sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Native American Day!
In South Dakota people celebrate Native Americans' Day through learning from educational resources that focus on the traditions, culture and background of Native Americans. It is a day to celebrate the heritage of Native Americans and for both native and non-native cultures to unite so the many aspects of native culture can be shared.
In Berkeley, California, some organizations, community groups and churches support the day through awareness-raising activities about the history, culture and traditions of indigenous peoples of the United States. Cultural activities such as markets and pow wows, which are gatherings of North America's indigenous people, are held. In modern times, pow wows involve dancing, singing, socializing and celebrating Native American culture.
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SU News
How long until Syracuse football becomes a contender? (TNIAAM; Staff)
The Syracuse Orange (1-2) are currently in the midst of a two-game losing streak, after consecutive blowout losses at the hands of Louisville and USF, respectively.
If that isn’t bad enough, Syracuse is projected to win just three of their remaining nine games according to SB Nation’s Bill Connelly. ESPN’s FPI gives an even more somber outlook for the Orange, predicting them to win only one more game this season – Saturday’s matchup against UConn.
With the present looking bleak, it’s time to take a look at the future. Since he arrived on campus, Syracuse coach Dino Babers has continuously preached for fans to be patient and have faithin his plan – a stance he has only reaffirmed in recent weeks.
While speaking with the media on Monday, Babers said his team is only in the “beginning stages” of transitioning to his system and where he wants the team to be.
With that being said, we asked the TNIAAM staff how long they think it will be until Syracuse gets close to Babers’ “end stages” and becomes an 8-win team and eventually a potential contender.
Here’s what they had to say.
Kevin Wall
Looking at the roster and the 2017 schedule, I think 2018 would be the earliest Syracuse could see an 8 win season. It's possible that the Orange could be led by a Senior Eric Dungey in that season and as we've seen at Syracuse and elsewhere in college football, an experienced QB can make a big difference. I think an offense that is hitting close to what Babers has done in the past along with the right scheduling for the remaining two OOC games (at ND, and home for UConn are the two scheduled currently) could propel Syracuse to that 8 win threshold in year 3.
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Amba Etta-Tawo experiences bump in statistics from Syracuse football's spread offense (DO; Libonati)
When Bowling Green played at Maryland last season, Dino Babers probably didn’t think it’d be an audition to recruit a player on the other sideline.
Then-BGSU quarterback Matt Johnson threw for six touchdowns. Roger Lewis, now a New York Giants wide receiver reeled in 15 passes for 200 yards. Three wide receivers racked up 79 or more yards.
Even when Maryland threatened, tying the game at 27, Bowling Green rattled off 21 straight points.
On the other side of the field, Amba Etta-Tawo watched as Johnson picked apart the Terrapins defense. Etta-Tawo led all UMD receivers with just five catches and 49 yards.
“I didn’t really remember Amba in the game,” Babers said.
“There was no sales pitch. We played Bowling Green last year, so I got an opportunity to watch his offense live,” Etta-Tawo said, “and from that moment on I wanted to play for (Babers).”
Now it’s Etta-Tawo’s numbers dwarfing other receivers’. He’s 436 yards and 28 catches into a season that could go down in Syracuse lore as one of the best by a wide receiver. While it’s unlikely Etta-Tawo will keep this pace, he’s set to reach 1,744 yards and 112 catches if he does.
It might be surprising Etta-Tawo’s stats have landed him among the top receivers in the country. He’s a transfer wide receiver who had never tallied more than 500 yards in a season.
But it shouldn’t be shocking.
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Syracuse football: Transfer Etta-Tawo stars in Babers’ system (oneidadispatch.com; AP; Kekis)
Syracuse coach Dino Babers is the first to admit that it wasn’t exactly love at first sight with wideout Amba Etta-Tawo.
“When I was at Bowling Green last year, we played Maryland; I didn’t really remember Amba in the game,” said Babers, hired by Syracuse in December to replace Scott Shafer.
Now it’s difficult not to notice the elusive Etta-Tawo, who apparently liked what he saw in Babers’ up-tempo style of offense during Bowling Green’s 48-27 win over the Terps in 2015 and transferred to Syracuse for his final year of eligibility.
Three games into the season, Etta-Tawo is thriving in the Orange’s new offense. He leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks third nationally in receiving yards per game (145.3), and his 9.3 receptions per game are tied for fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well (to Babers’ system), but there’s always room for improvement,” said Etta-Tawo, whose parents are Nigerian. “Just take it step by step, and at the end of the day everything will work out.”
Etta-Tawo has 28 catches for 436 yards — an average of 15.6 yards per catch — and three touchdowns. That receiving yardage total is the most ever for a Syracuse player in the first three games of a season. No surprise that his name was added this week to the national watch list for the Biletnikoff Award , given annually to the best receiver in the nation.
“Amba has been outstanding. He’s been a pleasant surprise,” Babers said. “Obviously, we had no idea he’d be able to do the things that he’s done so far, but it doesn’t surprise me with the work ethic that he put in when he started here, coming in the summer, working with (quarterback) Eric Dungey, the way he goes about his work in practice.”
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Guest commentary: Syracuse football may be facing 'make-or-break' game against Connecticut (PS; Praetorius)
Last week, I wrote that Louisville was a Top 5 team and that its quarterback, Lamar Jackson, was college football's newest superstar. And after the Cardinals, led by Jackson, romped past Florida State, I was proven right on those two calls.
Then I wrote that my Syracuse University Orange would challenge the South Florida Bulls until the end.
Oops.
A year ago, SU lost to USF 45-24 in Tampa; this time around, the Orange lost to the Bulls 45-20 in the Carrier Dome. So much for home-field advantage.
I sat there last Saturday afternoon at the end of the first quarter, seeing 17-0 and wondering how many points Syracuse would ultimately score. Then came that 45-3 run to the final gun by South Florida … and it was painful to watch.
Those two fourth-down plays were crucial, as everyone knows by now.
I question Dino Babers' logic in the matter of SU's going for it on 4th-and-3 with a 17-7 lead. The defense was playing well at that point, but the momentum was clearly grabbed by USF after that stop.
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Syracuse Football Q&A (theuconnblog.com; McGrath & Kidwai)
With Bob Diaco’s Huskies getting ready to face the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, we reached out to our friends at Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician to learn a little bit more about our former rival from the Big East days. Thanks to John Cassillo for the insight!
You can check out our Q&A with them here.
1) Syracuse opened its season with a beatdown of an FCS team and two big losses at the hands of very good teams. Do we know much about how good this year's Orange team is besides not elite (which, duh)?
I think we know the basics of this Syracuse team, which is better than we could say for any point from 2013-2015: The Orange offense is still learning on the job, but is gaining a lot of yardage and is running at a frenetic pace (105 plays last week). And SU's defense is not built for the Tampa-2 right now, which makes them look like trash, especially against quality offenses.
Eric Dungey has looked great for stretches, but not as much for others. Amba Etta-Tawo's produced in all three games, so his excellence is a known variable. And again, defense is banged up and bad right now, with minimal ability to make tackles in the open field or generate a pass rush. So no, zero idea about how good they are as a team, and even less about how good they can be.
2) How impactful were the two starters in the secondary who are now out due to injury and how experienced are their backups?
Injuries in the secondary have been a running theme for the last few years, so while all of the starters and reserves are young, nearly all of them are experienced as well. Juwan Dowels and Antwan Cordy were arguably the two best members of the secondary, though, which hurts quite a bit. Their gigs have been handed over to Corey Winfield and Rodney Williams, respectively. They've both played plenty. Where the big change comes is that it will open up the depth chart for some true freshmen to get onto the field. That may not go well, admittedly.
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Football: Huskies welcome old rival Syracuse (dailycampus.com; Madigan)
Coming off a last-second victory over Virginia last Saturday, the UConn football team is back in action against another ACC opponent as they welcome former Big East rival Syracuse to Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.
The matchup between the Huskies and Orange marks the first game between the programs since 2012, where Syracuse dismantled UConn 40-10 at the Carrier Dome. However, the Huskies lead the all-time series 6-3 and are a perfect 4-0 at home against Syracuse, with their most recent win coming in 2011.
The Orange boast one of the fastest offenses in football, best exemplified by their performance last weekend against USF in which they rattled off 105 offensive snaps in a 45-20 loss to the Bulls, tying an ACC record.
“They’re operating at a very, very fast clip,” Diaco said. “It’s like defending two games.”
Quarterback Eric Dunget threw for 350 yards on 50 attempts for the Orange and added two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss to USF. As a whole, the Syracuse offense tallied 549 yards of total offense, marking the second time the Orange have eclipsed 500 yards of total offense under head coach Dino Babers.
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Other
Bribery charges against COR: Everything you need to know if you're just tuning in (PS; Baker)
Federal prosecutors have charged nine people in a probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's state development projects.
Among those charged were two executives with a Fayetteville-based development company that has been awarded lucrative state contracts and is among the governor's top donors.
Here's what came to light Thursday:
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara charged COR Development Co. executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi with bribing a former top Cuomo aide. They appeared in court today in Syracuse and released on $100,000 bond.
Both Aiello and Gerardi were charged with five felonies, including charges of bribery and wire fraud conspiracy. Each faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The charges outline multiple alleged examples of COR's illegal dealings with the state. Among those charges are:
- COR executives and state officials colluded to rig a bid for a major development contract to favor the developer. COR was the only developer to bid on the contract, worth $90 million.
- Joseph Percoco, a former Cuomo aide, solicited more than $300,000 from two companies in exchange for helping them with state business. COR made up $35,000 of that.
- Payments from COR were funneled through Todd Howe, a lobbyist. Howe is now cooperating with federal investigators, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Aiello used his clout with officials to secure a pay raise for his son, who worked for Cuomo.
- Aiello and Gerardi lied to FBI agents about making payments to Percoco.
