sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Do Something Nice Day!
Yesterday you may have celebrated International Toot Your Own Flute Day, where you spent the day being selfish and thinking only about yourself. Today is a day to be selfless and think about others. Not only should you think about them, but you should put your thoughts into actions by doing something nice for them. Whatever you do should be done not because it will evoke a positive response from someone else, but because your are doing it from your heart. So often we go through our days in a hurry and don't think about the effect on someone else that stopping and pausing to do something nice will have. Today is a day to set a foundation of kindness that hopefully will stay long after this day has passed.
SU News
Syracuse football veterans preach urgency; 'It's time to get over tipping point' (PS; Bailey)
In Steve Ishmael's mind, Syracuse football should be 5-0.
The senior wide receiver feels like each of the team's three losses -- all one-score games late in the fourth quarter -- should have ended in victory, not defeat.
But Ishmael, like the rest of SU's upperclassman leaders, is preaching an upbeat urgency. At the team's weekly meeting on Sunday, he said the message from head coach Dino Babers and players who spoke was uplifting.
"Stay calm, we've got this, our heart is still beating," Ishmael said. "We're still alive."
Syracuse (2-3) heads into a critical homecoming game on Saturday when Pittsburgh (2-3) comes to the Carrier Dome for a 12:30 p.m. start. With a three-game stretch of Clemson, Miami and Florida State set to follow, a loss against a vulnerable Panthers team could send a promising second season under Babers spiraling downward.
Senior linebacker Parris Bennett agreed this Week 6 matchup could serve as a turning point for the program in either direction. He's seen the effect a losing streak has on a team in past seasons.
"It definitely feels like a game that we believe we should get," Bennett said. "... Just to go down two games would make it hard to motivate guys. I've been there when you go down two games. A lot of guys lose confidence in themselves and the team. That's something we'd like to avoid."
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Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Syracuse Orange Preview and Prediction (athlonsports.com; Kurkjian)
Teams searching for elusive first ACC win square off in Carrier Dome
Neither the Pittsburgh Panthers nor Syracuse Orange are off to a rollicking start to the 2017 season. So far, the results for both teams have been mediocre.
Pittsburgh has suffered through a difficult non-conference schedule with losses to Penn State and Oklahoma State to go along with an Atlantic Coast Conference defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech. Sitting at 2-3 overall, the Panthers are a far cry from last year's dangerous team that handed eventual national champion Clemson its only loss and Penn State one of its three.
Although Pitt is only one game into league play, it's pretty safe to assume that this team isn't a contender in the Coastal Division, and bowl eligibility should be the more realistic goal.
The same goes for Syracuse in the Atlantic Division. The Orange also come in with a 2-3 record and an 0-1 mark in ACC play, and it's hard to see any sort of major ascension in head coach Dino Babers' second year in Central New York.
Over the past two weeks, the Orange have shown some life with a near upset of LSU in Baton Rouge and a decent comeback to make their loss to NC State more respectable after falling in a big hole. But Babers knows that there is more work to be done as the program tries to turn the corner.
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Syracuse Football: Dino Babers hopes SU Pitt this year isn’t like last year (itlh.com; Esden Jr)
Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers was not a huge fan of the game between these two teams last year. ITLH breaks down what could happen
This won’t be the first rodeo for the Syracuse football team and Pitt come Saturday in the Carrier Dome. Although last year was a bit of a first.
The final score was 76 to 61 and no this isn’t a typo and no you’re not reading a box score from the college basketball schedule.
Last year’s game was the highest scoring game in FBS history.
I mean that’s historic, wouldn’t coach Dino Babers want history to repeat itself? Well not so much.
“What I remember from that game is talking to the team before, during and after. As a coach that’s a game that’s hard to forget. Hopefully for the players it’s hard to get rid of for them as well. (Babers clarifying his point) Considering the point totals and the loss that’s what I mean.”
Would you like that game to play out the same way?
“I really hope not. I’m not sure I could survive another one of those. I just hope it’s not like that.”
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Syracuse Football: Top 5 Plays of Week 5 Versus NC State (video highlights) (itlh.com; Peelman)
Syracuse Football played yet another close game Saturday afternoon, but their rally fell short. Inside the Loud House brings you the highlights from this weeks game
Syracuse Football sure does know how to stay close in game, they just have a matter of not winning them this year. The Orange played well throughout the most part against NC State, especially on offense. It was surprisingly the defense that let them down this time.
The Orange had been doing rather well defensively, but suddenly had a major breakdown. They did have an excellent third quarter, but besides that they got burned, royally.
Syracuse Football is now 2-3 and 0-1 in ACC play. They will get to face lowly Pittsburgh at home in the Dome this Saturday. If the Orange can win that one they even up their ACC standings at 1-1 and go back to par, 3-3, overall.
After that game nothing is easy. According Cuse.com’s schedule for Syracuse Football the Orange will play at least three ranked teams in the next five weeks. First up is Clemson at home, followed by a visit to Miami.
After that the Orange visit Tallahassee Florida for a game at Florida State. Though unranked currently the Seminoles are still really good. They will then get some relief. though not much, with a home game versus Wake Forest, and then finally a trip to the Louisville before finishing with Boston College.
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Evaluating Syracuse Football’s Chances at Reaching Six Wins – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Grossman)
Despite the fact that the Orange have now lost two straight games and sit under the .500 mark at 2-3, there is some renewed optimism on the Hill. Syracuse has hung in with superior teams on the road in back-to-back weeks. First, Syracuse took a game against LSU down to the wire in Death Valley (which is seemingly less impressive now, but still better than many fans could have hoped for) and last week Syracuse fell to a very good NC State team by only one score in Raleigh. Despite all of that, the Orange are facing a massive uphill battle to reach the coveted six win mark that has been the goal of this program for four years. So just what kind of chance do the Orange have of making it to six wins?
First, let’s throw some fun numbers out there because we all know that there is nothing more fun that advanced statistics and analytics (note the sarcasm). FootballOutsiders.com uses an advanced algorithm to come up with what they call S&P+. Similar to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the S&P+ comes up with a chance that a team wins a certain game or games in a percentage. Well, this advanced algorithm gives the Orange an 18.6% chance to make it to the six win mark this season. For those of you, like myself, who are not fans of math, that is about a one in five chance. Obviously this index uses all sorts of information including some stats that the average football fan has never heard of, but this still seems a bit high. Let’s break down why.
The Orange need to go 4-3 the rest of the way to get to six wins. That journey starts this week with Pitt at home. Then things get out of hand with Clemson, Miami, Florida State, Wake Forest and Louisville on the docket before the season ends at home against Boston College. Perhaps I am cynical, but it seems far less likely than one-in-five that the Orange manage to win four of those games. I think it is safe to write off Clemson and Louisville as loses. There is just no reason to believe that the Orange can compete with either of those teams. It is similarly hard to see Syracuse getting a win in Miami. Florida State has been poor this season but, again, should Orange fans feel confident going to Talahassee. Remember that game isn’t for a few weeks, by which time the Seminoles very well may have figured themselves out. There are four games on the schedule that it is just very hard to imagine the Orange winning. This means, at least in my eyes, the Orange will have to win at least one game that they shouldn’t really be winning.
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Pitt vs. Syracuse Fearless Prediction & Game Preview (collegefootballnews.com; Fiutak)
Neither team is good enough to make any noise in the ACC title chase – or in their respective divisions – but they each could really, really use this win to keep hopes of going bowling alive.
The Orange have lost two straight, but they gave both LSU and NC State runs on the road. Now back in the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome, this is when the offense needs to crank it back up.
With Clemson, at Miami, and at Florida State up next, lose this = season effectively over.
Syracuse has played some big boys, but Pitt has had its share of problems, too, against Penn State, Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech. Now the Panthers are playing someone their own size.
Their schedule is a whole lot lighter than Syracuse’s, but with NC State up next, and Virginia Tech and Miami late, they could use a real, live win over a decent team.
One Reason Why Syracuse Will Win
The Orange receivers have been fantastic lately.
QB Eric Dungey is throwing well – he had a nice day in the loss to NC State – but Steve Ishmael and Ervin Phillips are doing a whole lot to help the cause.
Ishmael dominated over the first two games with 26 catches, and he leads the team with 51 grabs on the yards as the steady and primary target, but it was Philips who’s been the main man over the last few games.
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OCT. 3 COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Syracuse still trying to put complete games together (timestelegram.com; Kekis; AP)
Coach Dino Babers is still waiting for that breakthrough, when his Syracuse Orange put everything together for more than a game or two. They’ve shown that his system can work wonders, but only in fits and spurts.
There was the upset of No. 17 Virginia Tech at home last October and an impressive offensive show the next week in a victory at Boston College. Those wins didn’t spur any sort of momentum, however, because in the following game quarterback Eric Dungey was injured. Hit hard in the helmet area early at Clemson, Dungey was lost for the season and the Orange dropped their final four games.
Nearly halfway through this year, Syracuse (2-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is still struggling to find any sort of consistency. The Orange, who host longtime rival Pittsburgh (2-3, 0-1 ACC) on Saturday, have lost two straight road games and are very aware their record could be much different.
“It stings,” senior wideout Erv Philips said Tuesday. “It’s the little things in the game that we need to change. You never know what could happen if we did.”
Just over a week ago, a struggling LSU took a 14-3 halftime lead over the Orange and held on for a 35-26 victory to stay ranked at No. 25.
Last Saturday at North Carolina State, the Wolfpack scored on five straight possessions at the outset to lead 26-7 at the break, then staved off a late Syracuse rally to win 33-25 and crack the AP Top 25 .
Too little, too late, and too much given up too early in each loss.
“We’re being inconsistent in the first half,” said Babers, in his second year at Syracuse. “Our mistakes are keeping us from functioning at that level that we need to function at.”
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Other
Upstate NY cities come close to breaking records in early October warm spell (PS; Coin)
Temperatures today soared into the 80s in some parts of Upstate New York, and two cities tied their Oct. 4 records.
Binghamton hit 78 degrees, tying the record set in 2007. Syracuse tied the 1931 record with 84.
Rochester also reached 84, which was five degrees shy of the 1926 record but still 20 degrees above normal.
A cold front moves in tonight, bringing showers and keeping temperatures on Thursday about 10 degrees cooler than today. The weekend could bring a return to near-80 once again.
Here's a look at the high temperatures today around Upstate New York as of 4 p.m.
Oct. 4 highs, normals, records
City High Normal Record Year
Albany 75 65 86 1891
Binghamton 78 61 78 2007
Buffalo 77 64 87 1951
Elmira 85 65 90 1951
Poughkeepsie 77 68 86 1941
Rochester 84 64 89 1926
Syracuse 84 65 84 1931
Watertown 75 63 85 1926
