sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Pluto Day!
The story of how Pluto was discovered actually starts in the 1840’s, when one Urbain Le Verrier determined that there was a planet outside of Uranus, but that planet obviously wasn’t Pluto, it was Neptune. But the same methods by which Neptune was discovered led to another beyond it. You see, Uranus was demonstrating some oddities in its orbit, oddities caused by its nearest, yet undiscovered, neighbor, Neptune. Once they were able to actually observe Neptune, they realized that another planet must be disturbing Uranus’s orbit as well, what they were seeing couldn’t be explained merely by Neptune.
This led to a search for Planet X (an Amazing name that we think Pluto should have kept, but we’re not able to do anything about that, obviously) headed by Percival Lowell. Unfortunately Powell would pass from this mortal coil (and into the hands of Pluto, God of the Dead) before Pluto was discovered… At least, before he would know about it. You see, during their surveys of the deep sky in search of ‘Planet X’, two faint smudges would appear that were later to be revealed to be Pluto.
SU News
Syracuse football to benefit from ACC transfer announcement (itlh; Esden Jr)
Syracuse football will surely benefit from the latest transfer announcement by the ACC. Here are all the details and what it all could mean for the Orange.
The transfer regulations for college basketball and football have been held to a different standard than that of the other collegiate sports.
For example, transfers that have joined the Syracuse football and Syracuse basketball programs in the past have been forced to sit out a year.
Players like Elijah Hughes, Trishton Jackson, Abdul Adams were forced to miss a year and now currently former Florida offensive lineman Chris Bleich is trying to avoid it.
On Monday afternoon that possibility has become closer to reality when the ACC released a statement on transfer opportunity:
“During the league’s annual winter meetings (February 12 through 14), the ACC discussed the transfer environment and unanimously concluded that as a matter of principle we support a one-time transfer opportunity for all student-athletes, regardless of sport. As a conference, we look forward to continuing the discussion nationally.”
In other words, it’s an unfair process.
When a player decides to transfer unless his waiver is approved he must sit out a year. That isn’t the case for coaches who decide to leave at inopportune times. For example, we just witnessed Mel Tucker leaving Colorado high and dry for Michigan State, yet he doesn’t have to sit out a year, he can begin coaching immediately.
There’s a growing sense that the transfer restrictions will be lifted. The ACC has become the second conference to come out publicly in support of potential changes moving forward joining the Big Ten.
Brent Axe of Syracuse.com wrote on social media that this ACC announcement means that “transfers don’t have to wait a year”.
It’s unclear if and when this will open up the transfer doors without penalty for incoming athletes, but this would be a huge win for the Syracuse football program. Chris Bleich is an SEC talent from the Gators that would be a plug and play starter on the offensive line in 2020 (if he’s cleared by the NCAA to transfer in).
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Trina Catterson continues 73-year-old tradition as Orange Girl (DO; Mallea)
Since 1947, the Syracuse marching band has been accompanied by an Orange Girl, a twirler who wows crowds with eye-catching routines at home basketball and football games.
On top of performing, the Orange Girl is the face of the marching band and an ambassador for the entire university. When Isabella Bolduc stepped down last year, the position opened for Syracuse’s 25th Orange Girl. Now, SUNY Oswego freshman Trina Catterson has taken on the 73-year-old role — one she has been training for her entire life.
Catterson’s mother, Kathy, was a twirler growing up and went on to coach it. Twirling is a sport that combines dance, artistic expression and agility while manipulating a baton, according to the World Baton Twirling Federation. Growing up in Queens, Catterson first got involved with competitive twirling at the age of 4, but was preparing even before that.
“I would go to the lessons that (my mother) was teaching and just mimic the girls in the background,” Catterson said. “Eventually, my mom put a baton in my hands.”
Kathy first knew her daughter’s twirling ability was special when her daughter was only 5 years old. Catterson’s “wrist flexibility developed better than the average 5-year-old,” Kathy said, and she understood how the baton moved. When Catterson turned 6, Kathy brought her to a camp in Long Island where she was asked to join a team. In her first year of competition, Catterson went to the twirling national championships.
“Oh, I think it’s awesome,” Kathy said. “I love watching her twirl on the field. I love watching her twirl at the pre-games and seeing everyone’s reaction. I find it amazing.”
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Could All-P5 Scheduling Work? (RX; HM)
Could All-P5 Scheduling Work?
A former Big 12 president proposed an all-P5 schedule [LINK].
So did Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban [LINK].
Of course you'd love to see your team play more P5 and fewer FCS and G5 "cupcakes", but the question we should really be asking is: what would be the fallout of such a change? Let's look at two key areas: revenue and competition.
Revenue.
First of all, you might as well know that other P5 teams are all going to want 1-for-1 series - which means 6 home and 6 away games for everyone (i.e. no more 7th home game). That financial impact might be made up in higher ticket prices for some teams thanks to better opponents - but most of the big boys sell-out no matter who they schedule, so this would be money-loser for them.
Let's assume for a moment that season ticket holders wouldn't mind paying the same amount (or a little more) than what they currently pay for 7 home games involving 5 P5 and 2 "cupcakes" to get a book of 6 P5 game tickets. I think that's a pretty safe assumption, to be honest. However, there are other financial impacts. For example, instead of paying to park their vehicles 7 times they'd now only do it 6 times. Fans would also be staying in local hotels and eating in local restaurants 14% less often.
Now, there is a potential way around this as well; if the team averages at least 15% no-shows during a 7-game season, they could make up the difference by selling-out all 6 P5 games. The math goes something like this:
Put whatever number you want for the "dollars per game" estimate, the point is that if your stadium averages 85% full or less, you could make more money with 6 sell-outs. Of course, profits would be much higher, since the cost to put on 6 games is 14% cheaper than 7 games.
Again, this won't help teams which average 85% full stadiums (regardless of the size of the stadium). Who are those teams, you ask? Here you go...
Power 5 Conference Average 2019 Home Attendance
(ranked by percentage of stadium capacity filled)
| Rank | Institution | P5 Conf. | Avg. Attend. | Stadium Capacity | %Full |
| 1 | Nebraska | Big Ten | 89,348 | 87,091 | 102.59 |
| 2 | Utah | Pac-12 | 46,462 | 45,807 | 101.43 |
| 3 | Michigan | Big Ten | 111,459 | 109,901 | 101.42 |
| 4 | Ohio St. | Big Ten | 103,383 | 102,329 | 101.03 |
| 5 | Baylor | Big 12 | 45,517 | 45,140 | 100.84 |
| 6 | Georgia | SEC | 92,817 | 92,746 | 100.08 |
| 7 | North Carolina | ACC | 50,500 | 50,500 | 100.00 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 83,256 | 83,489 | 99.72 |
| 9 | Alabama | SEC | 101,117 | 101,821 | 99.31 |
| 10 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 53,591 | 54,000 | 99.24 |
| 11 | Clemson | ACC | 80,868 | 81,500 | 99.22 |
| 12 | Penn St. | Big Ten | 105,678 | 106,572 | 99.16 |
| 13 | Colorado | Pac-12 | 49,573 | 50,183 | 98.78 |
| 14 | LSU | SEC | 100,842 | 102,321 | 98.55 |
| 15 | Auburn | SEC | 85,765 | 87,451 | 98.07 |
| 16 | NC State | ACC | 56,466 | 57,600 | 98.03 |
| 17 | Kansas St. | Big 12 | 48,818 | 50,000 | 97.64 |
| 18 | Washington | Pac-12 | 68,238 | 70,138 | 97.29 |
| 19 | Iowa St. | Big 12 | 59,794 | 61,500 | 97.23 |
| 20 | South Carolina | SEC | 77,962 | 80,250 | 97.15 |
| 21 | Oklahoma St. | Big 12 | 54,817 | 56,790 | 96.53 |
| 22 | Texas | Big 12 | 96,306 | 100,119 | 96.19 |
| 23 | Florida | SEC | 84,684 | 88,548 | 95.64 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 76,472 | 80,321 | 95.21 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | SEC | 97,459 | 102,733 | 94.87 |
| 26 | Iowa | Big Ten | 65,557 | 69,250 | 94.67 |
| 27 | Notre Dame | Indep. | 76,288 | 80,795 | 94.42 |
| 28 | Purdue | Big Ten | 54,021 | 57,236 | 94.38 |
| 29 | TCU | Big 12 | 42,881 | 46,000 | 93.22 |
| 30 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 55,907 | 60,000 | 93.18 |
| 31 | Mississippi St. | SEC | 56,182 | 61,337 | 91.60 |
| 32 | Minnesota | Big Ten | 46,190 | 50,805 | 90.92 |
| 33 | Michigan St. | Big Ten | 67,819 | 75,005 | 90.42 |
| 34 | Missouri | SEC | 54,160 | 60,168 | 90.01 |
| 35 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 58,293 | 65,632 | 88.82 |
| 36 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 53,418 | 60,454 | 88.36 |
| 37 | Washington St. | Pac-12 | 28,541 | 32,740 | 87.17 |
| 38 | Kentucky | SEC | 53,128 | 61,000 | 87.10 |
| 39 | Syracuse | ACC | 42,164 | 49,057 | 85.95 |
| 40 | Tennessee | SEC | 87,864 | 102,455 | 85.76 |
| 41 | Wake Forest | ACC | 26,999 | 31,500 | 85.71 |
Can Anyone Unseat Clemson in 2020 ACC FB? (RX; HM)
Can Anyone Unseat Clemson in 2020 ACC FB?
This question was asked on twitter:
To be sure, those 4 teams all have a reasonable path to dethrone the kings of ACC football... but there may be others. Let's take a look at...
The Contenders:
North Carolina
The Tar Heels almost upset the Tigers last year in Chapel Hill, so you have to include them in this list. UNC wouldn't play Clemson until the ACC Championship Game - and that's played in Charlotte, which figures to favor the Heels. Mack Brown has been doing an excellent job of recruiting... but I just don't see it.
Miami
The Hurricanes probably have the most talented roster of any ACC team not named Clemson, so it's plausible they could upset the Tigers in the ACC CG should they meet there. That said, I'm just not sure the Canes have the coaching to even get to Charlotte. Coaching makes a difference in close games, and Miami lost plenty of those last season. I see nothing to convince me they'll win the Coastal this year, either.
Louisville
The Cardinals have an advantage that the Coastal division contenders do not: they catch the Tigers in the regular season. That might be a real advantage if the game were in the second half of the season and played in Louisville - but it's the second game and it's in Clemson. Both teams will be coming off identical Thursday night openers, so no advantage there, either. Sorry, but no.
Virginia Tech
Despite a poor recruiting class and lots of attrition through the transfer portal, the Hokies actually have a very talented team this year. Justin Fuente got to the ACC Championship Game in his first season in Blacksburg, so he's capable of doing it again - but he's also shown a recent tendency to lose close games, which is a bad sign for such a tight division. IF the Hokies can return to Charlotte, I'd give them a chance to upset the Tigers - but they'd definitely be underdogs.
What about the rest of the conference? Now let's examine...
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Virginia Tech Football: 5 Newcomers to Watch for the Hokies (athlonsports.com; Kinne)
Hokies hoping their running game will get a boost this fall from Kansas graduate transfer Khalil Herbert
Every college football head coach will rave about his incoming class on Signing Day. Whether he truly believes the efforts on the recruiting trail were overly successful, the coach has to sell progress to the fans, boosters, and players on the team.
The fact that during his Signing Day press conference, Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente spent most of his time talking about the 2021 class, his coaching staff, and his discussions with Baylor tell you all you need to know about the incoming recruits for the Hokies. They are ranked 71st in 247Sports' Composite Team Rankings with a class of just 14 high school prospects and one junior college signee.
But there is good news. Attrition didn't hit the Hokies overly hard and there are freshmen and redshirt freshmen that could make an impact next fall. Also, the program that has been hit so hard by transfers in recent years added some potential contributors in that fashion.
Khalil Herbert, RB
The graduate transfer from Kansas will immediately be in the mix to take over for Deshawn McClease as the team's primary running back. Herbert rushed for 1,735 yards during his Jayhawk career and averaged 8.9 yards per carry his senior season before shutting things down after four games. He may be challenged by another transfer, Raheem Blackshear. However, the former Rutgers all-purpose back needs to get a waiver to play right away.
Brock Hoffman, OL
And don't ask Hoffman about the fickleness of those granting transfer waivers. One of the reasons that the former Coastal Carolina center came to Blacksburg was to be closer to an ailing family member. But that was not good enough for the NCAA and he had to sit out the 2019 season. With all five starters back on the offensive line, it is unclear where Hoffman will fit in, but he will undoubtedly see plenty of snaps.
Jaden Payoute, WR
Wide receiver is one position where the Hokies will need a newcomer to step up. Damon Hazelton and Hezekiah Grimsley were two of four Virginia Tech pass catchers to enter the transfer portal, creating a void behind Tre Turner and Tayvion Robinson. The former high school quarterback was a prized signee in the 2019 class and redshirted this past fall to learn how to be a receiver. The Chesterfield, Virginia, product will need to add some strength, but he has speed to burn.
Alec Bryant, DE
Bryant is the highest-rated player in the 2020 class and had offers from LSU, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, and Oregon. He's listed as a weak-side end but at 240 pounds already, he may grow into the strong-side spot. Emmanuel Belmar and Tyjuan Garbutt return at defensive end but Bryant could be a valuable role player for the Hokies next fall.
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P5 OOC trends: P5 or FCS? (RX; HM)
P5 OOC trends: P5 or FCS?
Check out these tweets from Pick Six Previews:
Considering the fact that the USC Trojans already play 9 Pac-12 games every season, it's insane that they also play an average of more than 2 P5 non-conference games as well!
The second most-surprising name on that list was at the bottom - until I realized that the Florida Gators played Florida State 15 times, meaning they only played 4 other P5 OOC games (by contrast, FSU played UF plus 11 more P5 OOC games in 15 years).
Clemson and Georgia are not surprising at all tied for 2nd most P5 non-conference opponents (27 each).
What about the other end of the spectrum? I love this next tweet because it combines most easy with fewest difficult non-conference games in one quick snapshot:
One ACC team (shame on you, NC State!) but 4 SEC teams, 4 Big XII teams (40% of that conference!), 3 Big Ten teams and 3 Pac-12 teams. Of course, the only teams on the list who don't currently play 9 conference games are NC State, Arkansas, Mississippi St, Ole Miss and Texas A&M...
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African Americans and College Football, Part 3: Integration (saturdayblitz.com; Pryor)
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Key moments in integration
The integration of college football existed based on a simple premise, the program with the best players wins. Institutional racial segregation is based on an unproven idea that skin color breeds inferiority.
White coaches — during the time before legislated desegregation — did not go to black neighborhoods and black high schools to investigate whether or not black football players were the equal of their white counterparts. Therefore the only way to prove your worth was on the field in the few places where a black player could enroll in school and play football.
These players proved they were every bit as good — and better in some instances — than their white counterparts.
Early stars of the gridiron
- Fritz Pollard, Brown University (1915-1917), HB/QB
Upon earning that respect, his white teammates would attempt to protect him since he was the only black player on the team. There was a team that refused to play them because they were integrated. All common tropes of the experience of black football players during this time through the 1980s.
- Jackie Robinson, UCLA (1939-1941), HB/QB
- Willie Thrower, Michigan State (1949-1951), QB
- Sandy Stephens, Minnesota (1959-1961), QB
- Condredge Holloway, Tennessee (1972-1974), QB
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ACC Announces Support For One-Time Transfer Rule Change (SI; Driskell)
The Atlantic Coast Conference has become the second Power 5 conference to support a rule change that would allow student-athletes a one-transfer transfer opportunity. Here is the statement from the ACC:
“During the league’s annual winter meetings (February 12-14) the ACC discussed the transfer environment and unanimously concluded that as a matter of principle we support a one-time transfer opportunity for all student-athletes regardless of sport. As a conference, we look forward to continuing the discussion nationally.”
Under current rules, student-athletes that choose to transfer from one FBS institution to another must sit out a year before they are eligible to play. They can practice with their new team but they cannot play for a season.
What is being pushed for is a new rule that would allow players to transfer once without penalty. The ACC now joins the Big Ten in support of a one-time transfer rule. Notre Dame is an ACC member in every sport except for football.
While the leagues are stating this in a way that comes across as player-friendly, I contend it is a rule that would benefits the coaches and teams far more than players, and that's ultimately what this is about.
This transfer rule opens up a new talent-pool for teams to tap into. The best teams can now poach players from inferior teams in their league, and those teams could then start raiding other programs, including Group of Six programs.
This would also make it easier for teams to nudge players out of their programs in an attempt to open up scholarships for incoming recruits. While being masked as a rule that will allow players who were lied to, or players that are buried on the depth chart to find new opportunities, it will go far, far beyond that, and smart coaches and administrators know this.
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Preseason college football FPI breakdown (ESPN; Staff)
Clemson fell short in the national championship game, but for the second straight year, the Tigers enter the season as the top team, according to the first Football Power Index rankings of 2020. Clemson returns six starters on each side of the ball, including all four defensive linemen and one of the favorites to win the Heisman in quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Just behind Clemson is the team the Tigers beat in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State. The Buckeyes return only nine starters (five on offense, four on defense), but that group includes Heisman favorite Justin Fields at quarterback.
The SEC had three of the top four teams in last season's preseason FPI, including eventual national champion LSU. This year, Alabama is the only SEC team in the preseason top five. LSU is outside the top 10 after losing 14 starters from its championship-winning squad.
The Pac-12 hasn't sent a team to the College Football Playoff in the past three seasons and based on preseason FPI, that trend will continue this year. It's the only Power 5 conference without a team in the top 10; USC is 13th and Oregon is 14th.
The SEC (seven) and Big Ten (six) combine to occupy more than half of the top 25. Every Power 5 conference has at least three schools in this year's top 25.
The old axiom is that defense wins championships, but that might not be the case with the top teams in 2020. The top five in preseason FPI all rank in the top five in the projections for expected points added on offense; only one ranks in the top five in projected expected points added on defense.
Stop me if you've heard this before ... Oklahoma is expected to have the best offense in FBS despite turning to its fourth starting quarterback in as many seasons.
Clemson has had the most efficient defense in FBS each of the past three seasons and enters 2020 with the top-ranked unit.
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Other
$2M campaign launched for Gustav Stickley house restoration (PS; Moriarty)
The Gustav Stickley House Foundation has started a campaign to raise $2.2 million over two years to complete the restoration of the famous furniture maker’s home in Syracuse.
The foundation will hold its first public campaign event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 5 at the Everson Museum. Tickets are $50 a person and can be purchased at the door or in advance at the foundation’s website, gustavstickleyhousefoundation.org.
The fundraiser includes the premiere showing of a documentary from director Herb Stratford on the life and works of Stickley, creator of Mission-style furniture and a major voice in the American Arts and Crafts movement in the early 20th century.
Former Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and Thom Filicia, an interior and product designer, are chairing the campaign.
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