sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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A day that will live in infamy...
On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on Naval Station Pearl Harbor, located in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day remembers and honors the 2,403 citizens of the United States who lost their lives there that day. Veterans and citizens have commemorated the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor since it took place, but the day became an official observance when Congress designated the day with a joint resolution on October 3, 1984. The resolution authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States "to observe this solemn occasion with appropriate ceremonies and activities" and "to pledge eternal vigilance and strong resolve to defend this Nation and its allies from all future aggression." Accordingly, President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5286 on December 4, 1984. Subsequent Congresses and presidents have passed resolutions and issued proclamations for the day. On the day, flags are flown at half-staff until sunset to honor those who died from the attacks. Events, including a commemoration ceremony, are held at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.
SU News
https://notredame./news/what-they-re-saying-notre-dame-fighting-irish-45-syracuse-21 (; Singer)
Ian Book was confused in his elation.
As Book greeted Brian Kelly after his 28-yard touchdown pass to Javon McKinley six seconds before halftime, he expressed his surprise to his head coach at a Syracuse defensive call that, in his mind, handed Notre Dame the score and a 24-7 lead the moment the ball was snapped.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ directions on the play were to hand the ball off if Syracuse played zone, or throw a go route to McKinley in a likely one-on-one matchup if the Orange were in man. When they unveiled the latter, Book let the arrow fly. No suspense in his mind.
“McKinley went up, made a great catch,” Kelly recalled. “As Ian came running off the field, he says, ‘I can't believe they pressed him and gave us that touchdown.’”
You can picture a grin on Book’s face as wide as Touchdown Jesus’ arms.
This is the conviction of a quarterback with two unbeaten regular seasons to his name on his way to becoming Notre Dame’s all-time wins leader, with 30, which he did when the Irish (10-0, 9-0 ACC) polished off Syracuse 45-21 to plausibly lock in a College Football Playoff spot. The conviction of a master of coverages. And the bond between a powerful, codependent pairing formed after two paths finally fused in their fifth college seasons.
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Syracuse Orange at Notre Dame Football: 3 things we learned (slapthesign.com; Weiss)
Notre Dame football capped off a perfect regular season on Saturday against Syracuse, and here are three things we learned in the game.
Notre Dame football went into their game against the Syracuse Orange needing to make a statement, as they had already punched their ticket to the ACC title game. With College Football Playoff rankings on the line, the Irish needed a standout game to secure their spot in the final four, and though they started slow, they certainly finished strong.
Now, the Irish have one more chance to impress the voters, as they have a rematch with Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on deck. On Saturday, they erased a tough start to dominate Syracuse, and we learned a few things along the way.
Cannot afford that kind of start against Clemson
Early on during the Syracuse game, the Irish were playing some of the more sloppy football we had seen from them in a while. It took longer than expected for Book and the offense to get going, and while the defense hung tough early on, the Irish cannot afford a start like the one they had against Syracuse to happen against Clemson in two weeks.
Clemson is going to have Trevor Lawrence back in the rematch, and he has the ability to put up points in bunches as the presumed No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Notre Dame may have to match them blow-for-blow early on, so a stagnant start is not going to work against that kind of offense.
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Key Takeaways From The Win Over Syracuse: Offense (si; Driskell)
Notre Dame finished the 2020 regular season with a perfect 10-0 record thanks to a 45-21 victory over Syracuse. The Irish offense played sloppy football but still managed to score 45 points and register a season high in yards.
There was plenty to learn and takeaway from the performance.
MCKINLEY CONTINUES DOMINANT TREND
Fifth-year senior receiver Javon McKinley earned a second straight offensive player of the game award from me after he racked up 111 receiving yards and set career bests with seven catches and three receiving touchdowns.
His overall numbers this season (37 catches, 660 yards) won't blow you away, but his play the last five game has been outstanding. Against Syracuse, McKinley surpassed the century mark in yards for the third time in four games and the fourth time this season. When you look at how that stacks up all time it shows his current run is as good of a stretch as any Fighting Irish receiver in the last decade.
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Notre Dame football: Seniors step up to complete unbeaten regular season (indystar.com; James)
Notre Dame’s offense needed a jump start.
The No. 2 Irish played sloppy through much of the first two quarters on Saturday against a one-win Syracuse team.
Maybe the emotions of Senior Day contributed to a lack of sharpness. Maybe playing in front of the smallest crowd in Notre Dame Stadium history — 6,831 fans with connections to Notre Dame faculty, staff or players on both teams — made it harder to find the energy needed to execute.
But the fifth-year senior duo of Ian Book and Javon McKinley gave the Irish the charge it needed to lift Notre Dame to a 45-21 win to close out the regular season with the first December game in Notre Dame Stadium since 1953.
Book, now the winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history with a 30-3 record as a starter, gave the Irish their first lead of the game, 10-7, with a 28-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.
Then Book connected with McKinley for a pair of touchdown passes less than 90 seconds apart on the game clock. The Irish (10-0, 9-0 ACC) flipped a 7-3 deficit to a 24-7 lead in the final four minutes in the first half.
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Instant Juice: Syracuse 21, Notre Dame 45 - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
A quick take on Syracuse’s 45-21 season-ending loss against No. 2 ranked Notre Dame, in front of an exclusive Saturday afternoon crowd of faculty, friends, and family at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.:
WHAT HAPPENED: Playing on the second-latest regular season date in the program’s 131 year history (Dec. 5), Syracuse (1-10, 1-9) ended this haphazard season with only one victory for the second time in program history this century (2005 under Greg Robinson). The Orange came out playing strong and smart, taking a 7-3 lead on a Rex Culpepper to Anthony Queeley 18 yard touchdown pass with 9:55 in the second quarter. Then a crucial third down personal foul penalty against Kingsley Jonathan hitting Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book in the facemask kept an eventual scoring Irish drive intact, and changed the game’s momentum. Notre Dame scored three times in just over three minutes before halftime to end any thoughts of a monumental upset, and added three icing-on-the-cake touchdowns in the second half highlighted by Chris Tyree’s 94-yard touchdown run with 6:30 to play.
ANALYSIS: It took Notre Dame (10-0, 9-0) a quarter and a half to wake up and get ready to execute as expected of the number-two ranked team playing in its home finale, before embarking on its goal of making the College Football Playoff semifinals. The momentum swing came on the ND drive after the ‘Cuse took the lead, and was perfectly engineered by the Irish’s splendid quarterback Book. Again, the SU defense had its moments producing two turnovers and holding its own over stretches, while the offensive highlights engineered by Culpepper playing in his Orange finale were the touchdown pass to Queeley, Sean Tucker’s 40 yard burst for a score in the third quarter, Cooper Lutz’s 80-yard score with 5:33 to play, and a season-best 229 yards on the ground. Give Dino Babers and staff credit for having a depleted roster, that was 34 point underdogs, ready to play early, before a combination of Notre Dame’s better talent and Syracuse mishaps kept the Irish unbeaten.
HERO: Filling the role perfectly, Notre Dame’s Book capped off his home career with a school-record 30th victory. Sluggishly trailing 7-3, Book was at his best during the marvelous second quarter (3:08) scoring blitz by scampering 28 yards into the end zone, then hooking up with Javon McKinley on two TD strikes and suddenly it was 24-7 ND at the half. Book added a third quarter 17 yard rushing touchdown and a third scoring throw to McKinley, as he now leads the Irish to the ACC Championship game in two weeks. Book finished 24-for-37 passing – 285 yards in addition to the two running touchdowns, getting a well-deserved proper exit on a ND timeout with 4:58 to play.
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With loss to Notre Dame, Syracuse completes its football nightmare - The Juice Online (the juice; Stechschulte)
Football coaches constantly harp on limiting penalties and turnovers. On Saturday, Syracuse showed why.
The Orange held the lead in the second quarter, then buried themselves in a flurry of mistakes that allowed #2 Notre Dame to score three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first half. Those scores gave the Fighting Irish (10-0, 9-0 ACC) a comfortable 24-7 halftime lead en route to a 45-21 victory over SU (1-10, 1-9).
The first mistake by Syracuse in that brief fateful span was a roughing the passer flag that extended an Irish drive. Three plays later, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book scrambled for a 28-yard touchdown with 3:18 left in the first half. The extra point gave them a 10-7 lead.
The Orange started their next drive with a pair of pre-snap penalties, then turned it over on a Rex Culpepper fumble. The Irish got a touchdown pass on the next play, gaining full control of the contest behind their 17-7 lead with 1:30 left on the clock.
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Syracuse Football Top 25 Players of All-Time: No. 20 Rob Burnett (itlh; Burnett)
We continue our countdown of Syracuse Football’s Top 25 Players of All-Time. Up next: No. 20 Rob Burnett.
Syracuse Football defensive end/tackle Rob Burnett was a winner during his time on the Hill from 1986-1989. Sure, he was a dominant defensive end/tackle, one of many that would come to Syracuse, but what really set him apart was how he led the Orange defense to be one of the best in the nation during his tenure.
In his freshman year in 1986, Burnett saw the field a bunch, earning the right to play in 11 games. Though he only recorded six tackles of which four were solo, and forced a fumble against Boston College, he still showed he had what it took to play high-level football according to Cuse.com. His playing time that year helped prepare him for his breakthrough sophomore season.
In his sophomore year for Syracuse Football, Burnett led the team to a 12-0-1 record in 1987; a tie in the Sugar Bowl against Auburn the only blemish in a perfect season, according to OrangeFizz.net. He helped the defense that year keep opposing rushers to about three yards and carry, and limited opposing offenses to under two touchdowns a game!
He would finish that season with 43 combined tackles (28 solo), 11 sacks, and a fumble recovery earning him AP All-American honorable mention, and All-Big East 2nd Team honors. In addition, he would also set the Syracuse single-game sack record that year with four sacks against Pittsburgh. (Note: That sack record would later be broken by star defensive end Dwight Freeney in 2000 who had 4.5 sacks against Virginia Tech, according to Cuse.com) If you watch the video below, you’ll truly see how truly powerful and dominant he was on the defensive line!
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Notre Dame football: What would the ACC title mean to Notre Dame? (slapthesign.com; Morrison)
In their only season in the ACC, the Notre Dame football team is playing in the title game. What would an ACC title mean to the program?
When the ACC canceled Notre Dame and Clemson’s final regular-season games, both of which were games rescheduled due to COVID-19 concerns, the Notre Dame football team clinched a trip to the ACC Championship Game. Apparently, it’s not that hard to make the ACC Championship Game, as Notre Dame did it in their first and only season in a conference.
That’s something not every ACC team can say. Syracuse, North Carolina State, and Louisville have never made the game, meanwhile, those three, along with Miami and Boston College have never won the ACC at all.
For Notre Dame, as storied a program as there is in college football history, it would be one championship in one attempt. That’s great, and it would be fun to hold over Miami fan’s heads, but how much would it really mean?
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The Issue With the Big Ten, ACC Playing Favorites (SI; Forde)
Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (“Mormons vs. Mullets” T-shirts sold separately wherever fine Christmas gifts can be found):
FIRST QUARTER: THE PROBLEM WITH PLAYING FAVORITES
The Atlantic Coast Conference has already done the deed. Last week the league gamed its own system to alleviate stress on its best football programs, declaring the regular season over on Saturday for Notre Dame (1) and Clemson (2). The phrase used in the release announcing the decision said the league’s athletic directors voted “to preserve the integrity of the ACC football championship game.” (The league did refrain from calling it what it likely is: The Dabo Directive.)
That kept the front runners from having to risk either a loss or injuries on Dec. 12, and gave them an open date heading into the ACC title game. Meanwhile, the rest of the league was told to slog onward, churning out TV inventory, because those teams don’t matter as much.
The plan—like all other ACC plans in 2020—worked to the conference’s advantage. The Fighting Irish routed last-place Syracuse and avoided a trip to play a pretty good Wake Forest team. The Tigers routed Virginia Tech and got to tell potential Dec. 12 opponent Florida State to pound sand after the acrimonious postponement of their original game. And thus not only is the ACC championship matchup set, but the league’s ultimate goal is preserved:
Both Notre Dame and Clemson have very real chances to make the College Football Playoff.
Now we’ll see whether the Big Ten is ready to pull its own legislative switcharoo to enhance the playoff chances of its big dog, Ohio State (3). The undefeated Buckeyes have played just five games, and the Saturday matchup with hated rival Michigan (4) is in doubt as the Wolverines grapple with COVID-19 issues. If they don’t play and another Big Ten team does not materialize as a fill-in opponent, Ohio State won’t have played enough games to qualify for the Big Ten East championship and a spot in the conference title game. The CFP Committee selection criteria does include conference champions as a factor, and chairman Gary Barta has said number of games played has been a major discussion point.
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Dave Doeren's 2020 resume deserving of ACC Coach of the Year (247sports.com; Smith)
Dave Doeren is typically a stoic figure whether he's on the field or off of it, but that all changed on Saturday evening. In the final game of the 2020 regular season, Doeren let it all hang out.
With a win firmly in hand over Georgia Tech for the eighth and program-record seventh ACC victory of the season, Doeren screamed at the top of his lungs while being doused with water by his players. He then went into the locker room where he yelled, danced and celebrated with his team in a way rarely seen from the veteran coach.
It was a payoff moment Doeren has worked the entire last year to receive.
In a year where nothing has gone right for programs all across the country, Doeren and the Wolfpack have put together one of the most miraculous turnarounds in college football. And while there are other candidates for ACC Coach of the Year, taking a team that finished with just one ACC win last season to winning seven the following season certainly makes Doeren deserving.
"I’m very proud of our team. We once again showed resiliency," Doeren said after the win over Georgia Tech. "Looking at where we came from a year ago, we had one ACC win. Now we have seven. That’s quite a year when you talk about improvement. The beauty of it is that a lot of these guys are back. It’s going to be a fun offseason, and I look forward to a bowl."
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Clemson's next stop on path to another championship: an ACC title game worth watching vs. Notre Dame (TSN; Bender)
It doesn't matter how they got there.
No. 4 Clemson is in the ACC championship game for a sixth consecutive season after beating Virginia Tech 45-10 on Saturday. The Tigers are back there after the conference tweaked the schedule. The Tigers and No. 2 Notre Dame won't have to play their final regular-season games prior to the rematch of their Nov. 7 double-overtime classic.
MORE: CFP contenders wait to see what Big Ten does with Ohio State
This is an ACC title game worth watching. ABC knows that, too. The network brought in Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book for an in-game interview in the third quarter.
Clemson (9-1, 8-1 ACC) has won the last five ACC title games by an average of 26.2 points per game, and the last three by 37.3 points per game. Notre Dame (10-0, 9-0 ACC) is its opponent after agreeing to be a full-time ACC member for one year. The Irish can make the College Football Playoff for the second time, and they have wiggle room even if they lose to the Tigers.
That means the pressure, for once, is on Clemson.
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ACC Football 2020, Week 14 (12/5/20) (cardiachill.com; HM)
Here’s your overview of scores with commentary for this week’s ACC football action...
Saturday, Dec. 5th, 2020
Early Game
Western Carolina Catamounts 9 at #17 North Carolina Tar Heels 49
The Tar Heels whipped an FCS team by 40. Nothing to see here.
Next up for N. Carolina: at Miami
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Mid-Afternoon Games
Syracuse Orange 21 at #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 45
For about six and a half glorious minutes in the second quarter, the Orange actually led in this game. Then Ian Book and the rest of the Fighting Irish offense went to work, scoring 21 points in the span of just over three minutes before halftime. Notre Dame won by 24.
Next up for Syracuse: the offseason
Next up for Notre Dame: ACC Championship Game
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 13 at NC State Wolfpack 23
NC State finished out their season with a win, giving the Wolfpack a somewhat satisfying eight wins on the year. The Yellow Jackets, of course, still have a date with the Pitt Panthers next Thursday night before closing out in Miami on Championship Weekend.
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ACC FB Week 15 TV times announced (RX; HM)
ACC FB Week 15 TV times announced
From the official ACC release of Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020...
ACC Announces Game Times & Networks for Dec. 12
The Atlantic Coast Conference and its television partners announced the following football game times and networks for the games of Dec. 12.
COMMENTS:
ACC football presence in four different time slots (Thu night, Sat noon, Sat 4 pm, Sat 8 pm).
Biggest game of the week: #20 UNC at #9 Miami on ABC.
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AP Poll Analysis - 12/6/20 (RX; HM)
AP Poll Analysis - 12/6/20
Here are the teams that received votes in this week's AP poll (with ACC teams in color):
| AP Top 25 | |
| RK | TEAM |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Notre Dame |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Clemson |
| 5 | Texas A+M |
| 6 | Florida |
| 7 | Cincinnati |
| 8 | Indiana |
| 9 | Miami |
| 10 | Iowa State |
| 11 | Coastal Carolina |
| 12 | Georgia |
| 13 | Oklahoma |
| 14 | BYU |
| 15 | Northwestern |
| 16 | USC |
| 17 | Louisiana |
| 18 | Tulsa |
| 19 | Iowa |
| 20 | North Carolina |
| 21 | Colorado |
| 22 | Liberty |
| 23 | Texas |
| 24 | Buffalo |
| 25 | Wisconsin |
| Others receiving votes: | |
| 26 | NC State |
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Axe: Dear John, is Syracuse football still on the right trajectory? (PS; $; Axe)
Syracuse University Athletic Director John Wildhack and head football coach Dino Babers likely had a long chat this weekend.
If not, they will soon enough.
Syracuse football finished the season 1-10 after a 45-21 loss at No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon.
Short of a 10-win blip in 2018, the football program is not heading in the right direction after four losing seasons in five years under Babers, who is 24-36 as Orange head coach.
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Other
Popular downtown Syracuse Mexican restaurant moves to the suburbs (PS; Miller)
A popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Syracuse quietly closed its doors for good Saturday and is reopening in Baldwinsville this afternoon.
San Miguel Mexican Bar & Grill has taken over the spot once occupied by Muddy Waters Kitchen & Bar, on the banks of the Seneca River at 2 Oswego St. below Sammy Malone’s bar/restaurant. It serve takeout-only today, starting at 4 p.m., and 11 a.m. Saturday. The bar and dining room will open Tuesday.
The move to Baldwinsville had been in the works for three months, and owner Kelly O’Connor Metrick had hoped to keep open the downtown location. The restaurant at 425 N. State St., however, became part of a state-designated orange zone on Nov. 23 because of the coronavirus, so all indoor dining had to cease.
“We loved the downtown location; the college students really loved the downtown location,” Metrick said Thursday. “But once we had to go to takeout-only again, we just decided to close and focus on the new location.”
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