sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,423
- Like
- 110,190
Welcome to Lincoln's Birthday!
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born on February 12, 1809. Over the years, he has become known as one of the greatest American presidents of all time. At the time of his death, in 1865, many saw him as a martyr, and it wasn't too long afterward that his birthday began being observed informally. In the mid-1870s, Julius Francis of Buffalo, New York, began honoring Lincoln on his birthday and petitioned Congress to make the day a legal holiday.
SU News
One reason for each ACC football team to be optimistic in 2020 (247sports.com; James)
The Clemson Tigers may have seen a 29-game winning streak come to an end in a College Football Playoff National Championship defeat to the LSU Tigers last month, but there is still one Clemson streak that lives.
Clemson owns a 18-0 record against the ACC competition on its schedule over the past two seasons; Syracuse, on Oct. 13, 2017, is the last ACC team to beat Clemson in a game, and Clemson has won 22 consecutive ACC games since that defeat to the Orange. If Clemson's dominance in conference play continues in 2020, a motivated Clemson team will hoist the ACC Championship trophy for a sixth straight season.
"That's a decision and choice, how you respond to a win, how you respond to a tough loss," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said in an interview this week. "And our team has been amazing. The leadership has been great. It's been good for me to see that because so many of these guys-- I mean I was convinced we were never going to lose again. Like ever. 250 in a row and ride off into the sunset. But you know, we're probably not going to win the national championship every year. But hopefully we can be a team that has a shot year in and year out, and if we can be a team that has a shot, then we'll have those years where we'll finish it.
"A few weeks from now we are back on the field, man. And we are going to start the process of building this 2020 team and getting ready."
While overcoming Clemson will be a tall task to accomplish, here is a reason for each ACC team to be optimistic heading into the 2020 college football season.
Georgia Tech
Reason for optimism: A second recruiting class.
Second-year Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins faced the challenge last season of inheriting a roster that had been shaped to run the triple-option attack of former Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson. Georgia Tech ranked last in the ACC in total offensive yards per game (286.3) last season, and the defense wasn't much better, allowing over 422 yards per contest. A 2020 recruiting class that finished ranked No. 26 nationally in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings could be the start of an improvement. The Yellow Jackets signed 24 players, including five four-star prospects. That is an improvement from Collins' first recruiting class, which was ranked 50th and included just one four-star recruit.
NC State
Reason for optimism: Staff overhaul.
Following a 4-8 season, NC State head coach Dave Doeren has added four new assistants to the staff ahead of the 2020 campaign. That includes new offensive coordinator Tim Beck, who spent the past three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Texas Longhorns. The Wolfpack also promoted co-defensive coordinator Tony Gibson to defensive coordinator after firing Dave Huxtable, who had been on the staff since Doeren arrived prior to the 2013 season. The NC State head coach clearly realized big changes were needed. Hopefully for Wolfpack fans it pays off after the team missed a bowl game under Doeren for the first time since his first season with the program.
Duke
Reason for optimism:
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound signal caller from Loganville, Georgia, has two years of eligibility left, and he will battle incumbents Gunnar Holmberg and Chris Katrenick, as well as incoming freshman Luca Diamont, for snaps once he arrives in Durham this summer. Considering Brice is the only one of the four with true game snaps, he should have a leg up on the competition to enter the fall as the starter under center.
Syracuse
Reason for optimism: Tommy DeVito enters second year as starting QB.
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers is tasked with retooling a defense that graduated seven starters, but he will have quarterback Tommy DeVito under center again. For the Orange to succeed, though, they will need more than DeVito to step up, including an offensive line that contributed to 50 sacks allowed. Only Miami (51) allowed more among ACC teams. But if DeVito can show improvement, Syracuse at least has a chance to get to a bowl game following a disappointing 5-7 finish in 2019.
...
Syracuse Football: Eric Dungey leaves XFL, Dallas Renegades temporarily (itlh; Esden Jr)
Former Syracuse football quarterback Eric Dungey has abruptly left the XFL, Dallas Renegades temporarily. Here are all the details.
Late on Tuesday night, the Dallas Renegades of the XFL sent out a press release stating that former Syracuse football quarterback Eric Dungey was being placed on the “reserve/left squad list” due to a family matter.
In a corresponding move, the Renegades added former HBO Hard Knocks’ star, Brogan Roback. In addition, Dallas also swapped two linebackers. Johathan Calvin was placed on injured reserve and linebacker Gerald Rivers was added to the roster to replace him.
This news out of nowhere seemingly indicated the end of Dungey and the XFL altogether, but shortly after the press release, Dungey came out on social media and provided a statement on the situation to clarify things:
“Very fortunate Coach Stoops understands and supports the meaning of family first and is allowing me to be released for the week due to personal family reasons. Excited to get back to Dallas with the XFL Renegades next week and get after it! #StillRaisingHell”
...
More Links - 2/11/20 (RX; HM)
More Links - 2/11/20
FSU/LSU schedules a pair of neutral site games...
From FBSchedules: FSU and LSU have scheduled a neutral-site football series for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Nice, but... why not a home-and-home? What would've been wrong with that?
...
Links, news and rumors - 2/12/20 (RX; HM)
2020 Schedule Superlatives
From GoUpstate (Clemson, SC area): "Look at Highlights and Lowlights of 2020 ACC Football Schedules". Here are some excerpts (click the link to read it all!)
ACC 2020 Schedule Superlatives
Best Game of the year: Nov. 7th - Clemson at Notre Dame
Worst Game of the season: Sept. 19 - Akron at Clemson.
Toughest opener: Mon, Sept. 7th - Virginia vs Georgia (Atlanta)
Easiest opener: Sep 5th - Middle Tennessee at Duke
Toughest non-conference schedule: Georgia Tech - includes UCF, Notre Dame and Georgia
Easiest non-conference schedule: Virginia - besides Georgia, the remaining OOC schedule consists of UConn, Old Dominion, and in-state FCS VMI.
Toughest stretch: North Carolina - at Central Florida, Auburn in Atlanta, then James Madison (who played in the FCS National Championship Game).
Easiest stretch: Duke - Middle Tennessee, Elon and Charlotte.
Toughest cross-division schedule: Virginia - Louisville and Clemson
Most competitive game: Fri, Sep 11th - Wake Forest vs. Appalachian State
Most competitive ACC game: Nov. 28th - Syracuse at Pitt
_____
Others they missed (IMO)...
Easiest cross-division schedule: this is a tough call because so many cross-overs look about equal. In the end, I'm going with UNC's combination of at Boston College and home vs. NC State. Syracuse was a close second (at Pitt, home for Georgia Tech).
Least competitive ACC game: last season, the three teams with the worst ACC records were Syracuse (2-6), Georgia Tech (2-6) and NC State (1-7). Clemson plays all three of them in 2020 - so the question is, which one will improve the least? I'm going with Syracuse in a close call over NC State (I happen to think GT bottomed-out in 2019).
...
Could Clemson’s non-ACC opponents change in 2021? (theclemsoninsider.com; Vandervort)
for gbo
Is there a chance Clemson’s non-conference slate of games could change in 2021?
Though there does not appear to be any change at the moment, Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said recently he is not ruling out the possibility of a change if an offer to play another non-conference Power 5 opponent comes along before the Tigers have to commit to the 2021 schedule.
“We always keep our ear to the ground,” he said. “Are there other opportunities? As you guys know, better than most, football schedules are being made ten to twelve to sometimes fifteen years in advance. So, it makes it a little bit difficult.
“We are not going to close the door on anything until right up until the time we are ready to play that schedule. I look at 2021 and it is little bit of an anomaly given what we have done over the last decade and what is in front of us after 2021.”
In the last decade, Clemson has played home-and-home series and a neutral site game with Power 5 schools such as Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
However, the Tigers will not play a second Power 5 non-conference opponent in 2021 because it was unable to schedule a home-and-home series with anyone due to the Notre Dame home-and-home in 2022 and ’23 and the annual rivalry matchup with South Carolina.
In 2021, Clemson will play the Gamecocks in Columbia to close out the season like it always does, but because it could not get a home game scheduled against another non-conference Power 5 opponent, the Tigers are currently scheduled to host SC State, Wyoming and UConn.
...
ACC Football & Beyond - Mich St. Search Goes On & Breakdown Of Every ACC Recruiting Class - Chris Landry Football (landryfootball.com; podcast; Landry)
Chris has the latest on the Michigan State coaching search and why they are having trouble. He also tells you what LSU is getting in their new passing game coordinator, why he’s concerned about Virginia Tech’s Recruiting efforts as well as all the latest transfer and coaching news around the country. The 2021 Recruiting Classes are being formulated and we have a few new ACC commitments from top prospects around the country. All this plus a early look at the spring quarterback battle at Florida St. Join us each and every day as we break down the College Football game better than anyone.
Be sure to Rate, Review, and Subscribe to Landry Football’s Conference Call on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Radio Public!
Other
Weather alerts issued for snow, freezing rain (PS; Coin)
A storm overnight Wednesday could bring 2 to 5 inches of snow and a light glaze of ice to parts of Upstate New York.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories from 7 p.m. Wednesday to noon Thursday for Central New York, Tug Hill and counties along Lake Ontario.
“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the weather service said. “The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute.”
The mix of snow and rain is expected to start after dark Wednesday and continue through early afternoon Thursday. The temperature is expected to remain close to freezing that entire time, so expect a slushy snow or rain.
That precipitation could turn to ice on sidewalks and streets Thursday as temperatures plummet during the day, falling to zero or below by early Friday morning. It could be the coldest day of the winter so far.
