sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day!
National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day celebrates these small, flying beings, and is for appreciating them, learning about them, spreading awareness about them, and viewing them in person.
There are about 20,000 species of butterflies—some sources say there are 17,500, while some say there are as many 24,000. There are about 750 species found in the United States, where the white cabbage butterfly is the most prevalent. The life cycle of a butterfly begins when eggs are laid on leaves, which hatch into larvae known as caterpillars. They eat the leaves and flowers of the plant they are on, and grow in size while shedding their skin multiple times. They then turn into a pupa, or chrysalis, and then into a butterfly.
SU News
Tight End Position Starting to Yield Fruit for Orange - The Juice Online (the juice; Auger)
Tight end seems to be the latest trick Dino Babers has pulled out of his magic Orange hat if the past two games are any indication.
With the Tommy DeVito era in full swing, Babers and his staff have stockpiled talent at the skill positions. And it shows.
Looking to march down the field in the 2-minute drill or take chunk plays to the endzone? Trishton Jackson, Taj Harris, Sean Riley, Nykeim Johnson are DeVito’s targets.
Need to ground and pound before ripping off a long run? Moe Neal, Abdul Adams, and Jarveon Howard give Syracuse a steady diet of power and speed with the rock in their hands.
The Orange is set to embark on the bulk of its ACC slate beginning at NC State, now that the Clemson debacle is behind them. And Syracuse’s tight ends are starting to make their mark too.
Aaron Hackett
The Venice, FL product is in his third season. Hackett played mostly on special teams his freshman season before playing in all 13 games as a sophomore. He finished last year with 43 yards on four receptions and a single touchdown.
The junior already has 12 catches for 101 yards and three scores through five games this season; two against Western Michigan and a third last week versus Holy Cross.
Luke Benson
A true freshman, Benson caught two balls for 26 yards in the loss to Clemson. But it was last Saturday against Holy Cross that the Pennsylvania native introduced himself to the Orange faithful with a 70-yard catch and run that didn’t stop until he scored his first collegiate touchdown.
Benson showed some serious wheels as he pulled away from the defenders on his way to the endzone. Granted, he blew the doors off Holy Cross defensive backs. ACC-level secondaries will provide a stiffer challenge. But, speed is speed.
...
Luke Benson
4 Syracuse football backups who made a case for more time vs. Holy Cross (what we learned) (PS; Bailey)
Another week. Another weird game.
That's what happens when a Power-Five team plays a Football Championship Subdivision opponent in Week 5. And it makes it difficult to draw too many significant takeaways. Syracuse is still largely a program that will be defined by the four-game stretch that starts at N.C. State on Oct. 10.
But the game did mark another opportunity to assess the offensive line. It tacked on a Tommy DeVito injury to the list of offensive concerns. And we saw reserves earn a chance to impress the coaching staff in live action. Some did. Will they see a larger snap share after the bye week?
Let's dive in with that group.
1. Mikel Jones
Most of the Orange players look dominant on Saturday, as they should against an inferior opponent. They moved differently, hit differently and won their matchups at a high rate.
Jones appeared squarely in that camp. The first-year linebacker has started to progress in his development and looked more confident in his decision making after the snap.
He made a tackle in space holding the edge early in the second quarter, timed out a blitz perfectly early in the fourth to help force a fumble and disrupted an RPO so early that the quarterback had no choice by to keep the ball and be tackled by Drew Tuazama near the line of scrimmage.
At the very least, Jones is locked in as the third 'backer on in 4-3 sets, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him take the occasional drive in place of first-team weak-side linebacker Andrew Armstrong.
2. Patrick Davis
A junior who performed well in a brief appearance versus Western Michigan, Davis came on for Ryan Alexander at right tackle in the fourth quarter.
Again, he appeared to hold his own and logged a couple highlights in the run game. Davis landed a key block on freshman Jawhar Jordan's 4th-and-6 run that sprung well past the first-down marker before Jordan fumbled. And he pancaked 245-pound defensive lineman Kevin Bucceroni on another handoff.
How far is the void between Davis and the starting tackles -- Alexander and Carlos Vettorello? It's hard to say without having the large sample size of practice reps that the coaches have stockpiled. But with a bye week coming up, he's a candidate to see more time on a unit that has struggled mightily through five weeks.
...
Orange Watch: Syracuse football has the top two kicking specialists in the country - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: There is not a better dynamic duo when it comes to the kicking game; kickoffs, field goals, PATs and punting, than the Orange’s reining Lou Groza Award winner Andre Szmyt and this week’s second leading punter in total yardage nationally in the FBS ranks Sterling Hofrichter. With the rich tradition in quality kickers/punters that have worn orange in the Post World War II era (1949-present), that is another tip of the hat to what the Dino Babers regime has brought to the program.
“Our punter is an NFL punter, write it down.” – Baber’s instruction to the four-deep crowd of media surrounding his table at the ACC Kickoff event this past July.
After five games heading into the first of two open weeks this season (a 14 week calendar to play 12 games), Hofrichter is certainly backing up his coach’s well-educated prediction. Monday he was named the ACC Specialist of the Week for the second time in three weeks following a masterful performance in the 41-3 blitz of FCS foe Holy Cross last weekend in the Dome.
Not only did the senior Floridian supply his usual trajectory and hang time with each of his five boots against the Crusaders, finishing with an all important net average of 42 yards per punt, with four of the five kicks downed inside the 20-yard line, three for HC fair catches, but he also showed off his strong leg other than with his kickoffs.
» Related: DeVito throws four touchdowns before exiting in Syracuse win
Hofrichter blasted a 52 yard field goal well into the net behind the west end zone goalposts in the first quarter to up the SU lead to 17-0, his first field goal since 2017, and his three phases of All American kicking was showcased in front of his Groza award-winning teammate Szmyt who was cheering him on from the sideline.
On the preseason Watch List and on course to likely to be one of the Finalists for the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter, Hofrichter also joined select ‘Cuse company last week by eclipsing 10,000 career punting yards along with great punters of the past Brendan Carney (2003-06), Rob Long (2007-2010) and Mike Shafer (1999, 2000-02).
For his part, sophomore Szmyt also moved up on the school scoring list with his five extra points against Holy Cross passing Dave Jacobs (1975-78) for the sixth spot with 78 PATs and he’s made all but one of his 79 attempts, passing Jacobs and Bob Kolser (1949, 1950-51) on the career list (Nate Trout is the career leader with 195 PAT attempts from 1996-99).
Sterling and Szmyt and the “S” word ‘specialists’ accurately describe the best kicking game in the country.
Syracuse Football: Top 4 players who should redshirt in 2019 (itlh; Esden Jr)
Syracuse football has some critical decisions to make in 2019. Here are the top 4 players they should redshirt and save for the future.
Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the 2019 Syracuse football season. Through five weeks of play, the Orange is 3-2 with one disappointing loss but somewhat expected to Clemson and then an embarrassing loss on the road to Maryland that no one saw coming in Week 2.
In Week 6 the Orange will enjoy a much-deserved bye week before starting their conference schedule in earnest vs the NC State Wolfpack on the road on Thursday Night Football on October 10.
Although before they get there they have a lot of critical decisions to make for the future. One of the biggest questions revolves around the relatively new redshirt rule in college football.
In the past when a football player played in a game he would burn his redshirt, but finally the college football powers that be decided to change it up.
Now players are allowed to play in up to four games and still qualify for a ‘redshirt’ season. Which means that those players would maintain four years of eligibility and would also gain invaluable playing experience.
With that being said here are four Syracuse football players that the Orange should strongly consider redshirting in 2019 and thus saving them for the future.
Drew Tuazama, DL
What’s scary is he is a freakish athlete on the defensive line (recorded 12 sacks in high school) and he also has played the tight end position (caught 33 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns in three years for Knightdale, per Cuse.com).
Since he has only appeared in one game so far in 2019, he can still play up to three more games before he’s forced to burn a redshirt for this season.
Syracuse has incredible depth on the defensive line led by their pair of senior stalwarts Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson. With so much talent, the Orange would be best served to save Drew for the future.
Imagine Tuazama getting bigger, faster, and stronger this college football season and another full offseason before taking off in 2020. That is too tantalizing to waste in 2019.
...
Clemson Football: Assessing Travis Etienne’s midseason performance (rubbingtherock.com; Spencer)
for gbo
Clemson football RB Travis Etienne had an explosive performance against Georgia Tech and has since cooled off. Here’s our midseason assessment.
We’re already at the mid-point of the 2019 Clemson football season.
Though the Tigers still technically have one more game to play before the halfway point of the regular season, the bye week essentially cuts the season in half. Through the first part of the season, Clemson football is 5-0 and still ranked inside the top-two in the nation by both major polls.
Many national analysts have dropped the Tigers in their rankings, but it’s clear that Clemson football is a definite playoff contender heading into the second half of the season.
After going back and watching film, here’s our assessment of Clemson RB Travis Etienne and the job he has done to this point.
Travis Etienne: Midseason 2019 Assessment
Through the first five games of the season, Etienne has 67 carries for 462 yards (6.9 YPC) and five touchdowns. He also has 10 catches for 90 yards in the passing game.
Etienne exploded onto the scene to begin the year, rushing for 205 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns against Georgia Tech. Since then, he hasn’t been near as effective on the ground.
...
The ACC in SP+, Week 6: Virginia Tech died so that Duke might move up (backingthepack.com; Muma)
Okay, who’s ready to poke around this pile of crap we call a football conference with a stick? Let’s see what we can find if we move some of this crap over to the side. Hmm, it appears to be yet more crap. Oh well.
Also, um:
ACC Standings by SP+ Rating
TeamWk 6 SP+ Rtg (Rank)SP+ Rank ChangeOffense RankDefense Rank
...
ACC Predictions, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 6 (CFN; Staff)
Click on each game for game preview & prediction
Boston College at Louisville
12:30 ACC NX | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Louisville -6, o/u: 60.5
Bet on BC vs. UofL with BetMGM, or for latest line
Virginia Tech at Miami
3:30 ESPN | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Miami -13.5, o/u: 47.5
Bet on VT vs. Miami with BetMGM, or for latest line
4:00 | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Georgia Tech -10.5, o/u: 48.5
Bet on UNC vs. GT with BetMGM, or for latest line
Pitt at Duke
8:00 ACC Network | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Duke -4.5, o/u: 48.5
Bet on Pitt vs. Duke with BetMGM, or for latest line
Pittsburgh-Duke matchup headlines ACC’s 6th week (tucson.com; AP)
Here are things to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Week 6:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Pittsburgh at Duke. The Panthers’ visit to surging Duke — the only matchup of ACC teams with winning records — shapes up as the most attractive matchup on a light schedule that includes just three other games. Pitt (3-2, 0-1) has won four straight in the series and last year claimed a wild 54-45 victory over the Blue Devils (3-1, 1-0). Duke has been dominant in a three-game winning streak, with an average margin of victory of 30 points, and is coming off a 45-10 romp at Virginia Tech.
BEST MATCHUP
Boston College and RB AJ Dillon vs. Louisville’s run defense. Dillon averages an ACC-best 125.4 yards rushing and has three straight 150-yard performances, most recently rushing for a season-high 159 yards against Wake Forest. The Cardinals (2-2, 0-1) have held their last three opponents to 140 yards rushing or fewer after surrendering 230 yards on the ground in the opening loss to Notre Dame.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
No. 22 Wake Forest is the 11th ACC team to earn a spot in the AP Top 25 since the start of the 2018 season — the most of any conference. The Demon Deacons’ entrance into the poll — their first ranking since 2008 — came three weeks after No. 23 Virginia cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season. The only ACC schools that have not appeared in the poll during the past two seasons are Louisville (last ranked in 2017), North Carolina (2016) and Georgia Tech (2015).
Maybe Georgia Tech can catch North Carolina on a letdown. The Yellow Jackets are 10-point home underdogs to a Tar Heels team that fell a two-point conversion short of potentially knocking off Clemson — and still knocking the Tigers from the top spot in the poll. The rebuild has not exactly been smooth for new Tech coach Geoff Collins, whose only victory has been against a South Florida team that hasn’t beaten a Bowl Subdivision opponent in more than 11 months.
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ACC schools see benefit in adding ex-coaches as advisers :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com; AP)
Some of the most experienced head coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference aren’t exactly coaches anymore.
Three schools — North Carolina, Florida State and Virginia Tech — have hired former head coaches to advisory or analytical positions in the past 10 months, providing an additional voice of experience for the programs while giving the ex-coaches a way to stay involved in the sport without having to do any on-field coaching or recruiting.
“I’m not the head coach, and there isn’t anything better than that — not being head coach,” quipped Jerry Kill, the newest addition to the Hokies’ staff.
Kill, Sparky Woods and Jim Leavitt combined for 44 seasons as Division I head coaches before taking their wordy new titles. Leavitt is the Seminoles’ quality control analyst. Kill is a special assistant to Tech coach Justin Fuente. And Woods is the senior adviser to Mack Brown at UNC.
“Being a head coach, I realize that his position is a lonely one at times,” said Woods, the former head man at South Carolina, Appalachian State and VMI. He said that former head coaches “see (the big picture) more clearly than people who haven’t done it.”
The ACC schools seem to be following the lead of Nick Saban and Alabama. Among the dozen men listed as football analysts on the Tide’s website are former Tennessee coach Butch Jones and ex-Houston coach Major Applewhite.
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Duke football seeks revenge against reigning ACC Coastal champion Pittsburgh (dukechronicle.com; Kolin)
Last October, Duke was on the short end of a 54-45 shootout in Pittsburgh, a loss that virtually eliminated any hopes of an ACC championship game appearance.
Now, the Blue Devils have their shot at revenge.
Duke returns home to take on the Panthers Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium, the team’s first home game since Sept. 7. The Blue Devils haven’t beaten Pittsburgh since 2014, but head coach David Cutcliffe believes a new season can help turn around those struggles.
“There’s a reason they were Coastal Division champions a year ago and this team is much like the team they had a year ago. I can’t say enough about their program. We haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be against them, but this is this year, a new opportunity and we’re happy to be back home.”
The biggest matchup to watch out for is Duke’s offensive line against the Panthers’ defensive line. Pittsburgh (3-2, 0-1 in the ACC) ranks second in the country this season at 4.8 sacks per game, with redshirt sophomore Jaylen Twyman and redshirt senior Kylan Johnson leading the way at six and four sacks on the season, respectively.
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Louisville football: Time, TV, important match-ups, predictions vs Boston College (bigredlouie.com; Meyer)
Louisville football faces off against Boston College this Saturday in Cardinal Stadium. Here’s how to watch and what to expect.
Louisville football comes off a bye week out for revenge after a solid comeback but heartbreaking collapse at Florida State in week four.
The Cardinals will play host to a Boston College squad that has beaten them their last two times out and are coming off a close loss to 22nd-ranked Wake Forest.
We take a look at the match-ups to watch and give our predictions for Louisville’s biggest game of the season.
What: Boston College Eagles at Louisville Cardinals
When: Saturday, October 5th, 2019
Where: Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY
Point spread: Louisville -6.5
After opening as 3 point favorites, the Cardinals have seen virtually all of the money come their way. It’s interesting to see given how evenly the two teams figure to match up.
How to Watch: ACC Network
This will be Louisville’s first-ever football game broadcast on the ACC Network. If you don’t have access to ACCN, you have the option to live stream it through the ESPN App on any compatible device.
Players to Watch
AJ Dillon, Boston College RB
There’s not a better player in the ACC than Boston College running back AJ Dillon. Their workhorse, and likely first-round NFL draft pick had his breakout game two years ago in Cardinal Stadium in a shocking upset of the Cardinals.
Now, Dillon looks to replicate that performance and get his team back on track. Dillon is listed at 245-pounds, and he has solid breakaway speed. He is an absolute bear to tackle and finishes every play falling forward.
Louisville’s defense is going to key on Dillon first and foremost.
Rodjay Burns, Louisville LB
The unit tasked with stopping Dillon and Boston College’s versatile rushing attack is Louisville’s undersized linebackers.
If the Cards are going to limit Dillon, they will have to do so as a unit, because Dillon is heavier than every linebacker on Louisville’s roster expected to play on Saturday.
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Why ACCN may be the last conference network (sorry Big XII) (RX; HM)
Why ACCN may be the last conference network (sorry Big XII)
Forbes video: "Why The New ACC Network May Be The Last Of Its Kind"
Still, if it worked this time, why won't there be any more conference networks? The panel tells us in the video that
How will the ACCN affect the college sports financial landscape? Here's where things lie at the moment:
Here's what it could look like if the ACCN starts paying out $8M to $10M per school:
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Future ACC/OOC Update - 10/2/19 (RX; HM)
Future ACC/OOC Update - 10/2/19
Here are snippets of 3 recent articles from FBSchedules:
Youngstown State to play at Pitt in 2024
The Youngstown State Penguins will play the Pitt Panthers... at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA, on September 21, 2024. The Penguins will receive a $450,000 guarantee for the game, according to the copy of the contract.
Pat Narduzzi, the head coach of the Pitt Panthers, played for the Youngstown Penguins for one season in 1985 before he transferred to suit up for Rhode Island.
Youngstown State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), has one win in five attempts against Pitt... their most recent meeting in 2017... 28-21 at Heinz Field.
...The Pitt Panthers now have three non-conference contests scheduled for the 2024 season... at the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sept. 7 and host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sept. 14.
__________
Maine to play at Boston College in 2022
The Maine Black Bears will play at the Boston College Eagles... at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on September 17, 2022. The Black Bears will receive a $400,000 guarantee for playing the game, according to the copy of the contract.
...
JHowell's Picks for 2019 Week 6 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks for 2019 Week 6
Once again I give you the ACC game computer predictions from JHowell's website:
UNC/GT is old school ACC. Miami/VT is old school Big East. Duke/Pitt is just old, old, OLD school football (like 1930's and '40's old).
Other
Syracuse takes next step in plan to remake Pioneer Homes into mixed-income housing (PS; Eisenstadt)
A plan to remake more than 1,000 units of public housing into a mixed income neighborhood is inching forward.
The Syracuse Housing Authority and Blueprint 15, the nonprofit formed to oversee the redevelopment, have chosen McCormack Baron Salazar as the project’s master developer.
This is the group that will work on getting community input and coming up with designs to redevelop Pioneer Homes, McKinney Manor and Central Village. The three public housing projects are all in the East Adams Street neighborhood. Currently, they are split from Syracuse University by I-81, but that will change as the project redesign I-81 moves forward.
Blueprint 15 and the Syracuse Housing Authority also will be working with Purpose Built Communities, a nonprofit that helps engineer neighborhood renewal that goes beyond housing, including schools, daycare and wellness centers.
McCormack Baron Salazar is based in St. Louis-based and specializes in remaking blighted and struggling neighborhoods. It has overseen projects in communities including St. Louis, Akron, San Francisco, New Haven. This would be the first project in New York.
National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day celebrates these small, flying beings, and is for appreciating them, learning about them, spreading awareness about them, and viewing them in person.
There are about 20,000 species of butterflies—some sources say there are 17,500, while some say there are as many 24,000. There are about 750 species found in the United States, where the white cabbage butterfly is the most prevalent. The life cycle of a butterfly begins when eggs are laid on leaves, which hatch into larvae known as caterpillars. They eat the leaves and flowers of the plant they are on, and grow in size while shedding their skin multiple times. They then turn into a pupa, or chrysalis, and then into a butterfly.
SU News
Tight End Position Starting to Yield Fruit for Orange - The Juice Online (the juice; Auger)
Tight end seems to be the latest trick Dino Babers has pulled out of his magic Orange hat if the past two games are any indication.
With the Tommy DeVito era in full swing, Babers and his staff have stockpiled talent at the skill positions. And it shows.
Looking to march down the field in the 2-minute drill or take chunk plays to the endzone? Trishton Jackson, Taj Harris, Sean Riley, Nykeim Johnson are DeVito’s targets.
Need to ground and pound before ripping off a long run? Moe Neal, Abdul Adams, and Jarveon Howard give Syracuse a steady diet of power and speed with the rock in their hands.
The Orange is set to embark on the bulk of its ACC slate beginning at NC State, now that the Clemson debacle is behind them. And Syracuse’s tight ends are starting to make their mark too.
Aaron Hackett
The Venice, FL product is in his third season. Hackett played mostly on special teams his freshman season before playing in all 13 games as a sophomore. He finished last year with 43 yards on four receptions and a single touchdown.
The junior already has 12 catches for 101 yards and three scores through five games this season; two against Western Michigan and a third last week versus Holy Cross.
Luke Benson
A true freshman, Benson caught two balls for 26 yards in the loss to Clemson. But it was last Saturday against Holy Cross that the Pennsylvania native introduced himself to the Orange faithful with a 70-yard catch and run that didn’t stop until he scored his first collegiate touchdown.
Benson showed some serious wheels as he pulled away from the defenders on his way to the endzone. Granted, he blew the doors off Holy Cross defensive backs. ACC-level secondaries will provide a stiffer challenge. But, speed is speed.
...
Luke Benson
4 Syracuse football backups who made a case for more time vs. Holy Cross (what we learned) (PS; Bailey)
Another week. Another weird game.
That's what happens when a Power-Five team plays a Football Championship Subdivision opponent in Week 5. And it makes it difficult to draw too many significant takeaways. Syracuse is still largely a program that will be defined by the four-game stretch that starts at N.C. State on Oct. 10.
But the game did mark another opportunity to assess the offensive line. It tacked on a Tommy DeVito injury to the list of offensive concerns. And we saw reserves earn a chance to impress the coaching staff in live action. Some did. Will they see a larger snap share after the bye week?
Let's dive in with that group.
1. Mikel Jones
Most of the Orange players look dominant on Saturday, as they should against an inferior opponent. They moved differently, hit differently and won their matchups at a high rate.
Jones appeared squarely in that camp. The first-year linebacker has started to progress in his development and looked more confident in his decision making after the snap.
He made a tackle in space holding the edge early in the second quarter, timed out a blitz perfectly early in the fourth to help force a fumble and disrupted an RPO so early that the quarterback had no choice by to keep the ball and be tackled by Drew Tuazama near the line of scrimmage.
At the very least, Jones is locked in as the third 'backer on in 4-3 sets, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him take the occasional drive in place of first-team weak-side linebacker Andrew Armstrong.
2. Patrick Davis
A junior who performed well in a brief appearance versus Western Michigan, Davis came on for Ryan Alexander at right tackle in the fourth quarter.
Again, he appeared to hold his own and logged a couple highlights in the run game. Davis landed a key block on freshman Jawhar Jordan's 4th-and-6 run that sprung well past the first-down marker before Jordan fumbled. And he pancaked 245-pound defensive lineman Kevin Bucceroni on another handoff.
How far is the void between Davis and the starting tackles -- Alexander and Carlos Vettorello? It's hard to say without having the large sample size of practice reps that the coaches have stockpiled. But with a bye week coming up, he's a candidate to see more time on a unit that has struggled mightily through five weeks.
...
Orange Watch: Syracuse football has the top two kicking specialists in the country - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: There is not a better dynamic duo when it comes to the kicking game; kickoffs, field goals, PATs and punting, than the Orange’s reining Lou Groza Award winner Andre Szmyt and this week’s second leading punter in total yardage nationally in the FBS ranks Sterling Hofrichter. With the rich tradition in quality kickers/punters that have worn orange in the Post World War II era (1949-present), that is another tip of the hat to what the Dino Babers regime has brought to the program.
“Our punter is an NFL punter, write it down.” – Baber’s instruction to the four-deep crowd of media surrounding his table at the ACC Kickoff event this past July.
After five games heading into the first of two open weeks this season (a 14 week calendar to play 12 games), Hofrichter is certainly backing up his coach’s well-educated prediction. Monday he was named the ACC Specialist of the Week for the second time in three weeks following a masterful performance in the 41-3 blitz of FCS foe Holy Cross last weekend in the Dome.
Not only did the senior Floridian supply his usual trajectory and hang time with each of his five boots against the Crusaders, finishing with an all important net average of 42 yards per punt, with four of the five kicks downed inside the 20-yard line, three for HC fair catches, but he also showed off his strong leg other than with his kickoffs.
» Related: DeVito throws four touchdowns before exiting in Syracuse win
Hofrichter blasted a 52 yard field goal well into the net behind the west end zone goalposts in the first quarter to up the SU lead to 17-0, his first field goal since 2017, and his three phases of All American kicking was showcased in front of his Groza award-winning teammate Szmyt who was cheering him on from the sideline.
On the preseason Watch List and on course to likely to be one of the Finalists for the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter, Hofrichter also joined select ‘Cuse company last week by eclipsing 10,000 career punting yards along with great punters of the past Brendan Carney (2003-06), Rob Long (2007-2010) and Mike Shafer (1999, 2000-02).
For his part, sophomore Szmyt also moved up on the school scoring list with his five extra points against Holy Cross passing Dave Jacobs (1975-78) for the sixth spot with 78 PATs and he’s made all but one of his 79 attempts, passing Jacobs and Bob Kolser (1949, 1950-51) on the career list (Nate Trout is the career leader with 195 PAT attempts from 1996-99).
Sterling and Szmyt and the “S” word ‘specialists’ accurately describe the best kicking game in the country.
Syracuse Football: Top 4 players who should redshirt in 2019 (itlh; Esden Jr)
Syracuse football has some critical decisions to make in 2019. Here are the top 4 players they should redshirt and save for the future.
Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the 2019 Syracuse football season. Through five weeks of play, the Orange is 3-2 with one disappointing loss but somewhat expected to Clemson and then an embarrassing loss on the road to Maryland that no one saw coming in Week 2.
In Week 6 the Orange will enjoy a much-deserved bye week before starting their conference schedule in earnest vs the NC State Wolfpack on the road on Thursday Night Football on October 10.
Although before they get there they have a lot of critical decisions to make for the future. One of the biggest questions revolves around the relatively new redshirt rule in college football.
In the past when a football player played in a game he would burn his redshirt, but finally the college football powers that be decided to change it up.
Now players are allowed to play in up to four games and still qualify for a ‘redshirt’ season. Which means that those players would maintain four years of eligibility and would also gain invaluable playing experience.
With that being said here are four Syracuse football players that the Orange should strongly consider redshirting in 2019 and thus saving them for the future.
Drew Tuazama, DL
- Has played in one game so far this season.
What’s scary is he is a freakish athlete on the defensive line (recorded 12 sacks in high school) and he also has played the tight end position (caught 33 passes for 449 yards and three touchdowns in three years for Knightdale, per Cuse.com).
Since he has only appeared in one game so far in 2019, he can still play up to three more games before he’s forced to burn a redshirt for this season.
Syracuse has incredible depth on the defensive line led by their pair of senior stalwarts Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson. With so much talent, the Orange would be best served to save Drew for the future.
Imagine Tuazama getting bigger, faster, and stronger this college football season and another full offseason before taking off in 2020. That is too tantalizing to waste in 2019.
...
Clemson Football: Assessing Travis Etienne’s midseason performance (rubbingtherock.com; Spencer)
for gbo
Clemson football RB Travis Etienne had an explosive performance against Georgia Tech and has since cooled off. Here’s our midseason assessment.
We’re already at the mid-point of the 2019 Clemson football season.
Though the Tigers still technically have one more game to play before the halfway point of the regular season, the bye week essentially cuts the season in half. Through the first part of the season, Clemson football is 5-0 and still ranked inside the top-two in the nation by both major polls.
Many national analysts have dropped the Tigers in their rankings, but it’s clear that Clemson football is a definite playoff contender heading into the second half of the season.
After going back and watching film, here’s our assessment of Clemson RB Travis Etienne and the job he has done to this point.
Travis Etienne: Midseason 2019 Assessment
Through the first five games of the season, Etienne has 67 carries for 462 yards (6.9 YPC) and five touchdowns. He also has 10 catches for 90 yards in the passing game.
Etienne exploded onto the scene to begin the year, rushing for 205 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns against Georgia Tech. Since then, he hasn’t been near as effective on the ground.
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The ACC in SP+, Week 6: Virginia Tech died so that Duke might move up (backingthepack.com; Muma)
Okay, who’s ready to poke around this pile of crap we call a football conference with a stick? Let’s see what we can find if we move some of this crap over to the side. Hmm, it appears to be yet more crap. Oh well.
Also, um:
Man alive, are there any men alive around here?! This grim, real grim. Clemson is the only ACC team in the top 30.
ACC Standings by SP+ Rating
TeamWk 6 SP+ Rtg (Rank)SP+ Rank ChangeOffense RankDefense Rank
| Clemson | 24.5 (6) | -3 | 15 | 5 |
| Miami | 11.3 (31) | -1 | 65 | 21 |
| Virginia | 6.4 (42) | -5 | 90 | 27 |
| Duke | 5.9 (44) | 16 | 53 | 47 |
| Florida State | 5.2 (47) | 10 | 26 | 78 |
| Wake Forest | 4.2 (53) | -13 | 39 | 70 |
| NC State | 2.8 (55) | -7 | 79 | 44 |
| Pitt | 1.5 (59) | 3 | 113 | 19 |
| UNC | 1.3 (60) | 5 | 43 | 80 |
| Syracuse | 0.9 (65) | 10 | 72 | 65 |
| Louisville | 0.3 (70) | -1 | 61 | 71 |
| Virginia Tech | -0.3 (72) | -19 | 88 | 52 |
| Boston College | -0.9 (74) | -1 | 44 | 89 |
| Georgia Tech | -7.3 (92) | 3 | 120 | 41 |
ACC Predictions, Game Previews, Lines, TV: Week 6 (CFN; Staff)
Click on each game for game preview & prediction
Boston College at Louisville
12:30 ACC NX | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Louisville -6, o/u: 60.5
Bet on BC vs. UofL with BetMGM, or for latest line
Virginia Tech at Miami
3:30 ESPN | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Miami -13.5, o/u: 47.5
Bet on VT vs. Miami with BetMGM, or for latest line
North Carolina at Georgia Tech
4:00 | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Georgia Tech -10.5, o/u: 48.5
Bet on UNC vs. GT with BetMGM, or for latest line
Pitt at Duke
8:00 ACC Network | Get Tickets
BetMGM Line: Duke -4.5, o/u: 48.5
Bet on Pitt vs. Duke with BetMGM, or for latest line
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Pittsburgh-Duke matchup headlines ACC’s 6th week (tucson.com; AP)
Here are things to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Week 6:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Pittsburgh at Duke. The Panthers’ visit to surging Duke — the only matchup of ACC teams with winning records — shapes up as the most attractive matchup on a light schedule that includes just three other games. Pitt (3-2, 0-1) has won four straight in the series and last year claimed a wild 54-45 victory over the Blue Devils (3-1, 1-0). Duke has been dominant in a three-game winning streak, with an average margin of victory of 30 points, and is coming off a 45-10 romp at Virginia Tech.
BEST MATCHUP
Boston College and RB AJ Dillon vs. Louisville’s run defense. Dillon averages an ACC-best 125.4 yards rushing and has three straight 150-yard performances, most recently rushing for a season-high 159 yards against Wake Forest. The Cardinals (2-2, 0-1) have held their last three opponents to 140 yards rushing or fewer after surrendering 230 yards on the ground in the opening loss to Notre Dame.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
No. 22 Wake Forest is the 11th ACC team to earn a spot in the AP Top 25 since the start of the 2018 season — the most of any conference. The Demon Deacons’ entrance into the poll — their first ranking since 2008 — came three weeks after No. 23 Virginia cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season. The only ACC schools that have not appeared in the poll during the past two seasons are Louisville (last ranked in 2017), North Carolina (2016) and Georgia Tech (2015).
Maybe Georgia Tech can catch North Carolina on a letdown. The Yellow Jackets are 10-point home underdogs to a Tar Heels team that fell a two-point conversion short of potentially knocking off Clemson — and still knocking the Tigers from the top spot in the poll. The rebuild has not exactly been smooth for new Tech coach Geoff Collins, whose only victory has been against a South Florida team that hasn’t beaten a Bowl Subdivision opponent in more than 11 months.
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ACC schools see benefit in adding ex-coaches as advisers :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com; AP)
Some of the most experienced head coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference aren’t exactly coaches anymore.
Three schools — North Carolina, Florida State and Virginia Tech — have hired former head coaches to advisory or analytical positions in the past 10 months, providing an additional voice of experience for the programs while giving the ex-coaches a way to stay involved in the sport without having to do any on-field coaching or recruiting.
“I’m not the head coach, and there isn’t anything better than that — not being head coach,” quipped Jerry Kill, the newest addition to the Hokies’ staff.
Kill, Sparky Woods and Jim Leavitt combined for 44 seasons as Division I head coaches before taking their wordy new titles. Leavitt is the Seminoles’ quality control analyst. Kill is a special assistant to Tech coach Justin Fuente. And Woods is the senior adviser to Mack Brown at UNC.
“Being a head coach, I realize that his position is a lonely one at times,” said Woods, the former head man at South Carolina, Appalachian State and VMI. He said that former head coaches “see (the big picture) more clearly than people who haven’t done it.”
The ACC schools seem to be following the lead of Nick Saban and Alabama. Among the dozen men listed as football analysts on the Tide’s website are former Tennessee coach Butch Jones and ex-Houston coach Major Applewhite.
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Duke football seeks revenge against reigning ACC Coastal champion Pittsburgh (dukechronicle.com; Kolin)
Last October, Duke was on the short end of a 54-45 shootout in Pittsburgh, a loss that virtually eliminated any hopes of an ACC championship game appearance.
Now, the Blue Devils have their shot at revenge.
Duke returns home to take on the Panthers Saturday night at 8 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium, the team’s first home game since Sept. 7. The Blue Devils haven’t beaten Pittsburgh since 2014, but head coach David Cutcliffe believes a new season can help turn around those struggles.
“There’s a reason they were Coastal Division champions a year ago and this team is much like the team they had a year ago. I can’t say enough about their program. We haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be against them, but this is this year, a new opportunity and we’re happy to be back home.”
The biggest matchup to watch out for is Duke’s offensive line against the Panthers’ defensive line. Pittsburgh (3-2, 0-1 in the ACC) ranks second in the country this season at 4.8 sacks per game, with redshirt sophomore Jaylen Twyman and redshirt senior Kylan Johnson leading the way at six and four sacks on the season, respectively.
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Louisville football: Time, TV, important match-ups, predictions vs Boston College (bigredlouie.com; Meyer)
Louisville football faces off against Boston College this Saturday in Cardinal Stadium. Here’s how to watch and what to expect.
Louisville football comes off a bye week out for revenge after a solid comeback but heartbreaking collapse at Florida State in week four.
The Cardinals will play host to a Boston College squad that has beaten them their last two times out and are coming off a close loss to 22nd-ranked Wake Forest.
We take a look at the match-ups to watch and give our predictions for Louisville’s biggest game of the season.
What: Boston College Eagles at Louisville Cardinals
When: Saturday, October 5th, 2019
Where: Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY
Point spread: Louisville -6.5
After opening as 3 point favorites, the Cardinals have seen virtually all of the money come their way. It’s interesting to see given how evenly the two teams figure to match up.
How to Watch: ACC Network
This will be Louisville’s first-ever football game broadcast on the ACC Network. If you don’t have access to ACCN, you have the option to live stream it through the ESPN App on any compatible device.
Players to Watch
AJ Dillon, Boston College RB
There’s not a better player in the ACC than Boston College running back AJ Dillon. Their workhorse, and likely first-round NFL draft pick had his breakout game two years ago in Cardinal Stadium in a shocking upset of the Cardinals.
Now, Dillon looks to replicate that performance and get his team back on track. Dillon is listed at 245-pounds, and he has solid breakaway speed. He is an absolute bear to tackle and finishes every play falling forward.
Louisville’s defense is going to key on Dillon first and foremost.
Rodjay Burns, Louisville LB
The unit tasked with stopping Dillon and Boston College’s versatile rushing attack is Louisville’s undersized linebackers.
If the Cards are going to limit Dillon, they will have to do so as a unit, because Dillon is heavier than every linebacker on Louisville’s roster expected to play on Saturday.
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Why ACCN may be the last conference network (sorry Big XII) (RX; HM)
Why ACCN may be the last conference network (sorry Big XII)
Forbes video: "Why The New ACC Network May Be The Last Of Its Kind"
Some notes from the video:
True. In fact, there were lots of people who doubted whether the ACC Network would get widespread carriage at all - much less in a short time. The fact that it has speaks to Forbes points about Disney's leverage -- and the appeal of ACC sports.
Still, if it worked this time, why won't there be any more conference networks? The panel tells us in the video that
So the ACCN may go a la carte someday, but don't hold your breath. Why not? Entanglements, for one thing...
That's a lot of contracts to work through, and only one of them (Big XII) involves ESPN+ so far.
How will the ACCN affect the college sports financial landscape? Here's where things lie at the moment:
As you can see, the ACC is tied with the Pac-12 for last place among the power five.
Here's what it could look like if the ACCN starts paying out $8M to $10M per school:
The ACC would move into a virtual tie with the Big XII for 3rd place - up two spots, but still behind the Big Ten and the SEC. Those two won't be caught in the near future, regardless of what the ACC (or the Big XII or the Pac-12) does... unless something really major changes (and that's as likely to be bad as good). All things considered, I can live with the ACC being tied for 3rd and within $5M of 2nd...
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Future ACC/OOC Update - 10/2/19 (RX; HM)
Future ACC/OOC Update - 10/2/19
Here are snippets of 3 recent articles from FBSchedules:
Youngstown State to play at Pitt in 2024
The Youngstown State Penguins will play the Pitt Panthers... at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA, on September 21, 2024. The Penguins will receive a $450,000 guarantee for the game, according to the copy of the contract.
Pat Narduzzi, the head coach of the Pitt Panthers, played for the Youngstown Penguins for one season in 1985 before he transferred to suit up for Rhode Island.
Youngstown State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), has one win in five attempts against Pitt... their most recent meeting in 2017... 28-21 at Heinz Field.
...The Pitt Panthers now have three non-conference contests scheduled for the 2024 season... at the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sept. 7 and host the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sept. 14.
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Maine to play at Boston College in 2022
The Maine Black Bears will play at the Boston College Eagles... at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on September 17, 2022. The Black Bears will receive a $400,000 guarantee for playing the game, according to the copy of the contract.
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JHowell's Picks for 2019 Week 6 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks for 2019 Week 6
Once again I give you the ACC game computer predictions from JHowell's website:
The only cakewalk is Notre Dame over Bowling Green. On the other end of the spectrum, the computer says we should expect Louisville/BC to be a real donny-brook.
UNC/GT is old school ACC. Miami/VT is old school Big East. Duke/Pitt is just old, old, OLD school football (like 1930's and '40's old).
Other
Syracuse takes next step in plan to remake Pioneer Homes into mixed-income housing (PS; Eisenstadt)
A plan to remake more than 1,000 units of public housing into a mixed income neighborhood is inching forward.
The Syracuse Housing Authority and Blueprint 15, the nonprofit formed to oversee the redevelopment, have chosen McCormack Baron Salazar as the project’s master developer.
This is the group that will work on getting community input and coming up with designs to redevelop Pioneer Homes, McKinney Manor and Central Village. The three public housing projects are all in the East Adams Street neighborhood. Currently, they are split from Syracuse University by I-81, but that will change as the project redesign I-81 moves forward.
Blueprint 15 and the Syracuse Housing Authority also will be working with Purpose Built Communities, a nonprofit that helps engineer neighborhood renewal that goes beyond housing, including schools, daycare and wellness centers.
McCormack Baron Salazar is based in St. Louis-based and specializes in remaking blighted and struggling neighborhoods. It has overseen projects in communities including St. Louis, Akron, San Francisco, New Haven. This would be the first project in New York.
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