sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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There are over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, and they are honored on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.), being shown that the community recognizes the difficulty of their job and supports them as they provide a public service. The day is dedicated to all members of law enforcement, but the focus is on police and similar state and local agencies. It was started by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), which partners with organizations across the country to make the day happen.There are over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, and they are honored on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.), being shown that the community recognizes the difficulty of their job and supports them as they provide a public service. The day is dedicated to all members of law enforcement, but the focus is on police and similar state and local agencies. It was started by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), which partners with organizations across the country to make the day happen.
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Way too early ACC Power Rankings for 2019 (sportscreators.com; Rao)
Wow
It has been less than a day since Clemson has pulled off the biggest Nick Saban drubbing in College Football history, and the only 2019 spot in the ACC Power Rankings that is a safe and undoubted bet, is the reigning champion Clemson Tigers at the top spot. As usual lately, the rest of the ACC is up for grabs, with 4 new head coaches commandeering programs, expect much clarity aside from the Tigers.
1. Clemson (15-0 [9-0])
Do I even need to explain this one? I don’t think I do, 2nd ranked recruiting class, an electric quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, and a lethal defense returning some starters, expect this team to win the ACC handedly.
2. Miami (FL) (7-6 [4-4])
With Mark Richt gone, and Manny Diaz in, many of the Miami faithful were expecting some changes, especially in the offensive staff. Diaz delivered, firing every single person working the offense this past season. Diaz very recently brought in Major Applewhite, former Houston head coach, to call the shots for the Hurricanes in 2019. Applewhite ran a pass-heavy offense this season, which ranked 8th in the country, granted it was in the AAC, he is still a very bright offensive mind which is something the Hurricanes haven’t had in a long time. Combine that with one of the best and underrated defenses in the country, which was highly overshadowed by the team’s offensive struggles in 2018, you have a good recipe to meet Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
3. Virginia (8-5 [4-4])
Surprised? Don’t be, Bronco Mendenhall is currently reeling in the best recruiting class this program has ever seen, and is generating tons of buzz in a school that has been a basketball school since the turn of the century. Quarterback Bryce Perkins is returning, alongside a lot of starters, and the team showed they can compete with SEC level talent in their 28-0 rout of South Carolina in the Belk Bowl. A defensive unit which showed a lot of promise this season could win the Cavaliers a lot of games which most would expect them not to, this is definitely my dark horse team in the ACC.
4. Virginia Tech (6-7 [4-4])
I know it gets annoying to see Virginia Tech high up in the preseason polls every year, but get this. The Hokies had a boatload of injuries this season, the 2nd most injured starters in the Power 5, second to only TCU. Ryan Willis looked more and more like an established quarterback as the games went by in 2018, and Bud Foster is getting more new toys to work with in the defense next season, due to a pretty good recruiting haul this season by Justin Fuente. Things can only go up for the Hokies, and I predict a solid 9-3 finish.
5. Pittsburgh (7-7 [6-3])
The firing of Shawn Watson moved the Panthers up at least two spots in my rankings, the main reason this team isn’t ahead of the rest in the Coastal division, is the massive changes happening to the offense. A new coordinator has not been found, however I do expect Narduzzi and co. to spend a lot of money on a candidate, but losing the dynamic duo of Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison and 4 starters on the offensive line that contributed to their numbers, should hurt the Panthers run game quite a bit. However a strong defense returning should warrant a good follow up to their ACC Coastal champion season.
6. Boston College (7-5 [4-4])
Everyone knows that the First Responder Bowl, was not really on top of things when the game was rained out and eventually cancelled, but their slogan “It’s like it never happened” has never been more true. The Eagles game against Boise would have been a really good showcase of what is to come next season, however we don’t always get what we want. There is loads of excitement in Chestnut Hill, as Steve Addazio is reeling in the best ranked recruiting class this school has ever gotten at the moment, and the team has quite a bit of returning starters. AJ Dillon is hoping to make a big splash in the running game next season, and potentially surprise Clemson in Death Valley next season.
7. Syracuse (10-3 [6-2])
I might get some hate for putting Syracuse this low, compared to them being 2nd in the ACC as a whole to finish off the season, however there is reason for this. Personally, I think their record this season is a result of the stars aligning perfectly for the Orange, mixed in with an experienced team and a good head coach in Dino Babers. There is a lot of buzz on campus around ESPN 300 QB Tommy DeVito, but the Orange is more of a “prove it” team for me, since they had a really weak schedule this year, and when they played Clemson, Trevor Lawrence was out for most of the game. That being said, I would not be surprised if they challenge Clemson in the Carrier Dome, a place where the Orange were victorious all season.
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Syracuse Football: 2018 season report card, looking ahead to 2019 (itlh.com; Esden Jr)
Before we put the 2018 Syracuse football season in the rear view mirror, let’s give one more long look at what transpired over the last few months.
Wow I can’t believe it’s over. That was the most exciting Syracuse football season we’ve covered here at Inside the Loud House this century.
The Orange checked off a ton of things off the proverbial bucket list: top 25 for the first time since 2001, undefeated at home (6-0) for first time since 2001, 10 wins for the first time since 2001, among several other accolades.
Not only did the Orange have a wonderful regular season that was filled with highlights: defeating No. 22 NC State and beating Florida State for the first time 1966 (the only other time Syracuse has beaten the Seminoles). But this team also appeared in a bowl game for the first time since 2013 and won emphatically in the Camping World Bowl vs West Virginia, winning 34-18.
This season had every ingredient you were looking for: celebration, heart ache, sadness, and euphoria. It was an emotional roller coaster, but do you remember every bump during this ride? Let’s take a look back at every positional group, each side of the ball, evaluate the coaching performance, and give you a sneak peek for 2019!
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Clemson arguably best team in ACC football history (dailypress.com; Teel)
When your All-America defensive tackle, who also happens to be college football’s top scholar-athlete, gives the head coach a wet willy on national television, well, that’s pretty much the definition of a grand evening.
And so it transpired for Clemson on Monday during and after a 44-16 demolition of mighty Alabama in the College Football Playoff final.
The Tigers won their second national title in three years, dethroned the reigning champion and made a compelling case as the greatest team in ACC football history.
Atop the polls throughout the season, the Crimson Tide (14-1) was poised to win its sixth national championship in the last 10 years, all under Nick Saban, and a second consecutive title with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. But in the fourth playoff meeting in as many seasons between these two powers, Clemson handed Alabama its most-lopsided setback since the 1998 Music City Bowl.
Virginia Tech faithful remember well that 38-7 dump-trucking of the Tide. But Saban, then coaching at Michigan State, doesn’t. And nor does Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. As ESPN.com’s David Hale tweeted, Lawrence wasn’t even born until October 1999.
Hale yes!
@ADavidHaleJoint
This is Alabama's worst loss since the 1998 Music City Bowl, when Virginia Tech, with Michael Vick redshirting, won 38-7.
Trevor Lawrence was 10 months away from being born.
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Ranking the Best Conferences From the 2018 College Football Season - Stadium (watchstadium.com; Wittry)
Clemson won the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship, its second national title in three years, but the ACC only had one other team ranked in the final AP Top 25 Poll, so the conference offers an interesting profile for how it stacked up with the rest of the conferences nationally last season.
The Big Ten had a winning record in bowl games last season, including a win by its top-ranked program – Ohio State – in the Rose Bowl, but it wasn’t represented in the College Football Playoff making it another intriguing case.
We tried to sort through these various considerations – teams ranked in the AP Top 25, bowl success, College Football Playoff appearances, top-end strength and depth – to rank the best conferences in the country for the 2018 football season.
1. SEC
For many college football fans who lived outside of the South, it’s exhausting to continually read about the SEC’s dominance in the sport and while four of the last six national championships have been won by a non-SEC team, the Southeastern Conference was the sport’s best in 2018.
Four of the top eight teams in the final AP Top 25 Poll play in the SEC: No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Florida and No. 7 Georgia, as the latter two received the same number of votes in the final poll.
Kentucky and Texas A&M were also ranked in the top 20 at the end of the season.
The SEC only had a 6-6 record in bowl games, a stat that the conference’s detractors surely know by heart, but it produced 11 bowl-eligible teams and its upper echelon compares favorably to that of any other conference.
2. Big Ten
The Big Ten was left out of the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row, but you can make the case it had one of the four best teams in the country in Ohio State, which finished the season 13-1 with a Rose Bowl win over Washington, and four other teams finished the season ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.
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Replacing quarterback Daniel Jones is only one concern as Duke looks ahead to 2019 (newsobserver.com; Wiseman)
A 56-27 Independence Bowl win over Temple allowed Duke to posted its fourth season with eight or more wins in the last six years.
The Blue Devils (8-5 in 2018) have played in bowl games in six of the last seven seasons, winning their last three postseason games.
That’s the source of the good vibes around the program David Cutcliffe has taken from the worst in Division I to a consistent winner.
The challenges remain constant, though. Two of Duke’s better players, quarterback Daniel Jones and all-ACC linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, are entering the NFL despite having a year of college eligibility remaining.
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Duke opens the 2019 season on Aug. 31 against national runner-up Alabama in the Chick-Fil-A Classic at Atlanta. That’s just the beginning of a challenging schedule which includes a home game with Notre Dame, yet another College Football Playoff participant.
Duke’s crossover opponent from the Atlantic Division is Syracuse, which posted a 10-3 season in 2018.
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Ratings: NYE Bowls, UK-UL, UConn-Baylor, EPL (sportsmediawatch.com; Paulsen)
Airing in primetime for the first time in 24 years, the Gator Bowl hit a three-year high. Also: the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry continues to sink; Baylor’s upset of UConn gave ESPN a boost; the EPL hit a weekday high on NBCSN.
GATOR, LIBERTY, MILITARY BOWLS HIT HIGHS
Monday’s Texas A&M-NC State Gator Bowl earned 5.14 million viewers on ESPN, up 16% from last year (Mississippi State-Louisvlle: 4.42M), up 94% from 2016 (Georgia Tech-Kentucky: 2.65M), and the largest audience for the game since the 2015-16 season (Georgia-Penn State: 5.87M). It was the first Gator Bowl to air in primetime since 1994. Ratings were not immediately available.
Earlier in the day, ESPN drew 3.83 million for the Oklahoma State-Missouri Liberty Bowl (+11%) and 2.66 million for the Cincinnati-Virginia Tech Military Bowl (+30%). The Liberty Bowl was the most-watched since the 2015-16 season and the Military Bowl the most-watched since 2014.
In other New Year’s Eve action, FS1 drew 1.79 million for the Northwestern-Utah Holiday Bowl (+11%).
Shifting to the broadcast networks, ABC drew a 1.65 rating and 2.55 million (-14%) for last Saturday’s South Carolina-Virginia Belk Bowl, marking the smallest audience for that game since at least 2005. Figures for the Citrus Bowl on ABC, San Francisco Bowl on FOX and Sun Bowl on CBS were not immediately available.
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If you think Clemson’s offense was good in 2018, just wait (islandpacket.com; Connolly)
Clemson stunned the college football world Monday night as the Tigers put up 44 points in three quarters against Alabama and Nick Saban while winning their second national title in three years.
Clemson dominated the game in every facet as Trevor Lawrence and Justyn Ross proved to be an unstoppable combination against what is widely considered to be the top program in college football.
The scariest part about last night’s performance for the rest of the country? Lawrence and Ross are just freshmen and will play for the Tigers for at least the next two years before leaving for the NFL.
Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns against the Crimson Tide, while Ross caught six passes for 153 yards and a score.
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ACC Football Rx: Way Too Early 2019 Preseason Polls (RX; HM)
Here is a compilation of 6 of the most well-respected "way too early" preseason polls:*
Rank SI Athlon BR NCAA SportsDay ESPN
1 Clemson Alabama Clemson Clemson Alabama Clemson
2 Alabama Clemson Alabama Alabama Clemson Alabama
3 Georgia Georgia Georgia Ohio St Georgia Georgia
4 Ohio St Oklahoma Ohio State Georgia Oklahoma Ohio St
5 Notre Dame Ohio St Texas Oklahoma Ohio St Notre Dame
6 Oklahoma Texas Oklahoma Texas Florida Oklahoma
7 Michigan Florida LSU Michigan Michigan Florida
8 Texas Michigan Michigan LSU LSU Texas
9 Florida LSU Texas AM Notre Dame Texas Texas AM
10 Oregon Texas AM Notre Dame Texas AM Notre Dame LSU
11 Texas AM Notre Dame Washington Oregon Texas AM Michigan
12 Washington Oregon Florida Florida Washington Oregon
13 LSU Penn St UCF Penn St Oregon Wash St
14 Penn St Washington Penn State Wisconsin Penn St UCF
15 Utah UCF Wisconsin UCF UCF Syracuse
16 UCF Utah Auburn Washington Iowa Washington
17 Wisconsin Iowa Oregon Auburn Wisconsin Penn St
18 Iowa Wisconsin Utah Wash St Utah Utah
19 Auburn Nebraska Wash St Utah Iowa St N'western
20 N'western Missouri Iowa Stanford Missouri Iowa St
21 Iowa St Va Tech Va Tech Va Tech Auburn Wisconsin
22 Army Iowa St N'western Iowas Wash St Missouri
23 Mich St Auburn Baylor Missouri N'western Auburn
24 Missouri N'western Missouri N'western Syracuse Nebraska
25 Va Tech Wash St Nebraska Nebraska Army Army
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ACC Football Rx: GUEST ARTICLE: Dreaming big about the ACC network. (RX; HM)
First, some statistics:
US households 2018 126.22 million
ESPN households 86 million
SEC Network Households 70 million
Percentage of US Households with ESPN 68.13%
Total Households in the SEC footprint - 11 States
Texas 9.62
Florida 7.69
Georgia 3.75
Tennessee 2.59
Missouri 2.38
South Carolina 1.91
Alabama 1.84
Louisiana 1.74
Kentucky 1.73
Arkansas 1.15
Mississippi 1.09
Total Households in SEC Footprint =35.49
68.13% of 35.49 million households is 24.18.
The SEC network has 24.17 million in market Subscribers if the National ratio of ESPN households holds true in each SEC footprint state. Which means...
70 million SEC network Households – 24.18 million SEC Footprint Households = 45.82 million Out of market households
24.18 mil x $1.30 + 45.82 mil x $.25 = 43 million per month in subscriber fees.
Or 516 million per year.
Per Al.com the SEC network generates 545 million in subscriber fees
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ACC Football Rx: Tweets - 1/9/18 (RX; HM)
For all the Alabama/SEC hype, these teams are equals...
Barrett Sallee
✔
@BarrettSallee
Since 2013:
Nick Saban: 78 wins, two national championships
Dabo Swinney: 76 wins, two national championships
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12:00 PM - Jan 8, 2019
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What's more Bama should beware of those ACC teams; look at who gave them their last 28+ beat down...
Stats By STATS
@StatsBySTATS
With tonight's win, @ClemsonFB is the...
First major college football team to finish 15-0 since Penn in 1897
First team to beat Alabama by 28+ points since Virginia Tech in 1998
First team to win a national title game by 28+ points since Alabama 6 years ago today
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Other
Storm warning for Central NY as winter returns with a vengeance (PS; Coin)
In case you were wondering when winter would return to Central New York this season, here’s your answer: Today.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, the highest level of alert, as Upstate New York’s lake effect machine kicks into high gear.
“Heavy lake effect snow (is) expected,” the weather service said.
Winds will gust and temperatures will fall, creating below-zero wind chills by the end of the week.
Today’s snowfall in Central New York will be manageable, with about 1 to 3 inches falling through mid-afternoon. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph, however, will blow around that light snow, making it hard to see.
The snowfall starts to increase late this afternoon, though, just in time for the drive home. Another 4 to 10 inches could fall in Cayuga, Madison and Onondaga counties through Thursday evening. The winter storm warning is in effect from 4 p.m. today through 7 p.m. Thursday.
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