How to Fix SU Football?

[Dr. Bill]

The Fire Dino Chants are getting louder. Fans are questioning the head coach, the coordinators, etc, etc. and asking the question how can we fix SU Football. I have been a Cuse Fan before I was a student
there in the late 70"s- early 80's. I have seen bad SU football, the Maloney years, and I have seen good
Football, the Mac/ Coach P years. Here is my take on SU Football:
In this new climate that we find ourselves in, ACC football( We have to recruit against warm weather schools) and NIL, it will be very difficult for SU to become a top tier program again without a large,
consistent influx of CASH!!!! We do not have the money to compete on the stage that we desire to play on. Just look at the most recent events at Colorado. Colorado hires a coach and at the press conference, the AD says we signed our coach to a 29 Million dollar contract and right now, we don't have the money
to pay him, but I am not worried, we will get it. By the time the season started, Donors had contributed 29
Million! I was at the North Carolina game this past weekend and had the opportunity meet with some big money donors. The money at UNC Chapel Hill that supports the athletic program , is at another level that we can only dream of. The bottom line, is that Syracuse Football will remain a lower tier program, regardless of who our coach is, until we get a huge, consistent increase in funding. That is real talk that many of us don't want to hear. "Show Me The Money"!

 

[BKCuse]

I think you’re spot on with this take and I’m not sure how we can solve this.

 

[SoBristol]

My SU fandom goes back to Jim Brown years as a kid.
I agree about funding for the athletic department, but push that one more step. Where does SU in Upstate NY, with declining local interest in football, and a lack of big corporate HQs, get a big increase in funding (beyond the ACC dollars that all conference foes get)? The AD is making a push - the John Lally gift, the Legacy Society etc, the new naming of the Dome— but there is still a big gap compared to Clemson, NC etc.

What else do you want SU to do to bring in the funding?

How does the staff work a dramatic change in recruiting, portal or otherwise?

Without big funding, and significantly better recruiting, we can hope for what we are - 7 wins and a bowl.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

2 fixed games against protected schools I wouldn't flip out until the rest of the year plays itself out.

Not sure why you would expect our AD to outpunch the 20-30 programs that have bigger fanbases than some NFL teams and pockets just as deep too. We're lucky we get to play peer schools like BC and aren't in a situation like Rutgers or Vandy.

I think Dino's buyout is low enough that you can move on if the last 6 games are UGLY. Someone like Sean Lewis could be a home run hire after spending a year working with Prime or bringing back Tony White with his northeast ties. Problem is there's very little chance we get continuity you either hit a home run and the guy leaves after 1-2 years or you owe a crazy amount of money to someone that sucks and can't afford to fire him.

 

[NYCCuse826]

If they go 7-5/8-4, they're not firing Babers. The problem with this train of thought is that SU doesn't know what it wants to be.

Let's be clear, they're not going to be an upper echelon program and I think this board has a problem accepting this. The university made that decision by keeping Pasqualoni longer than ideal and then handing the baton to Robinson. SU should look to be like K-State. Never an elite program, but perennial bowl qualifiers.

 

[Dr. Bill]

My SU fandom goes back to Jim Brown years as a kid.
I agree about funding for the athletic department, but push that one more step. Where does SU in Upstate NY, with declining local interest in football, and a lack of big corporate HQs, get a big increase in funding (beyond the ACC dollars that all conference foes get)? The AD is making a push - the John Lally gift, the Legacy Society etc, the new naming of the Dome— but there is still a big gap compared to Clemson, NC etc.

What else do you want SU to do to bring in the funding?

How does the staff work a dramatic change in recruiting, portal or otherwise?

Without big funding, and significantly better recruiting, we can hope for what we are - 7 wins and a bowl.

That's my point! We have to resolve ourselves to being what we are! I have lived in Alabama, been to games in Tuscaloosa, been to games at Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina state, Miami, and Duke, the fan support and more importantly, the donor support is next level. Fans in Bama, fans gladly pay $700/ticket, at Clemson, fans pay a seat license, just for the opportunity to buy season tickets and pay 30K per year to park their RV in a lot by the stadium. This is all happening while at SU, fans don't want to buy season tickets for what ...Under $500.00??

 

[RyanCuse44]

2 fixed games against protected schools I wouldn't flip out until the rest of the year plays itself out.

Not sure why you would expect our AD to outpunch the 20-30 programs that have bigger fanbases than some NFL teams and pockets just as deep too. We're lucky we get to play peer schools like BC and aren't in a situation like Rutgers or Vandy.

I think Dino's buyout is low enough that you can move on if the last 6 games are UGLY. Someone like Sean Lewis could be a home run hire after spending a year working with Prime or bringing back Tony White with his northeast ties. Problem is there's very little chance we get continuity you either hit a home run and the guy leaves after 1-2 years or you owe a crazy amount of money to someone that sucks and can't afford to fire him.

I agree about Sean Lewis. Our offense hasn't been the same since he left. He would be a great mentor for for our current OC too.

 

[money3189]

The Fire Dino Chants are getting louder. Fans are questioning the head coach, the coordinators, etc, etc. and asking the question how can we fix SU Football. I have been a Cuse Fan before I was a student
there in the late 70"s- early 80's. I have seen bad SU football, the Maloney years, and I have seen good
Football, the Mac/ Coach P years. Here is my take on SU Football:
In this new climate that we find ourselves in, ACC football( We have to recruit against warm weather schools) and NIL, it will be very difficult for SU to become a top tier program again without a large,
consistent influx of CASH!!!! We do not have the money to compete on the stage that we desire to play on. Just look at the most recent events at Colorado. Colorado hires a coach and at the press conference, the AD says we signed our coach to a 29 Million dollar contract and right now, we don't have the money
to pay him, but I am not worried, we will get it. By the time the season started, Donors had contributed 29
Million! I was at the North Carolina game this past weekend and had the opportunity meet with some big money donors. The money at UNC Chapel Hill that supports the athletic program , is at another level that we can only dream of. The bottom line, is that Syracuse Football will remain a lower tier program, regardless of who our coach is, until we get a huge, consistent increase in funding. That is real talk that many of us don't want to hear. "Show Me The Money"!

You are not lying

 

[mustacheovich]

The toughest part of being a CFB fan for me is not the portal or NIL or the non-stop commercials. It's the feeling you sometimes get that these games are already decided. They were decided decades ago by geography, booster money and athletic department budgets. The recent updates to the dome, football facilities, staff size/salaries, hiring a nutritionist etc. have all been welcome additions, but again all feels a decade too late. Will there be another John Lally in 2035 when we realize everything is already out of date again?

 

[dwilmont44]

I see two possible paths for short term success for Syracuse football.

One we make a great hire from some G5 school and they are the next great innovator and we get a couple years of schematic advantage until a big boy takes him.

Two we hire some shady coach willing to cheat and the connections to do so. Couple years of success until the sanctions come.

 

[orange79]

2 fixed games against protected schools I wouldn't flip out until the rest of the year plays itself out.

Stop it.

Just stop it.

 

[Newhouser]

If they go 7-5/8-4, they're not firing Babers. The problem with this train of thought is that SU doesn't know what it wants to be.

Let's be clear, they're not going to be an upper echelon program and I think this board has a problem accepting this. The university made that decision by keeping Pasqualoni longer than ideal and then handing the baton to Robinson. SU should look to be like K-State. Never an elite program, but perennial bowl qualifiers.

I think SU knows exactly what they want to be. They just don't want to admit it to the fans.

 

[Bulldog04]

Someone posted that Dino has 10 30+ point losses in his tenure. That is wild. His record also has 14 wins against cupcake teams like Colgate and mac teams. He’s worse than we think people.

Donors are not going to get behind that type of program when there is literally no momentum to a crescendo. Each year is a wait and see it’s been almost a decade. And he’s flopped in all his big game opportunities

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I think you are right on. If we have NIL Deuce, Jihad and Geer are still here and this is a much better defense. Anomander has taken the lead on this but NIL/Portal has really hurt Syracuse. None of the transfer portal guys have helped Syracuse at all this year. Need more $$$$$

 

[IthacaMatt]

2 fixed games against protected schools I wouldn't flip out until the rest of the year plays itself out.

Not sure why you would expect our AD to outpunch the 20-30 programs that have bigger fanbases than some NFL teams and pockets just as deep too. We're lucky we get to play peer schools like BC and aren't in a situation like Rutgers or Vandy.

I think Dino's buyout is low enough that you can move on if the last 6 games are UGLY. Someone like Sean Lewis could be a home run hire after spending a year working with Prime or bringing back Tony White with his northeast ties. Problem is there's very little chance we get continuity you either hit a home run and the guy leaves after 1-2 years or you owe a crazy amount of money to someone that sucks and can't afford to fire him.

One or two bad calls did not "fix" the UNC game against us.
We were outmatched, and got our butts kicked for 60 minutes.

 

[Scooch]

If they go 7-5/8-4, they're not firing Babers. The problem with this train of thought is that SU doesn't know what it wants to be.

Let's be clear, they're not going to be an upper echelon program and I think this board has a problem accepting this. The university made that decision by keeping Pasqualoni longer than ideal and then handing the baton to Robinson. SU should look to be like K-State. Never an elite program, but perennial bowl qualifiers.

I’d argue that this board is probably the ONLY place where most people completely understand our place in the college football world.

All we read here is post after post about getting bowl eligible, and how 7-8 win seasons are big deals for the program.

It’s everyone outside of here who thinks we should be on the same level as the power programs. That’s why we had 10K empty seats when we played Clemson.

 

[newmexicuse]

The plan starts with what are our goals. The bar has to set high, but attainable, and not unrealistic.

we can start with identity. Do we want to be big fish in a puddle ? Probably not since money talks and puddles lack dollars.

so that leaves two alternatives, accept that we can’t raise the big bucks, and settle for middle of the conference, get to any bowl as our reality or figure out a way to raise the big bucks. The latter is not likely.

I am ok w the middle of conference path, I accept that as our reality. I just want to make sure the off seasons don’t leave us at bottom of the conference.

We need to have the right brand even to attain middle of conference. That starts with excitement and high powered O and aggressive tenacious D.

we can get lucky at QB and have the excitement factor just from that position. On d we are not getting the 300 pound monsters who can also run. Dino has chosen speed over size and I like that approach. When we do that there will be games such as yesterday when we are just flat out bullied. A couple of those are OK.

as for Dino, yeah he is not perfect, but he is quite solid given the programs resources. I am ok with him unless we have total collapse during the rest of this season.

 

[SoBristol]

I’d argue that this board is probably the ONLY place where most people completely understand our place in the college football world.

All we read here is post after post about getting bowl eligible, and how 7-8 win seasons are big deals for the program.

It’s everyone outside of here who thinks we should be on the same level as the power programs. That’s why we had 10K empty seats when we played Clemson.

To be fair, 7 or 8 win seasons would be a step up.

I don’t think the empty seats are because local people or alums believe we should be on the same level as power programs. It is more because expectations are low and NE football in general (other than the Bills) isn’t what it was 2 or 3 decades ago. Check the attendance at BC, the Ivies . . .

 

[atlanticuse]

Move Syracuse U to Florida or South Carolina.

 

[GoSU96]

The Fire Dino Chants are getting louder. Fans are questioning the head coach, the coordinators, etc, etc. and asking the question how can we fix SU Football. I have been a Cuse Fan before I was a student
there in the late 70"s- early 80's. I have seen bad SU football, the Maloney years, and I have seen good
Football, the Mac/ Coach P years. Here is my take on SU Football:
In this new climate that we find ourselves in, ACC football( We have to recruit against warm weather schools) and NIL, it will be very difficult for SU to become a top tier program again without a large,
consistent influx of CASH!!!! We do not have the money to compete on the stage that we desire to play on. Just look at the most recent events at Colorado. Colorado hires a coach and at the press conference, the AD says we signed our coach to a 29 Million dollar contract and right now, we don't have the money
to pay him, but I am not worried, we will get it. By the time the season started, Donors had contributed 29
Million! I was at the North Carolina game this past weekend and had the opportunity meet with some big money donors. The money at UNC Chapel Hill that supports the athletic program , is at another level that we can only dream of. The bottom line, is that Syracuse Football will remain a lower tier program, regardless of who our coach is, until we get a huge, consistent increase in funding. That is real talk that many of us don't want to hear. "Show Me The Money"!

You want to compete with the upper quarter of the ACC, the issue starts and ends with the OL. Of course the rest of the roster needs to continue to improve but the OL is the single big weakness.against the better teams.

Dino has done a good job of building a roster that can compete and beat “peer “ programs. The OL has been adequate in those games.

More and Ellis get integrated and Johnson gets back I still expect them to win the last five starting with VT

 

[Scooch]

To be fair, 7 or 8 win seasons would be a step up.

I don’t think the empty seats are because local people or alums believe we should be on the same level as power programs. It is more because expectations are low and NE football in general (other than the Bills) isn’t what it was 2 or 3 decades ago. Check the attendance at BC, the Ivies . . .

Didn’t we sell out a couple of games just last season? There’s plenty of enthusiasm in CNY for the team when people feel genuine hope that the program can be a contender. But after last years collapse people lost faith. Starting this season 4-0 didn’t bring it back since 3 of the wins were against tomato cans.

We’re gonna catch another horrific beating next weekend and it’s going to conform to those folks that we’re not in any way a serious program. And the attendance will resemble that perception.

If we finish this year 7-5 this board will be doing cartwheels while the rest of the fanbase will shrug.

 

[NYCCuse826]

I’d argue that this board is probably the ONLY place where most people completely understand our place in the college football world.

All we read here is post after post about getting bowl eligible, and how 7-8 win seasons are big deals for the program.

It’s everyone outside of here who thinks we should be on the same level as the power programs. That’s why we had 10K empty seats when we played Clemson.

Fair.

 

[Cuseregular]

One or two bad calls did not "fix" the UNC game against us.
We were outmatched, and got our butts kicked for 60 minutes.

Unc yes correct, Clemson not so much

 

[SoBristol]

Didn’t we sell out a couple of games just last season? There’s plenty of enthusiasm in CNY for the team when people feel genuine hope that the program can be a contender. But after last years collapse people lost faith. Starting this season 4-0 didn’t bring it back since 3 of the wins were against tomato cans.

We’re gonna catch another horrific beating next weekend and it’s going to conform to those folks that we’re not in any way a serious program. And the attendance will resemble that perception.

If we finish this year 7-5 this board will be doing cartwheels while the rest of the fanbase will shrug.

Maybe it is a matter of degree, or your qualifier about genuine hope, but I don’t sense “plenty of enthusiasm” in CNY. Not many, on this board or in the general population, were expecting wins against Clemson, NC, or FSU. Apart from 2018, and the little run in the first half of last season, we have not been a contender.

But I believe the real question is what would it take, and can it be done, to be a “serious program”?

 

[SmilinBob]

Unc yes correct, Clemson no you’re wrong.

I blame the stupid LSU/Missouri game. I needed to watch from the opening kickoff and was denied!