sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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SU News
SU Football Secondary Group Says They Can 'Match Up with Anybody' Ahead of Maryland Game (PS; Bailey)
Of all the dynamic receivers the Syracuse secondary faced last season, it only truly shut down one of them: Wake Forest's Michael Campanaro. Campanaro led the Demon Deacons into the Carrier Dome with nearly 800 receiving yards through seven games. He left with a broken collarbone suffered in the first quarter.
It was a frustrating season for the SU defesive backs as opposing air attacks averaged 245.9 yards per game, good for 81st in the country. On Saturday, a secondary that features three new starters gets its first chance at redemption when Maryland, led by preseason All-Atlantic Coast wide receiver Stefon Diggs, comes to the Carrier Dome at 12:30 p.m.
"We have the speed, we have the ability, we have the talent to match up with anybody," junior cornerback Julian Whigham said. "We'll prove that on Saturday."
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SU- Maryland Game Critical to 2014 Season (sujuiceonline.com; Marcus)
The Syracuse football team is 2-0 to start the year, but it’s hard to make decisions about this team when it has yet to face a tough opponent. Against the FCS team Villanova, SU eked out a win that should not have been as difficult as it was. Against a Central Michigan team that had not looked too bad, SU won in a landslide. Tough to draw conclusions after just two games.
So for this weekend’s matchup against Maryland, I could see SU blowing the Terps out, or losing a close one. Again, tough to say.
In its first game of the season against a power conference school, we’ll be able to get a better idea of this year’s squad. Maryland is no Florida State, but the game will provide a good gauge of how good (or bad) the team is.
UMD is a solid opponent, but the game is very much winnable. People are saying that if SU beats the Terps, a 3-0 record will bode well for ‘Cuse as it faces Notre Dame the following weekend. Now, I’m not here to rain on SU’s parade, but past Orange teams would have gone ahead and beaten Maryland, felt good about 3-0, and then gotten smoked by ND.
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Terps Offensive Line Has Big Test Against Syracuse (testudotimes.com; Kirshner)
Maryland coaches and players discuss offensive challenges against blitz-heavy Syracuse defense.
A blitzing Syracuse notched five sacks against Central Michigan last week. When the Orange visited College Park last fall, their defenders sacked C.J. Brown three times for an average of a 10-yard loss and made seven tackles for loss. Maryland's offensive line struggled against West Virginia, and the unit's preparing for plenty more pressure on the turf the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
"They're actually returning a lot of starters, a lot that we saw last year," right guard Andrew Zeller said. The Terps expect to see seven returning starters on the Syracuse defense, although star nose tackle Jay Bromley is now in the NFL.
"They're going to blitz, and we have to play fundamentally sound, just execute," Zeller said.
Left tackle Michael Dunn sounded the same tune, noting in particular that Syracuse's linebackers spend a lot of time pursuing the quarterback.
"They like to bring a lot of pressure. We know that's what they're going to do," he said.
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Everything You Need to Know About Maryland - Syracuse Betting Odds, Lines, Etc. (testudotimes.com; FlaTerp)
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Maryland (2-1) at Syracuse (2-0)
Opening line: Syracuse -1.5
Current line: Pick'em
Trends: The early action was split about even, but the public gradually began backing Maryland pretty steadily, probably because, on paper -- remember, most people haven't watched much, if any, of the Terps or Cuse -- Maryland's result vs. a proven West Virginia team was respectable, while Syracuse is still lingering in a cloud of stench from their squeaker win over Villanova in Week 1. By Tuesday, the Terps topped out at almost 80% of the public money and Vegas has responded by moving the line in search of more Orange bettors (which is a good thing). At the time of this writing, midnight Tuesday (Wednesday? Tuesday? Hell, I don't know), it's still 71% of the action on Maryland (which is not such a good thing).
What it means: Looking at this as objectively as I can, sorry folks, I hate it for the Terps. Vegas knows what the street perception of Syracuse is, stemming from that Villanova game, so if Vegas really wanted a 50-50 split, it probably would've opened this game as a pick'em or even with the Terps as a slight favorite. It's possible that this line keeps wandering Maryland's way and the public responds by spending on Syracuse, but if that doesn't happen ...
My pick: Syracuse kicked Maryland's a$$ last year on one of the most painful Saturdays of the season (thanks, Wake Forest and FSU, for making that Syracuse loss a little less of an ugly memory). 'Cuse was the better prepared (sound familiar?) and tougher team and shoved the Terps around on both sides of the line to the tune of a stomach-turning 242-81 advantage in rushing yards and a 20-3 win. I can't shake that day from my memory, folks. Until Maryland shows it can run OR pass with any degree of consistency, I just can't back the Terps in an even-ish matchup, which this definitely is. The public likes Maryland here, but unfortunately I don't think the Terps deserve the benefit of the doubt. Vegas doesn't think so either.
Pick vs. the spread: Syracuse (pick'em)
Game pick: Syracuse 34, Maryland 24
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Maryland OC Mike Locksley
Maryland Football Focused on Improving Third-Down Efficiency vs. Syracuse (washingtonpost; Stubbs)
One of the more painful moments of Maryland’s loss to West Virginia came late in the fourth quarter last Saturday, when fullback Kenny Goins was stopped for a five-yard loss on a third and one. The Terrapins would punt a play later, and West Virginia capitalized with the game-winning field goal on the following drive.
It was the 10th consecutive third down that Maryland failed to convert in the game, and the second time Maryland lost yardage on a third-and-short situation. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said Wednesday that those were the plays that bothered him the most in the loss, and the message this week has been simple: Stay out of third-and-long situations and find ways to grind out the third-and-short plays that doomed Maryland’s chances at a win last week.
“The message is to stay out of third-and-seven-plus,” said Locksley, whose offensie finished 4 of 15 on third downs against the Mountaineers. “You look at the percentages of converting third and seven-plus, usually you don’t have a high percentage. Third and ones are the ones that really concern me … when you have the opportunity in third and one, you’re supposed to get 90 percent of those. And we missed two of them, which is unacceptable.”
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SU Football Secondary Group Says They Can 'Match Up with Anybody' Ahead of Maryland Game (PS; Bailey)
Of all the dynamic receivers the Syracuse secondary faced last season, it only truly shut down one of them: Wake Forest's Michael Campanaro. Campanaro led the Demon Deacons into the Carrier Dome with nearly 800 receiving yards through seven games. He left with a broken collarbone suffered in the first quarter.
It was a frustrating season for the SU defesive backs as opposing air attacks averaged 245.9 yards per game, good for 81st in the country. On Saturday, a secondary that features three new starters gets its first chance at redemption when Maryland, led by preseason All-Atlantic Coast wide receiver Stefon Diggs, comes to the Carrier Dome at 12:30 p.m.
"We have the speed, we have the ability, we have the talent to match up with anybody," junior cornerback Julian Whigham said. "We'll prove that on Saturday."
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SU- Maryland Game Critical to 2014 Season (sujuiceonline.com; Marcus)
The Syracuse football team is 2-0 to start the year, but it’s hard to make decisions about this team when it has yet to face a tough opponent. Against the FCS team Villanova, SU eked out a win that should not have been as difficult as it was. Against a Central Michigan team that had not looked too bad, SU won in a landslide. Tough to draw conclusions after just two games.
So for this weekend’s matchup against Maryland, I could see SU blowing the Terps out, or losing a close one. Again, tough to say.
In its first game of the season against a power conference school, we’ll be able to get a better idea of this year’s squad. Maryland is no Florida State, but the game will provide a good gauge of how good (or bad) the team is.
UMD is a solid opponent, but the game is very much winnable. People are saying that if SU beats the Terps, a 3-0 record will bode well for ‘Cuse as it faces Notre Dame the following weekend. Now, I’m not here to rain on SU’s parade, but past Orange teams would have gone ahead and beaten Maryland, felt good about 3-0, and then gotten smoked by ND.
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Terps Offensive Line Has Big Test Against Syracuse (testudotimes.com; Kirshner)
Maryland coaches and players discuss offensive challenges against blitz-heavy Syracuse defense.
A blitzing Syracuse notched five sacks against Central Michigan last week. When the Orange visited College Park last fall, their defenders sacked C.J. Brown three times for an average of a 10-yard loss and made seven tackles for loss. Maryland's offensive line struggled against West Virginia, and the unit's preparing for plenty more pressure on the turf the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
"They're actually returning a lot of starters, a lot that we saw last year," right guard Andrew Zeller said. The Terps expect to see seven returning starters on the Syracuse defense, although star nose tackle Jay Bromley is now in the NFL.
"They're going to blitz, and we have to play fundamentally sound, just execute," Zeller said.
Left tackle Michael Dunn sounded the same tune, noting in particular that Syracuse's linebackers spend a lot of time pursuing the quarterback.
"They like to bring a lot of pressure. We know that's what they're going to do," he said.
...
http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38729124/.0_standard_783.0.jpg
Everything You Need to Know About Maryland - Syracuse Betting Odds, Lines, Etc. (testudotimes.com; FlaTerp)
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Maryland (2-1) at Syracuse (2-0)
Opening line: Syracuse -1.5
Current line: Pick'em
Trends: The early action was split about even, but the public gradually began backing Maryland pretty steadily, probably because, on paper -- remember, most people haven't watched much, if any, of the Terps or Cuse -- Maryland's result vs. a proven West Virginia team was respectable, while Syracuse is still lingering in a cloud of stench from their squeaker win over Villanova in Week 1. By Tuesday, the Terps topped out at almost 80% of the public money and Vegas has responded by moving the line in search of more Orange bettors (which is a good thing). At the time of this writing, midnight Tuesday (Wednesday? Tuesday? Hell, I don't know), it's still 71% of the action on Maryland (which is not such a good thing).
What it means: Looking at this as objectively as I can, sorry folks, I hate it for the Terps. Vegas knows what the street perception of Syracuse is, stemming from that Villanova game, so if Vegas really wanted a 50-50 split, it probably would've opened this game as a pick'em or even with the Terps as a slight favorite. It's possible that this line keeps wandering Maryland's way and the public responds by spending on Syracuse, but if that doesn't happen ...
My pick: Syracuse kicked Maryland's a$$ last year on one of the most painful Saturdays of the season (thanks, Wake Forest and FSU, for making that Syracuse loss a little less of an ugly memory). 'Cuse was the better prepared (sound familiar?) and tougher team and shoved the Terps around on both sides of the line to the tune of a stomach-turning 242-81 advantage in rushing yards and a 20-3 win. I can't shake that day from my memory, folks. Until Maryland shows it can run OR pass with any degree of consistency, I just can't back the Terps in an even-ish matchup, which this definitely is. The public likes Maryland here, but unfortunately I don't think the Terps deserve the benefit of the doubt. Vegas doesn't think so either.
Pick vs. the spread: Syracuse (pick'em)
Game pick: Syracuse 34, Maryland 24
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Maryland OC Mike Locksley
Maryland Football Focused on Improving Third-Down Efficiency vs. Syracuse (washingtonpost; Stubbs)
One of the more painful moments of Maryland’s loss to West Virginia came late in the fourth quarter last Saturday, when fullback Kenny Goins was stopped for a five-yard loss on a third and one. The Terrapins would punt a play later, and West Virginia capitalized with the game-winning field goal on the following drive.
It was the 10th consecutive third down that Maryland failed to convert in the game, and the second time Maryland lost yardage on a third-and-short situation. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said Wednesday that those were the plays that bothered him the most in the loss, and the message this week has been simple: Stay out of third-and-long situations and find ways to grind out the third-and-short plays that doomed Maryland’s chances at a win last week.
“The message is to stay out of third-and-seven-plus,” said Locksley, whose offensie finished 4 of 15 on third downs against the Mountaineers. “You look at the percentages of converting third and seven-plus, usually you don’t have a high percentage. Third and ones are the ones that really concern me … when you have the opportunity in third and one, you’re supposed to get 90 percent of those. And we missed two of them, which is unacceptable.”
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