sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Galentine's Day!
Taking place on the eve of Valentine's Day, Galentine's Day celebrates female friendship, and more broadly, women and their worth, as well as feminism. A gender-inclusive version of the day, Palentine's Day, sprang from it and celebrates all platonic friendships. Instead of focusing on significant others, women celebrate other women in their life with Galentine's Day, while those who celebrate Palentine's Day celebrate all the important people in their life. Galentine's Day and Palentine's Day are often celebrated by those who are single, although those who are in relationships may also celebrate the days. Galentine's Day is often celebrated by those who are against the commercialism of Valentine's Day, although it has become quite commercial itself, with items being pushed online and in brick-and-mortar stores during the lead-up to the day.
SU News
Orange Watch: Coaching changes signal investment in Syracuse football - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: Fast-tracking into his intriguing fifth season with spring practice just around the corner in March, Dino Babers this week officially put the wrap on his 2020 coaching staff which is highlighted by new coordinators on both sides of the ball.
Although it is never going to compete on the same financial footing as the biggest of programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma, Syracuse has made its largest program commitment under John Wildhack’s direction to compete in the ACC, and with that investment and some 40 bowl games scheduled per year, the minimum return has to be postseason play.
After falling a game short of bowl eligibility last season, and acutely aware of just how far he can bend the realities of the financial limitations at a private university reliant on fundraising and ticket sales, while understanding the modern nuances of the type of athlete he needs in his program, Babers has put a completely fresh touch to who’s delegating control on each side of the ball, and we like the direction the program is headed.
From his introduction in 2015, Babers has preached his super-fast offensive pace. When it works it’s a thing of beauty, but injuries and lack of depth, along with game situations, haven’t always been cooperative.
With new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, a longtime coach possessing a successful Texas track record along with being a Babers confidant at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, and coming off a season in which he was head coach at FCS member McNeese State, the play-calling and quarterback tutoring is in new results-oriented hands.
McNeese State finished 7-5 last season, winning four of its last five games, and was more successful statistically running (4th), than passing (9th), in the 11-member Southland Conference. It will be interesting to see the first steps Gilbert implements with Tommy DeVito and his talented corps of receivers and running backs this spring.
Babers made clear he was going in a new direction defensively, plenty of movement pre-snap to disguise flexible coverage, with his in-season dismissal of Brian Ward as D-Coordinator last November.
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Why The ACC Will Be Better In 2020 (SI; Priester)
The 2019 season was not one of the better ones for the ACC. Outside of Clemson, the conference was down as a whole.
However, the ACC did have ten teams qualify for bowl games. On the surface that could be looked at as a reason as to why the league might not have been as bad as it was made it out to be, but usually where there's smoke there's fire.
The conference was just 6-14 in out of conference games against Power Five opponents, and Clemson was responsible for half of those wins. Also, four of those ten bowl games ACC teams played in came against teams from outside of the Power 5, and two of those were losses.
Yes, the ACC was bad in 2019. Maybe even historically bad. However there is good news, and that is that the conference will be improved in 2020, and here are five reasons why.
1. Coaching: Mack Brown, Geoff Collins, and Scott Satterfield are looking like excellent hires after one season in their new jobs. After showing promise last season, Louisville and UNC could both be ranked in the preseason after only one ACC team was ranked in the final AP Poll of 2019.
While Georgia Tech may not be Top 25 caliber in their second season under Collins, they will be better. Collins brought in a solid recruiting class, and are now a full season into running a more traditional offense.
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ACC Football: Ranking the Rosters for 2020 (athlonsports.com; Kinne)
After dominating the ACC on the field the past five seasons, Clemson is starting to flex its muscles on the recruiting trail as well
It’s no great mystery: Clemson has the best talent in the ACC. While Dabo Swinney is an excellent gameday coach and he has a first-class staff, the players that he has recruited to Clemson are simply better than those at the other ACC schools.
What the league needs going forward is for another team (or two... or three) to make a step forward. At this point, dethroning Clemson seems like a lot to ask. But having a couple of other teams firmly entrenched in the Top 25 of the polls is something that was missing this past fall and would enhance the perception of the league going forward. But have any Atlantic Coast Conference schools recruited well enough to get to that level in 2020?
Below are the national recruiting ranking averages for ACC schools over the last five (2016-20) classes according to 247Sports' Composite Team Rankings and each team's record over the last five (2015-19) seasons. Obviously, this doesn't take into account attrition but, over time, this should be considered relatively even across the conference.
Ranking the ACC's College Football's Rosters in 2020
| Rk | Team | '20 | '19 | '18 | '17 | '16 | Avg | W/L | Conf. |
| 1 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 9.0 | 69-5 | 38-2 | |
| 2 | 22 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 11.8 | 38-26 | 21-19 | |
| 3 | 13 | 28 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 16.6 | 40-25 | 25-15 | |
| 4 | 19 | 32 | 23 | 27 | 35 | 27.2 | 31-32 | 19-21 | |
| 5 | 70 | 26 | 24 | 25 | 41 | 37.2 | 40-26 | 24-16 | |
| 6 | 41 | 29 | 26 | 52 | 49 | 39.4 | 36-28 | 18-22 | |
| 7 | 44 | 55 | 46 | 34 | 30 | 41.8 | 36-29 | 24-16 | |
| 8 | 42 | 73 | 29 | 32 | 37 | 42.6 | 35-29 | 21-19 | |
| 9 | 26 | 52 | 51 | 46 | 59 | 46.8 | 27-34 | 16-24 | |
| 10 | 60 | 47 | 61 | 47 | 33 | 49.6 | 32-31 | 14-26 | |
| 11 | 48 | 39 | 64 | 56 | 60 | 53.4 | 29-35 | 17-23 | |
| 12 | 59 | 53 | 50 | 55 | 66 | 56.6 | 27-34 | 14-26 | |
| 13 | 61 | 54 | 60 | 65 | 58 | 59.6 | 33-31 | 15-25 | |
| 14 | 62 | 60 | 67 | 66 | 75 | 66.0 | 30-33 | 14-26 |
The most, least experienced teams in the ACC for 2020 (247sports.com; Buckley)
There’s no substitute for experience. At least that’s what we hear all the time from coaches and media pundits alike.
If that’s truly the case, the college football programs with the most returning starters should dominate every season. However, that in and of itself does not guarantee success.
Sometimes significant injuries to veterans, former backups unexpectedly rising to the occasion or can’t-miss recruits delivering on their promise have more to do with a team’s on-field accomplishments than solely experience.
However, having players with significant playing time under their belts returning to the field is never a bad thing.
With that in mind, Ben Brown of Pro Football Focus studied all 130 FBS teams from 2019 and calculated the percentage of snaps (offense and defense) those programs have coming back for the 2020 season.
According to the PFF research, the most experienced all-around teams in the ACC next season will be North Carolina and Clemson.
The Tar Heels exceeded expectations in the first year under longtime coaching veteran Mack Brown. North Carolina went 7-6 in 2019, concluding the season with a blowout bowl win over Temple. It was UNC’s first bowl appearance since 2016 after the Heels combined for only five wins the previous two seasons.
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https://accsports.com/acc-news/football/tim-brewster-leaves-unc-for-florida/ (accsports.com; Geisinger)
Longtime Mack Brown assistant coach Tim Brewster is headed to Florida. Brewster, an ace recruiter, spent the 2019 season as North Carolina’s tight ends coach; previously he worked with Brown at UNC from 1989-97. He will coach the tight ends at Florida.
I loved every second of my time w @CoachMackBrown and the Tar Heels!! 14 years together, 10 at Carolina. Just so blessed. I am now up to be a Florida Gator #GoGators
— Tim Brewster (@TimBrewster) February 12, 2020
During his coaching career, Brewster spent several seasons with Jimbo Fisher, too. Brewster was with Fisher at Florida State (2013-17); when Fisher left for greener pastures, Brewster followed him to Texas A&M in 2018.
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https://accsports.com/acc-news/unc-hires-john-lilly-to-replace-tim-brewster-as-te-coach/ (accsports.com; Geisinger)
It didn’t take long, but North Carolina has found its new tight ends coach: John Lilly. After Tim Brewster, a longtime Mack Brown assistant, left last week for Florida, UNC had a staff position to fill. On Wednesday, the University made if official — hiring Lilly, who coached for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 2019. Lilly, however, is best known for his extended sting as Georgia’s tight ends coach (2008-15) under Mark Richt.
We're thrilled to announce that John Lilly (@Coach_JLilly) is joining our staff as tight ends coach.
Great addition to a great staff.
Lilly Named Carolina Football’s Tight Ends Coach - University of North Carolina Athletics #BeTheOne pic.twitter.com/S3GyuPpJfq
— Carolina Football (@TarHeelFootball) February 12, 2020
Before he arrived at Georgia, Lilly spent 13 seasons on staff at Florida State, starting in the mid-1990s. During the 2018 season, he was an assistant to the head coach at Tennessee. That came after a one-year run with the Los Angeles Rams — also as their tight ends coach.
In the school’s official release, Brown stated that Lilly should help boost the program’s profile on the field and in recruiting.
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Links - Clemson vs Notre Dame Edition - 2/13/20 (RX; HM)
Links - Clemson vs Notre Dame Edition - 2/13/20
From SouthernPigskin: Clemson / Notre Dame Already a Headliner.
From BR: Ranking the Fastest Players in College Football in 2020
...these five players are the fastest in college football heading into next season.
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Coaching Carousel - 2/12/20 (RX; HM)
Coaching Carousel - 2/12/20
It's being reported that Michigan State has hired sitting Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker as the new head coach of the Spartans. That occupies one P5 seat on the coaching carousel but empties another...
Here's a list of the FBS head coaching changes (so far) for this offseason (ACC-related highlighted):
| School | Former HC | How Left | New HC | Former Job | How Acq. |
| Rutgers | Chris Ash | fired | Greg Schiano | unemployed | promoted |
| Florida State | Willie Taggart | fired | Mike Norvell | HC, Memphis | poached |
| Arkansas | Chad Morris | fired | Sam Pittman | AHC/OL, Georgia | promoted |
| New Mexico | Bob Davie | fired | Danny Gonzales | DC, Arizona St | promoted |
| UNLV | Tony Sanchez | fired | Marcus Arroyo | OC, Oregon | promoted |
| Missouri | Barry Odom | fired | Eli Drinkwitz | HC, Appalachian St | poached |
| UTSA | Frank Wilson | fired | Jeff Traylor | AHC/RB, Arkansas | promoted |
| USF | Charlie Strong | fired | Jeff Scott | Co-OC, Clemson | promoted |
| Boston College | Steve Addazio | fired | Jeff Hafley | Co-DC, Ohio State | promoted |
| Ole Miss | Matt Luke | fired | Lane Kiffin | HC, FAU | poached |
| Old Dominion | Bobby Wilder | resigned | Ricky Rahne | OC, Penn State | promoted |
| Washington | Chris Petersen | resigned | Jimmy Lake | DC, Washington | internal |
| Colorado State | Mike Bobo | resigned | Steve Addazio | HC, Boston College | hired |
| Fresno State | Jeff Tedford | resigned | Kalen DeBoer | OC, Indiana | promoted |
| FAU | Lane Kiffin | poached | Willie Taggart | HC, Florida State | hired |
| Memphis | Mike Norvell | poached | Ryan Silverfield | AHC/OL, Memphis | internal |
| Appalachian St. | Eli Drinkwitz | poached | Shawn Clark | Co-OC, App. State | internal |
| Mississippi St. | Joe Moorhead | fired | Mike Leach | HC, Washington St | poached |
| Baylor | Matt Rhule | NFL | Dave Aranda | DC, LSU | promoted |
| San Diego State | Rocky Long | resigned | Brady Hoke | DL, San Diego St* | internal |
| Washington St. | Mike Leach | poached | Nick Rolovich | HC, Hawaii | poached |
| Hawaii | Nick Rolovich | poached | Todd Graham | unemployed | hired |
| Michigan State | Mark Dantonio | resigned | Mel Tucker | HC, Colorado | poached |
| Colorado | Mel Tucker | poached | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Other
Review: Hawley-Green's La Patria Cafe (PS; Woodman)
About a year ago, we had lunch at La Patria Cafe and were delighted to find an excellent Cubano sandwich. But the lunchtime restaurant closed for renovations soon after our visit. About eight months later, the cafe reopened—this time serving dinner and Saturday brunch—and we returned for a taste of the revamped menu.
That Cubano is still on the menu ($10.50), but the list of main dishes has expanded to include such Latin specialities as mofongo ($11.50 to $14.50), mashed green plantains served with a vegetarian, shrimp, or pork sauce; pernil ($11.50), the slow-roasted pork we know and love from Puerto Rico; and three other dishes based on shrimp, steak or chicken ($12.50 to $13.50).
We started with choices from a drinks menu that includes juices, teas, coffees, sodas and mocktails, all ranging from $1.50 to $2.25. (The planned bar service is awaiting a license.) Our choices included a pineapple-ginger drink ($2.25) that took advantage of ginger beer for its strong, spicy taste.
Our cappuccino ($2) came with two kinds of brown sugar and was based on a richly aromatic coffee. We could see spending considerable time in the little dining room decorated with colorful original art, enjoying that coffee, the spiced popcorn brought to us as a gesture of welcome, and the Latin music playing at a moderate volume.
Starters on the new menu range from $3 for tostones to a large green salad at $10. We selected the “batata,” roasted sweet potatoes with garlic and rosemary ($3) and the day's soup ($4 cup/$6 bowl), a coconut curry with sweet potato and corn.
Our sweet potatoes were beautifully prepared, roasted until soft and then sliced, grilled and seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and a touch of olive oil. These would make a great side order with other starters or an empanada.
The day’s soup demonstrated how light and fragrant a curried soup can be when prepared with a sensitive touch. The coconut and curry flavors were balanced in the thin broth, providing a delicious backdrop for the sweet corn and sweet potato dice. It was a wonderful dish for a cold, dark evening.
La Patria now features an expanded menu of nine different empanadas ($3 to $3.85). We tried two of the new choices: jerk chicken and chorizo and cheese ($3.75 each). The light, flaky pastry we enjoyed on our first visit su
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