Orangeyes Daily Articles for Thursday for Football

[sutomcat]

Welcome to Hell is Freezing Over Day!

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, it's the dead of winter, so it seems more likely that hell would freeze over now than at any other time. This is not necessarily a fun holiday, as on it you are supposed to do all the things you said you wouldn't do until hell freezes over.

"Not until hell freezes over" is an idiom of improbability from the early twentieth century, which stemmed from the belief that hell is a very hot place, and thus will never freeze over. There are many variations on the phrase, such as "It will be a cold day in hell when…" and "There's not a snowball's chance in hell…" Well, the unlikely occurred, hell has frozen over. Get bundled up and ready to celebrate.

Hell is Freezing Over Day is being observed today! It has always been observed annually on January 31st.

SU News

Syracuse became a perfect fit for St. Joseph QB David Summers (gametimect.com; Bowley)

St. Joseph’s David Summers wanted to get the whole recruiting business done before his senior season.

He thought he’d found the perfect fit in Maryland, so the quarterback verbally committed there in late May, thankful that he could focus on winning another state title with St. Joseph and not on recruiting in the fall.

But when Maryland’s football program descended into turmoil in the aftermath of offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s death from heatstroke, which ultimately led to head coach D.J. Durkin’s removal before the season, Summers’ best-laid plans began to unravel.

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“It was nice to get my recruiting over with before senior year started,” Summers said on Wednesday. “But it all came back full-circle.”

Maryland hired Mike Locksley from Alabama to take over the program on Dec. 4. Interim coach Matt Canada, who’d recruited Summers and was one of the primary reasons for Summers’ commitment, left the program.

Suddenly, Summers wasn’t feeling it from Maryland anymore.

“I talked to the new coaching staff a few times, but as we got closer and closer to signing day it kind of cooled off,” Summers said. “I realized it wasn’t as good a relationship.”
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ACC Football Rx: Syracuse 2019 Homecoming Opponent: Clemson (RX; HM)

Syracuse moves Homecoming weekend around Clemson football game
There’s a new tag for Syracuse football’s highly anticipated matchup against the defending national champion Clemson Tigers on Sept. 14: Homecoming weekend.

The university announced on Twitter its Orange Central Weekend, commonly referred to as Homecoming, will be held around the weekend of the Clemson game.
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Syracuse Alumni
✔
@SUAlums
ORANGE CENTRAL 2019 IS SEPTEMBER 12-15, 2019!
The BIGGEST game of the football season & the BEST time to visit campus, together in one amazing weekend!
Watch @cusefootball clash with Clemson and enjoy dozens of great programs while you're here! http://cc.syr.edu/OC19savethedate

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3:46 PM - Jan 29, 2019
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Schools traditionally tag lighter opponents for this distinction in an effort to ensure returning alumni have something to cheer for and leave the stadium feeling good about their school. The game is typically one of Syracuse football’s biggest draws of the season, as the weekend includes other events and activities to bring alums back to campus.

The Syracuse-Clemson game on Sept. 14 likely will attract the largest crowd of the season -- regardless of the Homecoming distinction. Clemson is the defending national champion and king of the ACC. Syracuse finished second in the conference last year to the Tigers, losing a close, 27-23 game at Clemson last fall. The Orange upset Clemson in the Carrier Dome in 2017, the last time the Tigers visited the Dome.

Homecoming had previously been slated for the weekend around the Sept. 28 game against Holy Cross. The move to change dates could be seen as another step to appeal to ESPN’s College GameDay as the university tries to position itself as a first-time on-campus host for the popular college football pregame show. An announcement on whether the show will broadcast from Syracuse won’t come until the week before the game.

Syracuse coach Dino Babers will probably find a little humor in the decision to have Clemson be his team’s Homecoming opponent. Babers is well-aware Homecoming weekends are typically reserved for lesser opponents. He noted his team was Boston College’s Homecoming opponent in 2016. The Orange left BC that afternoon with a victory.
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Baldwinsville's Bruce Warwick's 10-year run with Rams takes him to Super Bowl 53 (PS; Mink)

His job has taken him to the highest and most prestigious levels of football, be it the richest conference in college football or the Frozen Tundra of the NFL.

Now, nearly 30 years in to a journey that started in Baldwinsville, Bruce Warwick is in the Super Bowl.

Warwick, a 1985 graduate of C.W. Baker High School, is the director of football operations/facilities for the Los Angeles Rams. He started his career with Syracuse football in 1991 and worked in the ACC, SEC and NFL all before landing a job with the St. Louis Rams, the organization he has been with since 2009 -- and helped move in 2016.

Through it all, he never forgot about his home when helping others break into the industry.

"I try to be very loyal to Syracuse and my high school," Warwick said in a phone interview Monday from Atlanta, site of the Super Bowl between the Rams and Patriots.

"When I go to pick people, I go back to Central New York."

Warwick hired Dan O'Brien as a football operations intern this season. O'Brien, who recently worked in the Syracuse football equipment office, is with the team at the Super Bowl.

Warwick also hired former Baldwinsville student Cole Peters as an intern during training camp last summer. Peters plays lacrosse at St. Joe's in Philadelphia.

In his third decade in the football operations industry, Warwick is a part of Super Bowl Week for the first time in his career. His workload away from Los Angeles typically means travel schedules and training camp logistics.

The Super Bowl?

"Well," he said, "it's a little different."
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ACC Football: Top 5 recruiting targets for National Signing Day (saturdayblitz.com; Oglesby)

With National Singing Day around the corner, there are still plenty of high-level recruits looking to commit to play somewhere among the ranks of ACC football.
Many teams in the ACC—including North Carolina, N.C. State, Syracuse, Boston College, and Louisville—rely more heavily on development than elite recruiting to win. Take for instance Bradley Chubb, a three-star prospect out of Georgia, who the Wolfpack molded into a first-round draft pick.

Under new head coach Mack Brown, North Carolina landed a big-time quarterback in Sam Howell, who flipped from Florida State during the Early Signing Period. But aside from that, ACC recruiting battles mostly come down to the conference’s traditional powerhouses: Florida State, Miami, Clemson, and Virginia Tech.

Clemson is on a different level than any program in the country not named Alabama. The national championship-winning Tigers bagged most of their recruits during the Early Signing Period, which comes as no surprise.
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College football's easiest 2019 schedules for contenders (247sports.com; Crawford)

What did Nick Saban do to deserve such a blessing from college football's scheduling gods?

For those growing tired with lack of parity at the end of the season, turn away. A few of the nation's best already have quite the advantage ahead of the 2019 season after combing through their prospective journeys to the postseason.

We ranked college football's toughest schedules for contenders earlier this week, teams we consider to be realistically involved in the Playoff picture. The one caveat to be included on this list is we're only selecting from a team pool we believe will be ranked inside the preseason Top 25 and could be in the national title picture. So, for a program, like South Carolina, which faces one of the most daunting slates in college football next fall, the Gamecocks were excluded from consideration since they're not a serious threat in the SEC as a nationally-ranked team.

That also excludes UCF who, even if the Knights finish unbeaten with Power 5 wins over Stanford and Pitt, won't have a strong enough strength of schedule to be in final four consideration. The selection committee has already proved its current Playoff system is a Power 5-only bracket.

Anyway, here are the nation's five most favorable schedules for national title contenders next season:

5. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE


2019 schedule: Duke (Atlanta); New Mexico State; at South Carolina; Southern Miss; Ole Miss; at Texas A&M; Tennessee; Arkansas; LSU; at Mississippi State; Western Carolina; at Auburn

Games against preseason Top 25 teams: 4

Why they're on the list: Are we crazy for putting a team within college football's toughest division here? When you dig deeper, the answer is no. The defending SEC champions are facing their most favorable regular-season schedule in a decade, when you weigh Alabama's roster vs. others on the slate. The four non-conference matchups are laughers while the Crimson Tide will also miss the three best teams on the East side of the SEC — Georgia, Florida and Mizzou.

Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn are ranked inside our preseason Top 25, but how many of those teams is Alabama worried about in 2019? Mississippi State replaces its three best players, LSU hasn't beaten the Crimson Tide in eight years and Texas A&M is still a year away from making real noise as a division-title contender. That leaves one game, the Iron Bowl, as the one to circle. Alabama should be favored by double-digits in every game and while that speaks to oddsmakers' confidence in Nick Saban, it also shows just how wide the gap is between the Crimson Tide and every other SEC team not named Georgia.
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ACC Football must realign divisions after 2018 season debacle (chopchat.com; Parker)

The two divisions for ACC football proved to be a joke this season and something must be done soon to change things up and make things competitive.

It was all set come Saturday night for the ACC football world: with Clemson dominating the conference’s title game over Pittsburgh, the Tigers were going to be heading to the College Football Playoff (making the ACC and SEC the only Power Five conferences to go each season) as Clemson became the first team since FSU football (1992-2000) to win four straight ACC crowns.

But, as the Tigers were being amend one of the four teams Sunday afternoon to the playoff system, it was the criticism of the fact that they beat a Panthers team who now has six losses on their resume for the season – the worst record of any team to make it to a Power Five conference title game this season.

For over a decade from the time that the Seminoles joined the ACC football world in the 1992 season until expansion took place starting in 2004, the conference was fighting the battle of being a basketball conference trying to play football – many times, it was considered FSU and the eight dwarfs for the way the Noles would dominate during our dynasty era (two losses in nine years).

Once Virginia Tech joined and won some titles, FSU football got back to being dominant and Clemson became a power program, ACC football was considered by some to maybe even be better than the vaunted SEC when it came to the best conference.

All that went out the window this season with the Tigers being a nearly four touchdown favorite in the title game over a Panthers team that had five losses even before landing in Charlotte.
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TheSabre.com (sportswar.com; Cavastic)

From a mailbag in the Athletic. Sadly no mention of the Hoos but he does discuss Tech (whom I like a little more today now that I have learned of the supportive uncle):

Question: "Outside of Clemson, the ACC is struggling. Traditional powers Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech combined to go 18-20 last season. Clemson, meanwhile, has won 34 of its last 36 ACC games. Will we ever see a time when Clemson, Miami, FSU, and VT are all highly ranked and competing for a Playoff spot (or two)? Based on history, the potential is there. As a Clemson fan, it was fun to hate FSU in the ’90s, and I’d love to have a reason to hate them, or the others, again.

Answer: Boy, this sport changes on you in a hurry. Who would have guessed as recently as 2014 that a Clemson fan would be waiting on Florida State to get its act together? Also, as recently as 2016 — just two football seasons ago — nearly every available set of data said the ACC was the best conference in the country.

Where have you gone, Lamar Jackson and Mitch Trubisky?

Of those three other powers, I have the most faith in Miami to get its act together. I’m a big Manny Diaz believer, but also, the ’Canes are only one season removed from 10-0 and sold-out prime-time games. Mark Richt bungled last season as badly as is humanly possible, but there still are pieces there. And Diaz is busily manning that Transfer Portal. If he can just get himself a good, immediately eligible quarterback, Miami could be right back in business.

Meanwhile, history says Florida State won’t be down for long, but, man, Willie Taggart’s first season did not exactly inspire confidence. The biggest reason for optimism is the arrival of $1 million offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, whose impact on FAU and Houston the past two seasons was undeniable. The question is whether FSU can get its offensive line in decent enough shape for him to take advantage.
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Launch of ACC Network set for summer – The North State Journal (nsjonline.com; Friedlander)

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Expected cash influx

Though exact figures will depend on distribution deals between ESPN’s parent company Disney and cable providers to carry the channel, conference officials are counting on the new linear ACC Network to provide a financial windfall that will bring the conference’s income more in line with that of the SEC, Big Ten and Pac 12 — leagues that already have their own dedicated networks.

According to published figures, the SEC’s television revenue increased from $210.4 million in 2013, the final fiscal year without its own network, to $311.8 million following the network’s debut. By 2016-17, the revenue stream had increased to $409.1 million — leading to a payout of approximately $41 million per school.

By contrast, the ACC distributed an average of $26.6 million per school in 2017.

Swofford has steered clear of talking about finances, especially those associated with the ACC Network. But athletic directors such as NC State’s Debbie Yow have made little secret that they’re counting on the new network to be a significant moneymaker for their respective programs.

“The single most important thing for the future of this athletic program financially is the success of the ACC Network, without question,” Yow said last August. “We have to have it just like the SEC and the Big Ten did.”

Doughty College Notebook: Corrigan back in ACC hierarchy (roanoke.com; Doughty)

One of the most recognizable names in ACC sports administration is back in the news with Wednesday’s announcement that Boo Corrigan has been named North Carolina State’s new athletic director.

Corrigan, who has been the athletic director at Army for the past eight years, is the son of former ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan, who also was the athletic director at Washington and Lee, Virginia and Notre Dame.

Boo Corrigan, who grew up in Charlottesville, was one of three finalists for the athletic director’s job at Virginia before Carla Williams was chosen to succeed Craig Littlepage, who retired in the fall of 2017.

Boo Corrigan was named athletic director of the year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics in 2017.

“Boo Corrigan is the best athletic director in the country,” Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, the retired U.S. Military Academy superintendent, said in an N.C. State news release. “He is a tremendous team player, understands what it takes to win and what it takes to win honorably.”
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ACC Football Rx: Letter: Clemson at BC, 1942 (RX; HM)

The game was played at Fenway Park. BC played a weak schedule that avoided Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Army and Notre Dame.

MSTiger pointed out this photo of a letter from then Clemson Head Football Coach Frank Howard to the Clemson booster club IPTAY. In it he discusses the Tigers' recent trip to Boston College - in 1942.


ACC Football Rx: Large increase in 2019 GT season ticket sales (RX; HM)

From AJC: Sharp Increase for Georgia Tech season ticket sales
The renewed interest in Georgia Tech spurred by the hire of coach Geoff Collins translated into financial commitment Monday, the day that season tickets went on sale.

Season-ticket sales were 81 percent higher than last year’s first day of sales. Further, 20 percent of the sales were from purchasers who had not held season tickets in the 2018 season...

Undoubtedly, a reduction in price also boosted sales. The least expensive sideline season ticket this season is $300, which is $50 less than last season and the lowest pricing since the 2014 season. The price was dropped despite the fact that Tech plays seven home games this season as opposed to six in 2018, and one is against archrival Georgia. The least expensive season ticket in Bobby Dodd Stadium, the “gold zone” seats in the upper North section, are $219, the same price as last year.

However, Collins’ hire and his efforts to engage the fan base seem to be the primary driver. Castle said that the ticket office took $100 deposits from about 600 fans before the opening of season-ticket sales even before the pricing was announced.
Note to GT Athletic Director: that price reduction probably wasn't necessary.

This year's home schedule for the Yellow Jackets includes:
USF
The Citadel (FCS)
UNC
Pitt
Virginia Tech
NC State
Georgia
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ACC Football Rx: Declining number of FSU donors, 2016-18 (RX; HM)

Excellent post on All Things FSU about declining booster club membership at Florida State. If you want a deep-dive into the issues facing FSU athletics, this isn't a bad place to start.

Donations are holding - which tells you the biggest donors are sticking around - but it's the $60 to $325 folks (i.e. season ticket donors) who aren't renewing. The articles (plural!) go into why, but the biggest reason (some believe) is difficulty scheduling attractive non-conference home games.

According to my research, these are all of the marquee non-conference games played in Doak-Campbell Stadium from 1998-2018 (except for Florida and Notre Dame):

Date Opponent (record) Result Score
10/21/1989 Auburn (10-2) W 22-14
11/4/1989 South Carolina (6-4-1) W 35-10
10/27/1990 Louisiana State (5-6) W 42-3
11/9/1991 South Carolina (3-6-2) W 38-10
9/26/1998 Southern California (8-5) W 30-10
9/20/2003 Colorado (5-7) W 47-7
9/17/2011 Oklahoma (10-3) L 13-23

As you can see, the Seminoles were not very hospitable to these guests, going a combined 6-1 against this combination of SEC, Pac-12 and Big XII opponents (NOTE: No Big Ten team has played a single away game in Tallahassee during that time period).

Oh, sure, the Noles have had some excellent neutral-site match-ups (they just played Alabama in 2017) as well as bowl match-ups... but if it wasn't for the rivalry game with Florida and the scheduling agreement with Notre Dame, FSU would hardly ever get any top teams to come to Doak - and that hurts season ticket sales (and the numbers of small donors that buy them).

Of course, Florida State isn't the only ACC team which finds it difficult to get good home games. Look at Boston College - they may have an even more difficult time because, while the Eagles are good enough to beat you (especially in Chestnut Hill), they don't carry the national name that makes it worth the risk to schedule them (something FSU has had going for it in recent decades). What has BC done?

For one thing, BC has scheduled lots of local G5-type opponents - teams like UMass, UConn, Army and Temple. Local fans want to see those games almost as much as a marquee match-up against a P5 team that might have no history with the school. Of course, the Eagles continue to try to schedule P5 non-conference home-and-home series, too, and they've gotten a few - Northwestern (2011), USC (2014) - and there are more on the schedule:
Kansas (2019)
Purdue (2020)
Missouri (2021)
Rutgers (2022)
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Other

Restaurant slated to open in former Quaker Steak & Lube gets new name (PS; Doran)

Work is continuing on a new eatery planned in what was formerly the Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant in Van Buren.

Quaker Steak & Lube, which closed in 2014, is being turned into a sports bar/restaurant by well-known Syracuse-area developer James Ranalli, who also owns and is chief executive officer of United Auto Supply in Syracuse.

Ranalli purchased the building at 3535 Walters Road last year, and is in the midst of renovations.
Originally, Ranalli planned to call the new eatery Strada Mia Sports Bar & Restaurant, but he’s now decided to call it Jammer’s Sports Bar & Restaurant, a name suggested by a friend. The targeted opening date is mid-March.

Ranalli currently owns the Strada Mia restaurant at 313 N. Geddes St. in Syracuse, which has been in operation for nearly five years.

Jammer’s will have 36 televisions and two bars in the 9,000-square-foot space, along with space for banquets and private parties. Menu items will range from chicken wings and grilled cheese to Porterhouse steaks and sauteed entrees and more.
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Ranalli has experience redeveloping vacant properties, particularly on the west and south sides of Syracuse. His projects include turning the former Marsellus Casket Co. factory into high-end apartments and headquarters for American Medical Response ambulance service; and turning the former Sam Dell Dodge dealership on West Genesee Street into a retail center.
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[sutomcat]

Dontez Ford. Sigh.