Speculation on future opponent

[Frozen]

Yesterday the AD at Northern Illinois said that he will soon announce some future opponents for NIU, which will include teams from BCS conferences playing games at NIU.

There's no proof to suggest that SU would be one of those teams, but as this NIU message board points out, the fact that SU is recruiting Chicago these days makes NIU a good team with which to start a series. DeKalb, Illinois is only 65 miles from Chicago.

So while it's just internet speculation, it does make a bit of sense.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Talking about future opponents I saw this little nugget from an interview with Shafer...

•Shafer and his staff did a study to see how strength of schedule translates to high rankings in the polls. He found out that the teams who were playing in the biggest bowls weren’t playing difficult nonconference schedules for the most part. Because of that, he’s hesitant to seek many difficult opponents for future schedules. “There’s got to be common sense for us,” Shafer said. We’re playing in, arguably, the best conference ... so we’re going to play some powerful people in-house. Let’s be smart about it. You take on one big — like we have LSU coming to town — but then you have to be smart and sensible about it.”

 

[SU2NASA]

We're going to be playing Auburn on January 1st, 2015.

 

[Ozcuse]

If we do I hope it's a 2 for 1 deal.

 

[PhatOrange]

some of us have been saying this for years while the Syracuse AD continued to schedule absurdly. smoke and mirrors buttgers style.

 

[Frozen]

Also, it seems that at least half of SU's coaching staff coached at NIU at one point.

 

[Pyle]

some of us have been saying this for years while the Syracuse AD continued to schedule absurdly. smoke and mirrors buttgers style.

It's not just Rutgers, most SEC schools have been doing this for years.

 

[PhatOrange]

It's not just Rutgers, most SEC schools have been doing this for years.

tough to pile on the sec considering their in conference schedules.

 

[JeremyCuse]

some of us have been saying this for years while the Syracuse AD continued to schedule absurdly. smoke and mirrors buttgers style.

We dont have to schedule like Rutgers but as myself and others have been noting for years you have to schedule smartly and put the program/team in good situations. When your playing an LSU type of team you should have an accompanying 1AA team, a lower 1A team ie Army, directional Michigan, Western Kentucky, etc. The fourth game should be a Div 1 opponent also but something reasonable a Maryland, Cal, Iowa State type of a team or you could get another non power 5 team like Tulane, Wyoming, Middle Tenn, Southern Miss etc.

People on this board for some reason always want to play a ridiculous schedule for some reason. No better evidence of that then people who were clamoring for Syracue to schedule Alabama in that thread a few months ago. That is absurd.

 

[Frozen]

We dont have to schedule like Rutgers but as myself and others have been noting for years you have to schedule smartly and put the program/team in good situations. When your playing an LSU type of team you should have an accompanying 1AA team, a lower 1A team ie Army, directional Michigan, Western Kentucky, etc. The fourth game should be a Div 1 opponent also but something reasonable a Maryland, Cal, Iowa State type of a team or you could get another non power 5 team like Tulane, Wyoming, Middle Tenn, Southern Miss etc.

People on this board for some reason always want to play a ridiculous schedule for some reason. No better evidence of that then people who were clamoring for Syracue to schedule Alabama in that thread a few months ago. That is absurd.

Correct. LSU or Alabama would be fine. LSU and Alabama would be stupid.

 

[Moontan]

Correct. LSU or Alabama would be fine. LSU and Alabama would be stupid.

There are at least 6 schools that would agree, but have no other choice this year. One of them, UF, also faces FSU, UGA and USCe. Yup, they've got another rough year ahead. Lose all 5 and Muschamp is out of there.

As we've been saying here for years, the right mix is:

1. National program
2. Peer Power-5 program
3. Other FBS program
4. FCS program

And for once, we have that in 2014, in ND, UMD, CMU and Villanova. Heck, they're even scheduled in the right order.

Last year was the right mix as well, just not in the right order, nor in the right locations.

 

[Scooch]

There are at least 6 schools that would agree, but have no other choice this year. One of them, UF, also faces FSU, UGA and USCe. Yup, they've got another rough year ahead. Lose all 5 and Muschamp is out of there.

As we've been saying here for years, the right mix is:

1. National program
2. Peer Power-5 program
3. Other FBS program
4. FCS program

And for once, we have that in 2014, in ND, UMD, CMU and Villanova. Heck, they're even scheduled in the right order.

Last year was the right mix as well, just not in the right order, nor in the right locations.

Agree, this year's schedule seems like the right balance of OOC opponents to me. It also gives us the opportunity to build some early season momentum.

We can't control the strength and order of our conference schedule, but seems to me that we got the OOC portion right this season. Hopefully we use that as a blueprint going forward.

 

[Pyle]

tough to pile on the sec considering their in conference schedules.

It's not piling on at all. Those programs are smart enough not to have 3 OOC against top 25 teams knowing what they face in conference. As a result, alot of those teams are undefeated going into conference play boosting records and rankings. The thing about the rankings game is that it builds on itself. Let's assume UGA has a touch OOC schedule that they end up 2-2. When a 4-0 UF beats them they probably won't get a big bump in the rankings. But if they beat a 4-0 UGA team who had an easier OOC schedule then it still looks better than beating a 2-2 team therefore they would get a bigger bump in the rankings. We need the entire conference to schedule smart so we look good beating each other up when the time comes.

 

[MSOrange]

We dont have to schedule like Rutgers but as myself and others have been noting for years you have to schedule smartly and put the program/team in good situations. When your playing an LSU type of team you should have an accompanying 1AA team, a lower 1A team ie Army, directional Michigan, Western Kentucky, etc. The fourth game should be a Div 1 opponent also but something reasonable a Maryland, Cal, Iowa State type of a team or you could get another non power 5 team like Tulane, Wyoming, Middle Tenn, Southern Miss etc.

People on this board for some reason always want to play a ridiculous schedule for some reason. No better evidence of that then people who were clamoring for Syracue to schedule Alabama in that thread a few months ago. That is absurd.

100% agree with this philosophy and I prefer to start like this year with the 1AA team to try to work out the kinks

 

[Frozen]

100% agree with this philosophy and I prefer to start like this year with the 1AA team to try to work out the kinks

It's hard to believe that SU has not opened a season in the Dome against a non-power conference team since 2000 (Buffalo). Before that, the last time that happened was 1993 (Ball State).

 

[rrlbees]

There are at least 6 schools that would agree, but have no other choice this year. One of them, UF, also faces FSU, UGA and USCe. Yup, they've got another rough year ahead. Lose all 5 and Muschamp is out of there. As we've been saying here for years, the right mix is: [*]National program [*]Peer Power-5 program [*]Other FBS program [*]FCS program And for once, we have that in 2014, in ND, UMD, CMU and Villanova. Heck, they're even scheduled in the right order. Last year was the right mix as well, just not in the right order, nor in the right locations.

Yep, near perfect this year. The only way it could have been better is a national program in the Dome vs in NJ.

 

[JeremyCuse]

It's hard to believe that SU has not opened a season in the Dome against a non-power conference team since 2000 (Buffalo). Before that, the last time that happened was 1993 (Ball State).

Insane.

 

[CuseLegacy]

Yep, near perfect this year. The only way it could have been better is a national program in the Dome vs in NJ.

Shafer was questioned about that at ACC days and stated that he thought having that game in NJ was, I'm paraphrasing, a great recruiting tool.

edit: Here is the question/answer.

Q. New Jersey has been identified as a
territory that you want to bump up the
recruiting.
SCOTT SHAFER: That's right.
Q. You happen to have Notre Dame on
the schedule at East Rutherford. That seems to
work out pretty well for you.
SCOTT SHAFER: Yes, it does. It's a
good statement, and I agree with you. Yeah, we're
looking forward to getting back into New Jersey.
Back in the heyday of Syracuse, it used to be Penn
State and Syracuse recruiting in that area. I think
Coach Schiano did a great job. He kind of built a
wall around New Jersey and did a nice job, but I do
think that there's opportunities there, and we're
excited. We've had good success in the second
half of this year recruiting out in that area, had a lot
of kids up to campus, and looking forward to that.
I think playing in the Meadowlands against
Notre Dame will be an added benefit to our
recruiting push for that part of the country.

 

[orangefog]

Playing a lighter schedule gives the staff a chance to play alot more players and keep players healthy as well. Hopefully this aids in player development, so that when it is a guy's turn to step up, he has some playing time behind him.

 

[Frozen]

My only problem with this season's schedule is the off week after the opener.

 

[sutomcat]

Shafer was questioned about that at ACC days and stated that he thought having that game in NJ was, I'm paraphrasing, a great recruiting tool.

edit: Here is the question/answer.

Q. New Jersey has been identified as a
territory that you want to bump up the
recruiting.
SCOTT SHAFER: That's right.
Q. You happen to have Notre Dame on
the schedule at East Rutherford. That seems to
work out pretty well for you.
SCOTT SHAFER: Yes, it does. It's a
good statement, and I agree with you. Yeah, we're
looking forward to getting back into New Jersey.
Back in the heyday of Syracuse, it used to be Penn
State and Syracuse recruiting in that area. I think
Coach Schiano did a great job. He kind of built a
wall around New Jersey and did a nice job, but I do
think that there's opportunities there, and we're
excited. We've had good success in the second
half of this year recruiting out in that area, had a lot
of kids up to campus, and looking forward to that.
I think playing in the Meadowlands against
Notre Dame will be an added benefit to our
recruiting push for that part of the country.

One of the things that irritated me the most about playing some home games in NJ was that Doug Marrone said it was largely for recruiting purposes but basically ignored NJ the entire time he was the head coach here.

Coach Shafer is talking the talk but also walking the walk. And for that, I am thankful.

 

[rrlbees]

Shafer was questioned about that at ACC days and stated that he thought having that game in NJ was, I'm paraphrasing, a great recruiting tool. edit: Here is the question/answer. Q. New Jersey has been identified as a territory that you want to bump up the recruiting. SCOTT SHAFER: That's right. Q. You happen to have Notre Dame on the schedule at East Rutherford. That seems to work out pretty well for you. SCOTT SHAFER: Yes, it does. It's a good statement, and I agree with you. Yeah, we're looking forward to getting back into New Jersey. Back in the heyday of Syracuse, it used to be Penn State and Syracuse recruiting in that area. I think Coach Schiano did a great job. He kind of built a wall around New Jersey and did a nice job, but I do think that there's opportunities there, and we're excited. We've had good success in the second half of this year recruiting out in that area, had a lot of kids up to campus, and looking forward to that. I think playing in the Meadowlands against Notre Dame will be an added benefit to our recruiting push for that part of the country.

Double edged sword. Helps in NJ, hurts home attendance, hurts our chances of winning the game.

 

[SU68]

Since ND is now a quasi member (half-azz member?), I expect that future games will be home and home when they are scheduled.

 

[Ozcuse]

Yep, near perfect this year. The only way it could have been better is a national program in the Dome vs in NJ.

Getting UB at home or in Buffalo over CMU would have been good too.