sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to World Calligraphy Day!
The second Wednesday of August is the day where art meets handwriting. Nibs ready, it’s World Calligraphy Day!
Poets believe there is beauty within the flow of words. Similarly, calligrapher’s find beauty assembling those words on paper in an artistic and beautiful fashion. Furthermore, calligraphers design words in a harmonious, almost romantic elegance, respectively.
Calligraphy is an ancient art form that is one of the oldest forms of communication. Interestingly, calligraphy first appears as early as 200 BC in China. Additionally, this historic art form is apparent in almost every region of the world as the main source of manuscript writing and communication. In early findings, religious documents, such as the original Bible, are written in Biblical Hebrew calligraphy. With western influence, calligraphy would take on a more creative point of view.
SU News
Syracuse Day 12 camp takeaways: Latest on backup QB battle, development of new DBs, another o-line grouping (247sports.com; $; Bailey)
Syracuse football's 12th day of preseason camp saw the return of one key safety, the potential loss of another and frankly, no major surprises. The Orange continues to inch toward its season opener against Louisville on Sept. 3 with its top expected contributors largely healthy.
Position battles at key positions including wide receiver and defensive line are slowly progressing while head coach Dino Babers is keeping the veil held high in front of his backup quarterback battle.
Let's dive in to all of that and more:
DEL RIO-WILSON CONTINUES TO WORK BEHIND SHRADER
...Physicality, versatility the focuses for Syracuse football as season opener approaches (PS; $; Leiker)
Walking the back of the end zone after a 1-on-1 rep Tuesday, cornerback Darian “Duce” Chestnut was shouting back toward the lines of his teammates, both defensive peers and wide receivers.
“You’re the only receiver getting reps because you need ‘em,” Chestnut said.
He was taunting redshirt freshman receiver Umari Hatcher. The shouting continued as Chestnut made his way back to lineup for another rep.
When his turn finally came again, he was up against Hatcher.
The two lined up across from each other about five yards out from the end zone. Another cornerback and wide receiver pair mirrored them on the other side of the field. Dan Villari was Hatcher’s quarterback.
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Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
A closer look at Syracuse football pre-game hype songs (TNIAAM; Wall)
Syracuse Orange pre-season camp continues on but with access limited we don’t have a lot of intel to break down key position battles. We did get some video of the scrimmage but outside of this Dan Villari hurdle there wasn’t much to extrapolate.
But this video that Syracuse released...this one is right in the TNIAAM wheelhouse.
Let’s break it down:
- CJ Hayes is up first and he keeps loyal to the Midwest with Chief Keef.
- Umari Hatcher picks his own music and in today’s NIL world that’s good marketing.
- Mark Petry goes with “Hello” from Adele and I hope he gets out to Vegas for her residency
- Matthew Bergeron stays loyal to Canada with his selection of Drake’s “Summer 16” and that’s why he’s a team captain.
- Jakob Bradford takes it back a bit to “No Hands” by Wakka Flocka and that’s one that we won’t be hearing in the JMA Dome
- D’Marcus Adams gives us our first Kodak Black selection
- Denis Jaquez Jr. shows he’s wise beyond his years taking Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” (but if we’re talking a Meek song it’s going to be “Meekadelphia”)
- Neil Nunn makes it two Kodak Black choices
- Stefon Thompson’s choice is Moneybagg Yo and we’ve lost a good bit of our audience with that one I’m sure.
- Duce Chestnut pays homage to a legend with his “anything 50 Cent” and I think he’d clarify that to be anything but “21 Questions or Magic Stick”
- We save the best for last as Alijah Clark announces himself to Syracuse fans with High School Musical...1, 2 and 3. Look at the smile too. That’s a man who isn’t afraid to release his inner Sharpay.
Syracuse football to face five pre-season AP Poll Top 25 opponents (TNIAAM; Wall)
The AP pre-season football poll was released on Monday and no, the Syracuse Orange did not receive any votes. However, five of Syracuse’s 2022 opponents are ranked.
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SU football 2022 schedule: Team-by-team look at the Orange’s opponents (PS; Leiker)
It’s the final year for divisions in the ACC before the conference shifts to a 3-5-5 scheduling format starting next season.
Here’s a team-by-team look at the Orange’s opponents in 2022:
Sept. 3 vs. Louisville
Malik Cunningham enters his sixth and final season with the program as one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the ACC. He posted a career-best 2,841 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021 and became the second QB in Louisville history to rush for over 1,000 yards.
The Cardinals also added to their already strong rushing offense with ex-Tennessee running back Tiyon Evans. He had the third-most rushing yards on Tennessee’s offense in his single season with the team, finishing the year with 525 yards and six touchdowns.
Louisville also has a new offensive coordinator, Lance Taylor, and co-defensive coordinator, Wesley McGriff.
Louisville had the No. 35 recruiting class in 2022 as it managed to secure four-stars Popeye Williams (DE), Selah Brown (DL) and Jeremiah Caldwell (Saf.). Those three, along with a strong transfer group, will help round out and strengthen Louisville’s defense, which returns seven starters.
Sept. 10 at Connecticut
After Randy Edsall stepped down in September, UConn hired Jim Mora as its head coach. Mora served in an interim assistant position as the Huskies closed the 2021 season before officially taking over the program on Nov. 28.
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This will be 'the year' for Syracuse football, Eric Dungey says - The Juice Online (the juice; Cheng)
Syracuse has not been to a bowl game since 2018 when Eric Dungey was under center. Since he graduated from SU, the Orange has struggled, winning just 11 games in the past three seasons.
But Dungey is predicting that streak will be coming to an end in 2022, he said on this week’s The Juice on the Cuse Podcast, presented by SNY.tv.
“This is going to be the year,” Dungey said. “I think they have a very solid foundation.”
Dungey pointed to the quarterback room as one of the reasons for a potential SU resurgence. Second year starter Garrett Shrader has appeared comfortable running the offense in preseason camp so far, and he’s joined by a pair of high-profile transfers in Dan Villari (Michigan) and Carlos Del-Rio Wilson (Florida).
Sophomore Justin Lamson also impressed in the spring game, though he is out indefinitely with a lower body injury.
“They have three or four guys who could be the starter,” Dungey said. “They have their own little swagger to them. The future is bright and I’m excited to see what they can do. It’s always good to have many options.”
Speaking of options, Dungey also noticed the quarterbacks will have plenty of talented receivers to throw to. Though SU does not have an established presence like last year (such as Taj Harris, who transferred to Rutgers), Dungey says that won’t be the case by the end of the year.
In particular, he came away impressed with sophomore Damien Alford, who caught the game-winning touchdown in the waning seconds in a thrilling comeback win against Virginia Tech last year.
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Should Syracuse Stop the Charade and Run the Option? – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net; Amendolara)
Central New York’s worst kept secret is that the Syracuse offense is ugly. When SU needed one win in its final three games to become bowl eligible it scored a total of 34 points in a string of blowout losses. This is a massive concern because the head coach supposedly is a top-level offensive mind, and he’s probably coming back in ’23 no matter what. Syracuse, despite having one of the best running backs in football, had scoring totals last season of 3, 7, 14, 14, and 17 points. You guessed it, the Orange went 0-5 in those games.
The elite Sean Tucker comes back, and so does running threat at QB Garrett Shrader. In three of those losses, Tucker actually rushed for 95 yards or more. Tucker even had 157 yards in the loss to Clemson, a Tigers team that has traditionally one of the best defenses in the ACC. The Orange had blown some great performances by their runningback.
Shrader was just as effective on the ground in some ways, even though there were certainly yards that were the product of broken plays or frantic comebacks in losses. Shrader led the team in rushing three times, each game was over 137 yards. SU was 1-2 in those games.
Dino Babers has taken another swing by hiring a new OC Robert Anae, a man with experience running high-powered attacks at BYU and Virginia. The modern college football world loves the pass, as any Air Raid-type scheme garners headline and attention. It helps recruit big-armed QBs and fleet-footed WRs. But what if the Orange need to go back to the future? Or perhaps to its past? In the glory years of the ’80s and ’90s the SU attack routinely ran the option with Don McPherson, Donovan McNabb and Marvin Graves.
In the option, the quarterback takes the snap, rolls right or left, has a running back trailing and can decide to either keep it or pitch it. It’s an offense that is now the territory almost exclusively of the service academies who are looking for ways to outmaneuver bigger, faster, stronger opponents. After Georgia Tech ditched it, it’s a fossil in the Power 5.
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Syracuse Football: Schedule’s second-half, per pre-season AP poll, brutal (itlh; Adler)
The Associated Press pre-season top-25 poll, which came out on Monday, reflects how the Syracuse football 2022 schedule, at least on paper, is tremendously challenging toward the latter end of the season.
If the Orange wants to get to at least six victories and reach a bowl game, it absolutely has to pile up triumphs early on in the 2022 stanza.
Or, conversely, the ‘Cuse is going to have to knock off some highly rated foes where Syracuse football almost assuredly will be a betting underdog.
I wouldn’t consider the earlier portion of the 2022 slate easy by any means for the Orange, but it’s definitely more palatable for the ‘Cuse, given that opponents are primarily coming to the Hill and aren’t ranked in pre-season polls.
The back-end of the 2022 calendar for Syracuse football is tough sledding.
In its first five contests, four of which will occur in Central New York, the Orange will not face any groups that are ranked in The AP pre-season top-25 poll.
Only one of those squads, Purdue, which will travel to the ‘Cuse on September 17, is receiving votes (17) in The AP pre-season ballot.
However, over the Orange’s final seven affairs in 2022, four of those encounters are on the road. And of those seven opponents, in The AP pre-season top-25 poll, five of them are ranked.
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The 8 players Syracuse football can’t afford to lose (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football’s 2022 starting lineups should look almost identical to last year’s.
The Orange returns 17 starters from 2021, the most in the ACC. Included are a few who nearly left for the NFL draft but opted to return for another year.
Syracuse.com has compiled a list of players expected to have a major impact for the Orange in 2022.
These are the eight players SU can’t afford to lose.
RB Sean Tucker
Tucker’s encore to his record-setting 2021 season is perhaps the most anticipated storyline of Syracuse’s upcoming season.The All-American broke the Orange’s single-season rushing record and finished atop the ACC with 1,496 yards. He was fourth in the FBS with an average 124.7 rushing yards per game.
While the additions of Robert Anae and Jason Beck to the coaching staff might indicate Syracuse plans to try and tip the offensive scale back to pass-heavy, Tucker will still be a leading factor in the success of the team. His name is already littered all over the Syracuse record charts, and he’ll likely make pushes for top spots in all categories this season.
QB Garrett Shrader
Shrader stepped up for Syracuse last season but found middling success through the air. The Mississippi State transfer finished the season second-to-last in the ACC in passing efficiency having completed 123-of-234 passes for 1,444 yards and nine touchdowns.Shrader did not shy away from using his legs – he was the team’s second leading rusher – but with Tucker cemented as an all-time SU running back now, Shrader should be able to focus more on working through the air. The ceiling for improvement is high, and Anae and Beck have the potential to push Shrader to shatter it.
LT Matthew Bergeron
Bergeron moved to left tackle full-time last season after starting his career with the Orange at right tackle. He was the only offensive lineman to start all 12 games at the same position in 2021, as the group has been rife with injuries in recent seasons.Syracuse picked up 1,045 rushing yards on 183 carries through gaps created on the left side, according to data from Pro Football Focus. Bergeron’s seniority and experience should be a guiding force for the O-line this season.
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Syracuse Football: Another finish in ACC basement is forecast for Orange (itlh; Adler)
If some national pundits are correct in their projections, Syracuse football could be headed toward a last-place finish in its conference division during the 2022 campaign.
Per a recent article from Brad Crawford of 247Sports, college football insider and esteemed prognosticator Phil Steele isn’t all that high on the Orange as it pertains to the team’s 2022 performances in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Steele, in fact, predicts that Syracuse football will finish at No. 7 in the ACC’s Atlantic division, which would amount to last place in that division. Yuck.
That assertion from Steele is one I totally concur with, given the loaded back-end of the Orange’s 2022 slate, which on paper features a boatload of foes ranked in the pre-season top-25 Coaches poll.
Personally, I don’t believe Syracuse football will finish in the Atlantic division basement in 2022.
I’m still giving some thought as to what I believe the Orange’s overall record will be in the upcoming campaign, although I did recently opine that the ‘Cuse will sport a 4-4 mark in ACC competition.
At 4-4, I’m cautiously optimistic that Syracuse football would finish no worse than No. 6 in the Atlantic division, and perhaps even higher than that.
As we noted in another recent column, other media members aren’t giving a lot of love to the Orange ahead of the 2022 stanza, either.
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Top QB with Syracuse football offering called Pre-Season All-American - New York News (locatoday.news; Bennett)
Pennsylvania quarterback Stone Saunders, who holds a scholarship offer from Syracuse Football, excelled as a freshman.
A national expert predicts the 6-foot-2 Saunders, a member of the Class of 2025, is primed for another special season as a sophomore.
Recently, MaxPreps National Football Editor Zack Poff published an article detailing his All-America teams in their second year of preseason ahead of the upcoming 2022 campaign.
Saunders, who attends Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was drafted into the second-year MaxPreps All-America roster by Poff.
Syracuse football coaches offered elite quarterback Stone Saunders last April.
As a newcomer to Bishop McDevitt, Saunders compiled some video game-like stats. He threw for 3,037 passing yards with 46 touchdowns against just five interceptions in 2021, according to 247Sports.Compiling 46 TD passes as a freshman, Poff wrote that Saunders broke Bishop McDevitt’s program record. Before a stanza, the Crusaders advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (“PIAA”) Class 4A championship competition.
We noted in a previous column that MaxPreps selected Saunders for his new All-America second-team in 2021 because of his brilliant performance during the 2021 term.
Saunders announced his offer of the Orange coaching staff via Twitter in the spring. Although his recruiting process was very early on, Saunders has already amassed offers and interest that amount to around 20 college cadres, if not more, per recruiting service.
Some of his more recent grant offers have come from teams like Georgia, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech. Georgia won the national college football playoff title last season, while Cincinnati secured a top-four spot in the CFP.
Other Saunders offerings include another CFP participant in the recent campaign, Michigan, along with Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, Louisville, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Bowling Green, Akron and Kent State.
His bio on suggests Saunders is also receiving interest from Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas, Penn State and Rutgers.
According to recruitment services and his Twitter page, Saunders has made unofficial visits to a handful of programs, including Texas A&M, Penn State, Michigan, Texas and Rutgers.
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Streaking the Lawn Podcast - 8/16/22 - Jacquie Franciulli joins the podcast to to talk UVA Football (streakingthelawn.com; podcast; Carey)
We’re back with another episode week as Zach sits down to chat with Jacquie Franciulli from Wahoos247 to hear from her about the Virginia Cavaliers football fall camp and what she’s gleaned from being at a number of practices. Zach and Jacquie discuss the positive, necessary changes from Bronco Mendenhall’s approach to Tony Elliott’s along with details from a number of position battles, and what it’s going to take for UVA to win the final Coastal division title.
We’ll be back with another episode later this week to talk to UVA basketball recruiting expert Hooz Got Next to chat about Virginia’s 2022 and 2023 recruiting along with the outlook for this year’s team.
ACC football rankings: Which receiver will benefit most from the pass-heavy league?
Here's a look at the USA TODAY Network's rankings of the ACC's top 10 wide receivers entering the 2022 season.
www.starnewsonline.com
The pass-heavy Athletic Coast Conference had five of its receivers record over 1,150 receiving yards, which ranked them among the top 20 in the nation. Jordan Addison, who left Pittsburgh for USC, lead the way with 1,593 receiving yards, which was fourth-most nationwide.
Three of those receivers have returned this season in A.T. Perry (Wake Forest), Josh Downs (North Carolina) and Dontayvion Wicks (Virginia). With all having experienced changes either among their programs’ coaching staff or at the quarterback spot, their abilities and talent will be counted on again this year as each looks to be a major contributor for their team.
Here's a look at the USA TODAY Network's rankings of the ACC's Top 10 wide receivers entering the 2022 season:
10. Joseph Ngata, Clemson
Despite the Tigers having a down year offensively, Joseph Ngata was the team’s leading receiver with 438 yards on 23 catches for an average of 19 yards per catch in nine games played. He’s been lauded as a top-tier talent and can prove that if he can stay healthy.9. Jalon Calhoun, Duke
While the Blue Devils didn’t have the most success in the win column, the team depended heavily on its passing game with Jalon Calhoun providing the unit with 718 yards on 56 catches and three touchdowns. With Jake Bobo gone to UCLA, Calhoun will have to step up as the team’s leading returning receiver.8. Jared Wayne, Pitt
With Jordan Addison gone to USC, Jared Wayne returns to Pitt as the leading receiver. In 2021, he recorded 658 yards with six scores and 47 receptions, helping the Panthers won their first-ever ACC championship.7. Billy Kemp, Virginia
The Cavaliers had the second-best passing offense in the country with an average of 392.6 yards per game. Billy Kemp, who had surgery on his left leg in December, rounded out the team’s depth at receiver with 75 receptions and six TDs for 742 yards for an average of 60.4 yards per game.6. Keytoan Thompson, Virginia
Keytoan Thompson was UVa’s second-leading receiver with 973 yards on 77 catches with two scores. The team will have new leadership in first-time head coach Tony Elliott but benefits from the continuity of quarterback Brennan Armstrong returning.5. Thayer Thomas, NC State
With Emeka Emezie gone, Thayer Thomas is the Wolfpacks’ leading returning receiver after producing 596 yards and eight touchdowns on 51 receptions for an average of 11.7 yards per reception.4. Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia
The Cavaliers had the top passing offense in the ACC last season, and no one benefitted more from that than Dontavion Wicks. As the team’s leading receiver, he had 57 catches – third-most in the nation – for 1,203 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging a conference-best 21.1 yards per catch....
Saturday Road Crystal Ball: Predicting every NC State football game for 2022 - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Friedlander)
Editor’s note: Saturday Road’s annual Crystal Ball series continues today with NC State. We’ll stay with the ACC Atlantic all week. Next week, we’ll predict every game for every ACC Coastal team.
RALEIGH — On the field, NC State’s season finished on the highest of highs. Down by 9 with less than 2 minutes to go against arch-rival North Carolina, it roared from behind to score two touchdowns and stun the hated Tar Heels before a raucous home crowd.
So why did the Wolfpack end 2021 a month later with the kind of feeling you get after drinking a gallon of milk a week past its expiration date?
Coach Dave Doeren and his players were left with a sour taste in their mouths and sick to their collective stomachs after a Holiday Bowl fiasco that saw UCLA pull out of the game literally hours before kickoff because of a COVID outbreak.
The disappointment cost State an opportunity to reach the 10-win mark in a season for only the second time in program history. At the same time, though, it motivated so many veteran players to “run it back” – a slogan that has become their rallying cry – that the Wolfpack might be even better equipped to accomplish the goal this season.
And perhaps even more.
The list of players deciding to stick around rather than entering the draft or moving on with their lives outside of football is impressive. It includes quarterback Devin Leary, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, and 5th-year center Grant Gibson along with defensive leaders like linebackers Payton Wilson and Isaiah Moore, tackle Cory Durden, cornerback Derrek Pitts and safety Tanner Ingle.
“I think it speaks volumes that they want to be part of it,” Doeren said.
It’s an even louder statement that the players aren’t shying away from talk that this might finally be the year that State wins an ACC championship, something it hasn’t done since 1979.
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Axe: The most powerful man in college sports has deep ties to CNY (Q&A with Greg Sankey) (PS; $; Axe)
Greg Sankey may be one of the most powerful men in college sports, but that doesn’t get him any preferential treatment at one of Central New York’s most beloved eateries.
He still waits in line for Doug’s Fish Fry, just like you.
Sankey, one of the biggest movers and shakers in college sports as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, has deep roots in Central New York.
He grew up in and around Auburn, attending Cayuga Community College, SUNY Cortland and earning a master’s degree at Syracuse University via Utica College.
He returns every summer to relax at a small home on Skaneateles Lake and sends Beak & Skiff apples as a holiday gift to SEC presidents and athletic directors every year.
On a vacation day earlier this summer, Sankey wanted to call up SU AD John Wildhack to “sneak into the Carrier Dome” to see the new roof and renovations, but UCLA and USC shook up the college sports world by announcing they were entering the Big Ten, putting him to work while trying to relax in Skaneateles.
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CFB Expansion: How the Big Ten could shape Notre Dame's schedule (SI; Parks)
NBC looks to be getting more involved in college football even beyond Notre Dame as the network reportedly engages in talks with the Big Ten Conference.
And if all goes according to plan, NBC's new deal with Notre Dame after 2025 and its potential agreement with the Big Ten could go hand-in-hand.
NBC's possible deal with the Big Ten could have an effect on how Notre Dame sets its football schedule going forward, according to Sports Business Journal.
SBJ notes that Notre Dame doesn't get as big a TV rating from its games as other programs, but that could change once the Big Ten joins the network.
That's because the Irish could find themselves playing more schools from the Big Ten, including a potential resumption of its traditional rivalry with Michigan.
"Obviously, Notre Dame would remain independent if it agrees to a new rights deal," the report said.
"But its association with NBC — and NBC's new association with the Big Ten — makes it likely that the Fighting Irish would add more Big Ten games to its schedule."
By having Notre Dame and Big Ten teams on the same field on its airwaves, NBC would make more money on the deal, some of which it could hand to ND in the new contract.
Thereby allowing the Irish to avoid giving into the economics of having to join a conference and stay independent.
Notre Dame, No. 5 in the preseason top 25 rankings, already has one Big Ten school on its 2022 football schedule — the Week 1 opener at No. 2 Ohio State, an expected ratings bonanza — and it has a yearly date with a future Big Ten member in USC.
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Opposing ACC coach weighs in on Uiagalelei (theclemsoninsider.com; Staff)
ESPN recently published a college football quarterback confidential (subscription required), with opposing coaches breaking down more than three dozen signal-callers around the country.
Here’s what an opposing ACC coach had to say about Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei in the aforementioned article authored by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg:
Uiagalelei’s struggles during his first season as Trevor Lawrence’s successor have been well-documented, but the junior quarterback worked on improving his physique and mechanics this offseason after completing just 55.6 percent of his passes last fall with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine).
Uiagalelei has dropped roughly 30 pounds after he said he played around 260 pounds a season ago, and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter said he’s seen better accuracy from the strong-armed quarterback so far in camp.
(youtube.com; ACC Digital Network)
#13 Virginia WR Dontayvion Wicks | 2022 ACC Football Top 25 Players
Wake Forest Preview - 2022 Boston College Football Opponents (bcinterruption.com; Flannery)
Wake Forest was the surprise champion of the ACC Atlantic last season and hopes to shock the conference and do it again in 2022. Unfortunately for them, a few key obstacles stand in their way. Let’s talk about it.
Offense
This Wake offense was deadly last year and is poised to be deadly again, albeit with a big caveat. They finished 11th in all of the nation in total offense last season, 4th in scoring offense, and topped the ACC in multiple offensive categories.
The Demon Deacons run a unique style of offense known as the Slow Mesh. which is an RPO-based system in which the offensive line sets-up for run-blocking on most plays, but the QB can take his “option” to keep the ball and throw it to a receiver. This process often takes more time than a typical offense to develop in the backfield, which is why it is called the Slow Mesh.
You can watch some of Wake Forest on offense here, in the condensed version of their game last season against Clemson. As you can see from the video, this Slow Mesh is only relevant on downs that could be either a run or a pass. The Wake QB can simply drop back into the pocket at any time on a 3rd-and-long or in similar situations. But for pretty much any other down, you see him with an extended RPO handoff to the RB. This can be a problem for teams that struggle to break into the backfield quickly, which was true for Boston College’s relatively weak defensive line last season.
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Dj Uiagalelei Reveals The Key That Will Propel Clemson Football Back To The Top (clutchpoints.com; Villas)
After a disappointing season as the starting quarterback of the Clemson Tigers, DJ Uiagalelei is looking forward to atoning for that with a much more spectacular performance in 2022. That’s going to be easier said than done, especially when he’s also facing some pressure in the form of freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik, whose chances of stealing the QB1 role might be bigger than what people think.
Nevertheless, DJ Uiagalelei is confident that results will be much better for Clemson football in 2022, saying that he has taken his dual-threat capabilities to the next level, per Chapel Fowler of The Herald.
“I think it’ll definitely play a big role,” Uiagalelei said. “In our offense, the quarterback’s got to be able to run.”
In the 2021 college football season, DJ Uiagalelei passed for 2,246 yards and nine touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He also completed just 55.6 percent of his pass attempts. All those numbers were far from ideal for Clemson’s offense, and that’s without mentioning the fact that among all qualified ACC quarterbacks, DJ Uiagalelei’s 108.65 passer rating was the worst. But his ability to take off on the ground with the ball will always be a big asset for the Tigers, who averaged 163.4 rushing yards per game in 2021.
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2022 ACC Dream Road Trip (Weeks 0-3) (RX; HM)
I would skip watching UM-Bethune Cookman. UM is wildly overrated but they are still going to kill the other BC. The UL-SU game should be the best game of the day by a large margin. And you can go to the NYS Fair that day too...
2022 ACC Dream Road Trip (Weeks 0-3)
If getting tickets was never an issue, and you had a fast car/helicopter/private jet, what would be the maximum ACC road trip you could possibly make during the first month or so of the season? The goal here is not necessarily to catch the best games, but the most games in the most venues possible. With that in mind, here's our imaginary itinerary:
Ultimate 2022 ACC Road Trip (Weeks 0-3)
Saturday, August 27th
1st half of Duquesne at Florida State (5:00 pm)2nd half of Florida A&M at North Carolina (8:15 pm)
Thursday, September 1st
West Virginia at Pitt (7:00 pm)Friday, September 2nd
Virginia Tech at Old Dominion (7:00 pm)Saturday, September 3rd
1st half of NC State at East Carolina (12:00 pm)Fly to FL for part of Bethune Cookman at Miami (3:30 pm)
Fly to NY for conclusion of Louisville at Syracuse (8:00 pm)
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Finnelytics 2022 Preseason All-ACC Team (RX; HM)
Finnelytics 2022 Preseason All-ACC Team
This was posted on twitter a few days ago but I thought it was worth a look:
Here's their list in text (if you want to copy & paste); it makes more sense to me than a lot of lists:
Offense
QB Devin Leary, NC StateRB Sean Tucker, Syracuse
WR Josh Downs, UNC
WR Dontayvion Wicks, UVA
WR A. T. Perry, Wake Forest
TE Marshon Ford, Louisville
OT Zion Nelson, Miami
OG Caleb Chandler, Louisville
OC Grant Gibson, NC State
OG Marcus Minor, Pitt
OT Jordan McFadden, Clemson
Defense
DE Myles Murphy, ClemsonDE Habakkuk Baldonado, Pitt
DT Bryan Breese, Clemson
DT Calijah Kancey, Pitt
LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson
LB Drake Thomas, NC State
LB Payton Wilson, NC State
CB Garrett Williams, Syracuse
CB Kei'trel Clark, Louisville
S Jammie Robinson, Florida State
S Chamarri Conner, Virginia Tech
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2022 Predictions Based on 2021 Ydg (RX; HM)
2022 Predictions Based on 2021 Ydg
Phil Steele looks are every angle when it comes to predicting future performance. One of them is last year's net yardage. From the article "x":
I'm not sure I follow everything he wrote, but the gist of it is simple: if net yardage (offense gained - defense surrendered) predicts a certain W-L record, but your team was way above or below the predicted record, you can expect them to correct this season (the "Diff" column). Here are Steele's numbers:
| Conference YPG Wins chart | ||||
| ACC Team | W | L | YPG | Diff |
| Louisville | 4 | 4 | 6.37 | +2.37 |
| N.Carolina | 3 | 5 | 5.19 | +2.19 |
| Syracuse | 2 | 6 | 3.68 | +1.68 |
| Miami (FL) | 5 | 3 | 6.46 | +1.46 |
| Virginia | 4 | 4 | 5.04 | +1.04 |
| Pittsburgh | 7 | 1 | 7.51 | +0.51 |
| Boston Coll. | 2 | 6 | 2.38 | +0.38 |
| Duke Univ. | 0 | 8 | -2.03 | 0 |
| NC State | 6 | 2 | 5.69 | -0.31 |
| Virginia Tech | 4 | 4 | 3.41 | -0.59 |
| Georgia Tech | 2 | 6 | 1.35 | -0.6 |
| Florida St | 4 | 4 | 2.89 | -1.11 |
| Wake Forest | 7 | 1 | 5.46 | -1.54 |
| Clemson | 6 | 2 | 3.73 | -2.27 |
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ACC recruiting thoughts: Clemson's staying power, Miami's prowess, UNC's regression (theathletic.com; $; Raynor)
High school football season is almost here, which means 2023 recruits who have yet to make their college decisions are getting closer to crunchtime. Official visits will be in full swing again this fall, and the early signing period in December will be here faster than we know it.
What’s the ACC up to?
Let’s dive in with some thoughts from around the league
1. Fairly or not, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s comments from 2014, when he said he’d “go do something else” if college athletics ever became professionalized, made their way back into national headlines last year when players had the opportunity to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. Swinney has maintained that he’s never been against NIL and was instead referring to college football moving toward making players employees and devaluing education. Still, Swinney’s comments, combined with his resistance to the transfer portal and the fact that the Tigers missed the College Football Playoff in 2021 for the first time since 2014, raised questions about how Clemson would fare on the recruiting trail this year.
Quite well, actually.
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2021 was fantastic for NC State Football, can 2022 top it? (backingthepackcom; PW)
2021 was a fantastic year for the NC State football program. No, the team didn’t capture an ACC title or hit double-digit wins (thanks a lot, UCLA...), but anyone who watched the team knows just how good they were. Sometimes that’s hard to quantify, so let’s look at it in the frame of advanced metrics (namely SP+) and the history of the program.
First off, Lou Holtz is a freaking wizard! The 1972 team had a 24.3-point turnaround in SP+, going from the 116th ranked (9th percentile) team the year prior to the 14th ranked (89th percentile) team. I’d imagine that has to be one of the best - if not the very best - one year turnaround in FBS history. For comparison, Baylor going from a 2-7 squad in 2020 to a 12-2 team in 2021 was an improvement of “just” 14.3 points via SP+. For another perspective, the widely considered “Greatest College Football Coach of All-Time”, Nick Saban, only improved Alabama by 1.4 points via SP+ in his first season in Tuscaloosa.
Speaking of that 14th-place SP+ ranking of the 1972 NC State team, that’s tied for the highest finish by any NC State team in the history of SP+ rankings (1970-2021). The team it’s tied with? The 2021 Wolfpack football squad.
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Preseason 2022 Bowl Projections (RX; HM)
Preseason 2022 Bowl Projections
By now there are many, many preseason bowl projections posted for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Here are three of the more well-known sports outlets juxtaposed on a single table:
| Preseason | CBS Sports | Athlon Sports | Sporting News | |||
| 2022 Bowl | ACC Team | Opponent | ACC Team | Opponent | ACC Team | Opponent |
| Birmingham | none | none | VT | Memphis | ||
| Fenway | BC | Memphis | UVA | SMU | BC | Cincinnati |
| Gasparilla | FSU | Liberty | Louisville | Auburn | none | |
| Military | VT | Houston | VT | ECU | none | |
| Holiday | UVA | UCLA | Wake | UCLA | FSU | UCLA |
| Pinstripe | Wake | Minnesota | UNC | Purdue | Louisville | Purdue |
| Cheez-It | NC State | Texas | Miami | Oklahoma | UNC | Texas |
| Mayo | Pitt | Iowa | FSU | Penn St | NC State | Iowa |
| Sun | UNC | Oregon St | BC | Oregon St | Wake | Oregon St |
| Gator | Miami | Arkansas | Pitt | Florida | Pitt | Kentucky |
| Orange | Clemson | Notre Dame | NC State | Notre Dame | Miami | Notre Dame |
| Playoffs | none | Clemson | Alabama | Clemson | Alabama |
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There Are 8 Major Schools 'College GameDay' Hasn't Visited (thespun.ciom; Gould)
ESPN's College GameDay has traveled to many college campuses since beginning live broadcasts in 1993.
As noted by Chris "The Bear" Fallica, the iconic pre-game show has set up shop at all but eight Power Five schools. Despite its vast reach, College GameDay has yet to emanate from Cal, Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Virginia.
Syracuse.com reporter Brent Axe said ESPN nearly chose the Orange when they hosted Clemson in 2019. However, the show changed course after Syracuse suffered a 63-20 loss to Maryland.
Most of these programs are far more celebrated for men's college basketball than football. A hoops version of GameDay would have aired from Syracuse, Kansas, and especially Duke a handful of times.
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When does the 2022 college football season start? (ncaa.com)
It's never too early to prepare for the next college football season. After Georgia won last year's College Football Playoff title in thrilling fashion, the 2022 season looks to pick up where it left off with exciting action.
You can find information on when the 2022 college football season starts here. This story will be updated if games and times are changed.
When does the 2022 college football season start?
The 2022 season is set to begin on Saturday, Aug. 27 in this year's "Week Zero." Most of the nation in the FBS will start their seasons the following week.Here are some of the games currently scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 27 in Week Zero:
- Nevada at New Mexico State | 3:30 pm ET
- Austin Peay at Western Kentucky | 12 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
- Aer Lingus College Football Classic: Nebraska vs. Northwestern (Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland) | 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX
- FCS Kickoff Classoc: Jacksonville State vs. Stephen F. Austin (Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama) | 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Idaho State at UNLV | 4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
- Wyoming at Illinois | 4 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network
- UConn at Utah State | 4 p.m. ET on FS1
- Duquesne at Florida State | 5 p.m. ET on ACC Network
- Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge: Alabama State vs. Howard (Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia) | 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Morehead State at Mercer | 7 p.m. on ESPN+
- Charlotte at FAU | 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
- Florida A&M at North Carolina | 8:15 p.m. ET on ACC Network
- North Texas at UTEP | 9 p.m. ET on Stadium
- Vanderbilt at Hawaii | 10:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
Thursday, Sept. 1
- West Virginia at Pittsburgh | 7 p.m. on ESPN
- Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game: Oregon vs. Georgia (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia) | 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC
- Cincinnati at Arkansas | 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Utah at Florida | 7 p.m. on ESPN
- Duke's Mayo Classic: North Carolina A&T vs. North Carolina Central (Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina) | 7:30 p.m. ET
- Notre Dame at Ohio State | 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Other
Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com
With one major move, Skaneateles company is finding success in diversifying staff (PS; $; Moriarty)
Two years ago, ChaseDesign set a goal of diversifying its workforce by hiring more people of varying races, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.
That wasn’t easy to do in Skaneateles, its home for the past 56 years, where nearly everyone is white.
Sure, it tried recruiting from Syracuse. But the commute was a hard sell.
“Most people like to live within 20 to 30 minutes of their office, and Skaneateles is a 35-minute drive from Syracuse,” said company President Joe Lampertius.
So the company that designs products and packaging for conglomerates such as Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson decided to move closer to the people it wanted to hire. Chase, which also makes store displays for retailers like Walmart and Target, looked at several spots in Syracuse, where whites make up about half of the population.
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