sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Save the Koala Day!
It’s Save the Koala Day!
And who wouldn’t want to save these adorable little furballs?
They’re all soft and cuddly and … Ok, no. Koalas aren’t actually very cuddly. But they are an important part of the Australian wildlife. And they’re in danger of disappearing.
The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) started this day as part of its Save the Koala Month campaign every September.
The Foundation’s goal is to save the wild koalas by saving and managing their habitat. It uses its annual campaign to raise both awareness of the threat to the koalas and funds to continue the fight.
SU News
Syracuse at No. 3 Clemson Preview (cbssports.com; video)
Clemson looks to avenge last season's loss to Syracuse
Syracuse: Beauty Needs A Foil (shakinthesouthland.com; DumboDrew)
Well, it’s been another boring week for the Clemson faithful. You know, it’s weird being a team with so little drama. Everything moves smoothly along as Clemson quietly racks up win after win. As a writer, what I wouldn’t give for just a little intrigue. You know, something to fire up fans and pump up the page hits. I guess that’s not going to happen this week, so I’ll have to focus on Syracuse instead.
In the past, I’ve written off Syracuse as a non-entity in the ACC, and you know what, I was wrong. Since listening to Dabo preach on the importance of love, I’ve started looking for the best things about our opponents, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Syracuse. It’s amazing what happens when you stop looking for reasons to hate your opponent and instead focus on love.
I, for one, feel like a changed man, and I invite you to join me in this world of love. This is why I love Syracuse.
Permanent Motivation
Just as the battle cry “Remember the Alamo!” propelled the United States Army forward in the Battle of San Jacinto, “Remember Syracuse” is Dabo’s battle cry against all inferior opponents.
When you’ve been on top for as long as Clemson, complacency, not your weekly out-manned opponent, becomes the biggest obstacle. Sure, 2016 saw Clemson lose to Pittsburgh, but let’s be honest, that was a damn good Pitt offense. Eight players from that team currently play in the NFL, including James Conner, who is a certified bad ass.
Yes, the Pitt loss was bad, but Clemson got into a shoot out with a good offense and made some mistakes down the stretch. It stung, but at the end of the game, you just shook your head and left impressed with Pitt. The loss to Syracuse, on the other hand, is inexcusable, which makes it the best possible motivational tool.
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Beat writer Q&A: Orange and White’s Marcel Louis-Jacques discusses Clemson (DO; Staff)
Syracuse (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) will match up with Clemson (4-0, 1-0), a team it upset last season when the Tigers were the No. 2 team in the country. Last week, the Orange dominated UConn, 51-21, and the Orange enters the fifth week of the season undefeated for the first time since 1991.
To get some insight on the Tigers, The Daily Orange spoke to Orange and White’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
The Daily Orange: What’s the vibe of the team been like after Trevor Lawrence being announced the starter, and now with Kelly Bryant announcing his transfer?
Marcel Louis-Jacques: We haven’t gotten any chance to speak the team since he announced he’s transferring but, I think we broke the news to a couple of them on Monday. And there was a little sense of just a “Oh OK,” kind of surprise. But then was quickly you know right back to business. I think Tee Higgins (Clemson wide receiver) even said something along the lines of, “It’s my job to go out there and catch the ball.” So I don’t think that publicly we’re going to get much reaction from anybody on the team. But within the program, Kelly is really well liked and really well respected. So you know with an emotional game like this coming up, I know it’s Week 4 and it had to happen or it’s Week 4 and it had to happen right now, but you know it really couldn’t be worse timing.
The D.O.: What have you seen from Lawrence through four games? Was he the clear-cut starter?
M.L-J: He’s lived up to the hype for the most part. (Texas) A&M, I feel like people remember his first pass of the game that 64-yard touchdown but his drives pretty much stalled out the rest of the way from there. So if you had to point to a concern with this kid, it’s OK in Clemson’s toughest game of the year, on the road, he kind of faltered out a little bit. But, I mean, after the Georgia Tech it was just clear that he deserved the first opportunity in the following week. And Dabo (Swinney) previously told us that if there were going to be a change, that would all see. It would be obvious. And I think Trevor really made it obvious in Week 4.
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College football: Syracuse’s Riley speeds past size topic (ogd.com; St Croix)
Sean Riley prefers to be measured only by his level of production for the Syracuse University football team.
The 5-foot-8 and 170-pound junior has made a large impact during the Orange’s first 4-0 start since 1991, providing a big-play threat in a variety of roles, including wide receiver, kick and punt returner, and occasional rusher.
Riley shined in SU’s 51-21 victory over Connecticut last Saturday by turning 12 touches into 290 all-purpose yards, the fourth-highest total in program history, to go with his first career punt return touchdown and the first for the team since 2015.
Riley and the Orange will look to extend their strong start when Syracuse plays at nationally-ranked No. 2/3 Clemson at noon Saturday in an Atlantic Coast Conference clash set to be televised on ABC.
“I feel like speed will kill all of that, my size and what not, so I feel like just playing fast helps me,” said Riley, a Los Angeles native who was named ACC Specialist of the Week. “I feel like when I get out there (size is) not really a problem,” he added. “I just try to make plays when I have the ball in my hands.”
Riley’s average of 30.4 yards per punt return this season ranks second in the nation and first in the ACC among qualified players.
His 85 career kick returns for 1,870 career yards rank second and fourth among active FBS players, respectively, while representing the second- and third-highest totals in SU history. Qadry Ismail holds the Orange career records for most kick returns (105) and most kick-return yards (2,290).
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Clemson vs Syracuse: By The Numbers – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Leonard)
So I don’t know if you’ve heard but this Clemson school is pretty good at football. Let’s figure out exactly what makes them so good. We’re going to breakdown the stats behind each phase of the Tigers and compare them to the Orange.
Most Impressive Stat: Sacks
Clemson: 16 (T-2nd)
Syracuse: 13 (T-9th)
A lot has been, and will continue to be made, of the Clemson D-Line this week. But, honestly you can’t overstate just how good they are. It’s one of the best defensive lines college football has seen in the past two decades. All four of those dudes will be NFL players for a long time and I’m just shocked we don’t have a catchy nickname for them already.
Most Surprising Stat: Interceptions
Clemson: 0 (T-Last)
Syracuse: 7 (T-2nd)
Syracuse freshman Andre Cisco has four more interceptions than the entire Clemson football team after four games. That was a fun sentence to type. This really is baffling though. For all the pressure they generate on the quarterback it hasn’t translated to turnovers in the secondary. Also, if Cisco was a school he would rank 31st in the country in interceptions. The dude is leading the FBS in picks right now. You’d have to think we will see a regression to the mean for both teams by season end.
Most Wow That Makes Me Nervous Stat: Pass Defense
Clemson: 18th
Syracuse: 108th
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Syracuse at Clemson Preview: Q&A with Nunes Magician (shakinthesouthland.com; Kantor)
While fan bases certainly have base levels of passion and civility they also seem to take on the personality of their head coach. Dino Babers is dramatically more likeable than Scott Shafer and this rivalry has gone from Coach Shafer cursing at Dabo for running up the score in the first half to Dabo congratulating Coach Babers on a well earned victory.
Now, Syracuse comes into Clemson following 2017’s win and will get the laser focus of a healthy Clemson Tigers. While they may not be the odious enemy of years past, revenge is required.
To help us preview this revenge matchup, we’ve connected with John Cassillo from NunesMagician. John has been writing about Syracuse football for quite a while and had some great insights to share. We hope you enjoy!
STS: How much do you feel the tempo will (and must) play a role for Syracuse’s offense to find a rhythm, especially considering Clemson has played three triple-option teams and a slow-tempo pro-style offense designed by Jimbo Fisher?
John: Tempo only works when you’re gaining first downs, and Syracuse has been able to do that with more regularity than in years’ past. The reason for the improvement -- yes, even accounting for opponents -- is a run game that’s proven far more effective and slightly less reliant on just Eric Dungey. Clemson’s front-four is too good to be thrown off by tempo, but running the ball well while continuing to move this offense quickly should at least increase Syracuse’s odds of success.
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Syracuse football is 4-0 for the first time in 27 years! So since we're definitely a football school now, we wanted to make sure we're all staying sharp on all things Syracuse football.
No. 16 Miami routs North Carolina behind school record-tying three defensive touchdowns (usatoday.com; AP)
The Turnover Chain became the Touchdown Chain.
Miami tied a school record with three defensive touchdowns, N'Kosi Perry threw for a score in his first start and the No. 16 Hurricanes downed North Carolina 47-10 on Thursday night.
Romeo Finley and Joe Jackson ran back interceptions for scores, Jonathan Garvin scooped up a fumble and rumbled in for another touchdown and the Hurricanes (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) wound up forcing six turnovers in all.
"It was a sight to see," Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. "We always say, turnovers, they seem to come in bunches. The fact that we turned defense into offense on those was quite a sight to see."
Perry didn't have to do much, completing eight of 12 passes for 125 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his debut as the Miami starter. Deejay Dallas rushed 11 times for 114 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes, whose 12th straight home regular-season win matches the school's longest in 15 years.
Thanks to the defensive scoring, Miami had more points than plays — 47-46. And the Hurricanes' quest for back-to-back ACC Coastal Division titles is off and running.
"We want to get back to Charlotte," Miami coach Mark Richt said, referring to the site of the ACC title game. "That was a good start."
Chazz Surratt, making his season debut after serving a three-game suspension for selling team-issued shoes, relieved North Carolina starting quarterback Nathan Elliott early and rushed for a touchdown for the Tar Heels (1-3, 1-1). But Surratt was intercepted three times, the Tar Heels also fumbled the ball away three times and they were a combined 3 for 16 on third and fourth downs.
"They put it on us today," North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. "They got us into some long-yardage situations and brought a lot of heat on third and long. And we didn't handle it very well."
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Week 5 ACC Power Rankings - The Pitt News (pittnews.com; Leonard)
We’re roughly a third of the way through the college football season, and it’s becoming easier and easier to distinguish the contenders from the pretenders. The ACC, however, still remains a giant question mark aside from Clemson’s typical dominance. So the question remains: outside the Tigers, who’s any good? Here’s a glance at the current power struggle within the conference.
No. 3 Clemson (4-0 overall, 1-0 ACC)
After making the College Football Playoff the past three years, Clemson has established itself as one of the preeminent programs, not just in the ACC but the entire nation. This year appears to be no different. Aside from a narrow 28-26 win over Texas A&M in Week 2, Clemson’s closest game this season was decided by 28 points. That came this past week, in a blowout 49-21 victory in their ACC opener against Georgia Tech. First-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence has surprisingly stolen the job from incumbent senior starter Kelly Bryant, but it doesn’t matter who throws passes for this team — their elite defense will win them games no matter what.
Syracuse (4-0 overall, 1-0 ACC)
No, you’re not misreading — that is indeed Syracuse all the way up at number two. Will the typically middling Syracuse Orange be one of the best ACC teams down the stretch? Probably not. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re playing like one of the hottest teams in the ACC thus far. Senior Eric Dungey is one of the premier dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, leading his team in both passing and rushing yards. The Orange boasts an offensive unit that has scored under 50 points just once this season, and rank 13th nationally in yards per game with 523.3. An upcoming meeting with Clemson will show if Syracuse is the real deal or not.
No. 16 Miami (3-1 overall, 0-0 ACC)
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ACC Football Rx: UNC 10 @ Miami 47 (accfootballrx.com; HM)
Miami won at home Thursday night, and I still don't know if the Canes have a legitimate quarterback. Against UNC they didn't need one...
UNC 10 @ Miami 47
Turnover Chain in action:
Q1 4:32 - 3rd & 6 UNC at own 31 - Nathan Elliott sacked by Shaquille Quarterman for a loss of 15 yards Nathan Elliott fumbled, forced by Shaquille Quarterman, recovered by MiaFl Jonathan Garvin, returned for TD.
Q2 9:00 - 3rd & 17 UNC at 50 - Chazz Surratt pass intercepted by Joe Jackson, returned 42 yds for a TD.
Q2 0:11 - 3rd & 15 UNC at own 49 - Chazz Surratt pass intercepted by Jhavonte Dean, return 25 yds to the UNC 33.
Q3 14:10 - 2nd & 10 UNC at own 36 - Nathan Elliott run for a loss of 6 yards to the UNC 34, fumbled, recovered by Miami (Jonathan Garvin).
Q4 14:47 - 4th & 7 UNC at MIAMI 21 - Chazz Surratt pass intercepted by Romeo Finley, return 83 yds for a TD.
Q4 0:15 - 2nd & 8 UNC at MIAMI 23 - Nathan Elliott run for a loss of 4 yards to the Miami 27, fumbled, recovered by Miami (Bradley Jennings Jr.)
See what I mean?
ACC Football Rx: B1G Revenue Trickery? (accfootballrx.com; HM)
Today I'd like to address one of the biggest con jobs in all of college football. No, I'm not talking about the myth that the SEC deserves 2 playoff bids every year... I'm talking about the myth of the untouchable Big Ten revenue.
True, the Big Ten got a massive upgrade on what was previously a lousy Tier 1 contract (as in worse than the ACC's!). Their new contracts with Fox and ESPN got lots of media attention, too. However, since then the Big Ten Network has been losing ground little by little - a fact which has also gotten some attention [see August 2018 Cable Report]. Hidden in the numbers is something else which is getting nearly ZERO attention though...
Most would understandably assume that the jump in Big Ten revenue is all due to the new Big Ten media contract with Fox/ESPN, but is there more to it? Perhaps. A reader who would like to remain anonymous pointed out to me that in 2015-16 the Big Ten paid out roughly $32 million for all forms of media revenue. Their antiquated T1 deal only netted them $26 million at that time, and the BTN kicked in another $6 million for a total of $32M...
Then last year (2016-17) Big Ten media revenue jumped to $38 million - an increase of $6M. HOWEVER, at the same time the SNL Kagan accounting firm reported that the BTN lost a little over $70 million in total value for that year. The amount the BTN lost was equal to extra disbursements paid to their 11 oldest member schools (roughly $6.5 million each). With Big 10 revenue reporting that money wasn't tagged as a divestiture for the BTN but was lumped in with the media money, and it's lumped in again next year. $38 million = $26 million base TV revenue + $6 million from the BTN + an extra $6 million dollar disbursement from their equity shares in the BTN? (Things that make you go hmmmmmmm).
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ACC Football Off To An Ugly Start - The Runner Sports (therunnersports.com; Patuto)
When the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) is thought of, the first things that come to mind are Duke, North Carolina, and a round orange ball. But the conference, with Clemson leading the way, has been trying to show they compete on the gridiron. While the ACC as a whole has improved in recent time, this season has not been pretty.
The Good
Plain and simple, Clemson.
The Tigers are the staple of ACC football. They have two National Championship appearances since 2015, one victory. They have been featured in the College Football Playoff every season since its inception. Clemson has produced NFL talent such as DeAndre Hopkins, Vic Beasley, and Deshaun Watson as of late and there will be many more in this year’s draft.
Beyond that, there are a number of exciting players making noise not only in the conference but nationally. Boston College’s AJ Dillon has been one of the nation’s top running backs. Quentin Harris has stepped in for Duke at quarterback and played two outstanding games. Wake Forest’s Greg Dortch, Miami’s Jeff Thomas and Virginia’s Olamide Zaccheaus are explosive receivers that make an immediate impact.
The Bad
Six of the 14 teams have a record that is .500 or worse.
Teams like Florida State and North Carolina have underachieved. For the Seminoles, this is mostly because of the poor play of their offensive line and quarterback Deondre Francois. For head coach Willie Taggart, this was not the way he expected his first season to go.
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College football week 5: Fans at ACC, SEC games to face hot conditions with threat of storms (accuweather.com; Galimberti)
Fans at games across the Southeast will be in for hot, humid and potentially wet conditions this week as college football season continues.
For week five, top primetime games like Ohio State at Penn State, Stanford at Notre Dame and Oregon at Cal will take place under ideal weather conditions.
For ACC and SEC fans, hot weather and the potential for storms could have an impact on the day.
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Syracuse at No. 3 Clemson - 12 p.m. EST
Syracuse will travel south to take on Clemson for an ACC matchup.
It will be a typically warm day at Clemson Memorial Stadium. Those heading to the tailgate lots early will see temperatures in the upper 60s before rising into the mid-70s just before kickoff.
The high at the start of the game will be in the upper 70s, climbing into the 80s by the end of the game.
With added sunshine and humidity, the AccuWeather RealFeel® temperature will approach 90. Fans should stay hydrated and apply sunscreen throughout the day.
There is a 30 percent chance a spotty shower or even thunderstorm could unfold during the day.
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Other
DeWitt supervisor: 'Hard to believe' ShoppingTown owner will let it be auctioned (PS; Doran)
In 26 days, Onondaga County plans to auction off ShoppingTown Mall for back taxes totaling $7.74 million.
DeWitt Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko said he finds it hard to believe the owner, Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC, will let the huge mall property go.
The company owes $7.68 million in back taxes on the mall and $58,365 in unpaid taxes on its parking lot, according to the county. Those taxes are owed to the town, county and Jamesville-DeWitt school district.
Moonbeam can have the mall removed from the auction block by paying 25 percent, or $1.94 million, of the delinquent taxes and entering into a 24-month payment program for the balance.
If Moonbeam fails to do that, the properties will be auctioned off on Oct. 22 along with other delinquent properties in the county.
"It's hard to believe Moonbeam is going to let ShoppingTown go,'' Michalenko said. "But should they default, we are ready to pursue a developer to come to the table and move forward with development."
Kerry Mannion, a DeWitt Town Councilor who has served as liaison with Moonbeam, said he hasn't talked to Moonbeam since July. At that point, Moonbeam indicated it wanted to keep the mall property, he said.
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