sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Boston Marathon Day!
The Boston Marathon, the oldest annual marathon in the world, takes place today. It was first held on April 19, 1897, when fifteen runners participated. It was inspired by the first Olympic marathon, which was held the previous year in Athens, Greece. John Graham, a Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) member and team manager of the first Olympic team, created the marathon. At first, it was a local event, but runners now come from all over the world.
The distance of the original Olympic marathon in 1896 was 24.8 miles, which was based on the distance that Pheidippides was said to have run between Marathon and Athens when he delivered the news that Greece had defeated the Persian army. At the 1908 Olympic games in London, the distance was set to 26 miles, 385 yards. The race began outside of the Windsor Castle so that the royal family could view the start. It was then 26 miles to the Olympic stadium. An extra 385 yards were added so that the runners could finish around a track, and so that the race would finish in front of the king and queen's royal box. Olympic marathon distances varied following this until they were permanently put at the 1908 length starting in 1924. Similarly, the Boston Marathon length had varied over the years but was also made to match the Olympic distance in 1924.
SU News
‘SU should’ve won that’: What they’re saying about Syracuse’s loss to No. 19 Wake Forest (PS; Curtis)
Syracuse football nearly squeaked out a win over one of the best teams in the country, but ran out of gas in overtime in Saturday’s 40-37 loss to No. 19 Wake Forest.
The Orange led for the majority of the first half, but couldn’t find its offense in the second. There was a lot of discussion on social media about Orange coach Dino Babers’ decision to accept a holding penalty that ultimately came back to bite SU late in the second quarter. Players, reporters and fans chimed in about the game, which marked the program’s second loss at home.
Here’s a look at some of the social media reactions to the Orange’s loss to the Demon Deacons:
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Sean Tucker goes in for a touchdown during an NCAA football game against Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome Saturday, October 9, 2021. Photo by Fiona Noever
Syracuse football falls short to Wake Forest in OT thriller (thenewshouse.com; Clinton)
The Syracuse football team fell to 3-3 (0-2 ACC) after an overtime loss to Wake Forest in the Carrier Dome. This is the second straight walk-off loss the Orange have suffered after losing to Florida State on a field goal in the final play of regulation last week.
Win or lose, this was Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader’s breakout game for the Orange. Shrader became just the third quarterback in Syracuse football history with back-to-back games of 100 rushing yards, eclipsing that mark before the end of the first half. Shrader finished the afternoon with 178 yards on the ground and 160 yards passing, both serving as season highs for the Mississippi State transfer. Even on his career day, Shrader took responsibility for the loss, deferring credit to Syracuse Offensive Coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.
“I think Coach Gilbert called a great game,” said Shrader. “All those plays he called allowed us to have those opportunities. When things weren’t going so well, I take responsibility. I wasn’t operating how I should have. There’s opportunities out there, and there’s tons of points and yards we left on the board today.”
It was evident just how badly Shrader wanted to upset Wake Forest. With just over 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Syracuse picked up 10 yards off a Cooper Lutz run to turn third-and-12 into fourth-and-2 and the Wake Forest 27-yard-line. As Syracuse Head Coach Dino Babers sent the field goal unit out on the field, Shrader emphatically waved the substitutes off the field. Kicker Andre Szmyt would go on to miss the 45-yard attempt.
“I wanted to go for it pretty bad, but I think at the end of the day that’s a pretty good call,” said Shrader. “With our field goal kicker and our defense, I think that was the right call to make. But it didn’t happen. Live and learn, and go from there.”
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Five Takeaways: Syracuse Falls to Wake Forest in OT (SI; McAllister)
Five takeaways from Syracuse's overtime loss to Wake Forest.
1. Not So Special Teams
Syracuse struggled to punt all afternoon, with James Williams averaging just 30.8 yards per punt. In addition, Andre Szmyt missed a 45 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The struggles kicking the ball put the Orange at a disadvantage all game. Short punts gave gave Wake Forest the ball in Syracuse territory twice to start possessions. The Demon Deacons turned those into 10 points. That is 13 points lost directly from the kicking game in one that went to overtime. The punting situation has to get figured out fast.
2. Questionable Decisions
4th and 2 field goal: After Cooper Lutz ran for 10 yards to the Wake Forest 27 yard line, Syracuse had fourth and two. The decision was either attempt a 45 yard field goal or go for it with an offense that was running the ball very well. Coming in, Szmyt was making 85% of his field goal attempts, so you certainly understand the confidence in making that kick. However, he was just 67% from 40-49 yards. Given how well Syracuse was running the ball, going for a first down may have been the better option. Plus, if Syracuse is able to get a first down, the Orange could run another three or four minutes off the clock with the potential for scoring a touchdown.
Accepting 3rd down penalty: Late in the first half, Syracuse made a stop on third and 13. Holding was called on Wake Forest. Rather than forcing a 51 yard field goal attempt on fourth down, Syracuse accepted the penalty setting up third and 23. Wake would convert that and eventually score a touchdown on the drive. Dino Babers would say after the game that he saw Wake's kicker making them from 58 during pregame warmups. I get that, but he has still never made a 50+ yarder in an actual game. I would not have given them an opportunity to get a first down or get a closer field goal attempt. If they had picked up 15, it's still fourth, but is an easier field goal in his range from what he has made in live games. Also, it would have given the ball back to the Syracuse offense with much more time to attempt to score before halftime.
The two point conversion: Syracuse going for two at the end of the game was the right decision. I love the aggressiveness. Execution, however, not so much. Syracuse got a delay of game for what Dino called a lack of urgency getting on the field. That cannot happen. Whether that is a player issue or a coaching issue, it needs to be figured out.
3. Secondary Issues
Wake torched the Syracuse secondary in this game. Sam Hartman was 19-32 for 330 yards and three touchdowns. He burned the Orange deep multiple times as Syracuse struggled in coverage at critical times. We know the secondary has good players. The Orange led the ACC in pass defense coming into the game. But this is at least eyebrow raising moving forward. There is no reason to believe it will become a regular occurrence, but is worth monitoring.
4. The Tucker/Shrader Show is the Offensive Identity of This Team
Syracuse has improved its yards and points output offensively in each of Garrett Shrader's starts. The RPO, power run identity has galvanized this offense. Syracuse is running the ball on good run defenses that know it is coming. That is the sign of a good offensive team. Syracuse still has inconsistencies in third and long situations or when it has to throw, but this is an offense that is difficult to prepare for, difficult to defend and can put up points against good teams. Kudos to the offensive line as well that performed extremely well despite missing three key players against Wake.
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Shorthanded Syracuse OL makes statement performance in loss to Wake Forest (247sports.com; Bailey)
Syracuse football's offensive line showed growth over the first five games of the season. A group of six veterans with returning starting experience shored up blocking under new position coach Mike Schmidt, going from one of the worst groups in the Football Bowl Subdivision to, at the very least, a respectable one.
Then the plan went South. Darius Tisdale suffered a lower-right leg injury that has him sidelined indefinitely. Chris Bleich also didn't dress ahead of SU facing No. 19 Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon, moving gingerly on the sideline. And after the first drive, Airon Servais came off with an apparent lower-body issue of his own.
But down 50 percent of its core contributors, the Syracuse front five rallied. True freshman Kalan Ellis slotted in at left guard to start the game before redshirt freshman Josh Ilaoa replaced Servais at center for most of the remainder of the contest.
The results were staggering: 354 rushing yards (6.1 ypc), often against a heavy box, with quarterback Garrett Shrader taking two sacks.
"It was one of those games where if you'd have told me we'd have those type of guys out and still do the things we did offensively, my goodness gracious," head coach Dino Babers said. "I told them, 'I'm really proud of them.' They made some mistakes and there were some things they did wrong, but overall I'm really proud of how they went out there and they battled."
The performance was a bright spot in SU's 40-37 overtime loss as well as a far cry from how the o-line performed in shorthanded situations each of the last two years, ranking dead last nationally in sacks allowed over the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined. Ellis, a 6-foot-6, 365-pound Hawaiian, showcased his power and mobility from the get-go, helping pave the way for Garrett Shrader and Sean Tucker to run free on a nine-play, 78-yard touchdown drive. Despite being just the fifth true freshman to start on the Orange line over the last 35 years, Ellis held his own, lining up for every snap alongside another player in that handful -- third-year left tackle Matthew Bergeron.
"I think they put him out there because they knew I knew that feeling," Bergeron said. "I didn't try to put too much pressure on him. I thought he did a good job. Just communicating was the biggest part of it."
Ilaoa, who was a mainstay on the second-team line last fall, appeared comfortable identifying fronts and passing along assignments to his position-mates, allowing the Orange's overhauled offense to be effective against the Demon Deacons. That proved especially true as the Orange ran a two-minute drill to tie the game at the end of regulation.
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College football: Syracuse continues to pile up yards despite depleted offensive line (yahoo.com; St Croix)
The surging Syracuse University rushing attack maintained its blistering pace Saturday despite missing half of the top six players in their offensive line rotation.
The Orange recorded 376 team rushing yards for its highest output in the last seven seasons while quarterback Garrett Shrader and running back Sean Tucker each eclipsed 100 yards for the second straight game in a crushing overtime setback against Wake Forest, 40-37, in the Carrier Dome.
The SU ground game remained highly productive in the expected absence of veteran guard/tackle, Darius Tisdale, the surprise inactive status of guard Chris Bleich, and an injury suffered by sixth-year senior Airon Servais in the first quarter that left two freshmen up front for most of the performance.
"If you had told me we would have those type of guys out there and still do the things that we did offensively, my goodness gracious," SU coach Dino Babers said afterward. "I told them I'm really proud of them. They made some mistakes and there were some things that they did wrong, but overall, I'm really proud of how they went out there and battled."
Freshman Kalan Ellis drew his first career start at left guard in place of Bleich, who was out with an unspecified injury. The 6-foot-6 and 356-pound rookie from Hawaii held his own from the opening snap, helping pave the way for Tucker to score a six-yard touchdown run on SU's opening drive.
Josh Ilaoa, a 6-foot-3 and 300-pound freshman from Charlotte, N.C., was also thrust into the mix and played most of the game at center after Airon Servais left with an apparent leg injury.
Shrader credited the pair of first-year players for rising to the occasion after being "thrown into the fire," earlier than expected in their respective careers.
"I'm proud of those guys, the way they fought," Shrader said. "The numbers show the way they played, I'm sure there were some mistakes in there, but it was a good effort and I'm proud of those two guys especially."
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Axe: Is the SU football glass half-full or half-empty? (PS; $; Axe)
The Syracuse University football team is 3-3 halfway through the 2021 season.
The Orange have provided some fleeting moments of hope and plenty of forehead smacks so far.
With half a season to go for the Orange, let’s look at the issues where Debbie Downer points out to the waiter that her glass is half-empty and where an optimist points out how excited they are to have already drank half the glass of water.
Drinking your own glass of water (or the beverage of your choice) at any depth while you read is optional.
Glass Half-Full
In a Rush
Syracuse Orange running back Sean Tucker (34) for long yardage. The Syracuse Orange take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Carrier Dome Oct. 9, 2021. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers and offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert took a risk by hitting control+alt+delete on the Orange offense after a 17-7 loss to Rutgers and switching to a run-based attack over the “Orange is the New Fast” pass attack.
The move is paying off.
Syracuse running back Sean Tucker and quarterback Garrett Shrader give the Orange a dynamic duo of rushing prowess.
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Syracuse Football: Dino Babers had big blunders, didn’t lose game alone (itlh; Adler)
After Syracuse football fell in heart-breaking fashion for the second-consecutive weekend, this time to undefeated and No. 19 Wake Forest on the Hill, a lot of Orange fans took to social media to express their frustrations, and to say that head coach Dino Babers needs to go.
I totally get it. Babers made some questionable decisions against the Demon Deacons (6-0) inside the Carrier Dome this past Saturday afternoon. And it’s not the first time that ‘Cuse fans, myself included, were up in arms about the decisions and play-calling from Babers and his staff.
For me, if you think Babers should get fired because of his overall record during his tenure in Central New York, that’s absolutely fair. Save for one 10-win season, his teams have struggled, and 2020 was a disaster.
That being said, while I definitely am holding Babers and his assistants accountable for their mishaps versus Wake Forest, and other opponents, to say that Babers is solely responsible for the Orange’s 40-37 overtime setback to the Demon Deacons doesn’t add up from my perspective.
Here’s why Dino Babers isn’t the only person to blame for the latest Syracuse football defeat.
When some ‘Cuse fans trash Babers on social media, I think that’s unwarranted. When some Orange fans trash the players on social media, that’s certainly not appropriate, at least to me.
These players are young men who are busting their butts to produce wins. I get if you want to hold grown men like Babers more accountable, but I’m still not in favor of using negative words to attack them.
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JHowell's Picks for 2021 Week 7 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks for 2021 Week 7
From JHowell.net:Below are the projections through the games of 10-16-21. Games against non-rated teams are excluded. The favorite is listed first with the projected margin of victory (i.e., the line) in parenthesis. 'TP' represents the total number of points expected to be scored in the game and 'Odds' represents the odds of the favorite winning straight-up (not against-the-spread).
Friday, October 15, 2021
#21-Clemson (-5.5) @ #70-Syracuse (TP=42 Odds=.635)Saturday, October 16, 2021
#33-Pittsburgh (-2.5) @ #60-Virginia Tech (TP=58 Odds=.543)#35-Boston College (-3) vs. #36-N.C. State (TP=51 Odds=.557)
#39-Virginia (-14.5) vs. #94-Duke (TP=63 Odds=.733)
#67-North Carolina (-3) vs. #66-Miami (FL) (TP=58 Odds=.551)
source: http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cfpred.txt
OBSERVATIONS:
Three very close games this week: Pitt @ VT, NC State @ BC, and Miami @ UNC.
The only game that looks like a blowout is Duke @ UVA
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Posted 57 minutes ago by Hokie Mark
AP Poll 2021-10-10 (RX; HM)
AP Poll 2021-10-10
Here's the latest AP Poll ranking (after the games of 10/9/2021):| RK | TEAM |
| 1 | Georgia |
| 2 | Iowa |
| 3 | Cincinnati |
| 4 | Oklahoma |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Ohio State |
| 7 | Penn State |
| 8 | Michigan |
| 9 | Oregon |
| 10 | Michigan St |
| 11 | Kentucky |
| 12 | Oklahoma St |
| 13 | Ole Miss |
| 14 | Notre Dame |
| 15 | Coastal Carolina |
| 16 | Wake Forest |
| 17 | Arkansas |
| 18 | Arizona State |
| 19 | BYU |
| 20 | Florida |
| 21 | Texas A&M |
| 22 | NC State |
| 23 | SMU |
| 24 | San Diego State |
| 25 | Texas |
| Others receiving votes: | |
| 26 | Auburn |
| 27 | Clemson |
| 28 | Baylor |
| 29 | UTSA |
| 30 | Mississippi St |
| 31 | Kansas State |
| 32 | Appalachian St |
| 32 | Air Force |
| 34 | Pittsburgh |
ACC football roundup: More chaos, but Wake Forest stays undefeated (bcinterruption.com; SB Nation News)
As Boston College had its bye week this weekend, they wanted more chaos envelop the ACC - but Wake Forest survived a scare at Syracuse to win in OT and extend their ACC Atlantic lead, improving their record to 4-0 in the ACC and 6-0 overall.
Wake Forest topped Syracuse 40-37 at the Carrier Dome, with Wake erasing a halftime deficit and A.T. Perry making a spectacular touchdown catch in the ‘bottom’ of overtime to give the Deacons the win.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic race, Louisville lost to Virginia, 34-33, getting outscored by the Hoos 21-3 in the third quarter. Louisville is now 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC.
Florida State was an Atlantic team that raised its stock on Saturday, topping UNC 35-25. After an 0-4 start to the season, FSU now has two wins in a row (Syracuse, UNC). And hey, they have UMass next!
Elsewhere in the ACC, Georgia Tech beat Duke 31-27, while Virginia Tech pushed Notre Dame to the brink before yielding a last second field goal to lose 32-29 at Lane Stadium.
The end result of all of this from a division standpoint is that believe it or not, Wake is in a pretty commanding spot. The next three weeks they have a bye week, then Army, then Duke, so there’s a decent chance we’re talking about an undefeated Wake for some time.
Wake Forest 4-0
NC State 1-0
Clemson 2-1
Florida State 2-2
Louisville 1-2
BC 0-1
Syracuse 0-2
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Other
A preliminary drawing shows the proposed $85 million Onondaga County Aquarium at the Syracuse Inner Harbor. View is from Solar Street. (QPK Design)
Would McMahon’s $85M aquarium reel in tourists and investments for Syracuse? (PS; Moriarty)
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon is pitching his proposed $85 million Syracuse aquarium as more than a big entertainment venue. He says it will be a major economic stimulus for the community.
“Hundreds of trade, construction jobs, hundreds of permanent jobs,” he said while making the proposal Monday at the Syracuse Inner Harbor, a former state Barge Canal terminal the city has been trying, with only limited success, to turn into a recreational, residential and commercial attraction for more than 20 years.
“But then you look at what it would do for this neighborhood, and the potential this neighborhood has,” he added. “It will be a catalyst for this neighborhood moving forward.”
But would 600,000 gallons of aquatic exhibits really be an economic winner? Some observers say it certainly could, if done right. Others question the wisdom of spending so many public dollars on an aquarium when local governments have other pressing needs.
A $120,000 feasibility study conducted for the county at McMahon’s request says an 80,000-square-foot aquarium at the harbor “has the potential to operate successfully over time.”
The report by Cambridge, Massachusetts, based ConsultEcon Inc. with Behan Planning and Design, says the aquarium would have the potential -- it uses that word a lot -- of drawing 400,000 to 570,000 visitors a year, with a mid-range estimate of 490,000.
Peter Warren, director of research at the Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany, questioned whether Syracuse and the surrounding metro area have the population to support the facility. He noted that two very successful aquariums, Boston’s New England Aquarium and Baltimore’s National Aquarium, are in areas with much larger populations to draw from.
“Are visitors from elsewhere in the state going to travel two hours -- four hours round-trip -- to Syracuse to visit an aquarium that is not surrounded by the type of additional attractions that Baltimore or Boston has?” he said.
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