sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Pumpkin Day!
National Pumpkin Day celebrates pumpkins, a cultivar of the squash plant that is native to North America. Its name is derived from the Greek word "pepon", which means large melon. Pumpkins have long since been associated with the harvest season, and both Halloween and Thanksgiving. During Halloween many people pick or buy pumpkins—most often the Connecticut Field pumpkin—and carve them into jack-o'-lanterns. Vegetables such as turnips have long been carved in Ireland and Britain, and the practice of carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns stemmed from the story of Stingy Jack. Pumpkins were one of the squashes long eaten by Native Americans, which they introduced to Europeans shortly after the settlers arrived in the Americas. In fact, pumpkin pie was served at one of the Pilgrim's first Thanksgivings in the early 1620's, and is now a staple of Thanksgiving meals. A smaller strain of the Connecticut Field pumpkin, the Small Sugar pumpkin, is often used for pumpkin pie, but most Americans buy pie filling or puree in cans instead of getting it from fresh pumpkins. Although most Americans only use fresh pumpkins for carving, there has been a growing interest in pumpkin flavored foods in recent years, which can be attributed to Starbucks' introduction of pumpkin spice latte in 2003.
SU News
SU’s young players are impressing, but it could be harder for Hulu customers to watch (stock watch) (PS; $; Carlson)
Syracuse football is 1-5 following a 47-21 loss on Saturday at Clemson.
This week’s stock watch takes a look at the players and themes rising and falling heading into the next opponent, which will be Wake Forest (3-2) next week at the Carrier Dome.
Stock Up: The kids are all right
Syracuse’s youth movement probably isn’t a good thing for the team’s record, but a number of underclassmen played well against Clemson and continue to show growth.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Garrett Williams was the game’s breakout star for Syracuse thanks to his interception return for a touchdown and his excellent all-out effort to break up a potential touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Amari Rodgers. Opponents are targeting Williams plenty because he is SU’s youngest defensive back. He is proving up to the challenge.
“Here’s another young guy showing up, just letting you know young this team is,” Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. “For him to make a play like that on a stage like this against a team like that. Hopefully, he’s going to be around a long, long while.”
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Syracuse football loses to No. 1 Clemson; what they’re saying (PS; $; Owens)
It wasn’t the blowout that Las Vegas oddsmakers thought it could be.
The Syracuse Orange hung tough well into the second half against the No. 1-ranked Clemson Tigers before falling 47-21.
SU had their share of highlights, including a pick-six interception by freshman cornerback Garrett Williams with 1:18 to go in the first half and an 83-yard touchdown pass from Rex Culpepper to Nykiem Johnson.
Here is a look at some of the social media reactions to the game.
I did not anticipate Clemson vs Syracuse being worth my attention today
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 24, 2020
Nobody did.
If they’re honest. https://t.co/QLsIDtELzl
— Rain @espnsportszilla (@ESPNRain) October 24, 2020
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What We Learned From Clemson's Win Over Syracuse (SI; Senkiw)
for gbo
No. 1 Clemson's 47-21 victory was the oddest of the season.
The first five games were fairly predictable, even the dominating win over Miami. Everyone knows the Tigers have one of college football's best offenses behind stars Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne.
The defense is young but extremely talented. What the Syracuse game showed is what can happen when even good teams don't execute well, and it's hard to understand why a team as well-coached as Clemson, well-prepared and oozing with better football players than their opponent didn't look all that sharp.
Call it being a 47-point favorite. Chalk it up to knowing they'd win the game against a one-win Syracuse team. Blame it on the early start, a lack of energy, reduced crowd or the unseasonably warm weather.
Whatever it was, this wasn't Clemson's best game, period. That doesn't mean there weren't a ton of positives, and it's not fair just to focus on the negatives after a 26-point win. However, this was a 6-point game in the third quarter.
Let's get right into what we learned from a late-game push to take care of the Orange and improve to 6-0:
Dabo Swinney ain't taking none
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Clemson vs Syracuse Film Review: 1st Quarter (shakinthesouthland.com; Craft)
Saturday wasn’t the affair most expected coming off Clemson’s historic win at Georgia Tech and Syracuse’s dud at the hands of a school which I don’t even want to acknowledge. I humbly include myself in with most, since I rounded up my pregame piece on the Syracuse defense with a jinx on every single point below:
This should be another ho-hum nooner unless Clemson piles up a ton of unforced errors. No matter what Dabo said about them publicly, the Orange shouldn’t force nearly their usual amount. Syracuse’s saving grace has been turnovers borne from aggression in the back end, but Clemson has been clinical through the air and remembered they can out-scheme instead of merely out-talent opponents. This should be a monster game for Travis Etienne if he actually gets 10 carries. Trevor Lawrence merely needs to pick up where he left off and exit this game by halftime.
Welp. It wasn’t a ho-hum nooner until nearly 3 o’clock; Clemson did indeed pile up more unforced errors than any point in the last 1.5 seasons, seemingly; Clemson was nowhere near clinical through the air; there was little “out-scheming” or “out-talenting” (and we could argue the complete opposite regarding the wide receiver positions); and neither Travis Etienne nor Trevor Lawrence had monster games.
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7 takeaways from Clemson's win over Syracuse (P&C; Needelman)
Clemson beat Syracuse 47-21 on Saturday, but the final score requires an explanation.
The Orange kept it close much longer than expected before the Tigers pulled away late.
Here are seven takeaways from No. 1 Clemson’s sixth straight win to start the season:
Clemson got off to a 17-0 lead but led Syracuse, a team it was favored to beat by my nearly 50 points, by just six points with two minutes left in the third quarter.
“I just think our energy wasn’t where it needed to be at the beginning of the game,” Lawrence said.
Coach Dabo Swinney disagreed with that sentiment, but it’s not a stretch to imagine the Tigers didn’t enter the contest with the same level of energy which they brought to the Miami game two weeks ago.
Something was responsible for what happened, and it wasn’t the talent level.
Shorthanded defense bends but doesn’t break
The Tigers’ defense was without its only three returning starters from last season — cornerback Derion Kendrick (knee), middle linebacker James Skalski (groin) and Tyler Davis (leg).
Syracuse accumulated 325 yards of total offense, but in the end, defensive coordinator Brent Venables’ unit made enough big plays to win.
Perhaps none was bigger than defensive tackle Bryan Bresee’s strip of Orange quarterback Rex Culpepper late in the third quarter. Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. recovered the fumble and scored to push Clemson’s lead to 13 points.
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CLEMSON FOOTBALL: Syracuse due some credit, Swinney says (thetandd.com; Hickey)
A day following No. 1 Clemson (6-0, 5-0)'s 47-21 win over Syracuse (1-5, 1-4), head coach Dabo Swinney virtually met the media on Sunday evening.
Here are the primary takeaways from his media availability:
- Said Clemson is 106-2 when leading going into fourth quarter dating back to 2011.
- Called Saturday's result an excellent win. "We're 6-0 and that's where we wanted to be.
"It certainly was not our best game to this point but give Syracuse some credit. Thought they played really hard."
"The offensive line played well, but it was a game where we'd have one guy here and one guy there, just a few miscues."
Want to get a whole lot more from TheTandD.com?
- Said it was technique and situational awareness on the 83-yarder that Joseph Charleston allowed.
- Said he thought Lyn-J Dixon had his best game of the season outside of when he bounced the ball outside and got the TFL.
- Said Kobe Pace is really starting to come on. "Fundamentally and technique-wise, he's got it. Just some schematic and pass protection things he's still working on."
- Said Mikey Dukes was a little banged up this week in practice.
- Noted Travis Etienne had 19 touches despite missing a quarter of play.
- On if there's a timeline for when Tyler Davis, Derion Kendrick and Jamie Skalksi will return: "I don't. Hopefully all will be working back in there this week. Just too early to tell right now."
- Said the team came out of Saturday relatively healthy.
- On the first-down offense vs. Syracuse: "It was actually pretty good. Run game, really pleased with what we are doing there. A few discipline things we need to clean up. I mean, we were averaging 8, 9, 10 yards per pop on the RPO stuff and that's all part of your run game. Our offensive line has played great all year. It was just a little inconsistent up front yesterday. It was inconsistency with communication and discipline things. Just some miscues. But they were solid. We're aggressive. We aren't just going to run on it first and second downs and throw it on third down. We are always going to mix it up. We are built to take what people give us. We can throw for 500 or rush for 500. We are a balanced offense."
Defensive stars stepped up when the offense needed them (theclemsoninsider.com; Dodd)
Top-ranked Clemson struggled to pull away against Syracuse on Saturday but eventually secured a 47-21 win to remain undefeated.
Syracuse pushed within a touchdown of the Tigers with an 83-yard touchdown pass with 8:41 to play in the third quarter to make it a 27-21 game. But, Clemson stepped up and forced four turnovers in the game to pull ahead in the second half.
Each week The Clemson Insider gives out helmet stickers who contributed to the Tigers’ success with outstanding individual performances.
Andrew Booth
Booth once again showed out on defense for the Tigers and led the team in tackles with five on the game. But, the biggest play for the sophomore corner was a 21-yard scoop-and-score with 1:26 to play in the third quarter that shifted momentum and allowed Clemson to pull ahead 34-21.
Mike Jones
Jones showed his full capability for Clemson on Saturday and finished the game with three tackles and a four-yard half sack. The sophomore linebacker also intercepted a pass with 11:26 play in the game and returned it 40 yards to the Syracuse three where he was knocked out of bounds and set up a Tiger touchdown.
Travis Etienne
Etienne left the game in the third quarter with cramping but returned in the fourth to score a pair of touchdowns and secure a Clemson win. The senior running back finished the game with 16 carries for 93 yards and three touchdowns. Etienne also tied the FBS record for games with a touchdown with 41.
Nolan Turner
Turner nabbed his third interception of the season and also finished the game with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. This is the second straight game Turner has intercepted a pass and he returned it for 21 yards.
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Axe: SU football’s youth movement makes this season about the future (PS; $; Axe)
Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers will be the first to tell you, and he certainly has at times this season, the best thing about freshman.
They eventually become sophomores.
Until that happens, there is no ignoring the youth movement on Babers' roster that makes the rest of the 2020 season more about the future than the here and now.
45 percent of the Syracuse roster that traveled to Clemson for Saturday’s 47-21 loss to the Tigers were freshman or redshirt freshman.
If five-or-more freshman start a single game, it will be the most to do so for Syracuse on one side of the ball in program history.
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Syracuse football shows some spirit but still loses to Clemson - The Juice Online (the juice; Stechschulte)
Saturday afternoon, Syracuse was able to give Clemson half a game, outscoring the top-ranked team in the nation by a 21-10 margin from late in the first quarter through late in the third quarter. The first and fourth quarters were a different story altogether as the Tigers (6-0, 5-0 ACC) blew the doors off the Orange (1-5, 1-4) in those two periods and claimed a 47-21 victory.
Clemson needed a little over the first ten minutes of action to grab a 17-0 stranglehold on the game and scored three touchdowns in under six minutes to close out the scoring with just under 11 minutes remaining. That the undermanned SU squad was able to put a scare into the #1 Tigers is a credit to their effort and some big plays.
That effort, though, was undermined by an offense that was not up to a very difficult task. Syracuse quarterback Rex Culpepper was responsible for four turnovers that the hosts were able to transform into 17 points. The Orange, who were without top receiver Taj Harris, who was suspended for the game and did not travel with the team, also started the game by converting just 2-of-10 third downs.
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Top five Syracuse football players this season to date (itlh; Mlodzinski)
Halfway through the 2020 season and Syracuse football is 1-5. But these five players have had their own and made the Orange fanbase proud.
Syracuse football has had a rougher start to the season than the Orange hoped for. But there have been a lot of players who have shined through the dark moments. These five ‘Cuse standouts have been some of the top players in the conference through six games.
5. Trill Williams
Trill Williams is the type of cornerback every team wants. He’s a hard hitter who gives effort and makes plays.
He has one interception on the season which he took back to the house for a 90-yard score. Williams is also second on the Orange in pass deflections with four.
He didn’t play in the Clemson game, which may have resulted in a change in rankings. But regardless, Williams comes in at fifth at the midway point.
4. Taj Harris
Like Trill, Taj was also held out of the Clemson game, but because of an expletive hand signal caught on camera during the Liberty loss.
But up to that point, Harris has been nothing short of dominant. 26 receptions for 434 yards and four touchdowns are all near the top of the ACC statistical leaderboard. One could even make the case for Harris to catch some eyes from the NFL, as he’s putting up those numbers without any consistency at quarterback.
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'Cuse Militia Podcast - Armchair Media Network (ACMN; podcast; Cuse Militia)
Episode 252- Syracuse Football: Clemson Post-Game!
Despite talent and experience, Virginia football team slips to bottom of ACC standings (dailyprogress.com; Conlin)
The Virginia football team doesn’t fit the description of a typical ACC bottom dweller, but at 1-4 in league play, that’s exactly where the Cavaliers sit after Saturday’s 19-14 loss to No. 11 Miami.
The team’s fourth consecutive loss wasn’t due to a lack of effort. In fact, the Cavaliers played their best defense since the team’s season-opening win over Duke. They pushed a top-15 team to the final minutes.
“Our team tried hard, and they’re tough and they’re physical and they’re resilient, and I thought they played well,” head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “I thought they played a really hard game, and they played with a lot of heart and great mindset and supported each other and probably the most physical and the most intense they played the entire year.”
Even with the effort, programs are judged largely by wins and losses, and the losses are piling up.
UVa (1-4, 1-4 ACC) joins Syracuse (1-5, 1-4 ACC) — which has a 17-point loss to Liberty on its resume — and turnover-prone Duke (1-5, 1-5 ACC) as ACC squads with just one win this fall. The Cavaliers join Duke, Syracuse, Florida State and Louisville to round out the list of five ACC teams with only one conference win this fall.
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Can Miami earn a rematch with Clemson? (stateoftheu.com; Bleich)
The Miami Hurricanes have put themselves in position to make a run to the ACC Championship Game.
At the halfway mark of the ACC season, Miami is one of four teams in the league with zero or one conference loss.
The Hurricanes technically sit in third place today by virtue of having the tiebreaker over North Carolina. Miami defeated Florida State 52-10 in late September while North Carolina lost to the Seminoles 31-28 on October 17.
Miami did not play its best football during the month of October. The Hurricanes have struggled to run the ball as effectively as they did in September and have had depth issues at multiple positions because of unavailability.
But despite the issues, the Hurricanes finished the month 2-1, with wins over Pittsburgh and Virginia. The loss came to top-ranked Clemson, who has not lost an ACC game since 2017.
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Biggest Losers - 10/24/20 (RX; HM)
Biggest Losers - 10/24/20
Who HELPED the ACC By Losing?
The Big Ten finally began playing football this weekend, and with that, the losing began as well...
#8 Penn State lost by 1 at unranked Indiana, 35-36
#16 SMU was blown out at home by #9 Cincinnati, 13-42
#17 Iowa State lost by 3 at #6 Oklahoma State, 21-24
#21 Minnesota lost by 25 at home to #18 Michigan, 24-49
Penn State will drop, but probably not that much since it was only by one point (although Indiana did lead most of the game, but let's not Nitt pick!). SMU may fall out of the top 25 thanks to the margin of their loss (29 points). Iowa State will fall - I see them as right on the edge of the top 25 now. Minnesota should know you can't lose at home by 25 if you're barely ranked to begin with - they're gone!
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Unbeaten (and One-Loss) Teams - 10/25/20 (RX; HM)
Unbeaten (and One-Loss) Teams - 10/25/20
Note: to avoid a flood of 1-0 teams as conferences join the party late, I'm going to stipulate for the remainder of the season a minimum of three games to qualify for this list...
Which teams have played at least three games and remain unbeaten?
| Teams with at least 3 wins and no losses | |
| FBS Conf. | Unbeaten Team(s) |
| AAC (1) | #9 Cincinnati |
| ACC (2) | #1 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame |
| XII (1) | #6 Oklahoma State |
| USA (1) | #22 Marshall |
| IND (2) | #12 BYU, Liberty |
| SEC (1) | #2 Alabama |
| SBC (1) | #25 Coastal Carolina |
AP Poll Analysis - 10/25/20 (RX; HM)
AP Poll Analysis - 10/25/20
Here is the latest AP Poll after games of week 8 (notice that once again 1st place votes are starting to quietly migrate from Clemson to Alabama):
| AP Top 25 | |
| RK | TEAM |
| 1 | Clemson(52) |
| 2 | Alabama(10) |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Notre Dame |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | Cincinnati |
| 8 | Texas A&M |
| 9 | Wisconsin |
| 10 | Florida |
| 11 | BYU |
| 12 | Miami |
| 13 | Michigan |
| 14 | Oregon |
| 15 | North Carolina |
Other
Salt City Market food hall seeks deal with city after assessor says it’s not tax exempt (PS; $; Moriarty)
The Salt City Market food hall set to open in downtown Syracuse in January is seeking a property tax deal with the city after assessor David Clifford determined it does not qualify as a charitable business.
The Syracuse Urban Partnership, a nonprofit organization created by the Allyn Family Foundation to develop the food hall, has applied to the city for a payment-in-lieu-of-tax deal.
Under the proposed deal with the city’s Industrial Development Agency, the organization would pay $1.5 million in lieu of taxes over 15 years. That’s $963,000 less than it would pay in property taxes over the same period if the project was fully taxed.
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