sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Pepper Pot Soup Day!
According to legend, pepper pot soup was created on today's date in 1777, ten days after General George Washington and the Continental Army had set up their winter camp at Valley Forge. The camp was located about twenty miles from Philadelphia, where the British were headquartered. The Winter of 1777-1778 ended up being especially harsh and bitter, and the troops often went without bread or meat. Shortly after arriving, some troops almost mutinied, and about a third of the men didn't even have boots. Farmers in the area sold their produce to the British instead of Continental soldiers because the Continental currency was depreciated and unreliable. It didn't look like the army would be able to hold together with the meager provisions they had.
General Washington sent out foraging groups to look for food supplies. It is believed that Washington told his baker general, Christopher Ludwick, to come up with a soup that "will warm and strengthen the body of a soldier and inspire his flagging spirit." Whatever was found during the foraging was used to make the soup. Legend says that the soup was first made on December 29, 1777, and had tripe, other meat and vegetable scraps, and peppercorn and other spices. Perhaps the biggest part of the legend surrounding pepper pot soup is that it rejuvenated the troops, not only to get them through the winter but to set the foundation for them to win the war. In fact, it earned the nickname "the soup that won the war."
SU News
Robert Anae & Jason Beck Can Take SU from Bottom-Feeder to Contender – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net; Eads)
Syracuse football filled some massive coach openings in offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck. We’re still waiting for an official confirmation from SU Athletics but all signs seem to indicate that Anae and Beck will join the coaching staff ahead of the 2022 season. So what have they done to get to where they are now and can they improve this putrid ‘Cuse offensive attack?
ROBERT ANAE
The former Virginia Cavalier offensive coordinator, tight ends, and inside receivers coach has 15 years of experience leading offenses. Anae and former UVA head coach were adjoined at the hip spending 14 seasons together between time with the ‘Hoos and BYU. In Anae’s 32-year coaching career, he’s been nominated for the Frank Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, three times. So Anae certainly has a resume worth looking at but why has he been successful?Prior to when Mendenhall and Anae arrived in Charlottesville in 2016, UVA had never had a 3,000 yard passer. In Anae’s six years, the Cavs had three different passers of such caliber. Now Mendenhall is a defensive guy through and through so most of, if not all of the credit should go to Anae for achieving this milestone. Who compiles trio of 3k yard passers? Those would be Kurt Benkert, Bryce Perkins, and Brennan Armstrong. *For reference, SU has only had one 3,000 yard thrower, ever…
SU fans may or may not be familiar with the latter two talented passers, it has been a few years since the Orange and Cavaliers have met on the gridiron. Perkins was a guy just looking for a shot to play high level football. He rose from the JUCO ranks to start for the Cavs in 2017 and turned into a phenom. Anae and Beck had Perkins playing so well he belonged in categories with other signal callers like Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray.
In 2018, Perkins and Murray (the Heisman Trophy winner) were the only quarterbacks that passed for over 2600 yards and ran for 900 more. In 2019, Perkins joined Hurts as the only players to gain 3,000+ yards through the air and bully for 700 in the run game. It should come as no surprise that Virginia emerged as one of the best teams in the ACC and won the Coastal in 2019 en route to a New Years Six bowl game.
Brennan Armstrong took the reins from Perkins in 2020 and did so wirh zero dropoff. In just nine games of work, Armstrong garnered over 2,100 passing yards with 552 more on the ground and 23 total touchdowns. Those numbers skyrocketed in 2021 and not just because the left-hander had three more outings. Armstrong boosted his numbers to just under 4,500 yards passing, 251 rushing, and 40 total touchdowns. To put that into perspective, Armstrong would be Syracuse’s school record holder for passing yards BY A LONG SHOT. Ryan Nassib holds the standard at 3,749 which he set in 2012. Not bad for Armstrong though, a guy from Shelby, Ohio who didn’t even get a sniff from Ohio State.
This is just what Anae has done at UVA, he also mentored Taysom Hill at BYU previously who is as dual-threat as they come. One thing on that, the Cougars had two different 1,000 yard runners in 2013 in Hill and current Detroit Lion Jamaal Williams. The same was nearly done by Syracuse this year with Garrett Shrader and Sean Tucker. The point is, Anae has plenty of experience working with two prolific runners and should have the ingredients to turn this ‘Cuse attack into a five-course meal for any defense in the ACC.
JASON BECK
Beck needs to be talked about in the same light as Anae. The quarterbacks coach has been with the offensive coordinator every step of the way at both UVA and BYU. He’s trusted and needed so much that Dino Babers needed to snag both coaches, not just one. The former Cougar signal caller never really was given the opportunity to shine in the spotlight as a player. Beck served as the backup to former BYU All-American John Beck between 2004-2006. However, Beck has found that success on the sideline.As Anae’s disciple, Beck has experienced the success of the aforementioned Taysom Hill, Bryce Perkins, and Brennan Armstrong, amongst others. He’s already had previous experience as an OC as well, albeit at a Division 2 school. Beck seems like a rising star in the industry and is destined to get a Division 1 gig leading an offense at some point. Perhaps that comes after one more successful stint but this time at Syracuse?
With Anae and Beck holding the script, quarterbacks averaged 3,200 passing yards, 524 rush yards, and 3,725 yards of total offense between 2013-2020 between BYU and UVA. Armstrong’s illustrious 2021 numbers would only pad these stats further.
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Wake Forest wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson (5) celebrates scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Duke on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Wake Forest WR Jaquarii Roberson will head to 2022 NFL Draft - ACCSports.com (accsports.com; Geisinger)
Jaquarii Roberson, one of the most prolific wide receivers in program history, will depart Wake Forest and prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft. Roberson announced on Twitter that he will opt out of Wake Forest’s bowl game and get ready for the professional ranks.
Quarterback Sam Howell will return next season; however, he’ll have to play without one of his top targets.
During the 2021 season, Roberson hauled in 71 receptions for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns. This marked the second straight season that Roberson has caught eight touchdown passes. Back in 2020, Roberson recorded 926 receiving yards on 62 catches.
The 6-foot-1 Roberson, a fourth-year junior, finishes his career with 2,158 receiving yards and 17 touchdown catches.
The Virginia Tech Hokies in the Pinstripe Bowl: The End (of an Era) (gobblercountry.com; Fahvaag)
Out with the Old
So, at some time at about 2:15 or so, if nothing COVID related happens between then and now, the Fuente Era remnant Virginia Tech Hokies will take to the converted field of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City to play their last game. I make that statement that way because it’s a reality. Nearly the entire coaching staff that has accumulated and/or survived the last six seasons will be gone by the end of the week. As Bryan has pointed out in his preview, the Hokies are short a ton of players. The most critical loss is the dismissal of Braxton Burmeister’s offer to play one last game (his timing for hitting the portal eject button was certainly poor, that’s for sure). The team that flew to New York City, and practiced at Columbia University is a mere shadow of the triumphant squad that upset the favored Wahoos and closed out a pretty miserable 2-year stretch with a bowl bid and the retention of the Commonwealth Cup.
There is some serious credit due to newly promoted Associate Head Coach JC Price for holding the team together for the last two games and bringing a close to the 2021 season on as positive a note as was possible, BUT this game is not going to be for the casual sort of sunshine Hokie fan. It’s like watching the last few green shoots of a garden perennial struggling to stay verdant as the frost and dark of winter approaches. You root for the plant and know that eventually it will lose the short-term battle against the cold. You also know that the plant will be back in the Spring, with new growth, and maybe with some better care you can coax it into being larger and healthier looking.
Impressions on What We Might See: Offense
Connor Blumrick is finally “the guy”. Oddly, it’s like JC Price, he’s coming back but probably not “the guy”, again. We have seen the physical abilities of Blumrick. His playing style reminds you of Jerod Evans, but he’s never demonstrated a real talent for throwing all of the passes Evans managed with his one-read and go style. This is probably due to a distinct lack of intermediate route packages and the presence of a solid motioning H-Back to the mix under the zone. However, there is still a miniscule number of quality pass plays in his quiver with which to offer an improved judgement. The passing game will remain very secondary in this bowl game.
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2021 Bowl Result as of 2021-12-28 (RX; HM)
2021 Bowl Result as of 2021-12-28
The ACC finally had a team to play in a bowl game.1st Responder Bowl
Air Force 31
Louisville 28
Too bad the Cardinals lost... or should I say "Carinals", since, you know, no "d" when then needed it.
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Meanwhile, the Holiday Bowl, which should've been played between UCLA and NC State, was cancelled due to not having enough healthy Bruins (Officially, they're now saying the Holiday Bowl is "postponed" and that the Wolfpack's opponent is "TBD").
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In other action:
Birmingham Bowl
Houston 17
Auburn 13
Liberty Bowl
Miss. State 7
Texas Tech 34
Note: the Guaranteed Rate Bowl between WVU and Minnesota was still in progress at the time I published this (I will update this post in the morning).
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The Louisville Cardinals took out the Air Force Tuesday in a close matchup but fell short 31-28. After 4 bowl games have been canceled due to COVID, it remains to be seen if the ACC will win one game this bowl season. Locked On Boston College Host AJ Black joins Candace Cooper to talk about the current state of affairs for ACC Football and what we may see for the rest of basketball season.
Most 2021 Passing TDs (RX; HM)
Most 2021 Passing TDs
Thanks to Saturday Gameday for compiling this data.Here are the ACC-related rankings only
Yes, you saw some excellent QB play this season - just not from a championship team.
ESPN's 'ACC Legends' documentary series to debut with episode on Bobby Bowden (wtxl.com; Staff)
ESPN has announced that their first episode in their new documentary series "ACC Legends" will debut on Dec. 28 with legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden.
The episode will air on ESPN's ACC Network at 7 p.m. on Dec. 28 and will tell the story of the coach who made FSU football a household name.
"While a legendary football coach by trade, faith and family were the cornerstones to his life and paramount in his program," ESPN wrote in a press release. "With interviews from family, media personalities, former coaches, and past players, including 1993 Heisman Trophy Winner Charlie Ward and Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks, viewers will discover the impact Bobby Bowden left not only on Florida State, but on the game of college football."
Future ACC Legends episodes include former NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow and Virginia men’s basketball great Ralph Sampson.
Florida State lands DB transfer from Louisville (tomahawknation.com; Nevitt)
Florida State football and Mike Norvell continue to stay active in the transfer portal. The Seminoles landed another power five transfer on Tuesday afternoon. Louisville Cardinals defensive back transfer Greedy Vance is headed to Tallahassee:
Vance is a defensive back from Kenner, LA and Edna Kerr high school. He was a three star recruit in the 2020 recruiting cycle. The Louisiana native stands 5’10 and weighs 155 poinds. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining at Florida State.
As a true freshman, Vance didn’t see much time for the Cardinals. This season, the DB played in all 12 games. he had 33 total tackles. He also had seven pass breakups, including one versus the Seminoles.
Vance is FSU’s fifth pickup in the transfer portal and the fourth transfer to come from the power five level. The Seminoles have also added WR Mycah Pittman, WR Johnny Wilson, OL Bless Harris, and OL Kayden Lyles.
https://anchor.fm/bcpodcastacc/episodes/2021-Bowl-Previews---Mayo-Bowl--Peach-Bowl-e1c29f7 anchor.fm; podcast)
2021 Bowl Previews - Mayo Bowl & Peach Bowl
Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast
Other
Syracuse firefighter Will Stephens and his wife Sarah plan to renovate the long-abandoned apartment building where his grandmother once lived on the city's South Side. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)
Syracuse firefighter to restore abandoned South Side apartments (PS; $; Moriarty)
Syracuse firefighter Will Stephens remembers visiting his grandmother at her apartment in the Casey Building on the city’s South Side when he was a young boy.
“I always came down here to play,” said Stephens, who grew up in a single-parent household a few blocks away. “My mother was always working two or three jobs, so this gave me a place to come and play.”
That was the early 1990s. The apartment building closed in the years following his grandmother’s death in 1998. In 2015, the city seized it for back taxes.
But Stephens and his wife, Sarah, plan to bring the long-abandoned apartment building back to life. The Syracuse couple has agreed to buy the building from the Syracuse Land Bank for $10,000 and invest nearly $800,000 to renovate and reopen it.
Built in 1950 at 2520 S. Salina St., the four-story brick building is a rarity in Syracuse, especially on the South Side, one of the poorest areas of the city. All its eight apartments have four bedrooms, which is more than many homes have. That makes them ideal for large or extended families.
“People with bigger families usually have to rent whole houses, many of which are not kept up,” said Stephens.
The couple met in 1997 when Sarah came to Syracuse from the downstate village of Ossining to attend Syracuse University. They married in 2009 and have three children.
Stephens has been a Syracuse firefighter for 14 years and renovates houses on the side. Sarah, 43, is president of SS Funding & Procurement Resources, which helps commercial property owners, developers and business owners obtain and manage public and private funding opportunities.
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