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Welcome to Veterans Day!
Veterans Day is a day set aside to honor all American veterans of war. On November 11, 1918, a cessation of hostilities, or armistice, between the Allied Powers and Germany took place. With this armistice, fighting during World War I ended, and the stage was set for a treaty to be signed formally ending the war. On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. On the first anniversary of the armistice, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day as Armistice Day, and said, "To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations." At this time celebrations were marked with parades and public meetings, as well as brief pauses in business at 11:00 AM, the time at which the armistice had taken place in 1918.
On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a concurrent resolution that requested that the President issue a proclamation for the day; it also called on officials to display the flag on government buildings, and invited the public "to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."
SU News
Syracuse Orange running back Sean Tucker (34) celebrates with the fans after his touchdown run in the third quarter. The Syracuse Orange takes on the Boston College Golden Eagles at the Carrier Dome Oct. 28, 2021. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
Sean Tucker is Syracuse football’s first star, and its first test case, during the NIL/transfer era (PS; Carlson)
Sean Tucker’s weekly tweet began as a way for him to keep people updated on his high school success.
He doesn’t need a tweet to do that anymore.
There are national awards lists. Heisman odds. Statistical leaderboards. Broken records.
All of them are easily accessible for anyone interested in following the running back’s football journey and sharing the story of Tucker’s continued success.
But the tweets still tell a story of Tucker’s rise in stardom.
The first time Tucker announced on social media that he was pleased with his performance was in 2018, when he made the All-MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association) indoor track team. Thirteen people shared it.
His first football summary was shared five times.
Now his teammates wait on his post-game assessment. So do Syracuse fans. His performances have been so good, so consistently, that he is almost always pleased.
When Tucker declared he was satisfied with his performance following Syracuse’s 21-6 win over Boston College, his summary was shared by more than 5,500 people, with fingers jumping into action immediately.
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Beat writers split on outcome of Saturday's matchup against Louisville (DO; Staff)
Syracuse heads to Louisville after its bye week, coming off back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019, while the Cardinals have lost their past two games. SU is one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018.
Led by Sean Tucker, who is almost 100 yards away from breaking Joe Morris all-time rushing record, Syracuse (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) faces Louisville (4-5, 2-4 ACC). The Orange are looking for revenge against the Cardinals after last season, when Louisville defeated SU 30-0 — the first and only shutout for Syracuse last year.
Here’s what our beat writers expect when Syracuse faces Louisville:
Roshan Fernandez (5-4)
Something about Louisville…
Louisville 35, Syracuse 32
Syracuse has played notoriously poorly against Louisville during recent years. The SU defense folds and the Orange have lost six of the last seven matchups by 20-plus points (the exception being a win during 2018 when SU made a bowl game). This year’s team has clearly proven it’s not the same as last year’s unit that lost 30-0 to the Cardinals in November, but something about playing Louisville throws the Orange off.
SU’s defense successfully contained Liberty’s dual-threat quarterback Malik Willis but couldn’t reproduce the same results against Florida State’s Jordan Travis. Saturday in Kentucky, dual-quarterback Malik Cunningham’s speed will be the most crucial test thus far for this Syracuse defense. The Cardinals rank fifth in the conference in rushing defense, a stat that shouldn’t prove problematic for Tucker and Garrett Shrader, but the Orange offense is still very one-dimensional. Syracuse desperately needed the bye week to rest, but a part of me thinks that week could throw this team out of rhythm. With the Orange’s final two matchups against AP Top-25 teams, the Cardinals will deal a heartbreaking blow to SU’s bowl chances.
Connor Smith (4-5)
Time to bowl
Syracuse 30, Louisville 27
Saturday’s game is Syracuse’s last legitimate chance to earn bowl eligibility, which the Orange haven’t done since 2018. SU’s next two games after this one are against NC State and Pittsburgh, two of the ACC’s top teams, and both are ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
But to pick up that critical sixth win, Syracuse’s defense will have to contain Cunningham, who has the most touchdowns in the conference. Babers compared Cunningham to Liberty’ Willis, who led the Flames into the Carrier Dome back in September. But in that game, SU’s defense stepped up, registering six sacks and making Willis uncomfortable throughout the 24-21 win.
On Saturday, the Orange will extend their win streak to three games behind another bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort and the fresh legs of Shrader and Tucker who’ve had two weeks to rest after a bye week. A win will require strong special teams play (something SU has lacked throughout the season), but kicker Andre Szmyt will step up, and Syracuse will leave Kentucky with that ever-important sixth win.
Anish Vasudevan (6-3)
The battle of rushing quarterbacks
Syracuse 30, Louisville 25
This game is a duel between the two best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC — Shrader and Cunningham. Cunningham has held the position as one of the best running quarterbacks in college football since last season, while Shrader has slowly been working up to that pedestal this season. And the Orange will face the Cardinals at the jersey retirement of Lamar Jackson — one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history.
But Syracuse’s defense has shown that it’s able to stop running quarterbacks, dominating Willis and somewhat stopping Travis this season. On the other hand, Louisville’s defense has struggled overall, only allowing less than 20 points twice this season. Mikel Jones and the rest of the linebacker unit will need to use QB spy’s again to stop Cunningham and make sure that rushes are stopped at the second level. Coming off the bye week, the Orange should be rested enough to hand Louisville its fifth conference loss, sending themselves into a bowl game.
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Syracuse's Sean Tucker is the gospel truth and if you blink, you'll miss him (theathletic.com; $; Fortuna)
In the summer of 2020, Josh Black sized up a rookie and had him dead to rights. This was during a Syracuse live scrimmage, pitting the first-team defense against the first-team offense, and Black, then a fifth-year defensive tackle, had already blown past his man and was on the hunt in the offensive backfield.
“I beat the block, I’m going for a tackle for loss, and I remember hitting him and I don’t remember like taking (him) down,” Black said of the rookie. “My head was ringing. Like, it wasn’t even the fact that he tried to run me over. He didn’t even see me. But the fact that I tried to blindside tackle him and he was still basically able to run through it. And I was like, Oh, man, this guy is going to be special.”
A little more than a year later, that old rookie is second nationally in rushing. His program has been revived after a disappointing 1-10 campaign amid the pandemic-altered 2020 season, sitting at 5-4 as it exits its open date and looks to clinch a bowl berth for just the second time in the last nine years.
Sean Tucker is more than simply the best running back you haven’t heard much about. He may very well be the best college football player you know little about. And as much as Tucker wants to keep it that way, there is no getting away from his biggest groupie, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound sixth-year senior who is five years older, plays on the other side of the ball and is doing everything he can to spread the Gospel of Sean.
Quite literally, in fact, as Black’s Twitter profile picture is a photo of Tucker’s head inserted atop Jesus Christ’s body.
“I’m the self-proclaimed No. 1 Sean Tucker fan,” Black said. “So after one of the games — he obviously has amazing games every game — I just saw everyone’s just been posting memes in the comments and things like that because Sean Tucker has been kind of a national treasure right now. I saw a picture of his face photoshopped on a picture of Jesus Christ. I was like, Oh, man. Like, that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but also the most badass thing.
“So I was like, there’s no way that I can’t not make that my profile picture.”
Tucker ranks second nationally in rushing yards (1,267) and all-purpose yards (1,505), having become the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Jerome Smith in 2012 and now sitting just 106 yards away from breaking Joe Morris’ single-season school record of 1,372 yards in 1979. (Tucker averages 140.78 rushing yards per game.)
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound native of Owings Mills, Md., has rushed for 100 or more yards in seven straight games and in all but one game this season, giving him a school single-season record of eight games in which he has topped the century mark. He enters this Saturday’s contest at Louisville coming off a career-high 207-yard effort against Boston College.
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Syracuse football bowl watch: How do the Orange get six wins? (tniaam; Pregler)
As the Syracuse Orange prepare for the final act of their season, the postseason picture is beginning to take shape in a solidified manner. ‘Cuse football sits at 5-4 with three games left; on the road versus Louisville and NC State and a home finale against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Orange are underdogs against the Cardinals on Lamar Jackson day, and if they lose on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine Vegas would set the Orange up as anything other than underdogs against the Wolfpack, who best both of the former teams in almost every on field metric. Same goes for the home finale against a Panthers team that while dropping games they should not, is still very good and a top ten in SP+. The long story short: Vegas thinks the Orange’s bowl hopes are over.
However, that SP+ metric that likes Pitt so much? They also like the Orange enough and the ACC not enough to give the Orange a 70% chance of finishing the season 1-2. While it agrees that all three of ‘Ville, State, and Pitt are better teams than the Orange, the computer doesn’t think the gap is all that wide. For a system that is based on running simulations thousands of times, there are enough instances that Syracuse wins at least one of those games behind it’s rushing attack and stout defense to the point that there’s 70% confidence in that outcome.
Who else agrees with the computers?
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Opponent Breakdown: Syracuse Orange Offense (cardchronicle.com; Wynne)
Dino Babers and his high tempo spread passing attack are coming to Lousiville with the intention to run the ball as much as possible. It’s weird. Syracuse has been a pass-heavy offense for years now but Babers has one of the best rushing attacks in the country and he went all-in on it early this season. His offense has seen great results and the Orange are riding a two-game winning streak into this weekend.
Tommy Devito was viewed as the future of the program when he signed with Cuse a few years back but injuries hindered his career. Though he was healthy this year, Babers made the call to move on to Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader, a much better runner, even though he hasn’t shown the ability to be a consistent passer. Shrader can really kill you with his legs, though. He is averaging 5.58 yards per carry and he has three 100-yard rushing games on the season.
The key to the Orange offense is Sean Tucker. The second-leading rusher in the country is one of the most consistent players in the country and he is unbelievably productive. Tucker is the national leader in yards from scrimmage and no one is particularly close to him. Cuse has not only utilized him as a runner but he can catch the ball and make a play in space as well. Tucker is the most valuable offensive player that Louisville has faced this year and they have to find a way to slow him down.
The Orange passing attack lost some firepower when Taj Harris entered the transfer portal earlier this season. They don’t have a receiver on the roster right now that has shown the ability to threaten a defense consistently. However, Cuse does have some guys with experience and ability. Anthony Qeeley finished last season with 37 catches and he is the second leading wide receiver this season. Courtney Jackson has a lot of potential but probably needs another year before he can become the go-to receiver for the offense. But these guys can run and get open and we’ve seen UofL struggle to slow down some bad passing offenses this season.
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Holliday: TV spurns ACC leaders as Pack wins, Deacs fall to UNC :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com;; Holliday)
Dave Clawson views Saturday’s showdown between NC State and his Wake Forest team as a championship game. Indeed, the winner controls its destiny in the Atlantic Division race, though perennial kingpin Clemson still lurks in the background with two losses. But the ACC’s biggest game to date won’t be seen by the largest possible audience. That’s because ABC has chosen to show Notre Dame’s visit to Virginia Saturday night. State and Wake will still play in prime time, but on the ACC Network.
Don’t get me wrong, I personally think ACCN, in just its third year, does a good job, (though I find some on Twitter disagree with me). The point is that ACCN’s audience pales alongside that of ABC or ESPN for that matter.
The ACC’s TV rights holders put both Saturday night games on a six-day hold, waiting for the outcomes of games played last weekend. Maybe if Wake Forest had won ABC would have elected to carry the Atlantic Division showdown, but I doubt it. Notre Dame’s easy win over 2-7 Navy would have probably kept the Irish ahead of Wake in the College Football Playoff rankings even if the Deacons had maintained their 18-point lead over UNC.
The big networks love Notre Dame, both its tradition and its national following. NBC pays top dollar to broadcast the Irish home games. So naturally ABC jumps at any opportunity to televise Notre Dame on the road. Also Notre Dame-Virginia appeals to a broader audience than NC State and Wake, two teams from one region. ABC’s decision helps Virginia as well, since many in the Commonwealth still can’t receive the ACC Network.
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JHowell's Picks 2021 Week 11 (RX; HM)
Below are the projections through the games of 11-13-21. 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).
#13-Wake Forest (-6.5) vs. #23-North Carolina State (TP=60 Odds=.603)
#31-Clemson (-27.5) vs. #131-Connecticut (TP=45 Odds=.939)
#48-Miami (FL) (-7) @ #86-Florida State (TP=60 Odds=.608)
#62-Louisville (-2.5) vs. #60-Syracuse (TP=53 Odds=.546)
#74-Boston College (-1.5) @ #93-Georgia Tech (TP=50 Odds=.528)
#79-Virginia Tech (-11.5) vs. #112-Duke (TP=53 Odds=.696)
By the same token, Notre Dame is a big favorite over UVA - but watch out for those pesky Wahoos!
The Hokies are such a Jekyll-and-Hyde team that I wouldn't be surprised if Duke beats them.
The one blow-out prediction I feel confident about is Clemson over UConn because... UConn.
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Bowl Tracker 2021 Week 11 (RX; HM)
Already eligible: Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Pitt, UVa
Two of these teams most likely will be playing for the ACC Championship.
Needs one more win: Syracuse, Boston College, Miami, UNC
Of these, UNC still has an FCS team on the schedule, so I'm thinking the Heels are going bowling.
Needs two more wins: Louisville (Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky), Virginia Tech (Duke, Miami, UVa)
On paper VT has the better odds, but the Cards are playing better lately.
Needs to win out: Florida State (Miami, BC, Florida), Georgia Tech (BC, Notre Dame, Georgia), Duke (VT, Louisville, Miami). Obviously, winning out is a daunting task for any team - but especially so for Georgia Tech.
Eliminated: none (yet).
That last group is one loss away from being eliminated.
I'm thinking 10 teams is more likely.
Where is the CFB Belt? 2021-11-10 (RX; HM)
The last we checked, Alabama had the College Football Belt... but they lost to Texas A&M, didn't they?
The Aggies haven't lost since beating the Tide, which means they still possess the belt! The remaining schedule for Texas A&M looks like this:
This weekend is probably the best chance anyone has of taking the belt away during the regular season. If that doesn't happen, it may take a bowl loss to get it out of Aggie hands!
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ACC title race wide open heading into season’s final weeks (wnct.com; AP)
The Atlantic Coast Conference divisional races are far from decided and several schools still have a shot at winning the league crown.
Virginia defensive lineman Mandy Alonso is enjoying the journey.
“This is like what you train for and all season, you want to be in these positions,” Alonso said. “We put our team in a good enough position to have our goals in reach.”
Virginia is not alone.
Wake Forest remains the only unbeaten team in the Atlantic Division, but after allowing 330 rushing yards in its nonconference 58-55 loss to North Carolina, the No. 13 Demon Deacons may have exposed the blueprint to beat them.
Coach Dave Clawson’s team (8-1, 5-0) still has to play North Carolina State (7-2, 4-1) and at Clemson (6-3, 5-2) — both still in the race for the division crown.
“Big game ahead of us – I think everyone knows that,” Wake Forest offensive lineman Sean Maginn said this week.
The No. 21 Wolfpack, 27-21 winners in double-overtime against Clemson earlier in the season, play in Winston-Salem on Saturday and could gain a tiebreaker advantage over both Wake Forest and the Tigers with a win. N.C. State closes against vastly improved Syracuse, which has won two in a row, and longtime rival North Carolina.
“We need to focus on just getting better and staying in the moment as a team and not allowing what we want at the end of the season … to get in the way of how we get to that place,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said.
The Tigers, members of the last six four-team playoffs, won’t likely make it seven straight but haven’t written off another trip to the ACC Championship.
“We want to finish strong because that’s all we can do. Can’t worry about dead yesterdays or unborn tomorrows. You can only worry about right now,” Tigers tight end Davis Allen said, “and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
In the Coastal Division, No. 25 Pittsburgh (7-2, 4-1) can win it simply by winning out, but the Panthers’ path isn’t easy. They host North Carolina (5-4, 4-3) on Thursday night before facing Virginia, also at home, then visiting Syracuse.
Pittsburgh leads the nation with an average of 45 points, but the Tar Heels’ 58-55 victory caught coach Pat Narduzzi’s eye for sure. North Carolina has been up and down all season but has scored 58 or more three times.
“Whatever happened to 14-3?” he said. “Are those days gone? They’re gone.”
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ACC Football Staff Predictions: Week 10 (tarheelblog.com; Staff)
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Let’s see how we all feel this weekend will go
A lot of the same. Eight games but only two games: Pitt/UNC and Syracuse/Louisville have a significant number of differing opinions. A couple of us think that it’s time for Miami to stumble again, and beyond that, maybe Georgia Tech can throw a wrench in things?
The Pitt/UNC game could be a big difference for the title, as Max is going with his head, and the rest of the 50 win club is going with UNC. Either the pack is going to get a lot tighter, or Max will take a daunting lead.
For everyone’s sake we hope Max is wrong.
Other
Gavin Maloney stands in front of 132 E. Genesee St. in Hanover Square, one of Syracuse's oldest buildings. The building housed Koolakian's Mens Clothing shop from 1956 until 2020. Maloney bought the building in October 2021 and plans to put apartments on its upper floors. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)
From pre-Civil War photo studio to men’s store: 199-year-old building gets new caretaker (PS; $; Moriarty)
The new owner of an historic, nearly 200-year-old Hanover Square building that housed Koolakian’s menswear shop for six decades has plans to bring the vacant structure back to life.
Gavin Maloney, a contractor who moved from New York City to Upstate New York 12 years ago, bought the building at 132 E. Genesee St. from the Koolakian family for $295,000, according to a deed filed Oct. 15 with the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office.
Maloney is the latest caretaker for a building that’s believed to be three years older than Syracuse itself. People had their portraits photographed on the top floor in the 1840s. Famed architect Archimedes Russell once had his office there.
For the past six decades, it was Koolakian’s, the place in downtown Syracuse where mayors and basketball stars, television personalities and Catholic bishops bought their suits and ties.
Maloney said he hopes to turn the building’s upper three floors and attic into apartments and rent the ground floor formerly occupied by the menswear shop to a commercial tenant.
A view of historic Hanover Square from an upper floor of 132 E. Genesee St., one of Syracuse's oldest buildings. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)
Little has changed on the building’s upper floors since the late 1800s because they have been used for little but storage over the years. And Maloney likes it that way.
“I do historic restorations,” he said. “I really want to save the existing framework and doors. If you’re living there, I want you to kind of imagine living there in the 19th century. The floors are made of wide plank pine. I’m going to keep that.”
The Federal-style building is one of the oldest structures in Syracuse. Its exact date of construction is not known, but research by Robert Koolakian in the 1980s indicated it was built circa 1822, three years before Syracuse was incorporated. Hanover Square, bounded by Warren, Water and East Genesee streets, was Syracuse’s first commercial district, owing to its proximity to the Erie Canal.
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Veterans Day is a day set aside to honor all American veterans of war. On November 11, 1918, a cessation of hostilities, or armistice, between the Allied Powers and Germany took place. With this armistice, fighting during World War I ended, and the stage was set for a treaty to be signed formally ending the war. On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. On the first anniversary of the armistice, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day as Armistice Day, and said, "To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations." At this time celebrations were marked with parades and public meetings, as well as brief pauses in business at 11:00 AM, the time at which the armistice had taken place in 1918.
On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a concurrent resolution that requested that the President issue a proclamation for the day; it also called on officials to display the flag on government buildings, and invited the public "to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."
SU News
Syracuse Orange running back Sean Tucker (34) celebrates with the fans after his touchdown run in the third quarter. The Syracuse Orange takes on the Boston College Golden Eagles at the Carrier Dome Oct. 28, 2021. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
Sean Tucker is Syracuse football’s first star, and its first test case, during the NIL/transfer era (PS; Carlson)
Sean Tucker’s weekly tweet began as a way for him to keep people updated on his high school success.
He doesn’t need a tweet to do that anymore.
There are national awards lists. Heisman odds. Statistical leaderboards. Broken records.
All of them are easily accessible for anyone interested in following the running back’s football journey and sharing the story of Tucker’s continued success.
But the tweets still tell a story of Tucker’s rise in stardom.
The first time Tucker announced on social media that he was pleased with his performance was in 2018, when he made the All-MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association) indoor track team. Thirteen people shared it.
His first football summary was shared five times.
Now his teammates wait on his post-game assessment. So do Syracuse fans. His performances have been so good, so consistently, that he is almost always pleased.
When Tucker declared he was satisfied with his performance following Syracuse’s 21-6 win over Boston College, his summary was shared by more than 5,500 people, with fingers jumping into action immediately.
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Beat writers split on outcome of Saturday's matchup against Louisville (DO; Staff)
Syracuse heads to Louisville after its bye week, coming off back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019, while the Cardinals have lost their past two games. SU is one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018.
Led by Sean Tucker, who is almost 100 yards away from breaking Joe Morris all-time rushing record, Syracuse (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) faces Louisville (4-5, 2-4 ACC). The Orange are looking for revenge against the Cardinals after last season, when Louisville defeated SU 30-0 — the first and only shutout for Syracuse last year.
Here’s what our beat writers expect when Syracuse faces Louisville:
Roshan Fernandez (5-4)
Something about Louisville…
Louisville 35, Syracuse 32
Syracuse has played notoriously poorly against Louisville during recent years. The SU defense folds and the Orange have lost six of the last seven matchups by 20-plus points (the exception being a win during 2018 when SU made a bowl game). This year’s team has clearly proven it’s not the same as last year’s unit that lost 30-0 to the Cardinals in November, but something about playing Louisville throws the Orange off.
SU’s defense successfully contained Liberty’s dual-threat quarterback Malik Willis but couldn’t reproduce the same results against Florida State’s Jordan Travis. Saturday in Kentucky, dual-quarterback Malik Cunningham’s speed will be the most crucial test thus far for this Syracuse defense. The Cardinals rank fifth in the conference in rushing defense, a stat that shouldn’t prove problematic for Tucker and Garrett Shrader, but the Orange offense is still very one-dimensional. Syracuse desperately needed the bye week to rest, but a part of me thinks that week could throw this team out of rhythm. With the Orange’s final two matchups against AP Top-25 teams, the Cardinals will deal a heartbreaking blow to SU’s bowl chances.
Connor Smith (4-5)
Time to bowl
Syracuse 30, Louisville 27
Saturday’s game is Syracuse’s last legitimate chance to earn bowl eligibility, which the Orange haven’t done since 2018. SU’s next two games after this one are against NC State and Pittsburgh, two of the ACC’s top teams, and both are ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
But to pick up that critical sixth win, Syracuse’s defense will have to contain Cunningham, who has the most touchdowns in the conference. Babers compared Cunningham to Liberty’ Willis, who led the Flames into the Carrier Dome back in September. But in that game, SU’s defense stepped up, registering six sacks and making Willis uncomfortable throughout the 24-21 win.
On Saturday, the Orange will extend their win streak to three games behind another bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort and the fresh legs of Shrader and Tucker who’ve had two weeks to rest after a bye week. A win will require strong special teams play (something SU has lacked throughout the season), but kicker Andre Szmyt will step up, and Syracuse will leave Kentucky with that ever-important sixth win.
Anish Vasudevan (6-3)
The battle of rushing quarterbacks
Syracuse 30, Louisville 25
This game is a duel between the two best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC — Shrader and Cunningham. Cunningham has held the position as one of the best running quarterbacks in college football since last season, while Shrader has slowly been working up to that pedestal this season. And the Orange will face the Cardinals at the jersey retirement of Lamar Jackson — one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history.
But Syracuse’s defense has shown that it’s able to stop running quarterbacks, dominating Willis and somewhat stopping Travis this season. On the other hand, Louisville’s defense has struggled overall, only allowing less than 20 points twice this season. Mikel Jones and the rest of the linebacker unit will need to use QB spy’s again to stop Cunningham and make sure that rushes are stopped at the second level. Coming off the bye week, the Orange should be rested enough to hand Louisville its fifth conference loss, sending themselves into a bowl game.
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Syracuse's Sean Tucker is the gospel truth and if you blink, you'll miss him (theathletic.com; $; Fortuna)
In the summer of 2020, Josh Black sized up a rookie and had him dead to rights. This was during a Syracuse live scrimmage, pitting the first-team defense against the first-team offense, and Black, then a fifth-year defensive tackle, had already blown past his man and was on the hunt in the offensive backfield.
“I beat the block, I’m going for a tackle for loss, and I remember hitting him and I don’t remember like taking (him) down,” Black said of the rookie. “My head was ringing. Like, it wasn’t even the fact that he tried to run me over. He didn’t even see me. But the fact that I tried to blindside tackle him and he was still basically able to run through it. And I was like, Oh, man, this guy is going to be special.”
A little more than a year later, that old rookie is second nationally in rushing. His program has been revived after a disappointing 1-10 campaign amid the pandemic-altered 2020 season, sitting at 5-4 as it exits its open date and looks to clinch a bowl berth for just the second time in the last nine years.
Sean Tucker is more than simply the best running back you haven’t heard much about. He may very well be the best college football player you know little about. And as much as Tucker wants to keep it that way, there is no getting away from his biggest groupie, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound sixth-year senior who is five years older, plays on the other side of the ball and is doing everything he can to spread the Gospel of Sean.
Quite literally, in fact, as Black’s Twitter profile picture is a photo of Tucker’s head inserted atop Jesus Christ’s body.
“I’m the self-proclaimed No. 1 Sean Tucker fan,” Black said. “So after one of the games — he obviously has amazing games every game — I just saw everyone’s just been posting memes in the comments and things like that because Sean Tucker has been kind of a national treasure right now. I saw a picture of his face photoshopped on a picture of Jesus Christ. I was like, Oh, man. Like, that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but also the most badass thing.
“So I was like, there’s no way that I can’t not make that my profile picture.”
Tucker ranks second nationally in rushing yards (1,267) and all-purpose yards (1,505), having become the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Jerome Smith in 2012 and now sitting just 106 yards away from breaking Joe Morris’ single-season school record of 1,372 yards in 1979. (Tucker averages 140.78 rushing yards per game.)
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound native of Owings Mills, Md., has rushed for 100 or more yards in seven straight games and in all but one game this season, giving him a school single-season record of eight games in which he has topped the century mark. He enters this Saturday’s contest at Louisville coming off a career-high 207-yard effort against Boston College.
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Syracuse football bowl watch: How do the Orange get six wins? (tniaam; Pregler)
As the Syracuse Orange prepare for the final act of their season, the postseason picture is beginning to take shape in a solidified manner. ‘Cuse football sits at 5-4 with three games left; on the road versus Louisville and NC State and a home finale against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Orange are underdogs against the Cardinals on Lamar Jackson day, and if they lose on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine Vegas would set the Orange up as anything other than underdogs against the Wolfpack, who best both of the former teams in almost every on field metric. Same goes for the home finale against a Panthers team that while dropping games they should not, is still very good and a top ten in SP+. The long story short: Vegas thinks the Orange’s bowl hopes are over.
However, that SP+ metric that likes Pitt so much? They also like the Orange enough and the ACC not enough to give the Orange a 70% chance of finishing the season 1-2. While it agrees that all three of ‘Ville, State, and Pitt are better teams than the Orange, the computer doesn’t think the gap is all that wide. For a system that is based on running simulations thousands of times, there are enough instances that Syracuse wins at least one of those games behind it’s rushing attack and stout defense to the point that there’s 70% confidence in that outcome.
Who else agrees with the computers?
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Opponent Breakdown: Syracuse Orange Offense (cardchronicle.com; Wynne)
Dino Babers and his high tempo spread passing attack are coming to Lousiville with the intention to run the ball as much as possible. It’s weird. Syracuse has been a pass-heavy offense for years now but Babers has one of the best rushing attacks in the country and he went all-in on it early this season. His offense has seen great results and the Orange are riding a two-game winning streak into this weekend.
Tommy Devito was viewed as the future of the program when he signed with Cuse a few years back but injuries hindered his career. Though he was healthy this year, Babers made the call to move on to Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader, a much better runner, even though he hasn’t shown the ability to be a consistent passer. Shrader can really kill you with his legs, though. He is averaging 5.58 yards per carry and he has three 100-yard rushing games on the season.
The key to the Orange offense is Sean Tucker. The second-leading rusher in the country is one of the most consistent players in the country and he is unbelievably productive. Tucker is the national leader in yards from scrimmage and no one is particularly close to him. Cuse has not only utilized him as a runner but he can catch the ball and make a play in space as well. Tucker is the most valuable offensive player that Louisville has faced this year and they have to find a way to slow him down.
The Orange passing attack lost some firepower when Taj Harris entered the transfer portal earlier this season. They don’t have a receiver on the roster right now that has shown the ability to threaten a defense consistently. However, Cuse does have some guys with experience and ability. Anthony Qeeley finished last season with 37 catches and he is the second leading wide receiver this season. Courtney Jackson has a lot of potential but probably needs another year before he can become the go-to receiver for the offense. But these guys can run and get open and we’ve seen UofL struggle to slow down some bad passing offenses this season.
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Holliday: TV spurns ACC leaders as Pack wins, Deacs fall to UNC :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com;; Holliday)
Dave Clawson views Saturday’s showdown between NC State and his Wake Forest team as a championship game. Indeed, the winner controls its destiny in the Atlantic Division race, though perennial kingpin Clemson still lurks in the background with two losses. But the ACC’s biggest game to date won’t be seen by the largest possible audience. That’s because ABC has chosen to show Notre Dame’s visit to Virginia Saturday night. State and Wake will still play in prime time, but on the ACC Network.
Don’t get me wrong, I personally think ACCN, in just its third year, does a good job, (though I find some on Twitter disagree with me). The point is that ACCN’s audience pales alongside that of ABC or ESPN for that matter.
The ACC’s TV rights holders put both Saturday night games on a six-day hold, waiting for the outcomes of games played last weekend. Maybe if Wake Forest had won ABC would have elected to carry the Atlantic Division showdown, but I doubt it. Notre Dame’s easy win over 2-7 Navy would have probably kept the Irish ahead of Wake in the College Football Playoff rankings even if the Deacons had maintained their 18-point lead over UNC.
The big networks love Notre Dame, both its tradition and its national following. NBC pays top dollar to broadcast the Irish home games. So naturally ABC jumps at any opportunity to televise Notre Dame on the road. Also Notre Dame-Virginia appeals to a broader audience than NC State and Wake, two teams from one region. ABC’s decision helps Virginia as well, since many in the Commonwealth still can’t receive the ACC Network.
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JHowell's Picks 2021 Week 11 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks 2021 Week 11
From JHowell.net:Below are the projections through the games of 11-13-21. 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).
Thursday, November 11, 2021
#27-Pittsburgh (-12) vs. #52-North Carolina (TP=69 Odds=.660)Saturday, November 13, 2021
#6-Notre Dame (-11.5) @ #41-Virginia (TP=64 Odds=.667)#13-Wake Forest (-6.5) vs. #23-North Carolina State (TP=60 Odds=.603)
#31-Clemson (-27.5) vs. #131-Connecticut (TP=45 Odds=.939)
#48-Miami (FL) (-7) @ #86-Florida State (TP=60 Odds=.608)
#62-Louisville (-2.5) vs. #60-Syracuse (TP=53 Odds=.546)
#74-Boston College (-1.5) @ #93-Georgia Tech (TP=50 Odds=.528)
#79-Virginia Tech (-11.5) vs. #112-Duke (TP=53 Odds=.696)
Projected Blowouts:
I get it - on paper, Pitt should blow out UNC. Problem is, that's been the case most years, and the Panthers lose anyway.By the same token, Notre Dame is a big favorite over UVA - but watch out for those pesky Wahoos!
The Hokies are such a Jekyll-and-Hyde team that I wouldn't be surprised if Duke beats them.
The one blow-out prediction I feel confident about is Clemson over UConn because... UConn.
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Bowl Tracker 2021 Week 11 (RX; HM)
Bowl Tracker 2021 Week 11
What do ACC teams need to do to become bowl-eligible?Already eligible: Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Pitt, UVa
Two of these teams most likely will be playing for the ACC Championship.
Needs one more win: Syracuse, Boston College, Miami, UNC
Of these, UNC still has an FCS team on the schedule, so I'm thinking the Heels are going bowling.
Needs two more wins: Louisville (Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky), Virginia Tech (Duke, Miami, UVa)
On paper VT has the better odds, but the Cards are playing better lately.
Needs to win out: Florida State (Miami, BC, Florida), Georgia Tech (BC, Notre Dame, Georgia), Duke (VT, Louisville, Miami). Obviously, winning out is a daunting task for any team - but especially so for Georgia Tech.
Eliminated: none (yet).
That last group is one loss away from being eliminated.
BOTTOM LINE:
It's not possible for all 14 ACC teams to be bowl-eligible at the same time, but it's conceivable that 12 or even 13 teams could be this year.I'm thinking 10 teams is more likely.
Where is the CFB Belt? 2021-11-10 (RX; HM)
Where is the CFB Belt? 2021-11-10
Just a quick update on the Belt...The last we checked, Alabama had the College Football Belt... but they lost to Texas A&M, didn't they?
The Aggies haven't lost since beating the Tide, which means they still possess the belt! The remaining schedule for Texas A&M looks like this:
This weekend is probably the best chance anyone has of taking the belt away during the regular season. If that doesn't happen, it may take a bowl loss to get it out of Aggie hands!
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ACC title race wide open heading into season’s final weeks (wnct.com; AP)
The Atlantic Coast Conference divisional races are far from decided and several schools still have a shot at winning the league crown.
Virginia defensive lineman Mandy Alonso is enjoying the journey.
“This is like what you train for and all season, you want to be in these positions,” Alonso said. “We put our team in a good enough position to have our goals in reach.”
Virginia is not alone.
Wake Forest remains the only unbeaten team in the Atlantic Division, but after allowing 330 rushing yards in its nonconference 58-55 loss to North Carolina, the No. 13 Demon Deacons may have exposed the blueprint to beat them.
Coach Dave Clawson’s team (8-1, 5-0) still has to play North Carolina State (7-2, 4-1) and at Clemson (6-3, 5-2) — both still in the race for the division crown.
“Big game ahead of us – I think everyone knows that,” Wake Forest offensive lineman Sean Maginn said this week.
The No. 21 Wolfpack, 27-21 winners in double-overtime against Clemson earlier in the season, play in Winston-Salem on Saturday and could gain a tiebreaker advantage over both Wake Forest and the Tigers with a win. N.C. State closes against vastly improved Syracuse, which has won two in a row, and longtime rival North Carolina.
“We need to focus on just getting better and staying in the moment as a team and not allowing what we want at the end of the season … to get in the way of how we get to that place,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said.
The Tigers, members of the last six four-team playoffs, won’t likely make it seven straight but haven’t written off another trip to the ACC Championship.
“We want to finish strong because that’s all we can do. Can’t worry about dead yesterdays or unborn tomorrows. You can only worry about right now,” Tigers tight end Davis Allen said, “and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
In the Coastal Division, No. 25 Pittsburgh (7-2, 4-1) can win it simply by winning out, but the Panthers’ path isn’t easy. They host North Carolina (5-4, 4-3) on Thursday night before facing Virginia, also at home, then visiting Syracuse.
Pittsburgh leads the nation with an average of 45 points, but the Tar Heels’ 58-55 victory caught coach Pat Narduzzi’s eye for sure. North Carolina has been up and down all season but has scored 58 or more three times.
“Whatever happened to 14-3?” he said. “Are those days gone? They’re gone.”
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ACC Football Staff Predictions: Week 10 (tarheelblog.com; Staff)
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Let’s see how we all feel this weekend will go
A lot of the same. Eight games but only two games: Pitt/UNC and Syracuse/Louisville have a significant number of differing opinions. A couple of us think that it’s time for Miami to stumble again, and beyond that, maybe Georgia Tech can throw a wrench in things?
The Pitt/UNC game could be a big difference for the title, as Max is going with his head, and the rest of the 50 win club is going with UNC. Either the pack is going to get a lot tighter, or Max will take a daunting lead.
For everyone’s sake we hope Max is wrong.
Other
Gavin Maloney stands in front of 132 E. Genesee St. in Hanover Square, one of Syracuse's oldest buildings. The building housed Koolakian's Mens Clothing shop from 1956 until 2020. Maloney bought the building in October 2021 and plans to put apartments on its upper floors. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)
From pre-Civil War photo studio to men’s store: 199-year-old building gets new caretaker (PS; $; Moriarty)
The new owner of an historic, nearly 200-year-old Hanover Square building that housed Koolakian’s menswear shop for six decades has plans to bring the vacant structure back to life.
Gavin Maloney, a contractor who moved from New York City to Upstate New York 12 years ago, bought the building at 132 E. Genesee St. from the Koolakian family for $295,000, according to a deed filed Oct. 15 with the Onondaga County Clerk’s Office.
Maloney is the latest caretaker for a building that’s believed to be three years older than Syracuse itself. People had their portraits photographed on the top floor in the 1840s. Famed architect Archimedes Russell once had his office there.
For the past six decades, it was Koolakian’s, the place in downtown Syracuse where mayors and basketball stars, television personalities and Catholic bishops bought their suits and ties.
Maloney said he hopes to turn the building’s upper three floors and attic into apartments and rent the ground floor formerly occupied by the menswear shop to a commercial tenant.
A view of historic Hanover Square from an upper floor of 132 E. Genesee St., one of Syracuse's oldest buildings. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)
Little has changed on the building’s upper floors since the late 1800s because they have been used for little but storage over the years. And Maloney likes it that way.
“I do historic restorations,” he said. “I really want to save the existing framework and doors. If you’re living there, I want you to kind of imagine living there in the 19th century. The floors are made of wide plank pine. I’m going to keep that.”
The Federal-style building is one of the oldest structures in Syracuse. Its exact date of construction is not known, but research by Robert Koolakian in the 1980s indicated it was built circa 1822, three years before Syracuse was incorporated. Hanover Square, bounded by Warren, Water and East Genesee streets, was Syracuse’s first commercial district, owing to its proximity to the Erie Canal.
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