sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Kraken Day!
Kraken Day, also known as Myths and Legends Day, is part of International Cephalopod Awareness Days, or Cephalopod Awareness Week, which takes place from October 8-12 each year. Since octopuses have eight arms and squid have eight arms and two tentacles, the holiday week begins on the eighth day of the tenth month. Cephalopods are a class of marine invertebrates. Related to snails and clams, they have arms and tentacles, three hearts, large brains, and blue blood. Today we celebrate cephalopods of myth and legend, especially krakens.
Krakens come from Scandanavian folklore. Nordic sagas say kraken live off the coasts of Norway and Greenland and terrorize the sailors of the area. Krakens have been a legend for centuries, with Nordic sailors long telling tales about them. The beasts were described in detail around 1250 CE, in the Konungs skuggsjá, an Old Norwegian natural history written by an anonymous author who had returned from Greenland. Carl von Linné of Sweden included krakens in the first edition of his systematic natural catalog, Systema Naturae, published in 1735.
SU News
Untangling the confusion on Syracuse football’s final drive: ‘Something got stolen from us’ (PS; Mink)
Trishton Jackson looked up at the Jumbotron and had no idea what officials were reviewing on the last play of the game.
Nothing, the redshirt junior wide receiver said, was communicated by them.
The Syracuse offense, staging a furious, late-fourth quarter rally before taking a 16-10 loss here Thursday night, got the final play from the sideline in the event the Orange could run it in the closing seconds from the NC State 44-yard line.
It never got the chance for a last-second Hail Mary.
Officials confirmed Syracuse moved before the snap, triggering a 10-second runoff and the end of the game.
“It definitely feels like something got stolen from us,” Jackson said.
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How much did injury hamper Syracuse football QB Tommy DeVito at NC State? (PS; Bailey)
Tommy DeVito rifled a 15-yard pass to Trishton Jackson, stretched his right arm upward and grimaced as he reached his left to the center of his chest.
It was 75 minutes before the Syracuse football quarterback was set to go live for the first time with the upper-body injury he suffered 12 days earlier. He returned to the field 20 minutes later with an extra layer of padding around his torso.
Then he took eight sacks in the Orange’s 16-10 loss to North Carolina State on Thursday night.
“I was good physically going into it,” DeVito said after the game with nonchalance. “Just some bumps and bruises. I was definitely not limited at all going into it.”
DeVito finished the game 29 of 39 for 300 yards and a touchdown -- a line head coach Dino Babers was quick to point out -- but sometimes numbers don’t tell the whole story. And sometimes words don’t match observations.
There were a handful of moments in which DeVito appeared to protect his body during the first half. He was hesitant to take off on a 3rd and 7 late in the first quarter when the Wolfpack dropped eight into coverage. He ducked and turned to protect his side on another pressure.
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Orange is the new flat: Syracuse football loses to NC State 16-10 (Brent Axe recap) (PS; Axe)
The No. 44 is usually a good omen for Syracuse University sports teams, but it was a cruel mistress for the Orange in a 16-10 loss to North Carolina State on Thursday night at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
Syracuse came up 44 yards short of victory when quarterback Tommy DeVito was sacked by the Wolfpack defense as time ticked away.
Sophomore kicker Andre Szymt, who earned the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker in 2018, bounced a 44-yard field off the upright as the first half concluded. It turned out to be a crucial miss in a game starving for points and for SU’s strategy on the final drive.
Syracuse is now 3-3 at the midway point of the 2019 season, matching the three losses it had all of last season in a 10-3 campaign.
With just two ACC games in the books and six remaining, SU already finds itself at the crossroads of the 2019 season.
Syracuse still has half of a season left to salvage this thing, but preseason thoughts of an Orange Bowl bid and matching or enhancing the success of the 2018 season have all but evaporated.
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The Final Word: Beat writers discuss Syracuse's 16-10 loss to North Carolina State (DO; podcast; Staff)
The Orange entered Thursday night’s game off two-straight wins and a bye week, with their offense appearing to find its form. Yet against North Carolina State on Thursday night, Syracuse was shut out in the first half, Tommy DeVito was sacked five times and the Orange didn’t score a touchdown until the game’s final minutes. N.C. State (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) defeated SU (3-3, 0-2), 16-10, giving the Orange as many losses in 2019 as they had in all of 2018.
Our beat writers discuss Thursday’s loss:
Syracuse football box score vs. NC State (PS)
Here are the numbers from Syracuse’s 16-10 loss to NC State on Thursday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C.
3 things we learned from Syracuse's 16-10 loss to North Carolina State D&C; Johnson)
Hopes for a fitting follow up to last year's 10-win campaign continued to fade after another underwhelming showing for Syracuse on Thursday.
Despite the Syracuse defense turning in its best performance of the season, the Orange (3-3, 0-2 ACC) couldn't capitalize and often looked lost in the 16-10 setback to North Carolina State. It was remarkable that Syracuse had an opportunity to win the game on its final possession.
The final margin was only score, but the game never felt that close. The Orange are now back at .500 and have yet to win a game against Power 5 competition.
The shortcomings extended to every phase. The offense was lifeless, Lou Groza winner Andre Szmyt missed a 44-yard field goal. The defense was excellent once the field shrank, but the unit gave up plenty yards and blown assignments happened more than once.
With the loss, the Orange can't afford to go less than .500 against Pittsburgh and Florida State in the next two weeks. Two more losses and a bowl bid may start to look shaky for a team that entered the season with high expectations.
Here are three things we learned from the loss:
No juice for the Orange
Syracuse Orange running back Moe Neal (21) is tackled by North Carolina State Wolfpack linebacker Isaiah Moore (41) during the first half at Carter-Finley Stadium. (Photo: Rob Kinnan/USA TODAY Sports)
A 13-play, 94-yard drive, a 52-yard bomb to Trishton Jackson and a 36-yard strike to Taj Harris was about all Syracuse could do against the Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1 ACC). It was another disappointing outing for an offensive unit that has repeatedly come up short against tougher competition. Let's start with the offensive line that surrendered eight sacks.
There were at least a few Wolfpack defensive lineman that had career games. Despite the score being within reach, the Orange could never establish any semblance of a run game. Moe Neal was limited to 31 yards and Abdul Adams only chipped in a modest 17. NC State entered the contest ranked in the top 10 in the country at stopping the run, so that's not a surprise.
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'Definitely the ACC’s most disappointing team’: Fans, media react to Syracuse’s loss at NC State (PS; Burrows)
Syracuse football couldn’t come away with a critical ACC road win against NC State on Thursday night.
The Orange dropped the primetime game, 16-10, thanks to a struggling run game and 12 penalties.
Down six points, Syracuse had an opportunity to win on the final possession, but the two-minute offense stalled and a sack killed the drive.
Orange QB Tommy DeVito completed 29 of 39 passes for 300 yards and one touchdown, but appeared hurt most of the night.
Here’s what fans and media members are saying about Syracuse’s loss to the Wolfpack:
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https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article235992078.html (newsobserver.com; Decock)
N.C. State is two wins away from a remarkable feat, especially at a place with a reputation for sending quarterbacks to the NFL: Getting to a bowl game despite its quarterback play, rather than because of it.
The Wolfpack has used three different quarterbacks this season. The guy who won the job over a month of practices in training camp is now third on the depth chart after six games and the most impressive passer in Thursday night’s 16-10 win over Syracuse was a wide receiver, which pretty much sums up how things have gone.
“We had some good things going in the run game,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “Obviously we were able to complete some passes and score enough points to win. At the end of the day, that’s what counts and that’s what matters.”
From Matthew McKay to Bailey Hockman to Devin Leary (briefly) and back to Hockman, the Wolfpack hasn’t yet found anyone who can keep defenses honest. N.C. State hoped one of them would be able to step into the job vacated by Ryan Finley, but it’s clear at this point none of the three is quite ready for the responsibility. Too much, too soon.
At least all three have been able to stay mostly upright. Syracuse’s Tommy DeVito was absolutely battered by the Wolfpack defense, sacked eight times and under duress all night.
Combine N.C. State’s passing game with Syracuse’s offensive line and you get a total of 13 punts, something only a punter could enjoy. Fortunately, there were a couple in attendance. Ex-NFL punter Pat McAfee was one of two ESPN analysts, and former N.C. State and current Oakland Raiders punter A.J. Cole watched with Mike Glennon from above McAfee in the broadcast booth.
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https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article236025063.html (newsobserver.com; video)
NC State coach Dave Doeren talks about the Wolfpack's win over Syracuse at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday October 10, 2019.
https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/nc-state/article236003593.html (newsobserver.com; Giglio)
What a different an extra week of practice makes for N.C. State.
The Wolfpack relied on its defense and a trick play to beat Syracuse 16-10 on Thursday night.
N.C. State (4-2, 1-1 ACC) bounced back after opening ACC play with a 31-13 loss at Florida State on Sept. 28. With some extra time off, N.C. State fine-tuned its defense and sacked Orange (3-3, 0-2) quarterback Tommy DeVito eight times.
“The defensive staff, I thought, really put together a great game plan.” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said. “Then the kids executed it well.”
N.C. State got three field goals from Chris Dunn and 32-yard touchdown catch by running back Trent Pennix.
Syracuse had one last chance to win the game, after its defense got a stop and the ball back with 1:48 left in the game. DeVito, who finished with 300 yards, completed his first four passes of the drive but the Orange didn’t have any timeouts. A pair of false start penalties, which included a 10-second run-off on the clock, stalled the drive.
Larrell Murchison’s sack ended up being the final play to seal the win for the Wolfpack.
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https://www.wralsportsfan.com/nc-states-defense-gets-8-sacks-in-16-10-win-over-syracuse/18690658/ (wralsportsfan.com; AP; Beard)
The sacks kept coming, one after another, for North Carolina State's defense all the way to the finish Thursday night.
The Wolfpack battered Tommy DeVito for eight sacks, the last coming from Larrell Murchison in the final seconds to seal a 16-10 win Thursday night.
The Wolfpack (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) led all night and by as much as 16-0 in the third quarter before having to come up with a final stop to maintain its hold on the win. Fittingly, it came on the play that the Wolfpack made a habit in this one, with Murchison dragging down DeVito on a third down that left the Orange (3-3, 0-2) frantically trying to get another snap off against a dwindling clock with no timeouts.
Instead, they were flagged for a false-start penalty with 2 seconds left, prompting a clock runoff that ended it.
"I thought we showed a lot of stamina at the end, getting that sack to close out the game," Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. "The defensive staff I thought really put together a great gameplan and the kids executed it well."
Going back to an eight-sack effort in the last game against Florida State, N.C. State now has a program-record 16 sacks over consecutive games. That surpassed the previous mark of 14 against Virginia and North Carolina in 1982.
That's a pretty good early return on a move to a 3-3-5 defensive scheme, while linebacker Louis Acceus also credited defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable's work.
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https://saturdayblitz.com/2019/10/10/syracuse-football-takeaways-loss-nc-state-2019/ (saturdayblitz.com; Bigalke)
Two 3-2 ACC teams met at the midpoint of their seasons in a Thursday night battle. Here’s what we learned from the Syracuse football loss at NC State.
FINAL
NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK 16
SYRACUSE ORANGE 10
In many ways it was a tale of two halves. NC State pulled out to a 13-0 halftime lead in a defensive battle against Syracuse, and the Orange clawed back in the second half to keep things interesting. Ultimately the Wolfpack held on for a 16-10 win at home in Raleigh, sending the Orange to .500 in the standings and 0-2 in ACC play.
Things won’t get any easier for Syracuse moving forward in their conference schedule, and there is a real threat that they could miss a bowl game this year after winning 10 games last season. The issues go much further than just the loss of star quarterback Eric Dungey, who masked a lot of issues on offense and made everyone better around him.
That fact has been exposed by the deficiencies when the Orange have the football. Things finally clicked in the fourth quarter, but by that time it was too late to pull things back and claw out a victory on the road. Shooting themselves in the foot, Syracuse ended the game with the last of a dozen penalties on the night.
A sloppy affair at Carter-Finley Stadium left Dino Babers and his team at a crossroads heading into the back half of the 2019 regular season. There are bright spots that emerged from this close loss, and there are definitely things that need work. Here are three things we learned about the Orange on a Thursday night that ended with the home side barely surviving a late push.
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https://insidetheloudhouse.com/2019/10/10/syracuse-football-anemic-offense-stalls-orange-new-fast/ (itlh; Esden Jr)
All season long the Syracuse offense has held the team back and that was the case vs NC State. Here are all the details on the historically anemic offense.
Questionable playcalling, questionable offensive line play, and questionable decisions by Syracuse football quarterback Tommy DeVito. That was the tale of Week 7 vs NC State.
The offense honestly hasn’t looked right since the season started back vs Liberty. Tommy DeVito was supposed to be the hand-selected prodigy of the Dino Babers offense. Yet instead of looking like the young fearless gunslinger from 2018 he’s looked like an overly flustered inexperienced newbie.
Syracuse didn’t put their first points on the board (a field goal) until there were only 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter vs the Wolfpack on Thursday night.
When Babers was introduced at his initial press conference he told everyone in the room to close their eyes and to visualize an electric offense, one that wouldn’t huddle, and he even intimated that referees could be on the injury report with hamstring injuries from running around so much.
That visualization sounded scintillating, although what Orange fans were forced to watch through the first half of the 2019 season has been nothing short of depressing.
An anemic offense with a lack of creativity offensively. Just no imagination with play calling and thus DeVito has been thrown into predictable situations.
Obviously the offensive line play has been terrible. Much of that stems from the ripple effects of the Sam Heckel injury from Week 1. Heckel is the team’s starting center, with him missing the past five games, the Orange have been forced to play musical chairs in the trenches.
Although this isn’t just an offensive line issue, DeVito throughout the contest simply held onto the ball too long and ate sacks when he didn’t necessarily have to.
To put it bluntly, Tommy DeVito has struggled to read defenses, has looked frazzled more times than not, and hasn’t lived up to the preseason hype.
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https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/10/thursday-result-101019.html (RX; HM)
Thursday Result - 10/10/19
Syracuse 10
NC State 16
Not exactly a show of offensive firepower, huh? I'll give my analysis below, but first...
From ACC Digital Network:
Syracuse vs. NC State
Game Highlight (2019)
For Syracuse, the offensive problems can be traced to the line of scrimmage. The Wolfpack DL sacked Orange QB Tommy DeVito 8 times. That's not 8 sacks in a half season or even a couple of games - that's ONE game! The Orange were also unable to get much going on the ground; even after we factor out the sacks, Syracuse averaged a measly 2.54 yards per carry.
The NC State defense owned the line of scrimmage.
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https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/10/2019-week-7-acc-fb-predictions.html (RX; HM)
2019 Week 7 ACC FB Predictions
From BR: College Football Picks: Week 7 Predictions for Every Game
Here are just the ACC-related predictions (click the link to see the non-ACC games):
No. 20 Virginia at Miami (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Miami -1)
How is Miami, after it fell behind Virginia Tech 28-0, favored in this game? Yes, the Hurricanes have the talent advantage. Yes, they're at home. But the visitors have an immense coaching edge, and Miami has struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks. This is a massive opportunity for the Hokies' Bryce Perkins to show off his quickness as a scrambler.
Prediction: Virginia 26, Miami 21
Louisville at No. 19 Wake Forest (7:30 p.m. ET, Wake Forest -7)
Wake Forest is 5-0 but has three one-possession wins. At some point, the late-game fortune will run out. However, a matchup with a defense that has ceded 500-plus yards in both ACC contests and allowed 12 touchdowns in 15 total red-zone trips doesn't feel like the moment for Wake Forest to fold.
Prediction: Wake Forest 38, Louisville 31
USC at No. 9 Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, Notre Dame -11)
New season, same problems for USC. The Trojans are committing way too many penalties, haven't really improved defensively and deal with extended cold stretches on offense. That's a recipe for disaster any week, let alone on the road at Notre Dame.
Prediction: Notre Dame 38, USC 17
Florida State at No. 2 Clemson (3:30 p.m. ET, Clemson -26)
After a miserable start to the campaign, Florida State has turned in a couple of encouraging games. The plan to play both James Blackman and Alex Hornibrook at quarterback is cause for concern, though. Clemson ranks seventh nationally with 5.6 yards allowed per pass and will have a raucous environment. The 'Noles need to find a quarterback and stick with him.
Prediction: Clemson 43, Florida State 16
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Other
https://www.syracuse.com/best-of-cny/2019/10/hidden-gems-of-cny-mexican-food-in-an-irish-bar.html (PS; Miller)
(This is the part of a regular feature that highlights some of the best food and drinks in Central New York that you probably don’t know about. Do you have a hidden gem in CNY? Share your favorite by emailing me at cmiller@syracuse.com. I might even buy you lunch.)
Steve’s Cantina in Syracuse’s Tipperary Hill neighborhood is a lot of things to a lot of different people.
For the regulars, it’s a neighborhood bar where you can get cold beer at a good price throughout the day (i.e. a 10-ounce Miller Lite or Genny for $1.25). For the nighttime crowd, it’s a comfortable spot to watch a game or play cards while catching up with friends.
But on Thursdays and Fridays, it’s the place to go for some of the finest Mexican food around. No kidding.
Mike Wojenski, the owner, proudly calls it a Mexican restaurant in an Irish pub owned by a Polish guy.
The cook behind all of this fine food is Dave Walker. He’s a professional guitar player and singer who enjoys cooking a few days a week. He plays with Joe Whiting and other bands throughout Central New York. He used to have a restaurant in the Tri-County Mall near his home in Baldwinsville.
But that shopping center was dying. So 15 years ago next month, he set out to find a new kitchen to call his home away from home. That’s when a friend suggested he check out Steve’s. The bar had a kitchen in the back and plenty of seating. Dave met Mike, and they quickly created a partnership.
“He said, 'Don’t tell me how to make drinks, and I won’t tell you how to make food,” Dave said. “It’s just perfect here. I’ve made so many friends here. They come here for some good food and strong drinks. They leave here very happy.”
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