sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Barbie Doll Day marks the anniversary of the day that the Barbie doll first went on sale in 1959. Barbie was thought up by Ruth Handler, wife of one of Mattel's founders, Elliot Handler. Handler noticed her daughter, Barbara, gave adult roles to paper dolls when she played with them. In 1956, Handler bought three German Lilli dolls while vacationing in Switzerland, and used them as inspiration in creating the Barbie doll upon returning back to California. On March 9, 1959, Barbie made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, which became Barbie's birthday, and also Barbie Day. But, Barbie did not make its debut in stores until September 6. The first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit, had the full name of Barbara Millicent Roberts, and was available with either blonde or brunette hair.
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Is Eric Dungey is the Best QB in the ACC? - Student Union (studentunion.com; Owens)
Hot take title for clickbait or legitimate argument? Eric Dungey has inserted himself into the conversation for the ACC’s best quarterback. And he’s a bad, bad man. Let’s throw away the passing number from this week. 7 for 17 for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns doesn’t scream elite, but his 2495 yards and 14 touchdowns from an injury-plagued 2017 campaign does. What Dungey does better than any ACC quarterback is his unmeasured running ability.
Last season, Dungey was able to accumulate 595 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground, even while being sacked 26 times. In just one game in 2018, a game in which he didn’t even play for much of the second half due to it being a blowout, Dungey ran for a school record 200 yards for a quarterback. Not only did this lead the entire ACC for rushing yards, Dungey also became only the fourth quarterback in ACC history to run for 200 yards in one game. This led to Dungey being named the ACC quarterback of the week for Week 1.
So why give Dungey a pass for his 7 of 17 performance in the air? Well for one, it was very inconsistent playing time for him. After leading Syracuse to a 24-7 halftime lead, Dungey was sat in order to get redshirt Freshman QB Tommy DeVito playing time. However, Syracuse’s offense began to sputter and Western Michigan cut the lead to 34-28, at which point Dungey was needed again. He was able to will Syracuse to a 55-42 road win. Furthermore, the emotion Dungey plays with is unmatched. In addition to shoving a Western Michigan player on the bench after a run, Dungey started a fight that resulted in two ejections after pulling a linebacker down after initially trying to help him up. Yeah, maybe some saw it as a total frat boy move. I see it as Dungey being the heart and soul of this Syracuse team. A team that will go as far as Dungey will lead them. And cmon, he even gave em the Manziel. It’s money time.
Syracuse vs. Wagner Fearless Prediction, Game Preview (collegefootballnews.com; Fiutak)
One Reason Why Wagner Will Win
The Syracuse defense is non-existent.
The Orange put up 24 points in the first quarter against Western Michigan, and it still took a big fight to put the game away. Why?
The secondary was hit for 379 passing yards, and the run defense wasn’t much better.
Wagner might not have anything special going with its O, but Ryan Fulse is coming off a day, ripping up your Bowie State Bulldogs for 271 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
WMU’s LeVante Bellamy only needed 11 carries to come up with 120 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks won’t win, but they’ll have their moments against this D. But …
One Reason Why Syracuse Will Win
The Wagner secondary is about to get hit very, very hard.
It couldn’t stop Amir Hall and that Bowie State air attack. It’ll have no prayer against Eric Dungey and what the Orange will bring.
At home, it’s going to be target practice time for the Syracuse offense that ran for 334 yards and five scores in Kalamazoo, but wasn’t sharp through the air. Dungey and Tommy DeVito combined to hit just 11-of-28 passes, and with Florida State coming up next, there’s work to do.
Wagner will be out there to be practiced against.
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Quick Numbers: Another look at an epic performance from Syracuse's Eric Dungey - ACCSports.com (accsports.com; Geisinger)
Independent from Syracuse’s team success, which is a trickier subject to forecast, everyone knew that quarterback Eric Dungey would have a huge season. On offense, Syracuse plays fast — top 10 in the FBS in pace last season — throws the ball a ton, and loves to run the quarterback. The system is designed, if operated properly, to make quarterbacks look awesome.
What seemed preordained, though, was actualized last Saturday on a field in Kalamazoo.
It wasn’t Dungey’s sharpest game though the air — 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) for 184 yardsand two touchdowns — but that shouldn’t be too surprising: there’s a learning curve here. While Dungey returns, the Orange are breaking in new personnel on the perimeter.
That’s no small feat, either: last season, Steve Ishmael and Ervin Phillips were high-volume target hubs on the outside of the offense. According to Football Study Hall, those two combined for 194 catches on 305 targets — a catch rate of 63.6 percent. Ishmael and Phillips were targeted on nearly 61 percent of Syracuse’s pass targets in 2017. These are absolutely massive numbers.
For comparison: the leading receiver against Western Michigan for Syracuse was Jamal Custis, who caught six passes on 10 total targets for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, Custis got 14 total targets. According to ESPN, Dungey’s performance ranked third nationally in terms of Total QBR.
It’s worth noting, too: Dungey and Custis looked like a terrific combination. Dungey accounted for seven of the receiver’s 10 targets, which included five completions, two touchdowns and one absurd one-handed grab.
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What Does Syracuse Need to Prove Against Wagner? – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Aki)
You usually aren’t going to take away a lot of positives from your team against an FCS opponent. If anything, you will learn where your team’s flaws are exposed. That’s the predicament Syracuse finds itself in this week against Wagner.
That being said, this Orange team can use a lower tier opponent to fine-tune some areas before a crucial matchup against Florida State, as well as in preparation for the remainder of the season.
Tommy DeVito
DeVito’s debut didn’t go exactly as planned. The redshirt freshman completed 4 of his 9 passes for just 42 yards and was sacked twice. He also failed to lead a single scoring drive, despite starting past his own 40 yard line twice and working into Western Michigan territory once. Safe to say, that’s not the way the most highly touted Dino Babers’ recruit on SU’s roster wanted his career to begin. Luckily for DeVito, he will likely see the field again against Wagner as long as starter Eric Dungey does his job and gets the Orange out to a comfortable lead. This game won’t make or break DeVito’s SU career. But it can instill a slight confidence into the fanbase if he comes in and shreds Wagner. He doesn’t need to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns in reserve. In fact, the flow of the game probably won’t allow for that many passing attempts. What he does need to show is efficiency. A 44 percent completion rate against a mediocre defense at best in Western Michigan last week is not a promising figure. I’m not ready to judge DeVito yet and surely won’t be after his likely appearance against Wagner. But he has to show that he learned from a disappointing debut and can handle the college game along with the Orange’s system.
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Syracuse football & Central NY in NFL: Which players are on Week 1 rosters? (PS; Bailey)
After college football returned last week, the 2018 NFL season kicks off on Thursday.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the familiar faces from Syracuse football and Central New York who will be competing at the top professional level this fall.
DE Chandler Jones
Far and away the Orange's top alumnus in the league, Jones is heading into the second season of a five-year, $82.5 million deal. He started the contract off with a bang, recording a league-leading and Arizona Cardinals record 17 sacks in 2017.
Jones has 64 career sacks, including 40.5 over his last three campaigns, and two Pro Bowl appearances to his name.
OL Justin Pugh
Joining Jones in Arizona this year is offensive lineman Justin Pugh, a versatile blocker who matched up against Jones during their time together at SU from 2009-11.
Pugh signed as a free agent with the Cardinals in March, inking a five-year, $45 million deal. After being selected 19th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, he played his first five seasons with the New York Giants, seeing significant time at guard and tackle.
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Does Eric Dungey have a legit shot at the winning Heisman Trophy? (itlh.com; Patrick)
The Syracuse football program’s quarterback got off to a blazing hot start this season that resulted in him being named the ACC quarterback of the week.
When was the last time someone from the Syracuse football program was actually considered to be contender for the Heisman Trophy?
Well, one would have to go all the way back to 2001 to find the last Syracuse player to even receive a vote for the Heisman. That was the year in which Orange defensive lineman Dwight Freeney finished ninth in the award’s voting results.
Freeney is one of only three former Syracuse players to even receive a Heisman vote since 1987. Donovan McNabb finished fifth in the voting in 1998 and Don McPherson was the Heisman runner-up in 1987.
Following last week’s performance against Western Michigan, there is a bit of a buzz surrounding current Orange quarterback Eric Dungey and his chances to win the Heisman Trophy this year.
Of course, his chances are still very small (80/1 odds according to MyBookie.com) and there is still a ton of football left to be played this season. But it’s still okay to dream, isn’t it?
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ACC Football Power Rankings, Week 2: Florida State overrated? (saturdayblitz.com; Thompson)
There are a few major changes in the power rankings after ACC football kicked off this week. Clemson looked dominate while the rest of the cream of the crop seemed to stumble.
At the start of Week 1, all eyes were on how Miami and Florida State would do in high profile contests. The Hurricanes and Seminoles were both potential dark horses in the ACC but stumbled out of the gate.
While a loss doesn’t necessarily rule you out of national championship contention, we wrote earlier this week that there hasn’t been a single team to make the playoff after losing in Week One.
So unless FSU and Miami can reel off dominant wins and thump Clemson in the ACC title game, their chances of making it in are slim and none.
Clemson looked great (as expected), and there were a few surprises as a few ACC teams faced quality out of conference competition.
Here’s a look at our updated power rankings after Week 1.
14
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS
(1-0) , Last Week: 14
The Cavaliers made easy work of Richmond, getting a dominant 42-13 win over the Spiders. Jordan Ellis ran the ball 20 times for 146 yards and two scores in the Cavaliers’ win. This week a matchup against Indiana will offer a much tougher challenge.
13
WAKE FOREST
(1-0) , Last Week: 11
The Demon Decons drop a few spots due to their tough matchup against the Tulane Green Wave. Having to pull out an overtime win while your quarterback throws for over 375 yards means that your offense simply couldn’t get it done in the red zone. Wake Forest takes on Towson this week and what amounts to a “pay for play” game.
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Week 2 ACC football power poll (dailyprogress.com; Counts)
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10. Pittsburgh 1-0/0-0 (10): Quarterback Kenny Pickett (16-22, 154 yards, 2 TD) was efficient in the season opener. He was one of three Panthers who finished with at least 40 rushing yards and added a touchdown on the ground. Qadree Ollison led the rushing attack, which put up 238 yards, while the Pitt defense limited Albany to 60 yards on the ground. Next: vs. Penn State, 8 p.m., Saturday
11. Georgia Tech 1-0/0-0 (11): The Yellow Jackets and their triple-option offense had little trouble running the ball Saturday, racking up 439 rushing yards against Alcorn State. Five rushers put up more than 50 yards, including quarterback TaQuon Marshall, who finished with 77 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 104 yards and a touchdown through the air. Next: at South Florida, noon, Saturday
12. Syracuse 1-0/0-0 (12): Quarterback Eric Dungey picked up where he left off last season with 184 passing yards, 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but the defense struggled to stop Western Michigan in a 55-42 win for the Orange. Moe Neal and Dontae Strickland each added two rushing touchdowns, and receiver Jamal Custis finished with 6 catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Next: vs. Wagner, 3:30 p.m., Saturday
13. Wake Forest 1-0/0-0 (14): True freshman quarterback Sam Hartman’s debut went better than expected. He completed 31-of-51 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns in the Deacons’ 23-17 overtime win over Tulane. Hartman also was the team’s leading rusher with 64 yards on 13 carries, but the Wake Forest defense surrendered 436 yards, 189 of which went to Tulane receiver Terren Encalade. Next: vs. Towson, noon, Saturday
14. North Carolina 0-1/0-0 (13): The Tar Heels stuck with quarterback Nathan Elliott (15-35, 137 yards, TD) against Cal, even though he threw four interceptions. Elliott was UNC’s leading rusher with 58 yards on an offense that produced just 164 yards on the ground. The Tar Heels outscored the Golden Bears, 17-7, in the second half, but the turnovers were too much to overcome and UNC fell, 24-17. Next: at East Carolina, 3:30 p.m., Saturday
Weekly ACC power rankings: The line for the UNC-ECU game is what? (newsobserver.com; Giglio)
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7. Duke
Record: 1-0
Last game: vs. Army (W, 34-14)
Next game: at Northwestern (Saturday)
Duke watching Miami on Sunday: “Maybe we can win the Coastal?”
Duke watching Virginia Tech on Monday: “Eh, Charlotte in December is overrated.”
8. Wake Forest
Record: 1-0
Last game: at Tulane (W, 23-17, OT)
Next game: vs. Towson (Saturday)
The most impressive individual performance of Week 1 goes to Sam Hartman (378 yards). The Wake frosh has the kind of poise you can’t teach.
9. Syracuse
Record: 1-0
Last game: at Western Michigan (W, 55-42)
Next game: vs. Wagner (Saturday)
It took a half but the 2017 Syracuse defense showed up. That’s not good for the Orange. This team has so much ’08 N.C. State in them (can beat anyone if the quarterback is healthy, can lose to anyone if he’s not), it’s scary.
10. Florida State
Record: 0-1
Last game: vs. Virginia Tech (L, 24-3)
Next game: vs. Samford (Saturday)
The Noles’ offensive line didn’t magically get better with a new coach. Weird. All those NFL dudes they used to have on their defensive front aren’t walking through the door, either.
11. Louisville
Record: 0-1
Last game: vs. Alabama (L, 51-14)
Next game: vs. Indiana State (Saturday)
Alabama can make anybody look bad but I was actually impressed with new quarterback Puma Pass (252 yards) in his debut.
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Any Legit ACC Contenders Outside Of Clemson? (cbssports.com; video; Palm)
Jerry Palm breaks down whether any other ACC teams outside of Clemson can make a run at a New Year's Six game or playoff game
A safe bet: Injury info tougher to find around ACC this year (macon.com; McCreary)
North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren was headed out the door when he was asked a follow-up question about an injured player.
Cracking a grin, Doeren jokingly responded, "I don't have to tell you."
He's right, and that could mean injury information could be tougher to find around the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
For the past decade, the ACC was the only major conference whose schools issued a list of injured players each week before league games, even if it was more of a gentlemen's agreement and not an enforceable rule.
League coaches voted in May to stop issuing those reports , a move described by one oddsmaker as "counterintuitive" with sports wagering creeping further toward the mainstream. Coincidentally, the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a federal law barring gambling on college sports was announced on the first day of the league's spring meetings in Florida.
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ACC Football Rx: Sunday/Monday TV Ratings - Week 1, 2018 (accfootballrx.com; HM)
From ESPNMediaZone: College Football Kickoff Weekend: ESPN and ABC Televise Five of Six Highest-Rated Games; Both Networks Generate Year-Over-Year Ratings Increases during Prime-Time Specials
Miami-LSU:
ABC’s Highest-Rated Game of the Weekend
Sunday Special Up 41% Year-Over-Year
Virginia Tech-Florida State:Ties as Cable’s Best-Rated Regular Season Game in Nearly Two Years
Miami-LSU Leads the Way on ABC, Generates 41% Ratings Growth Year-Over-Year
ABC’s third annual Sunday night presentation between Miami and LSU (Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m.) delivered a 4.1 overnight, the network’s highest-rated game of the weekend. The Tigers’ decisive 33-17 victory generated a 41% increase in rating from last year’s Sunday night presentation (West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech) on the network.
New Orleans was the highest-rated local market, earning a 25.5, the market’s best regular season rating for a game on ESPN/ABC in nearly three years. The complete top 10 markets:
Rank Market Rating
1 New Orleans 25.5
2 Birmingham 16.9
3 Columbus 9.4
4 Jacksonville 9.2
5 Miami 8.6
6 Atlanta 8.1
7 Memphis 7.9
8 West Palm Beach7.8
9 Knoxville 7.5
Oklahoma City 7.5
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ACC Football Rx: What if it was 2 protected rivalries? (accfootballrx.com; HM)
I proposed an ACC crossover rotation similar to what the Big Ten is planning, only with 3 "permanent" cross-division pairings: Clemson/GT, Florida State/Miami, and NC State/UNC.
MSTiger wrote me an email in reply in which he stated:
"I like your Semi-permanent idea but I don't think it'll work if NC schools giving up games with each over are involved. What if you did rotational Pods?"
Permanent (Annual)
FSU / Miami
Clemson / Ga Tech
NC Semi-permanent
(2 on / 2 off so that each player plays both in-state
cross-division teams twice in a 4 career)
NC State / UNC (or Duke)
Wake Forest / Duke (or UNC)
I see some NC not wanting to give up the status quo. in this case these can be permanent as well.Northeast Semi-permanent
Louisville / Virginia
Boston College / VT
Syracuse / Pitt
This Crossover Pod could play any number of rotations and every team in this pod gets more of what they want.2-1-1: H/H with the traditional crossover and then a Home and away with the other 2 reversed in the next 4-year rotation
Straight rotation - with an odd number of teams its easy to rotate one team per year and have a home and away game with each team on the other side after 6 years,
2-2-2: This keeps continuity from year to year but leaves out a team from a 4-year exposure standpoint.
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ACC Football Rx: Which Expansion Teams are ahead so far? (accfootballrx.com; HM)
Pitt may play better football and Syracuse better basketball than Rutgers, but conventional wisdom says either one of those ACC expansion teams would jump at the change to trade places with the newest Big Ten member school. It would be the same with West Virginia if not for the travel, right?
...or could it be that conventional wisdom is just wrong?
Money-wise, joining the Big Ten was a no-brainer for Rutgers. The same can be said for West Virginia's decision to join the Big XII. After all, in both cases the only other immediate option was to remain in the Big East/American Athletic Conference and try to get by.
However, are those schools really ahead financially compared to the two schools which joined the ACC, namely Syracuse and Pitt? To answer that question, we must consider things like exit fees (which varied) as well as any phased-in conference payouts (which both the Big Ten and the Big XII do). Here are the known conference payouts given to each expansion school so far (plus projections in the case of Rutgers), along with the exit fee each school paid to the Big East/AAC:
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Ranking Hokies' best football road wins of ACC era (dailypress.com; Teel)
No ACC football program can approach Virginia Tech’s road success of the last 15 seasons. The Hokies are 52-19 on the road since joining the conference in 2004, far north of next-best Florida State’s 44-26.
Conversely, Tech (133-55) and FSU (132-54) have virtually identical overall records during that span. Same applies to Clemson. The Tigers are 136-51 since 2004, but only 40-27 on the road.
Given the opponent and venue, Tech’s victory at No. 19 Florida State on Monday night was another striking result, but does it rate among the program’s best road conquests of the ACC era.
More on that in a moment. First, some thoughts from two coaches on the keys, other than talent, to competing in hostile environments.
Tech’s Justin Fuente: “I think it’s about composure. It’s about playing the next play. I often tell our team, you can go on the road, and you can be up 14-0, and the other team can kick a field goal, and it sounds like you’re down by 10 points.
“Understanding that you have to stay in the moment and continue to play the next play … is incredibly important. And having some composure and ability to focus regardless of external circumstances is something that we talk about a lot.”
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Other
Dinosaur BBQ, Rally bus team up to take Buffalo Bills fans to games (PS; Weaver)
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Rally, a bus-booking company, are partnering up to take Buffalo Bills fans to games in New Era Field this season.
People who buy tickets on the Rally rides will be picked up and dropped off at Dinosaur restaurants in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.
Ticket prices are based on mileage and the length of the event, according to Rally and the Dinosaur. Round-trip tickets from Syracuse to New Era Field start at $50; prices can be more as the game gets closer.
The ticket price includes a round-trip seat on a bus with bucket seats, Wi-Fi and a bathroom. The buses arrive in time to tailgate and depart 45 minutes after the game ends.
Customers can bring two small items, such as a bag or cooler, and leave them on the bus during the game. Rally allows for customers to bring alcoholic drinks as long as they are not in glass containers.
The Rally ticket does not include entrance to the football games. Bills' tickets must be purchased separately.
To celebrate the new partnership, a giveaway contest will run on Dinosaur's social media accounts through Sept. 12. The winning pair will get a Dinosaur meal, tickets to the Sept. 16 home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers and rides to that game on Rally.
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