the highlights:
Brown confirmed Elijah Robinson will be the team’s defensive coordinator and interim coach Nunzio Campanile will be retained off the current staff. In other staffing news, Brown hinted Kevin Coyle will be joining the staff in some capacity. Coyle was the defensive coordinator at Syracuse (1991–1993) and won a national title with LSU in 2019 as a defensive analyst under Ed Orgeron. Coyle spent this past season as the defensive coordinator at Fresno State.
Brown said hiring Robinson away from Texas A&M was “expensive” and that Syracuse went “all-in.”
Brown said he will not return to Georgia to coach in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. Brown will focus on the job in Syracuse and observe practices as the team preps for the Dec. 21 Boca Raton Bowl against South Florida.
During the hour-long press conference, Brown often spoke of binding the program as it was under former coach Paul Pasqualoni.
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Report: Fran Brown targeting Giants RB coach Jeff Nixon as new SU football OC (PS; $; Axe)
New Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown is targeting New York Giants running backs coach Jeff Nixon to be his offensive coordinator.
That’s according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to syracuse.com Nixon is Brown’s top choice to be the new Orange OC.
The targeted hire of Nixon and Brown confirming on Monday that he had hired Elijah Robinson from Texas A&M as his new defensive coordinator tracks with what Brown told Syracuse football verbal commitments on Thursday.
“He said the offensive coordinator is coming from a job in the NFL, and the defensive coordinator’s coming from the SEC,” Noah Rosahac, a three-star lineman from Pennsylvania, told syracuse.com by phone Friday.
Nixon and Brown coached together at Baylor in 2017 and ‘18 under Matt Rhule where Nixon served as offensive coordinator and play-caller. Brown was Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs coach at Baylor.
In 2019, Nixon led a Baylor offense that averaged 431.2 yards per game and ranked 17th in the nation with 35.2 points-per-game. The 2018 Bears ranked 22nd in the nation in total offense, averaging 459.1 yards per game, including 290 passing yards a game. In 2017, Nixon’s offense at Baylor averaged 280 yards per game passing, which ranked 22nd in the nation.
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SU reportedly targeting New York Giants running backs coach Jeff Nixon for offensive coordinator (DO; Andrews)
Syracuse is reportedly zoning in on New York Giants running back coach Jeff Nixon to be the program’s next offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The report comes one day after SU reportedly added former Texas A&M defensive line coach Elijah Robinson as its new defensive coordinator.
Nixon, a 49-year-old Rochester, PA, native, is currently in his first season as the Giants running back coach. His 26-year coaching career includes 14 seasons in the National Football League. He would be replacing Jason Beck as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator.
Prior to 2023, Nixon spent 2020-22 with the Carolina Panthers and held a variety of roles — senior offensive assistant, running backs coach, assistant head coach and interim offensive coordinator during the 2021 season after Carolina fired former coordinator Joe Brady in-season. He followed then-Panthers head coach Matt Rhule to Carolina in 2020 after working with Rhule for the previous three seasons at Baylor. There, Nixon served as a co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
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https://footballscoop.com/news/syracuse-reportedly-targeting-nfl-assistant-for-offensive-coordinator (footballscoop.com; Samuels)
Fran Brown stated a number of times at his introductory presser at Syracuse that he wants to be a program that runs the ball successfully.
What better way to do that than to find your offensive coordinator from the NFL ranks?
Brown is reportedly targeting New York Giants running backs coach Jeff Nixon to be his offensive coordinator, Pete Thamel shares today.
Nixon and Brown both worked together at Baylor under Matt Rhule for two seasons, where Fran was the assistant head coach / defensive backs coach and Nixon held the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
Before joining the Giants staff prior to this season, Nixon worked alongside Rhule with the Carolina Panthers.
He began his time in Carolina just working with the running backs before being named the interim offensive coordinator during the 2021 season. In 2022 he held the title of assistant head coach for offense.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/te...on-texas-aggies-leaving-syracuse-18531902.php (houstonchronicle.com; Zwerneman)
Texas A&M had a rugged weekend. Hours after seeing old rival Texas make the four-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, the Aggies learned they are losing highly regarded interim coach Elijah Robinson to Syracuse.
Robinson is joining longtime friend Fran Brown, Syracuse’s new head coach, as the Orange’s defensive coordinator. Robinson was A&M's defensive line coach under Jimbo Fisher, who was fired Nov. 12, and served as interim coach over the final two regular-season games for the 7-5 Aggies.
The Aggies defeated Abilene Christian 38-10 at Kyle Field and lost at LSU 42-30 following Fisher’s firing, so Robinson wraps up his head coaching career at A&M (at least for now) 1-1.
Robinson is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters and had a big hand in the Aggies’ highly rated classes under Fisher, who led A&M over six seasons from 2018-2023.
“I saw him bring the joy back to Aggie football,” A&M president Mark Welsh said of Robinson’s two-game stint as interim coach after the Aggies were 11-11 over the past two seasons under Fisher. “I saw the team, and the great athletes we have on the football team, playing incredibly hard for their coach. … Coach Robinson and the players made us very, very proud.”
The Aggies face 9-4 Oklahoma State in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Dec. 27 at NRG Stadium, and it wasn't clear as of Monday evening who will lead them against the Cowboys, an A&M spokesman said. The Aggies hired Mike Elko from Duke on Nov. 27 to replace Fisher, and he’s busy filling out a staff, hitting the early recruiting trail, sifting through the transfer portal, and meeting individually with current players.
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Campanile to coach Syracuse in bowl, remain on staff under Brown (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football interim head coach Nunzio Campanile will lead the team in its appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 21, new head coach Fran Brown said Monday.
Brown also said Campanile will be retained for his 2024 staff, though he did not specify a role.
The news came during Brown’s introductory press conference as Syracuse University’s 31st head football coach Monday morning.
Campanile was in attendance.
“If you’re asking if [Campanile’s] gonna be on staff, yeah, he is,” Brown said. “Because of him, we get to watch 15 more practices and we get one more game. He did a good job. I just loved how he was able to keep the staff together.”
Campanile, a New Jersey native like Brown, was hired January 2022 as the Orange’s tight ends and inside receivers coach, working with star players Oronde Gadsden II and Dan Villari. He was promoted to interim head coach for the final week of the regular season, leading SU to a win over Wake Forest and a bowl berth.
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Syracuse approaching Boca Raton Bowl as ‘end to ’23′ amid personnel transitions (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football interim head coach Nunzio Campanile said during a press conference call for the Boca Raton Bowl on Monday that he has “not yet” heard from any Orange players about plans to opt out of the game later this month.
He also said the plan is to finish out the season with the complete 2023 SU staff, and that the program will use “a lot of the same schedules that we had built under coach (Dino) Babers” in its bowl preparations.
If coaches from the 2023 staff are offered and accept jobs elsewhere that require them to leave pre-bowl, Campanile said Syracuse will accommodate that.
Syracuse is set to play South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 21. It is the first time since 2012-13 the Orange is playing in consecutive bowl games.
On Monday, Syracuse University formally introduced Fran Brown as its new head coach. Brown said he is retaining Campanile on his staff for 2024 and that Campanile will lead the team through the bowl game, though Brown will be around the program.
“It’s weird preparing for a bowl game,” Campanile said. “It’s kind of wrapped around recruiting. There’s a lot of different things going on. Fran’s building a staff. We have some guys going out. All those different things that happen.
“Generally, this is a finish to the ‘23 season is kind of the way we’re gonna approach it as far as who plays and who gets the majority of the reps.”
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Fran Brown introduced as Syracuse football coach (apnews.com; Frank)
He was a ninth grader in Camden, N.J., and had never seen a college football game in person.
Fran Brown’s first college game on Aug. 24, 1997, however, left an indelible impression as 17th-ranked Syracuse defeated Wisconsin 34-0 in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford.
The Orange defense, which included fellow Camden native and soon-to-be NFL defensive back Donovin Darius, held future Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne to a career-low 46 yards on 13 attempts.
More than 26 years later, Brown was formally introduced Monday as the 31st coach of the very same program that impressed him so much on that late-August day.
“Why Syracuse? Got to meet (Syracuse quarterback) Donovan McNabb and that is my vision of Syracuse. We are going to bust our butt to get back to that way,” Brown said. “Now I get a chance to mimic that. Growing up, it was Syracuse, Miami, Florida State, Virginia Tech. They were all winning. Now I get a chance to bring it back to where it was.”
He also laughed at people asking why he’d want to coach at Syracuse.
“Do you see how much this man is paying me?” Brown said, looking at athletic director John Wildhack, a reference to growing up in Camden with few material possessions.
Former Orange basketball coach Jim Boeheim, and Syracuse staff, faculty, coaches, alumni and former players packed the team’s football auditorium to meet the coach succeeding Dino Babers, who was fired with one game remaining in his eighth season at the school.
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...oach-syracuse-defensive-ends-under-fran-brown (SI; McAllister)
Former Colorado defensive line coach Nick Williams is coming to Syracuse to coach defensive ends, Williams posted on social media Monday afternoon. Williams posted "Blessed" along with a picture of himself, the Syracuse S logo on a graphic that said "Defensive Ends" suggesting that is the position he will coach at SU.
Williams was considered a strong recruiter and developer of defensive line talent when he went to Colorado. He recently resigned after one season under head coach Deion Sanders.
More on Williams' background from his bio on the Colorado Athletics website:
Williams joins the Buffs from Texas A&M, where was a defensive analyst and worked with the defensive linemen for two seasons. He joined the A&M staff in May 2021 and helped the Aggies recruit the No. 1 ranked signing class in the nation in 2022.
Prior to that, he was on the staff at Georgia for three seasons, as a student assistant in 2018 and then as a graduate assistant for the 2019-20 seasons, all working with the Bulldogs' defense. At Georgia, the Bulldogs had the No. 1 ranked recruiting classes in both 2018 and 2020, the No. 2 ranked class in 2019 and the No. 4 ranked class in 2021 before he left for College Station.
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Fran Brown’s Syracuse staff takes shape: Nick Williams joins as DEs coach, two other staffers added (PS; $; Leiker)
Just hours after Fran Brown’s formal introduction as Syracuse football’s new head coach, the rest of his staff has begun to take shape through social media posts and bio changes.
The hires have not been confirmed nor formally announced yet by Syracuse University.
Brown said during his introductory press conference that he was already “deep” in the process of hiring his new staff. He is meeting with Syracuse’s current crop of assistants Monday afternoon, he said.
Colorado defensive ends coach Nick Williams shared a graphic on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday afternoon indicating he’s joining Syracuse as its defensive ends coach. He also changed his bio on the site.
Williams posted a thank you to Colorado head coach Deion Sanders on Sunday. His role with the Buffs was his first assistant coaching job; he previously served as a grad assistant for the defense at Georgia (2019-20) and defensive analyst at Texas A&M (2021-22).
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Syracuse football with buzz for 4-star edge, top-250 prospect who will visit (itlh; Adler)
KingJoseph Edwards, a four-star edge and a top-250 national prospect in the 2024 class, plans to take an official visit to Syracuse football this coming weekend, and the Orange is garnering some analyst buzz for him on various recruiting Web sites.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Edwards, a standout defensive end/tight end at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Ga., reportedly has a final three of the ‘Cuse, Colorado and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Florida State, per a recent report from Hayes Fawcett of On3. That article stated that Edwards is eyeing a commitment announcement on December 19.
Per his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Edwards picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange on December 4. According to 247Sports and other reports, he plans to officially visit Syracuse football this coming weekend, beginning on December 8.
When I wrote this column on Monday evening, I saw multiple analyst projections in the direction of the ‘Cuse between the 247Sports Web site, and the On3 Web site.
Syracuse football appears to be a big contender for 2024 four-star edge KingJoseph Edwards.
Per recruiting services and reports, Edwards holds more than 30 scholarship offers from a wide range of high-major programs, including Alabama, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, N.C. State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Southern California, among others.
Camden, N.J., native Fran Brown on Monday was formally introduced as the next head coach of the ‘Cuse, replacing Dino Babers. Brown, most recently, has served as the defensive backs coach at Georgia, and numerous national pundits view him as the country’s No. 1 recruiter.
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Syracuse football hires Elijah Robinson to be defensive coordinator (TNIAAM; Ostrowski)
The Fran Brown era of Syracuse Orange football is off to a scorching start. During his introductory press conference, Brown showed how different of a look he will bring to SU... by announcing his defensive coordinator himself.
That’s right: Elijah Robinson, another Camden native who worked with Brown from 2014-2017, will be joining the Syracuse coaching staff. It’s hinted at that Robinson was paid very well to get him up to Syracuse - but it may very well be worth it.
Robinson was the Number 5 recruiter in the country for the Class of 2024, and Number 1 for the Class of 2022, according to 247 Sports.
The news was first teased last night by Billy Liucci of TexAgs.com:
Robinson was on some of the same Temple and Baylor staffs as Brown, and the two have been close friends for a long time,
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...fran-browns-introductory-press-conference(SI; McAllister)
1. Recruiting Geography & Approach
How he recruits: "I was always able to go out and recruit and get the best players, but it wasn't because I was saying all this stuff or selling all this stuff at Temple," Brown said. "It was because of relationships. It's continuously talking to them. It was talking to them about life. Helping young men become closer to the man above. I was told, ever since I was a little kid, the reason I'm here now is because my grandmother before she passed, I would always hear Jesus lives in your heart. Jesus lives in your heart. And I lived that and I believe that. That's how I recruit. I recruit just being genuine. I'm telling the kids the truth. I got them to come to school because they wanted to be closer to Christ or Allah or whoever it is you may believe in. They want to get a degree. And they don't just want a degree, they want to be educated. Come to school and get educated. I'm telling all the kids now, the reason you should come to Syracuse is just because you're coming here you're going to be successful for the rest of your life... The same way I'm talking to you is the same I'm going to recruit."
Brown added that he's going to recruit depth, he's going to recruit difference makers and he is not afraid of recruiting against any coach in the country.
Geographical targets: "First we're going to take care of our backyard," Brown said. "So from Canada to the DMV. I told coach Smart before I left, 'you got all these guys now, out of respect being down there where I was at. You guys got the players now. Don't come back up north.' He laughed at me and he giggled and said, 'yeah I ain't wasting my time no more.' But we'll be from Canada through the DMV. We're going to have little spots where we can spot recruit because I've been in Florida. I've recruited well there. I've done a good job in Texas, the west coast. I was always told, I have an uncle he's funny, he always said, 'Earth's your turf.' So it don't really matter but we're going to take care of our backyard from Canada all the way down. That's where they won in the past with Pasqualoni and DeLeone. They truly won in Connecticut, in New Jersey, they went to the DMV and got some good players. They spot recruited Florida and brought some good players down. Philadelphia. So I'm going to follow that same blueprint because it worked. They had a lot of pros."
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Keeping Up With The 315 12-4-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Brian Higgins starts the show with his reactions to Fran Brown’s introductory press conference and the questions that still remain regarding Syracuse football’s new head coach. Then, a few callers chime in on the Orange’s roster, ideas for NIL, and more.
30 Minutes in Orange Nation 12-4-23 (ESPN; radio; Orange Nation)
Steve and Paulie start the show with reactions to Fran Brown’s introductory press conference as Syracuse football head coach. Check out the interview with John Wildhack in the audio vault on ESPNSyracuse.com! Then, hear from some listeners on the hire plus some reaction to FSU being snubbed from the CFB playoffs.
Newhouse after Noon 12-4-23 (ESPN; radio; Newhouse after Noon)
Jacob Charnow and Shane Holcombe start today’s show discussing the possibilities for Syracuse football with Fran Brown leading the way as head coach. Then, Jacob Kaye and Michael Ostrowski react to his press conference and explain why they believe his approach is the right one for the Orange.
(youtube; video; Syracuse Orange)
Head Coach Fran Brown, AD John Wildhack and Chancellor Kent Syverud take part in the 31st head football coach at Syracuse University's inaugural press conference.
First impressions of Fran Brown's presser and another big recruiter added to Syracuse staff (youtube; podcast; Syracuse Orange)
First impressions of Fran Brown's presser and another big recruiter added to Syracuse staff
Fran Brown’s Message to Syracuse Football Alumni (youtube; pocast; DT)
“Peeling Back the Orange” - DT w/ NEW Syracuse Orange Head Football Coach Fran Brown on what he wants to say to the Orange Football Alumni in the room & watching from anywhere…
ACC News
After Florida State's Playoff snub, ACC's bowl dominoes didn't fall smoothly (theathletic; $; Mandel)
When Holiday Bowl executive director Mark Neville woke up Sunday morning, he assumed he would be announcing his bowl’s Clemson-USC matchup later that day. Gator Bowl counterpart Greg McGarity was anticipating North Carolina versus Tennessee in his game. The Sun Bowl’s Bernie Olivas had his eyes on Miami-Oregon State, but there were several other teams he figured were possible on the ACC side — none of which were Notre Dame.
Then the College Football Playoff selection show came on. They, along with many other bowl directors, watched with varying degrees of shock when 13-0 Florida State was not included among the top four teams.
It set off a chaotic chain of events during several hours Sunday that affected more than 20 teams’ bowl destinations and ended with a top-20 Notre Dame team headed for El Paso.
“It was crazy, and it all started with the unfortunate decision not to put Florida State in the top four,” Neville said.
“It was something nobody could really fathom,” McGarity said. “I don’t think anyone really planned for it.”
Selection Sunday is often a bit of a fire drill for the bowls, but two 11th-hour wrinkles made this year’s lineup particularly fluid — and in one conference’s case, controversial.
For weeks, it was assumed that the loser of the Ohio State-Michigan game would play in the Orange Bowl as the highest-ranked available team from the Big Ten or SEC. But when Alabama upset Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, it meant the Dawgs, not the Buckeyes, landed in Miami. That in turn triggered an unusual clause in the leagues’ contracts that turned the ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowl from an ACC bowl to a Big Ten bowl. The Irish, who can play in any ACC bowl in their agreement with the conference, had been the Tampa game’s presumed pick, but that was no longer an option.
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After the Pinstripe Bowl landed Miami and North Carolina got the home-state Mayo Bowl, most of the remaining dominoes fell to ESPN Events, which owns and operates 17 bowls and absorbs some of the conferences’ surplus teams. That’s how Syracuse landed seemingly randomly in the Boca Raton Bowl, perhaps for all the Central New York retirees there. At one point, it was reported that Duke would play UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl before someone noticed the teams had just faced each other in last season’s Military Bowl. Georgia Tech swapped places with the Blue Devils.
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CFP Committee Member on Snubbing FSU: 'Holy S--t, This Is Really Going to Suck' (BR; Rapp)
The College Football Playoff selection committee knew just how controversial it would be to leave out the undefeated ACC champions, Florida State, in favor of one-loss teams Texas and Alabama.
"All of us had the emotional tie, like, 'Holy s--t, this is really going to suck to do this,'" a committee member told ESPN's Heather Dinich. "We talked about that over and over, and we just kept coming back [to] are they good enough with what they have to win a national championship, and it just kept coming back [to] we didn't think they could."
The main justification for the snub was the injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis, out for the season with a broken leg. In two games without him under center, the Florida State offense was hardly imposing.
The decision wasn't a popular one, especially for anybody with ties to Florida State. The team's head coach, Mike Norvell, said he was "disgusted and infuriated." ACC commissioner Jim Phillips called the snub "unfathomable." Travis said he was "heartbroken."
But the committee had made up its mind, and Florida State was the odd team out. Next year, with a 12-team format, Florida State—and other one-loss teams like Georgia and Ohio State—will be in. But this year, the committee didn't deem the Seminoles worthy.
"At the end of the day, everybody had the same goal in mind—do we have the four best teams?" a committee member told Dinich. "And we all felt pretty good that we do."
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https://www.si.com/college/fsu/foot...ll-playoff-committee-after-florida-state-snub (SI; Kimble)
Florida State is fresh off an ACC Championship win over Louisville, doing so without Jordan Travis. The Seminoles' star quarterback suffered a season-ending injury in Week 12 as the team was 11-0.
The Seminoles finished out the season strong, defeating Florida on the road and, obviously, winning the conference championship. Still, even after doing so and finishing the season 13-0, FSU dropped out of the top four in the College Football Playoff rankings in the final rankings of the season.
When the playoffs were being set on Sunday, the committee had both Texas and Alabama jump Florida State. It was expected that one of those two teams would be in the final rankings in a playoff spot, but not both of them.
Florida State being snubbed sent social media and sports media both into a frenzy, either supporting the decision or sharing frustrations with the committee and their process.
ESPN's Paul Finebaum defended the committee and their choice to place Alabama over the Seminoles. Florida State has been the only undefeated Power Five team to miss the playoffs since the four-team playoff model was released.
“I felt Nick Saban put it best yesterday by beating Georgia,” Finebaum said on ESPN. “It wasn’t because it’s the SEC. It’s because the SEC champion [Alabama] beat the best team in the country, and the team that beat the SEC now-champion finished third [Texas]. That’s a really nice resumé.”
Finebaum didn't stop by defending the committee and their choice to have both Texas and Alabama, two one-loss teams, jump Florida State in the rankings, but he then commented on Jim Phillips, the ACC commissioner.
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https://mikefarrellsports.com/fact-...fsu-claimed-title-seminoles-future-in-the-acc (mikefarrellsports.com; Farrell)
In today’s Fact or Fiction, I look at three big recent topics in college football and decide whether the statement is indeed FACT or if it’s FICTION.
1. The playoff isn’t earned.
Farrell’s take: FACT
This is an invitation, not a selection, and that’s just what we have to live with. Florida State won every single game (including two against SEC opponents) and their Power Five conference, yet they were passed over for Texas and Alabama, teams with one loss each. Why? Money. So it’s not a selection committee anymore; it’s an invitation committee, and if you’re rich enough to join the club, then you’re in. If not, you’re screwed. This will happen with an expanded playoff, as teams will be left out of the magical 12 because they just aren’t good enough for TV eyeballs.Farrell’s take: FICTION
The difference? FSU not only got screwed out of the playoff, but they also landed Georgia as their bowl opponent. A pissed-off Georgia team that will take this bowl seriously after also being snubbed (in their minds) while FSU plays without their starting QB. So FSU won’t be able to claim a win over the team that lost to the eventual national champion as UCF did. They will finish the season 13-1, and that’s not good enough for a mythical natty....
ESPN's coverage of Florida State playoff snub shows ACC will always be second fiddle to SEC (awfulannouncing.com; Axelrod)
The most notable part of ESPN’s Booger McFarland’s reaction to Florida State being snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee wasn’t that he went to bat for the Seminoles.
It’s that he seemingly was the only one.
“To me, this is a travesty to the sport,” McFarland said, shortly after Florida State — the 13-0 ACC champion — was left out of the four-team playoff in favor of Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama on Sunday.
On a broadcast that appeared to otherwise be devoted to defending the one-loss Crimson Tide’s inclusion in the playoff over the Seminoles, McFarland’s response stood out. And it was difficult to watch ESPN’s reaction to the selection and not consider the implications for the network’s relationship with the ACC.
As college football enters the next phase of its expansion era, the connections between the conferences and their broadcast partners have become impossible to ignore. That has been apparent in the contrasting coverage of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, with the Big Ten’s broadcast partner, Fox, taking a more sympathetic approach to the Wolverines than ESPN has....
P3 FB Spending: the ACC Threat (RX; HM)
P3 FB Spending: the ACC Threat
Do the SEC and B1G view the ACC as a threat? Probably. Here's a graph posted by Tony Altimore that says a lot:
The ACC is the clear #3 in terms of spending on football. That fact alone would surely grab the attention of the leaders of the SEC, the Big Ten, even ESPN and Fox.
But, of course, that's not the only indicator of ACC football threat. Perhaps best known is the national championship tally over the last decade: SEC 6, ACC 3, B1G 1, all others 0.
Altimore also tweeted this interesting graphic showing the total number of AP votes:
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2023 ACC FB on ABC (RX; HM)
2023 ACC FB on ABC
It's not ALL bad news... at least there's been some good news this football!
CFP snubs aside, the ACC has had a great football season on television - especially in terms of over-the-air network coverage on ABC. Take a look at this compilation of 2023 ACC games on ABC:
| Game on ABC | Date/Time |
| S. Carolina vs. N. Carolina | Saturday 9/2 7:30 PM |
| LSU vs. Florida State | Sunday 9/3 7:30 PM |
| Notre Dame at NC State | Saturday 9/9 12:00 PM |
| Texas A&M at Miami (FL) | Saturday 9/9 3:30 PM |
| Florida State at Boston College | Saturday 9/16 12:00 PM |
| Pitt at West Virginia | Saturday 9/16 7:30 PM |
| Florida State at Clemson | Saturday 9/23 12:00 PM |
| Clemson at Syracuse | Saturday 9/30 12:00 PM |
| Notre Dame at Duke | Saturday 9/30 7:30 PM |
| Virginia Tech at Florida State | Saturday 10/7 3:30 PM |
| Notre Dame at Louisville | Saturday 10/7 7:30 PM |
| Syracuse at Florida State | Saturday 10/14 12:00 PM |
...
2023 CW Viewership (RX; HM)
2023 CW Viewership
According to TV Series Finale', here are the recent 2023-24 season's top 9 scripted television shows on The CW Network:
| Latest ratings averages, by total viewership | |
| CW scripted shows 2023-24 | Vwrs(M) |
| 1. The Chosen (season 3) | 0.492 |
| 2. Sullivan's Crossing | 0.459 |
| 3. The Chosen (season 2) | 0.435 |
| 4. The Spencer Sisters | 0.392 |
| 5. The Swarm | 0.342 |
| 6. Son of a Critch | 0.336 |
| 7. Run the Burbs | 0.196 |
| 8. Children Ruin Everything | 0.188 |
| 9. Everyone Else Burns | 0.171 |
Want to know why the The CW keeps cancelling TV shows? The ratings are just awful (even for genuinely good shows like "Superman and Lois").
Now, let's combine these numbers with the viewership for ACC Football on The CW...
| Combined TV Shows + Games | Vwrs(M) |
| N. Ala. @ Florida State, 6:30pm | 1.33 |
| Virginia @ N. Carolina, 6:30pm | 0.788 |
| Clemson @ NC State, 2pm | 0.642 |
| Cincinati @ Pitt, 6:30pm | 0.617 |
| Louisville @ Pitt, 6:30pm | 0.569 |
| 1. The Chosen (s3) | 0.492 |
| 2. Sullivan's Crossing | 0.459 |
| 3. The Chosen (s2) | 0.435 |
| 4. The Spencer Sisters | 0.392 |
| Marshall @ NC State, 2 pm | 0.386 |
| Virginia @ Boston College, 2 pm | 0.367 |
| 5. The Swarm | 0.342 |
| 6. Son of a Critch | 0.336 |
| Georgia Tech @ Wake, 6:30pm | 0.332 |
| Duke @ Virginia, 3pm | 0.307 |
| NC State @ Wake, 2pm | 0.289 |
| Georgia Tech @ Virginia, 2pm | 0.262 |
| Wake Forest @ Syracuse, 2 pm | 0.248 |
| VMI @ NC State, 2 pm | 0.205 |
| 7. Run the Burbs | 0.196 |
| 8. Children Ruin Everything | 0.188 |
| 9. Everyone Else Burns | 0.171 |
Things we learn from this:
- The Top 5 most-viewed shows were (apparently) all ACC Football games.
- Even the least-viewed ACC Football game drew more viewers than the 7th-best scripted show.
- NC State and Wake Forest don't draw very well.
There's an art to wrapping the chopped cheese sandwich. Just ask Mohammed Adel of Oh Deli in Presidential Plaza.(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
A quintessential NYC bodega sandwich finally finds its way to Syracuse (PS; Miller)
It seems some trends take a while before reaching Central New York. Thankfully, a quintessential New York City sandwich born in the 1990s has finally found its way here.
Syracuse has welcomed a few new delis and sandwich shops over the past year, and with that has come the chopped cheese sandwich. This is portable comfort food at its best, and it’s much less bougie than most of the sandwiches you’ll find in the city. These come from downstate bodegas, convenience stores that serve good food quickly.
Despite its name, the sandwich isn’t just cut-up cheddar or swiss on a roll. And no, it isn’t a Philly cheesesteak; you can find those in, well, Philadelphia. The chopped cheese is a clever variation of your basic cheeseburger. It’s a mishmash of ground beef, cheese and condiments on a sub roll. Supposedly a hungry employee at Hajji’s Deli in East Harlem accidentally invented the chopped cheese when he went to make himself a burger and discovered they were out of buns.
The sandwich, with its unique but familiar flavor and dense texture, gained popularity in New York over the years and became a neighborhood favorite.
Now Syracuse is catching on. Sam Deb and his cousin, Mado Abdel, transformed a vacant gas station at 700 S. Geddes St. into the Deli @ 700, which opened a year ago. The chopped cheese has become their best-selling sandwich. Sabe Ahmal, a manager there, grew up in Queens, and he grew up on this sandwich.
“Oh man, it’s just the best-tasting sandwich that no one here knows about,” he said last week before heading to the kitchen. “When people asked what it is, we explain it to them and they’re stoked. They think they’re getting this secret sandwich.”
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Sushi at the future Hidden Fish restaurant in Skaneateles. From left to right: Blue fin tuna (chu toro) from Baja California, North Atlantic Faroe island salmon, Yellowtail (hamachi) from Japan with a spicy yuzi sauce, and albacore tuna from the Pacific Northwest with spicy garlic oil. (Photo by Noah Lobdell)Noah Lobdell
After 3 years of planning, Adam Weitsman’s sushi restaurant in Skaneateles is about to open (PS; Miller)
After three years of planning, construction and auditioning chefs, Adam Weitsman’s latest restaurant in Skaneateles is about to open.
Hidden Fish, located at at 7 Fennell St., has been billed as a modern twist on sushi. It is expected to open in the second week of January. This will be the fourth restaurant in Skaneateles for Weitsman, the scrap metal tycoon and philanthropist. He partnered with Jeff Knauss, Vinny Lobdell and Vinny’s son Noah.
“It’s going to be really special,” Weitsman said this morning. “It’s taken longer than we expected, but we want it to be perfect.”
The group hired Chef Joseph Tran, who moved here from San Diego. Weitsman found the chef through a talent agent. “This chef actually is so amazing,” he said. “Worth the wait. He’s next level.”
Chef Tran will prepare signature sushi rolls and other Asian-inspired delicacies using fish flown in from all over the world, Knauss said.
The group of partners sampled food from the tentative menu on Sunday. They ate bluefin tuna (chu toro) from Baja, California, North Atlantic Faroe Island salmon, Yellowtail from Japan with a spicy sauce and albacore tuna from the Pacific Northwest with spicy garlic oil. Knauss said it was the best he’s ever had.
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Plans fall through to turn former hotel into senior apartments in Onondaga County (PS; $; Doran)
Plans to turn the former Ramada by Wyndham in Salina into luxury senior apartments have fallen through, according to Nick Paro, Salina town supervisor.
“It was kind of a surprise,” Paro said. “I’m not really sure what happened. I haven’t been given clear answers.”
The hotel, at 441 Electronics Parkway, closed in late December, putting its 123 employees out of work. Plans called for turning the hotel - which had been a Holiday Inn for years - into senior housing.
Paro said at the time plans called for about 100 apartments with a restaurant, hair salon, barbershop and retail shops.
The hotel was owned by First Republic Corp. of America, a New York City-based real estate and hotel company that has owned the hotel since it was built in the early 1960s.
First Republic had plans to sell the property more than a year ago. Now, it appears the deal to sell is off; Onondaga County property records show it’s still owned by First Republic.
A First Republic official said all he knows is that the deal didn’t work out.
The buyer was never disclosed to the town, Paro said. He had met with a representative of an architectural and engineering firm that was working on plans.
“It’s still the town’s hope that either it is recommissioned as a hotel or some other senior living facility moves into that space,” Paro said.
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