sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,268
- Like
- 109,092
Moon Day celebrates the anniversary of the day in 1969 when humankind first walked on the Moon. The Apollo space program had begun under the Eisenhower administration, but a tightened focus on placing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s occurred after President John F. Kennedy gave a speech before a joint session of Congress, on May 25, 1961, during which he said, "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth." This speech was given in the context of the Cold War when the United States was still behind the Soviet Union in the space race but wanted to beat them in landing a man on the Moon.
SU News
Syracuse football recruiting: 3-star Massachusetts OL Jayden Bass commits (247sports.com; Bailey)
Class of 2023 offensive lineman Jayden Bass announced his commitment to Syracuse football on Tuesday. A rising senior at Springfield (Mass.) High School, he becomes the eighth player to pledge to the program this cycle.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Bass is rated three stars and the No. 133 offensive tackle in his class by 247Sports. In addition to SU, he's been offered by Liberty, Connecticut, Temple, Navy, Army, Air Force, Buffalo and others. Rutgers, Boston College, South Carolina and Coastal Carolina were among the Football Bowl Subdivision schools to express interest.
Bass first met Orange offensive line coach/run game coordinator Mike Schmidt at his local Best of New England camp last July.
The two stayed in touch through the fall as Bass completed his junior season. Then they bonded on an unofficial visit in April before Bass' effort paid off on a return trip to campus in June when the scholarship offer finally came down.
"I believe that the hard work I've been putting in for countless days (led to the offer)," Bass said previously. "The reward finally came from an amazing school like Syracuse University."
...
Projecting Syracuse's depth chart after the spring: How will loaded secondary shake out? (247sports; $; Bailey)
Syracuse football completed one of its most interesting springs of the Dino Babers era in April. The seventh-year head coach saw his new offensive coordinator install a pro-style scheme. He watched the defensive staff work to prepare its young linemen, tasked with paving the way for a bevy of veteran playmakers behind them. He monitored a special teams unit that's looking to bounce back, also under a new coordinator.
Now, with summer conditioning in full swing, we'll continue to take a look ahead. How did those 15 spring practices shape what the 2022 Orange will look like in the fall? We're going position-by-position to project the team's two-deep depth chart.
...
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Questions we’d ask at ACC Kickoff (TNIAAM; Wall)
Tomorrow is the ACC Kickoff which means we’ll get a lot of coach-speak and slightly awkward social media content. While we won’t be present in Charlotte for the festivities, we did prepare a list of questions we’d ask for you Syracuse Orange fans. We’ll start with the Syracuse reps and then move on to other teams (here’s the list of attendees).
Dino Babers: “Why didn’t you bring Sean Tucker?”
Matthew Bergeron: “What’s it like to block for Sean Tucker?”
Mikel Jones: “Just between us how much did Life Wallet offer you to transfer to Miami?”
Garrett Shrader: “How many times did you ask Coach Babers if you could fly the plane down here?”
K.J. Henry (Clemson): “What are you thoughts on Dabo’s pink fedora?”
Malik Cunningham, Louisville QB: “Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? No. Well we have great news. We set you up with an all-expenses paid trip over Labor Day weekend and when you see the night-time light show we think you’ll be amazed”
SirVocea Dennis, Pitt Linebacker and Syracuse native: “What’s your go to Mario and Salvo’s order?”
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest QB: “Did you consider skipping your final football season to start filming your season of ‘The Bachelor’?”
...
Syracuse's Garrett Shrader Comes Alive In Big Win Over Virginia Tech
Highlights of Syracuse's QB1 in the win over Virginia Tech.
cdn.jwplayer.com
Training Camp Position Preview: Quarterback (SI; Gross)
Previous Position Previews
Running Back
Offensive Line
Quarterbacks
It is not a secret that Syracuse struggled to pass the football last year. When the rushing yards outnumber the passing yards in a season, that indicates an issue at the quarterback position. There is not much a team can do to fix a quarterback that prefers the run, but one thing that can happen is an open quarterback competition at camp in August. There is immense talent below the projected starter for Syracuse next season.
The Cavalry
Garrett Shrader: In 2021, the 6-4, 230-pound junior stole the starting job in week four against Liberty and never looked back. With nine starts and appearances in all 12 games, Shrader completed just 52.6% of passes (lowest in the ACC) for 1,444 yards and nine touchdowns. While those numbers are not gaudy by any means, he threw just four interceptions and had an incredibly productive rushing season. Shrader’s 14 rushing touchdowns is the fourth-most by any Syracuse player in history and ranked second in the ACC last season (19th in the country). Knowing his strong suit is on the ground, teams will try to eliminate the possibility of a quarterback scramble heightening the importance for the former Mississippi State Bulldog to work on his passing ability for this upcoming season. Shrader is most likely the starter come week one, but that does not he has a stranglehold on the position without marked improvement as a passer. Especially if the offense sputters with teams keying on the rushing attack.
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson: In late May, Rio-Wilson announced his transfer to Syracuse over Instagram. The former Florida Gator is a redshirt-freshman and enters this upcoming year standing at 6-2, 225 pounds. The reason for his departure from the University of Florida is mainly a fresh start. The Gators’ quarterback Anthony Richardson had a spectacular spring and with the addition of Ohio State transfer Jack Miller III, Rio-Wilson would have been the third option at best. Florida coach Billy Napier told USA Today that the former four-star quarterback is “first class” and carries a strong work ethic with him wherever he goes. He may be the most talented quarterback on the roster, which could be a sign of a quarterback competition in the weeks leading up to the beginning of the season.
...
Syracuse Football Press Conference | ESPN Deportes (ESPN; live video)
Syracuse Football Press Conference; should start at 2:30 pm today)
Syracuse Football: Orange has numerous big-time stars on its 2022 roster (itlh; Adler)
We’ll have to see what kind of record Syracuse football amasses in 2022. I hope it’s one that includes at least six victories and a post-season bowl berth.
But one thing seems to be fairly clear. The Orange’s roster for the upcoming campaign is filled with veteran players, and the team’s roster will have a bunch of national stars within its ranks in 2022.
Naturally, things begin with All-American running back Sean Tucker. He shattered the program’s single-season rushing record in 2021, accumulating nearly 1,500 yards on the ground and earning a slew of national and Atlantic Coast Conference honors.
Understandably, after what he did a term ago, Tucker is receiving a lot of pre-season All-America buzz head of the 2022 stanza.
But guys like linebacker Mikel Jones, defensive back Garrett Williams and defensive back Duce Chestnut are poised to have strong 2022 performances as well that should have them among the very best at their respective positions on a national scale.
Syracuse football will boast a lot of star power in the upcoming campaign.
Per SU Athletics, Tucker was recently named to the Athlon Sports pre-season All-America first team, while Jones is on the fourth squad. Athlon Sports also recently named both Tucker and Jones to its pre-season All-ACC first group.
Tucker and Jones, lately, have picked up other pre-season All-America and pre-season All-ACC accolades. For one, Tucker was recently named to the pre-season All-America second squad by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Jones is getting the most national love to date from pundits at linebacker for the ‘Cuse, but the Orange’s entire line-backers core should prove excellent, given the veteran leadership of Jones, Stefon Thompson and Marlowe Wax.
Moving to the secondary, Syracuse football has two really exciting cornerbacks in Williams and Chestnut. Already, Williams is getting some 2023 NFL Draft buzz.
A recent cuse.com statement says that Williams is ranked the No. 2 cornerback across the country among draft-eligible prospects, according to Pro Football Focus.
...
Syracuse football 2022 opponent preview: Purdue Boilermakers (TNIAAM; Ostrowski)
As Syracuse Orange football draws closer to hitting the Dome turf again, we continue to preview all 12 of SU’s opponents. Last time out, we examined a favorable matchup at UConn. Now we take a look at an opponent from the soon-to-be super conference known as the Big Ten. On paper, this is the most challenging game before the bye week - and an opportunity for a statement win.
Purdue Boilermakers
School: Purdue UniversityNickname: Boilermakers
#BRAND Slogans: #BoilerUp, #HammerDown
Alternate #BRAND Slogan Suggestions: #BoilerDown or #PullTheNail
Recommended Blog: Hammer and Rails
Conference: Big Ten
History vs. Syracuse: These two schools have faced each other exactly once: on September 5, 2004, the No. 24 Boilermakers schooled the visiting Orange 51-0. So... yeah. Let’s actually put points on the board this time and go from there.
Coach: Jeff Brohm, sixth season. In college at Louisville, Brohm played both football and baseball, though he gave up the later for a shot at the NFL. As a journeyman QB, he spent time with the Chargers, Washington, 49ers, Bucs, Broncos, and Browns, as well as the Orlando Rage of the XFL’s 1st iteration. In 2003, Brohm joined his alma mater’s coaching staff. After stints as the QB coach at FAU, Illinois, and UAB, he took an assistant position with Western Kentucky in 2013. The Hilltoppers promoted him to head coach the next year, and he subsequently led the program to a 30-10 record over three seasons. The team also won two bowl games and finished No. 24 on the AP poll in 2015. He departed the program for Purdue prior to the 2016 bowl season. The Boilermakers have gone 28-29 with three bowl games since, a massive improvement from four years in the basement beforehand.
2021 Record: (9-4) (6-3)
Recapping Last Season:
Purdue stalled in 2019 (4-8) and derailed in a COVID-shortened 2020 (2-4) but went full steam ahead in 2021. After winning the first two games, they lost a close one to No. 10 Notre Dame. After splitting their next two, Purdue stunned the No. 2 team in the country with a 24-7 win at Iowa and briefly became ranked themselves (No. 25). Another 1-1 split set the stage for a matchup with No. 3 Michigan State. The Boilermakers bested the Spartans but could not repeat that magic the next week at No. 4 Ohio State. Two more wins to close out the regular season landed them a spot in the Music City Bowl, where they beat the de-facto home team of Tennessee 48-45 in OT.
Purdue’s passing attack was one of the best in all of college football, averaging the 5th-most yards per game (355.4) in the air. You can attribute that to the killer connection between veteran QB Aidan O’Connell and top WR David Bell. O’Connell threw for 3,712 yards with 28 TDs and 11 picks, giving him the 5th-best QBR in the FBS. Bell had 93 catches for 1,286 yards and 6 TDs. He was one of SIX receivers on the roster with 30 or more catches. While this unit was truly elite, the rushing attack was anything but. They were the 4th-worst in the nation with 84.2 yards per game and only 2.8 per attempt.
The Boilermakers had some big contributions from blitzers and ballhawks alike. The defense combined for 25 sacks and 13 interceptions, along with 4 fumble recoveries. Safety Cam Allen picked off four balls while Kydran Jenkins, George Karlaftis, and DaMarcus Mitchell got to the opposing QB 14 times total. This group allowed just over 20 points per game and defended pretty evenly between runs and passes. Kicker Mitchell Fineran was a busy man, making 24/29 FGs.
...
Every ACC Football Team's Best Player in 2022 - Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More (SI; Newton)
Kickoff of the 2022 college football season is less than 40 days away.
This is an important year for the ACC, as the conference hopes to get a team back in the College Football Playoff after missing out in 2021. It also marks the final season of divisions for the ACC, as the conference will do away with the Atlantic and Coastal divisions in favor of a new scheduling model, which will take effect in the 2023 season.
As we march towards college football season, today we take a look at the rosters for each ACC team and take a shot at predicting who will be the best player on every ACC team in the 2022 season:
Boston College - Zay Flowers
WR Zay Flowers
2021: 44 receptions, 746 receiving yards, 16.95 yards per catch, 5 touchdowns
2021 All-ACC Third Team, 2020 All-ACC First Team
Clemson - Tyler Davis
DT Tyler Davis2021: 23 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks
2021 All-ACC First Team, 2019 All-ACC Second Team
Duke - DeWayne Carter
DT DeWayne Carter2021: 36.0 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 6 quarterback hits
2021 All-ACC Third Team
Florida State - Jammie Robinson
S Jammie Robinson2021: 84 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 7 passes defended
2021 All-ACC First Team
Georgia Tech - Charlie Thomas
LB Charlie Thomas2021: 70 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 2 passes defended
2021 All-ACC Honorable Mention
Louisville - Malik Cunningham
QB Malik Cunningham2021: 209/337 (62.0%), 2,941 passing yards, 1,031 rushing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, 20 rushing touchdowns
Miami - Tyler Van Dyke
QB Tyler Van Dyke2021: 202/324 (62.3%), 2,931 passing yards, 25 touchdowns
2021 ACC Rookie of the Year, 2021 ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year
NC State - Devin Leary
QB Devin Leary2021: 283/431 (65.7%), 3,433 passing yards, 35 touchdowns
2021 All-ACC Honorable Mention, finalist for Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
North Carolina - Josh Downs
WR Josh Downs2021: 101 receptions, 1,335 receiving yards, 13.22 yards per catch, 102.69 yards per game, 8 touchdowns
2021 All-ACC First Team, 2021 Biletnikoff Award semifinalist
Pittsburgh - Calijah Kancey
DT Calijah Kancey2021: 35 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 2 quarterback hits, 1 forced fumble
2021 All-ACC First Team, 2021 Associated Press Third-Team All-American
Syracuse - Sean Tucker
RB Sean Tucker2021: 246 carries, 1,496 rushing yards, 6.1 yards per rush, 12 rushing touchdowns, 20 receptions, 255 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
2021 All-ACC First Team, 2021 AP Second-Team All-American[/I]
Virginia - Brennan Armstrong
...Three storylines worth following at 2022 ACC Kickoff (247sports.com; Nee)
2022 ACC Kickoff begins on Wednesday, July 20th, at the Westin Charlotte. The event will get underway at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, with the Atlantic Division going on Wednesday and the Coastal Division going on Thursday. Here is a look at three storylines worth following at the 2022 ACC Kickoff:
1. Conference realignment will be the top topic of discussion
The hot topic of the 2022 summer of college football has once again been conference realignment. The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten are adding squads and building up their ranks, which has every other conference - and teams in those conferences - trying to figure out where they fit in the future of the college football (and athletics) landscape.
Such is the case for the ACC. The underfunded league has a bleak future as things stand today. Teams are locked in due to the Grant of Rights which has them latched together to 2036, as the contract stands now. The financials of what others will be making versus what the ACC is projected to make is non-competitive for ACC teams.
While no teams in the ACC have gone rogue publicly during this offseason, there is no doubt that many - especially those with greater value on an open market - are evaluating their options.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, who was not the designer of this mess for the league, is now tasked with trying to clean it up and save the league, and the financials of the teams within it, to the best of his ability. He will take to the podium at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday to address the media for nearly an hour. That session will include a Q&A portion. Realignment is likely to be at the forefront of the topics discussed on the day.
2. Changes coming to the ACC in 2023
Just three weeks ago the ACC announced a new scheduling model (3-5-5) starting in the 2023 season. In the 3-5-5 model, schools will have a trio of primary opponents and rotate the other five teams in the conference every other year. The schedule allows for each team to face all 13 conference opponents home and away at least once during the four-year cycle.
...
2022 ACC Media Days: What to expect from Clemson, Miami and outlook amid conference realignment (cbssports.com; Patterson)
The ACC will hold its ACC Football Kickoff -- the conference's annual media day event -- on Wednesday and Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the 2022 season approaches. The two-day event will feature commissioner Jim Phillips setting the stage before the Atlantic Division teams meet the media on Wednesday followed by the Coastal Division teams headlining on Thursday.
While there are a couple of notable on-field headlines, the current college football landscape is going to demand some answers -- or at least comments and analysis -- regarding off-field matters when all of these players and coaches are gathered under one roof. Conference realignment, College Football Playoff expansion, even larger NIL-related issues or proposals are going to be a topic of conversation. None of that is going to have an immediate impact on the wins and losses for ACC teams in 2022, but they will draw plenty of interest from fans who are equally invested in the future of the sport.
Still, there are a lot of great on-field stories to track from across the ACC. The league is loaded at the quarterback position, giving more than half of the conference a real buzz based on the ability for their team to compete thanks to having a difference-maker under center. There's also a great balance of the expectations for Clemson while being just one season removed from Pitt winning its first-ever ACC Championship against Wake Forest; it was the first season neither Clemson nor Florida State won the Atlantic Division since 2008. Last year was a total disruption of ACC norms, so what's in store for the encore?
With an eyes on the field, on the sidelines and on college sports as a whole, here are some of the topics we should expect to be discussed at the ACC Football Kickoff.
Grant of Rights and the revenue gap
There are far more college football fans and analysts who have referenced the ACC's grant of rights than there are legal experts who can properly analyze the grant of rights. That's not surprising, or even a huge problem, as the same thing happens in politics with policy and any other area of life where the demand for conversation exceeds the limits of people who can speak on the issue with expertise. The problem is that the ACC's grant of rights is a hot-button talking point, particularly whether the agreement is "ironclad" or "bulletproof" or whatever other defensive-minded phrase is being used to drive the conversation.With the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA, it has matched the SEC's high-profile additions of Texas and Oklahoma to create two 16-team mega-conferences poised to draw record revenues from their media rights deals. Those per-school, per-year payouts were already ahead of the ACC, but the five-year and 10-year projections have the Big Ten and SEC pulling far away from the rest of college sports. Some projections are nearly doubling the per-school, per-year payouts if the ACC continues with its current ESPN deal that runs through 2036.
...
2022 ACC Football Preseason Ballot: I didn’t pick Clemson to win in Charlotte (augustafreepress.com; Graham)
Kudos for an extremely bold pick...
I’ll start off on the defensive: I really do think Virginia will win the ACC Coastal this year. I’m not buying Miami, which got its coach fired, or North Carolina, which recruits great and doesn’t do anything with it.
Virginia has the league’s best quarterback and wideout corps, a favorable schedule.
Yeah, it needs to rebuild the O line, the D was awful last year.
Tony Elliott’ll get it figured out.
Clemson is the class of the Atlantic, N.C. State and Wake will contend.
In Charlotte, the team with the best QB wins.
My 2022 ACC Football Preseason Awards Ballot
QUARTERBACK
- #5 Brennan Armstrong – QB – Virginia
RUNNING BACK
- #34 Sean Tucker – RB – Syracuse
- #24 Pat Garwo – RB – Boston College
WIDE RECEIVER
- #3 Dontayvion Wicks – WR – Virginia
- #1 Lavel Davis Jr. – WR – Virginia
- #99 Keytaon Thompson – WR – Virginia
TIGHT END
- #85 Will Mallory – TE – Miami (FL)
ALL-PURPOSE BACK
- #99 Keytaon Thompson – WR – Virginia
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
- #71 Jordan McFadden – OL – Clemson
- #60 Zion Nelson – OL – Miami (FL)
OFFENSIVE GUARD
- #73 Christian Mahogany – OL – Boston College
- #68 Kaden Moore – OL – Virginia Tech
CENTER
- #55 Michael Jurgens – OL – Wake Forest
DEFENSIVE END
- #40 Rondell Bothroyd – DE – Wake Forest
- #98 Myles Murphy – DE – Clemson
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
- #8 Calijah Kancey – DL – Pittsburgh
- #91 Robert Cooper – DT – Florida State
LINEBACKER
- #6 Nick Jackson – LB – Virginia
- #4 Dax Hollifield – LB – Virginia Tech
- #7 Monty Montgomery – LB – Louisville
CORNERBACK
- #3 Anthony Johnson – CB – Virginia
- #44 Dorian Strong – DB – Virginia Tech
SAFETY
- #1 Chamarri Conner – S – Virginia Tech
- #0 James Williams – S – Miami (FL)
PLACEKICKER
- #29 B.T. Potter – PK – Clemson
PUNTER
- #94 Lou Hedley – P – Miami (FL)
SPECIALIST
- #11 Josh Downs – WR – North Carolina
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- #5 Brennan Armstrong – QB – Virginia
ATLANTIC DIVISION FINISH
- Clemson
- NC State
- Wake Forest
- Louisville
- Florida State
- Boston College
- Syracuse
COASTAL DIVISION FINISH
- Virginia
- Miami (FL)
- North Carolina
- Virginia Tech
- Pittsburgh
- Georgia Tech
- Duke
ACC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WINNER
- Virginia
Clemson football: Could ESPN merge the ACC and PAC-12 Networks? (rubbingtherock.com; Chancey)
I was enjoying the last day of my vacation, sitting on the porch of my sister-in-law’s home in Charleston, SC wondering what’s next for Clemson football when I came across this article by John Canzano. Canzano is plugged in to the PAC-12. The article discusses the dynamics of the current negotiations with ESPN on a new television deal for the conference. He walks through a few scenarios that could make or break the conference’s future with a former president of Fox Sports Network, Bob Thompson.
When the subject of the ACC/PAC-12 ‘Alliance’ is brought up, Thompson dismisses the relevance, stating:
This caught my attention. Thompson suggests it’s a non-starter, but am I crazy to think that merging the two networks would actually be a good idea, especially for ESPN?
I admit my first reaction to the ACC/PAC-12 Alliance was a chuckle. I wasn’t sure it was real. It sounded like something someone would make up. Cross scheduling from coast to coast? A championship game in Las Vegas? It didn’t sound serious so I really didn’t give it much attention. Those things are absurd and should be dismissed immediately.
One thing I do remember was that the supposed reason for it was to increase payout to the members of both conferences to find a way to remain competitive with the schools of the SEC and Big Ten, who are expected to draw significantly higher television revenue as they move into the latter half of this decade. That part made a ton of sense.
The reasoning Thompson suggested, however, brings a new logic to the rumored discussions between the ACC and the PAC-12. What if that is an angle here for ESPN? Could they be interested in a joint ACC/PAC-12 Network? Could ESPN have put a bug in Jim Phillips’ ear? Let’s consider it for a minute.
I enjoy when the editor of Rubbing The Rock, Marty Coleman, rips into the ACC Network. Marty points out that high schools in Texas have better production quality for their football broadcasts than the ACC Network. ESPN hasn’t been willing to invest the same kind of money into ACCN as SECN. In fairness, ACCN doesn’t get nearly the same amount of distribution nationwide as SECN. It doesn’t pull the same kind of revenue. Pulls less revenue = invest less into the network.
If you want an example of a network that has been even less successful than ACCN, just look to the Left Coast. The PAC-12 decided to launch a network without a big sports cable partner, the way the Big Ten (FOX) and SEC (ESPN) launched their networks. I get it: no partner, no sharing of revenue. They just underestimated the difficulty of getting enough distribution to make the venture successful, or more precisely, they overestimated the reach of the PAC-12 brand.
...
Where will media vote Virginia at this week's ACC Football Kickoff? (jerryratcliffe.com; Ratcliffe)
Since the ACC went to divisional play in 2005, Virginia hasn’t had much to cheer about coming out of the annual ACC Football Kickoff event.
Over those last 17 years, media has predicted the Cavaliers to finish higher than fourth place in the seven-team Coastal Division only twice. In the first year of divisional play, Al Groh’s team was predicted to finish third and finished fifth. In 2019, Bronco Mendenhall’s team was predicted to win its first Coastal title and followed through with the division crown.
This brings us to this week’s Kickoff event, which officially begins bright and early on Wednesday morning in Charlotte. Wednesday belongs to the Atlantic Division teams, Thursday reserved for the Coastal, with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips scheduled to address media queries also on Wednesday.
It will be interesting to hear what Phillips says after watching the “Alliance,” which was formed following last summer’s Kickoff, blow up before Phillips’ very eyes with a masterful betrayal by the Big Ten. I remember standing in the lobby at the Kickoff hotel last July when news broke of Texas and Oklahoma jumping to the SEC.
The Alliance came about between the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC to essentially block the SEC from taking complete control of college football. That was about as effective as electing a fat man to guard the pie.
Days ago, the Big Ten broke the Alliance vow to not poach teams from its two conference partners, by taking USC and UCLA (stay tuned on the Bruins) as future members.
Phillips, who came to the ACC from the Big Ten, can’t feel good about the move, which has sent ripples through the national collegiate landscape. Will Phillips reveal anything new or dance around questions like his predecessor John Swofford used to do about the ACC Network and other hot topics?
My guess is, he’ll tell us what we already know. Nobody is jumping ship because of the media grant of rights package.
More interesting, at least to readers of this website, will be about Virginia. How will media rate the Cavaliers in this final year of Coastal Chaos (the ACC is ending divisional play after 2022) under new head coach Tony Elliott, the offensive mastermind of Clemson’s league dynasty for the past decade?
Elliott is one of four new head coaches in the Coastal, in what was hailed by most pundits as a brilliant hire by Carla Williams.
Last year, UVA was picked to finish fifth, the highest the Cavaliers had been predicted in the preseason poll since 2012. No one guessed the defense would become one of the worst in the nation, nor that the offense would be one of the most lethal in the country.
Bronco told us in the preseason that “we are going to score a lot of points.” What he didn’t tell us was that Virginia was going to have to score a lot of points to win. Sometimes even that wasn’t enough, like putting up 49 against BYU and giving up 66 (plus 700 yards), or 39 against rival Carolina and getting beat by 20.
Geesh.
We don’t know Elliott well enough at this point to know if he’ll be so bold as to make a prediction like Bronco. What we do know is that it looks like Virginia could be almost unstoppable on offense with Brennan Armstrong returning at quarterback, and one of the top-five receiving corps in the nation (arguably the best), IF the completely rebuilt offensive line can keep No. 5’s jersey clean.
The major question is about the defense. Six starters return, but what does one make of that from a squad that finished in the 100s of every NCAA defensive metric that mattered?
Enter new defensive coordinator John Rudzinski, who has built a reputation for doing more with less during a stint at Air Force, where he fielded some of the country’s stingiest defenses in the FBS. Elliott is banking that Rudzinski’s strong belief of fundamentals will shore up that side of the football.
While some are down on the Cavaliers because of their second-half of the season collapse last season, others believe the Wahoos are underrated, including Lindy’s preseason football magazine, who I have written for, for at least 40 years.
...
Amid uncertainty, ACC commissioner to talk future at football kickoff :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com; Murphy)
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s annual football kickoff event begins Wednesday in Charlotte amid an ever-changing conference landscape for players, programs and conferences.
There are the typical questions that surround these events: Can Clemson regain its hold on the Atlantic Coast Conference and return to the College Football Playoff? Is this N.C. State’s year, finally? Is Miami back?
But these are far from typical times in the ACC and across college football, where for a second consecutive summer huge realignment moves threaten to upend the sport’s entire structure. The decisions by USC and UCLA to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024 reverberated across the country, perhaps even more than the SEC’s grab of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 last summer.
The moves have further separated the Big Ten and the SEC from their peer Power 5 conferences (the ACC, Big 12 and the Pac-12) in terms of national brands and, more importantly, financial power, perhaps setting off far-reaching consolidation in a once-regional sport.
...
Best ACC Bowl Wins, 2016-22 (RX; HM)
Best ACC Bowl Wins, 2016-22
Yesterday we considered "great" bowl victories from December of 2012 to January of 2016. In this post, we'll try to get caught up...
Great Bowl Wins, 2016-21
2016-17
#11 Florida State over #6 Michigan, Orange BowlAny time you beat a higher-ranked team, it's a good win. Do it in a CFP bowl and it's a great one!
#2 Clemson over #3 Ohio State (CFP Semi-final), Fiesta Bowl
No way would the Tigers do to the Buckeyes what they did to the Sooners, right? I suppose you could say that... Clemson 31, Ohio State 0.
#2 Clemson over #1 Alabama, CFP Championship
Watson to Renfro will be remembered as long as there is a Clemson University. What's more, this game solidly established Clemson football as equal to Alabama.
Miami over #16 West Virginia, Camping World Bowl
The Hurricanes were unranked. WVU was 10-2 and ranked 16th. No matter - the Canes won 31-14.
2017-18
#24 NC State over Arizona State, Sun BowlThe Wolfpack broke a 4-game winning streak by the Pac-12, and got a rare (for them) P5 non-conference win.
Wake Forest over Texas A&M, Belk Bowl
The Deacs won a 55-52 shoot-out versus the SEC's Aggies.
2018-19
#20 Syracuse over #16 West Virginia, Camping World BowlThe Orange reached double-digit wins in style by upsetting the higher-ranked Mountaineers.
...
At a turning point in college football, the ACC should consider taking Bill Friday’s direction (aol.com; Barnett)
Football coaches and select players from the Atlantic Coast Conference will meet Wednesday and Thursday to talk with the media about their teams’ prospects. But the most pressing question will go unanswered: What is the prospect for the conference itself?
Uncertainty clouds big-time college football’s future now that the two megaconferences – the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten – have lured away the key schools of less wealthy conferences. Oklahoma and Texas will depart the Big 12 for the SEC and the Midwest-based Big Ten announced that it is expanding to the West Coast by taking in UCLA and the University of Southern California from the Pacific-12. The consolidation is about what the keepers of major college football can never have enough of – money. But it’s also about impoverishment, both monetary and moral. The schools left out will lose football revenue even after they often short-changed their academic missions to compete in college football’s arms race.
Former UNC System President Bill Friday, long a Cassandra about the dangers of a relentless pursuit of money in college revenue sports, died in 2012. Yet his prescient warning will hover over the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte.
If Friday were here, he might tell the ACC schools, “I told you so.” But I like to think that the co-founder of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics would instead just repeat what he said all along: It’s not too late to turn back to what you were supposed to be before money warped your priorities.
The ACC is a top league for basketball, but the leaders of the conference and most of its schools were drawn by the lure of TV money from football. The ACC expanded to include more football powers and gain access to more media markets. It created the ACC/ESPN TV network in 2016.
The 14-member ACC tried to keep up, but couldn’t. The SEC and Big Ten were rich and now are getting richer. The ACC, meanwhile, grew overextended, distanced from its regional roots and unable to pay its members at the levels paid by the SEC and Big Ten. The ACC’s drift was well described this week by The News & Observer’s Andrew Carter.
...
Look: Map Names 'Friendliest' Fan Bases In College Football (thespun.com)
The college football world produces some of the most heated rivalries and contentious fanbases in sports.
But, some programs tend to have far more "friendly" fans than others.
A map naming the "Friendliest College Fanbase In Every State" created by Big Game Boomer is going viral on social media.
Take a look at the map here:
Obviously this map is made strictly off personal opinion. With that in mind, its easy to imagine college football fans getting worked up over some of these picks.
"These people have obviously never delved into Louisville Twitter," one fan wrote.
"Cuse and UConn fans are friendly? We know that's bullshit," another added.
"Penn State fans are the absolute worst so this is false," another said.
...
Syracuse football rookies report to NFL training camp (PS; Mink)
Several Syracuse football rookies report to NFL training camp this week.
Former defensive lineman Josh Black arrived in New Orleans for the start of camp with the Saints on Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills rookies, including former defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, reported to St. John Fisher University on Monday, ahead of the vets arrival this weekend.
McKinley Williams and Indianapolis Colts rookies report to camp Saturday, three days before Zaire Franklin and the other veterans join the club.
Most Syracuse NFL vets arrive at training camp next week, though the Las Vegas Raiders, with newly acquired EDGE rusher Chandler Jones, open camp Wednesday due to an early preseason game around Hall of Fame weekend.
Andre Cisco and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the Raiders opponent in the Aug. 4 Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.
...
(youtube; video; The Weekend Spread)
ACC Football Preview
High school football officials needed for upcoming season (localsyr.com; new; video)
The Syracuse chapter is looking to hire 10 football officials for the upcoming season. The second training session will be held on Thursday July 21st at 6 pm at ESM High School.
Other
Former Bed Bath & Beyond in Clay being renovated to house 2 retail stores (PS; $; Doran)
Its been nearly two years since the former Bed Bath & Beyond store in the Cor Center shopping plaza in Clay closed, and renovations are now taking place on the building.
The building will soon be home to two retailers: Old Navy and Ulta Beauty, town of Clay officials said .
The Bed Bath & Beyond store at 3851 Route 31 in Clay closed in October 2020. It was among about 200 locations that were closed as part of the company’s turnaround plan.
Construction is now taking place and a small addition built on the back, said Mark Territo, Clay’s planning commissioner. Old Navy clothing store, which is moving from its Great Northern Mall location just down the road, will open there in late summer/early fall, he said.
The other half of the building will be home to a new Ulta Beauty. This is a new location for Ulta Beauty; it has Syracuse-area stores in DeWitt, Destiny USA and Fairmount Fair.
