Orangeyes Daily Articles for Monday for Football

[sutomcat]

Welcome to 7-Eleven Day (Free Slurpee Day)!

July 11 (7/11) is the unofficial birthday of the 7-Eleven store and is known as Free Slurpee Day or 7-Eleven Day. Customers who stop in a store from 7 am to 11 pm can receive a free small Slurpee. Free Slurpee Day was started in 2002, and a new flavor is featured each year on the day, although customers can choose from whatever other flavors are available at the store as well. Other food items have recently been given away on Free Slurpee Day as well, such as Big Gulps, Twinkies, and cookies.

In the late-1950s, Omar Knedlik owned a Dairy Queen in Kansas. When the soda fountain stopped working, he put some soda bottles in a freezer to keep them chilled. They were a little slushy when he opened them, and soon people started requesting them that way. He then built a machine using the air conditioning unit of a car—the machine was able to make slushy sodas out of flavored syrup, water, and carbon dioxide. The drink was named the ICEE. Working with a Dallas manufacturer, he redesigned the machine and distributed it to businesses and drugstores. The drink was licensed to 7-Eleven in 1965, and when sold there it soon became known as the Slurpee. Bob Stanford of the 7-Eleven marketing department came up with the name—he thought a slurp sound was made when sipping the drink through a straw.

SU News

The Fine Mess tailgate set up shop in the Fine parking lot drawing attendees from several states ahead of the Syracuse football games. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

SU football fan group joins the NIL game, renaming tailgate after up-and-coming player (PS; $; Leiker)

When Mark Cupelo first floated his NIL deal idea to his Syracuse football tailgating buddies, he thought most would take it as a joke.

Cupelo spends fall Saturdays tailgating in the Henry Street Lot, formerly known as the Fine Lot, with a group known as the “Fine Mess Tailgate.” But what if, Cupelo proposed, the group chipped in money so it could rebrand the tailgate to be named after a current Syracuse player?

His message, which he initially sent to a smaller text chain of friends, got a few thumbs up, a few “ha-has.”

“Then one of the guys said, ‘I’ll throw a hundred bucks in,’ ” Cupelo said. “A couple others did, and we had a few hundred bucks all of us. I said, ‘You know what? Maybe this isn’t a joke. Maybe this is something that’s actually feasible.’ ”
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Syracuse Recruiting Roundup: Parker Meese, Josiah Brown, Tyler Betsey - The Juice Online (the juice; Auger)

All has been relatively quiet on the football recruiting front as team are currently in a “dead period” – defined by the NCAA as:

“A dead period is that period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the member institution’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus.”

The dead period runs from June 27 to July 24.

Regardless, that didn’t stop Dino Babers and his staff from offering Parker Meese out of Parish Episcopal High School in Dallas.

Meese, in the Class of 2025, is a 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker. While he’s unrated by both 247Sports and Rivals, he has quite the offer list. Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Boston College, BYU, Louisville, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia Tech have all extended offers.

Josiah Brown

Brown, a 4-star recruit, is one prospect to keep an eye on. He already has a Syracuse offer and is currently ranked as the top prospect in New York for the Class of 2024 according to 247Sports. He previously visited Syracuse during April. Nick Monroe is his lead recruiter for the Orange.

Given the renewed emphasis Syracuse has put on New York players, Brown will be a high priority target for the Orange. But landing him will be a challenge. Besides his most recent offer from Georgia, Brown has Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, and West Virginia all after his commitment.

Mamadou Cissokho

Cissokho is an interesting recruit. A lineman from Senegal, he has yet to play a down of American football. But his size and athletic ability have some coaches intrigued. That includes Syracuse. Nick Monroe offered him back in early April. Unfortunately for the Orange, he committed to Liberty last week.
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Position Breakdown: Special Teams — 2022 Syracuse Football preview - The Juice Online (the juice; Sears)

Today we take a look at one of the more unheralded aspects of the game of football, special teams.

Syracuse has had a pretty solid special teams unit the last couple of years, albeit in the performance of the kickers rather than in return men taking back opposing kicks for touchdowns. Until recently, Syracuse was one of only seven schools in the Power-5 that didn’t have a coach as a full-time special teams coordinator.

That changed in December of 2021 when head coach Dino Babers brought in Bob Ligashesky who spent 12 years in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers in 2008 as the special teams coordinator. Among many other stops in the college sphere over a 37 year career, Ligashesky was most recently with Bowling Green where placekicker Nate Needham led the country in field goal percentage (.950).

It should be a welcome addition as former Lou Groza award winning kicker Andre Szmyt had a down year in 2021 by all measurables, going just 9-of-14 on field goals including a couple of key misses in the Clemson and Wake Forest games. A seasoned coach with professional experience should be able to come in and get Szmyt’s game back on track as well as find another leg to handle kickoff duties, to take that extra strain off of Szmyt.

As it stands, here’s how I see SU’s depth chart at the beginning of July:

Kickers

1. Andre Szmyt- 6’1” 202 pounds
2. James Williams- 6’1” 206 pounds

Szmyt is the unquestioned No. 1, even with a new coordinator and a down year last year. He won the Lou Groza award for the nation’s top kicker as a walk-on his freshman year, and currently holds the school records for FGs made (65) and FG% (.823). My feeling is handling kick off duties last year was too much strain on one of the most active legs in the country, and we’ll see Ligashesky assign those duties to another player in 2022.

Williams is the back-up kicker should anything happen to Szmyt due to his status as a five-star kicker coming out of high school, ranking as high as the number two kicker in the country by Rivals. He also has a pretty hilarious stat line for his senior season, making just 4-of-5 field goals that year but going 52-of-53 on extra points. That team must have been fun to watch.

Punters

1. James Williams- 6’1” 206 pounds
2. Ian Hawkins- 6’0” 183 pounds
3. Maximilian Von Marburg- 6’0” 181 pounds

Williams has the punting job locked up for the reasons listed above as well as his performance before injury last year, playing in eight games and punting 39 times for 1499 yards, averaging 38.44 yards per punt and downing nine kicks inside the 20. He would be my top candidate for kickoff duties should Ligashesky make a change.

Hawkins gets a shot at the back-up job thanks to his performance last year while Williams was injured. He took over in the Florida State game and had six punts with a 33.17 yards average, then again took the reins for the final three games of the year. His best game was against Pitt in the season finale where he had seven punts for a 41.0 yard average.
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Listen to Locked On Syracuse - Daily Podcast On Syracuse Orange Football & Basketball on TuneIn (tunein.com; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)

It's hard enough for Syracuse football or Syracuse basketball to reel in the marquee recruits, but what is the pitch when the ACC is on the brink of implosion? Sports Illustrated's College Football Recruiting Analyst John Garcia joins the pod with Brad Klein to determine what Jim Boeheim and Dino Babers can do to sustain recruitment when the conference fate is up in the air.

Could college sports’ shakeup demote SU from top powers? Wildhack: ‘It clearly could go that way’ (PS; $; Carlson)

College sports’ great realignment could wind up with Syracuse University sitting outside the leagues with the country’s most powerful schools, athletic director John Wildhack told syracuse.com.

The latest round of conference musical chairs began last summer when Texas and Oklahoma announced they would be leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC, and it continued last month when USC and UCLA said they will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

In both cases, powerful schools shrugged off tradition and past success to join the two conferences that have separated themselves financially from the rest of the country thanks to television contracts.

For years, college sports have increasingly followed a pattern in which the powerful schools have banded together, growing their schedule strength and financial clout — and weakening the lesser programs. Many national experts suggest the logical future includes two superconferences.
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SEC, Big Ten are financially leaving behind the ACC. That’s bad news for SU sports (PS; $; Carlson)

One of the biggest threats to Syracuse University’s ability to compete in college athletics at the highest level — the wealth gap between the country’s most powerful conferences — is getting worse.

Quickly.

The ACC distributed a record amount of money to its 14 full-time schools and Notre Dame during the pandemic year in 2020-21, an average of $36.1 million to the full-time members largely from the league’s television contracts.

But while the ACC inched forward, the country’s two most powerful leagues, which share recruiting boundaries with the ACC, are leaping ahead.

In 2020-21, the SEC averaged a payout of $54.6 million per school. The Big Ten paid $54.3 million a team.

While fans might not care which programs make the most money, the revenue eventually pays for all the things that help schools win games.

Money allows schools to hire the best coaches and trainers. It allows them to build out the biggest recruiting and support staffs. It helps schools provide nutritionists and mental health experts and to pay recently permissible academic bonuses of nearly $6,000.
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(youtube; video; Gridiron Expert)

Syracuse Football is GOOD...But They Won't Win

Syracuse Football: Orange misses the top 5 for ultra-talented 4-star wide receiver (itlh; Adler)

This spring, Syracuse football made the top 10 for 2023 four-star wide receiver Tyler Williams from Florida, which I thought was pretty cool.

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Williams, a rising senior at Lakeland Senior High School in Lakeland, Fla., at the time had a top 10 of the Orange, Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Southern California and USF.

With all of those heavyweights in the sport of college football making his top 10, I got the sense that the ‘Cuse was likely a huge long shot to prevail for Williams, who also plays basketball and is a top-250 national prospect within the 2023 cycle in football, according to the primary recruiting services.

Plus, not too long ago, Syracuse football received a verbal commitment from underrated 2023 wide receiver Bryce Cohoon. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Cohoon is out of Maize High School in Maize, Kan.

Syracuse football is no longer in contention for 2023 four-star WR Tyler Williams.​

According to recent media reports from 247Sports and others, Williams has disclosed a top five of Georgia, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Clemson and Ole Miss. He plans to announce his college choice on September 27.

Per Andrew Ivins of 247Sports, Williams officially visited Georgia, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Clemson in June, and he has an official visit planned for the weekend of September 3 to Ole Miss.

It looks like Georgia, the defending national champions of the College Football Playoff, is receiving a lot of buzz from analysts in Williams’ recruitment on the 247Sports Web site, and the On3 Web site.
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Friday Feedback: Who leads Syracuse football’s offense in 2022? (TNIAAM; Wall)

We’ve made it to Friday and as far as we know the Syracuse Orange are still part of the ACC. Before we get to this week’s questions let’s recap the results from last week. You told us that Natalie Mastracci and Justyn Knight were your favorite Canadian Olympic sport athletes (and they both happen to be Canadian Olympians), Leo Rautins was your favorite MBB player and Matthew Bergeron your favorite football player (a bit surprised Pat Woodcock didn’t win...what’s that aboot eh?).

Now this week we want to skip realignment talk and here some Syracuse football predictions for 2022. This week we focus on the offense:

Poll​

Which player throws the most TD passes?​

• Garrett Shrader
• Carlos Del Rio-Wilson
• Sean Tucker
• Justin Lamson

VOTE view results

Poll​

Which player runs for the most TD’s in 2022?​

• Sean Tucker
• Garrett Shrader
• Juwaun Price
• LeQuint Allen

VOTE view results

Poll​

Which player catches the most TD passes?​

• Courtney Jackson
• Damien Alford
• Trebor Pena
• Anthony Queeley
• Other (answer in comments)

VOTE view results

ACC football: Teams' overall records in past five years (247sports.com; Lucas Jr)

Through all of the outside noise swirling around teams in the conference, the ACC is in for an exciting season. There are tons of talented quarterbacks in the ACC, and there are programs that are either attempting to take a step toward being contenders or looking to continue the climb up the ladder of progression. An indicator of growth is tracking results, so we did just that and broke down each team's record dating back to the 2017 season.

As for the outside noise, it's only growing louder. Reports have flown around that the SEC is eyeing the ACC’s Clemson, Florida State and Miami as potential targets to bring into the fold — with mutual interest among the two parties. According to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd, though, that move would cost a hefty sum of $500 million.

“Clemson, Florida State and Miami may be eyeing the SEC, but how do they get out?” Dodd said. “I talked to one source last night who told me it would cost ACC teams, right now, $500 million to get out of the current deal. That’s going to be kind of hard to finance.”

Below is every ACC team's record — including Notre Dame — spanning from 2017 to 2021.

BOSTON COLLEGE: 32-29​

2017: 7-6
2018: 7-5
2019: 6-7
2020: 6-5
2021: 6-6
Over the last few seasons, Boston College has been consistently good enough to reach a bowl game but not much more than that. That’s a notion that could change with the return of a healthy quarterback in Phil Jurkovec, who shined in 2020 but was limited to just six games last season. Through two seasons, he’s compiled 3,472 yards through the air, while throwing 24 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He also has eight rushing scores in an Eagles uniform.

GEORGIA TECH: 21-37​

2017: 5-6
2018: 7-6
2019: 3-9
2020: 3-7
2021: 3-9
In a five-year span, five wins being the second-highest total is a reflection of struggle, which is the case with Georgia Tech. Although the complications of the 2020 season should be taken into account for every team, the Yellow Jackets also won three games both the year before and after. To navigate the rapid waters of improvement, Georgia Tech has to be better at home, because the 1-5 record it posted in 2021 won’t get the job done.

PITTSBURGH: 37-27​

2017: 5-7
2018: 7-7
2019: 8-5
2020: 6-5
2021: 11-3
Pittsburgh was fortunate to have the combination of Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison in 2021, and that’s not to be taken as a slight. The duo is a product of great recruiting and development, which in turn is a reflection of a coaching staff that’s gradually improved the program. After showing signs of improvement in the two seasons after 2017, the Panthers regressed to a 6-5 record. But more importantly, they were able to post a winning record through the trying times that came with the height of the pandemic.

WAKE FOREST: 38-24​

2017: 8-5
2018: 7-6
2019: 8-5
2020: 4-5
2021: 11-3
Wake Forest is the defending ACC champion, but it isn’t receiving the praise that would suggest that’s the case. Staying atop the conference will require quarterback Sam Hartman to be even better. Last season, he finished as a second-team All-ACC pick behind Pickett, connecting on 58.9% of his passes for 4,228 yards and 39 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He added another 364 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns on the ground. A big positive for the Demon Deacons is not only that Harman is back, but he’ll be throwing to one of the best wide receiver rooms in the nation.

SYRACUSE: 15-35​

2017: 4-8
2018: 10-3
2019: 5-7
2020: 1-10
2021: 5-7
2018 was great for Syracuse, but the 10-win mark also is an outlier. Outside of that season, Syracuse hasn’t won more than five games in the last five years. In fairness, the Orange posting records of 5-7 before and after the 2020 season shows that Syracuse’s struggles were probably more COVID-19 induced than anything else. Still, although posting just a 3-4 mark at the Carrier Dome last season, Syracuse showed that it can win at home. But it wasn’t consistent enough at it to post a winning record.
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What a Merger of the Pac-12 and ACC Might Look Like (SI; Curtis)

Imagine Clemson coming to Cal’s Memorial Stadium for a football game, or the Golden Bears playing a basketball game at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.

With a possible Pac-12/Big 12 merger and a potential Pac-12/Big 12/ACC merger already addressed, we now look at a final possibility in this trilogy of speculative conference mergers involving the Pac-12 -- a Pac-12/ACC merger.

After reports this week that the Pac-12 and ACC are discussing a “loose partnership” that could lead to a championship game between the two conferences'champs, the notion of a bicoastal Pac-12/ACC merger that would require tons of travel miles does not seem so outlandish. SI.com reports the Pac-12 and ACC are working on a broadcasting partnership with ESPN.

The inclusion of Notre Dame in ACC basketball but not ACC football would not doom the idea.

Here are five possible formats for how a Pac-12/ACC merger might look for football:

Format Option No. 1 – Two eight-team divisions​

This would match the SEC and Big Ten in the number of teams in their conferences in 2024, but it would eliminate eight of the 24 Pac-12/ACC schools from the conference.

West Division

Cal
Stanford
Oregon
Washington
Utah
Arizona
Arizona State
Louisville

East Division

Clemson
Duke
North Carolina
Florida State
Miami
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Syracuse
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Clemson football: The ACC continues to amaze and that’s not a compliment (rubbingtherock.com; Coleman)

The ACCs lack of movement in realignment shows one thing: No team that will move the meter is interested in joining the conference.

As the latest round of realignment has taken shape, I’ve been almost exclusively critical of the Atlantic Coast Conference and it’s inaction in a world that requires action.

Others have been more understanding, believing that the ACC is not in as bad as spot as it appears on the surface.

For the life of me, I struggle to understand that.

For me this is not about the short-term that would potentially still see ACC teams with access to the college football playoff just as they have today.

It’s about the longer term, where SEC and Big 10 teams will dwarf the ACC in revenues allowing those teams to spend on things ACC teams can only dream of.

Sure the facilities at Clemson theoretically will still be nice, make no mistake about that. But if you have twice the money you usually acquire twice the “stuff”, and by “stuff” I mean facilities and trappings that get the attention of recruits, their families and those around them.

The latest example of this is the University of Connecticut allegedly having a goal of playing in the ACC some day.

“First of all, he explained that he has a goal of joining the ACC within the next few years,”Harper said, via Mike Anthony of CT Insider. “Obviously, they have to have a few respectable seasons for the ACC to really take them seriously.

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Dennis Hennigan to Serve Final Season as ACC Supervisor of Football Officiating (theacc.com)

Dennis is a Syracuse native...

After a distinguished officiating career on and off the field, Dennis Hennigan will conclude his service as the ACC Supervisor of Football Officiating following the 2022 season.

Hennigan was named the league’s Supervisor of Football Officiating in April 2015. Throughout his seven years, he has been a key driver in the establishment and expansion of the ACC football officiating alliance that has led to improved consistency in training and the long-term development of football officials. He coordinated the officiating aspects of the conference’s collaborative instant replay that was launched in 2016, and in 2021 hired the ACC’s first-ever female football official. Under his leadership, the league now incorporates an expanded officiating program’s year-round training utilizing position coaches and the enhanced use of technology.

“Dennis Hennigan is a man of incredible integrity with a tremendous love for the game of football,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “As a league, we look forward to his continued service during the 2022 season which provides the opportunity to both celebrate Dennis’ contribution to the ACC and collegiate football and conduct a national search to find the next ACC Supervisor of Football Officiating. To be certain, we appreciate all that Dennis has done to enhance the league’s football officiating program and his ongoing dedication.”

“I have had the great privilege of working with extraordinary individuals at the ACC, and with the most dedicated and committed officials in the country; outstanding officials on the field, and even better persons off the field,” said Hennigan. “We are well into our preparations for the 2022 season, and I look forward to working with them again this season.”

In the 17 years prior to his time at the conference office, Hennigan was a Football Bowl Subdivision Referee. He officiated in 15 bowl games including the 2004 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game as well as three Rose Bowls, a Fiesta Bowl and a Chick-fil-A Bowl.
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24-Team ACC? (RX; HM)

24-Team ACC?​

What if ESPN told the ACC they'd pay much more if the league would simply absorb the best teams remaining in the Pac-12 and the Big XII? If they did, what might the resulting conference look like?

If the ACC wanted to expand to 24 before the B1G and SEC can get there, this is just about the best they can do (assuming Notre Dame remains independent with a scheduling agreement). pic.twitter.com/fdBc2NIu0l
— Hokie Mark (@mark_hokie) July 9, 2022

Here's a quote from an ESPN online article you may have seen:

"Would the ACC just be better off selectively poaching a few schools in major markets new to the ACC? That list could include Cincinnati, TCU, Houston, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, Arizona State, Colorado and Oklahoma State? (Only Oklahoma State has a limited market, but it has a strong program.)" - Pete Thamel, ESPN

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Weekend Links, News and Rumors 2022 July 10th (RX; HM)

Weekend Links, News and Rumors 2022 July 10th​

Bill Dooley breaks down the latest NCAA proposal for regulating the transfer portal (from On3.com):

The NCAA committee is proposing three separate transfer windows to the Board of Director.
— fall sports athletes would be able to enter the transfer portal for 45 days after championship games and from May 1-May 15.
— spring sports such as softball and baseball, athletes have one 60-day window after the championship games.
— The new recommendation adds that entering the portal outside the window would incur a penalty of one year served in residence upon transfer.
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From FrontOfficeSports: Disney Reportedly Hanging On to ESPN in Sports Push

Apparently, Disney seriously considered spinning off ESPN, but the Mouse has abandoned that idea.

Puck, which reported the potential split in October, reported Thursday that Disney’s decision to hold on to ESPN is an effort to compete with companies like Amazon and Apple, which have both recently picked up streaming rights.

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2022 Most Valuable CFB Programs (RX; HM)

2022 Most Valuable CFB Programs​

Here's a list of the most-valuable college athletic programs:

pic.twitter.com/az2EHfDSvH
— Michael Alford (@SeminoleAlford) July 8, 2022

Here's the list, with teams not committed to the SEC or B1G in bold:

1. Texas
2. Texas A&M
3. Michigan
4. Alabama
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma
7. Georgia
8. Notre Dame
9. Florida
10. Auburn
11. LSU
12. Tennessee
13. Penn State
14. Oregon
15. Florida State
16. S Carolina
17. Arkansas
18. Southern Cal
19. Washington
20. Nebraska
21. Iowa
22. Michigan St
23. Wisconsin
24. Ole Miss
25. Clemson

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Humor: Realignment PoVs (RX; HM)

Humor: Realignment PoVs​

See on CSNBBS, posted by "quo vadis" in the thread "Factors present on this board right now"

Here's what I see on this [conference realignment] board:
Fans of low-value ACC schools: "Many factors point to ESPN saving the ACC by offering it more money. Even if they don't, the GOR and the ND clause are 100% ironclad."
Fans of high-value ACC schools: "Many factors point to the collapse of the ACC and the elimination of the GOR."
Fans of nB12 schools other than Kansas: "Many factors point to the nB12 picking up PAC schools - the PAC is too weak to pick up nB12 schools- and becoming the Third Power League".
Kansas fans: "The B1G will need a midwestern bridge to its west coast acquisitions. And is it basketball season yet"?
Fans of high-value G5: "Many factors point to the PAC and/or nB12 losing more schools to B1G or SEC, necessitating the promotion of some current G5 schools to the PAC and/or nB12".
Fans of high-value PAC schools: "Many factors point to the B1G not being done with accepting PAC invitations".
Fans of low-value PAC schools: "Many factors point to the B1G being done with expansion and the PAC acquiring nB12 schools".
Fans of SEC and low-value G5 schools: "Are the hot dogs done grilling yet"?

Yep, there it is!

Other

Salt City Coffee and Bar at the Salt City Market. Salt City Coffee has now opened a fourth location.Charlie Miller

Salt City Coffee expands into suburban Onondaga County after buying another shop (PS; Doran)

Salt City Coffee is expanding into eastern Onondaga County, with a new store located in Fayetteville.

This marks the fourth location for the Syracuse homegrown coffee shop, which got its start five years ago. Its first location was on the first floor of an 1860s home at 509 W. Onondaga St. The coffee shop then expanded with locations at 720 University Ave. and in the Salt City Market at 484 S. Salina St. in Syracuse.

Now the family-owned business has a fourth location - this one in the horseshoe-shaped plaza known as Fayetteville Square. Salt City Coffee has purchased Soleil Cafe from owners Shem Doupe and Taylor Randolph.

The couple wanted to travel and was interested in selling, said Maria Metthe, who owns Salt City Coffee with her husband, Aaron. Soleil Cafe opened in 2016.

“We talked with them, and we felt our brand and philosophy matched well with theirs,’' Metthe said.
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[Ozone!]