Orangeyes Daily Articles for Wednesday - for Football | Syracusefan.com

Orangeyes Daily Articles for Wednesday for Football

sutomcat

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Welcome to Blackout Wednesday!

Blackout Wednesday (or "Black Wednesday," "Drinksgiving," or "Thanksgiving Eve") is a pejorative term for the night before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, which is always a Thursday. It is associated with binge drinking since very few people work on Thanksgiving, and most university students are home to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with their families.[1] The name refers to "blacking out", memory loss due to excessive alcohol intoxication. In Chicago in particular, Blackout Wednesday is sometimes a more popular partying night than even New Year's Eve or Saint Patrick's Day.[1] In some cities, it is the top drunk driving night of the year.[2]

SU News

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Four steps to return Syracuse to respectability (TNIAAM; Julian Whigham)

For the last 10 years Syracuse football has lived in a realm of mediocrity. The Doug Marrone era showed flashes of potential, recording two eight-win seasons in 2010 and 2012. But the lack of consistency in coaching personnel, recruiting, and program integrity has left this football team utterly desecrated, constantly rebuilding itself, and searching for an identity.

With the hiring of Dino Babers, Syracuse University seems to have finally found a coach to build with. Boasting a niche for offensive firepower, good-natured, strong-willed leadership, and the visionary wit to establish core moral and worthwhile standards for the young men apart the team and the program as a whole, I believe Coach Babers instills befitting optimism in the Orange’s future. But there is work to be done. Nothing happens over night, however if Syracuse finally gets serious about resurrecting its football program, these steps must be taken.

1. Stick With Your Head Coach

There’s proof that patience pays off when you stick with your head coach. Michigan State hired Mark Dantonio in 2007 and despite an average 22-17 record over his first three seasons, Dantonio went on to establish himself as one of the best coaches in the Big Ten, winning 11 games in 5 of his last 6 seasons. Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern took on the head coaching job for the Wildcats in 2006, going 4-8 and 6-6 in his first two seasons, but followed that 2007 season with five consecutive bowl appearances, turning Northwestern into a respectable program again.

Syracuse hasn’t had the same head coach for longer than four years since Paul Pasqualoni and that absolutely stunts a football program’s growth. Coaching changes not only mean changes in recruiting tactics, but also change in player technique. When players are trying to learn new technique and break old habits over and over again, they’re stunting their growth as athletes.

Syracuse’s offensive line has had four different position coaches in as many years but a position that technical, needs stability. When players can be planted and raised in a system the outcome is better, leading to more confident athletes who then become leaders and help raise the youth. In college football this is so essential, especially for a middling program like Syracuse, because it creates an ingrained form of consistency. Consistency in development leads to consistency in performance, consistency in performance leads to consistency in winning. Simple.
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Syracuse offensive play-calling breakdown vs. FSU (TNIAAM; Cassillo)

The Syracuse Orange are not playing "their" game without Eric Dungey. That’s apparent. And the proof came out once again vs. the Florida State Seminoles, as Zack Mahoney struggled to keep SU’s offense running long enough to keep up. Granted, it’s unlikely we were "keeping up" with FSU anyway, no matter who was under center. But as you’ll see below, there were ample opportunities to make this a little more interesting than it ended up being. Syracuse just needed an offense.

First Quarter

DRIVE 1
Time Down Ball Run/Pass Player Direction Result
14:56 1st and 10 SYR 16 Pocket Breakdown; Run Mahoney End R 2 Yard Gain
14:26 2nd and 8 SYR 18 Pass Mahoney Short R Incomplete (Cornelius)
14:21 3rd and 8 SYR 18 Pass Etta-Tawo Mid Range L 12 Yard Gain
14:03 1st and 10 SYR 30 Pass Philips Short L 4 Yard Gain
13:42 2nd and 6 SYR 34 Run Strickland Off Tackle R 3 Yard Gain
13:16 3rd and 3 SYR 37 Pass Mahoney Short M Incomplete (Etta-Tawo)

DRIVE 2
Time Down Ball Run/Pass Player Direction Result
11:07 1st and 10 SYR 25 Pass Mahoney Deep L Incomplete (Etta-Tawo)
11:02 2nd and 10 SYR 25 Play Action; Pass Cornelius Deep R 29 Yard Gain
10:49 1st and 10 FSU 46 Run Strickland Dive R 3 Yard Gain
10:25 2nd and 7 FSU 43 PENALTY (Illegal Block) Foster N/A 13 Yard Loss
10:13 2nd and 20 SYR 44 Reverse; Pass Avant Deep R Incomplete (Estime)
10:05 3rd and 20 SYR 44 Pass; Sack Mahoney N/A 4 Yard Loss

DRIVE 3
Time Down Ball Run/Pass Player Direction Result
7:03 1st and 10 SYR 28 PENALTY (Delay of Game) Mahoney N/A 5 Yard Loss
7:03 1st and 15 SYR 23 Pass Mahoney Short M Incomplete (Etta-Tawo)
6:58 2nd and 15 SYR 23 Play Action; Pass Mahoney Deep R Incomplete (Philips)
6:52 3rd and 15 SYR 23 Pass; Sack Mahoney N/A 2 Yard Loss
...

Weekly Kickoff: Pitt finishes season with Syracuse (cardiachill.com; Whaley)

Only a few weeks ago, Pitt's season was in doubt. The Panthers were 5-4 and by everyone's account, on their way to being 5-5 after a date with Clemson. But the team not only won that one, they annihilated Duke this weekend, 56-14. At 7-5, the Panthers will have a chance to win their eighth regular season game if they can knock off Syracuse on Saturday.

That eighth straight win would be significant. It would be the second straight year the team won eighth regular season games for the first time since the Dave Wannstedt era.

Pitt can't afford to take Syracuse for granted, but this is certainly a game the Panthers should win. They are a better team than the Orange and also get the game at home.

Syracuse is only 4-7 on the year and, really, they have only one win of any significance, shocking Virginia Tech a few weeks back. The Orange's other victories have come against Colgate, UConn, and Boston College. Syracuse has not been a good team this year and further hurting their chance against Pitt is the fact that they will likely be without starting quarterback Eric Dungey, who was knocked out of the Clemson game a few weeks ago. Head coach Dino Babers has already said he is not likely to start against Pitt.

So, what's there to know about Syracuse this season? With Dungey, they had one of the premier passing attacks in the country, averaging over 300 yards through the air per game. Without him? Not so much. Backup and probable starter Zack Mahoney has been decent, but not stellar. In the last two weeks when he's started, Mahoney didn't crack 200 yards in passing. With wideout Amba Etta-Tawo, Syracuse is more than capable of going to the air, though. Etta-Tawo not only leads the ACC in receiving, but the next closest guy, Clemson's Mike Williams, is a full 290 yards behind him. On the season, Etta-Tawo has 81 catches for 1,304 yards and nine touchdowns. Even without Dungey, Syracuse's passing game should still concern Pitt.

Unfortunately, it's not been nearly enough for Syracuse to win games. With only 109.7 yards per game, the Orange's running game is one of the worst in the nation and against Pitt's strong run defense, it only emphasizes the need to stop the pass even more.
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Will James Conner Go To The NFL? (pittsburghsportsnow.com; Saunders)

Pitt running back James Conner is finishing up his fourth season with the Panthers. But due to a knee injury suffered in the season opener in 2015, Conner is just a redshirt junior.

So he has a choice to make. Rated as a fourth-to-sixth round pick by WalterFootball.com and 17th amongst potential 2017 running backs, Conner certainly has the opportunity to improve his stock by returning for an even-stronger 2017 season.

It’s pretty clear that the beginning of his 2016 season was affected by the chemotherapy treatments he had to endure throughout the winter and spring. In Pitt’s first five games, he average 4.2 yards per carry. In his last five games, that figure is 5.6. There’s also the chance to cement his place in Pitt history, re-write a few more records and take another crack at an ACC Championship.

“If I came back, it would add to the legacy,” Conner said Tuesday after practice. “I hope they retire No. 24 some day. That’s a goal of mine.”

The downside is a painful one that Conner knows all to well. If it wasn’t for the knee injury that cost him 2015, he might already be playing in the NFL.

“It was definitely in my mind that if I was going to have a big year in my true junior year, I would have stepped back and thought about it,” he said.

...

Orange Teams Take The Fifth - Syracuse New Times (newtimes.com; Michael)

The fifth-year transfer rule may be one of the most controversial topics in college sports, but you’ll get no argument about it around here.

The NCAA rule allows college athletes to play immediately at another school if they have graduated from their previous institution and have not used all of their athletic eligibility. Under normal transfer rules, the transferring athletes would have to sit out one year.

Fifth-year transfer wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo made this season worth watching for the Syracuse University football team, while fifth-year transfer wing player Andrew White III may be the difference between a very good Orange basketball team and a great one.

Entering the Nov. 22 game against South Carolina State at the Carrier Dome, White led the 18th-ranked Orange in scoring at 18 points per game and has hit the team’s biggest shots. Despite being the focus of the opponents’ defenses, Etta-Tawo is among the national leaders in receptions (81) and receiving yards (1,304) and he was named one of the 10 semifinalists for the 2016 Biletnikoff Award presented to the country’s best receiver.
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Here's why football game attendance sucked this season (thetab.com; Day)

Doesn’t posting an Insta count as going to the game?

Recently it was announced that this year’s student attendance at Syracuse football games was the second lowest number in recorded history. While that may seem discouraging, I think Cuse students had some valid reasons for missing the games. Here are just a select handful of reasons why you might not have had stellar attendance at the football games this season

You got blacked on East Adams and it was all your friends could do to take you back to your dorm

Syracuse’s culture revolves around sports. But it also revolves around drinking alcohol to get hyped for sports. At any point regardless of location or time, if you tried to start the 7 Nation Army chant, people would probably join in. Even if it was during lecture on a Tuesday. But where Syracuse students really go all out is for the tailgates at Castle and East Adams. Sure, you had every intention of going to the game after the tailgate. But then you threw up on the side of the street and it was over.

You’re one of the five people on earth that don’t care about football

You understand the appeal and you have no beef with people enjoying a sport as American as McDonald’s, but you personally couldn’t care less. Of course you want Syracuse to win, and you’re cheering the team on in spirit, but you would rather get hit by a car then spend 3 hours watching a sport you don’t care about. You feel guilty about this low attendance, but you personally will do nothing to change our rating next year.

You’re salty that the student seats don’t have cushions but the old people seats do

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Fisher recaps Syracuse win (cbssports.com; Sonnene)

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was generally pleased after reviewing his team's 45-14 win over Syracuse.

Fisher liked the way his team began the game and praised the overall execution from both sides of the ball, especially his defense. You can re-watch the game from Fisher's point of view in the video below from the Jimbo Fisher Show. We have some of the top observations noted and time stamped below.

--Fisher, while watching the opening series, notes that DC Charles Kelly did a good job mixing coverages. Said he utilized a lot of three-man rushes, which can frustrate a QB due to the amount of defenders in coverage he must account for.

--Note DE Brian Burns play in space here and force Syracuse to throw a bad ball on a screen play. “Whether he’s dropping or whether he’s rushing, that guy is pretty dadgum good.”

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--On the next play, Burns blocks a punt. Fisher said it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, his long arms simply enabled him to get a hand on the ball.

--Fisher liked the way QB Deondre Francois began the game. “Deondre started hot.”

--For a second week in a row, FSU scored on third down on its opening drive, as seen here on this pass from Francois to Nyqwan Murray. Fisher said getting 7 instead of 3 to start a game is key to setting the tone.
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Other

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College cravings: The most popular foods ordered by Upstate NY students (newyorkupstate.com; Healy)

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What foods do Upstate NY college students crave the most? It's no secret that college kids love to eat. Whether it's during a latenight study session or after the bars let out, students are constantly ordering their favorite takeout. Find out what are the most popular munchies among Upstate New York college students, according to data from Grubhub.
...
...
Syracuse University

No oranges here: Syracuse students love to dig in to burrito bowls, chicken pad thai and garden salads more than any other Upstate NY university
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I like screen plays, but I would be happy if we never run another one.. the QBs do a terrible job of disguising it and the Oline is bad at blocking it. feels like 50% of the time we are just throwing it away. it was nice to see us make one work even if it got called back.
 
I like screen plays, but I would be happy if we never run another one.. the QBs do a terrible job of disguising it and the Oline is bad at blocking it. feels like 50% of the time we are just throwing it away. it was nice to see us make one work even if it got called back.

The tunnel screen has been pretty good to uson third down.
 

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