sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Tau Day!
In 2001, Bob Palais published π Is Wrong, where he said pi (π) should not be used for the circle constant—the geometry of a circle expressed in a single number. Instead, he called for tau (τ), which is equal to 2π, or roughly 6.28318, to be used instead. Whereas π compares a circle's circumference to its diameter, τ is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius. This means the measurement of the circumference of any circle is about 6.28318 times its radius. 2π is used quite often in mathematics, and proponents of tau say it would be much easier to simply replace that symbol with τ. In general, mathematicians write equations about circles using its radius as well, not its diameter.
On June 28, 2010, Michael Hartl published the Tau Manifesto, which stood behind Palais and expanded on his ideas. Like Palais, he called for tau to replace pi, saying pi is a "confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant." He believed tau is a better way to describe the relationship between the circumference and the radius of a circle. With the release of his manifesto, he also created Tau Day. Just as 3/14 is Pi Day, 6/28 became Tau Day. It is an anti-Pi Day of sorts, and Hartl even called for Pi Day to be known as Half Tau Day. A growing number of mathematicians and physicists agree tau should replace pi, although this is not yet widely accepted.
SU News
Inside the punch and punishment that put Allen’s Syracuse season in jeopardy (PS; Leiker and Hayes)
LeQuint Allen was at a party when he received a call from his Syracuse football teammate early Sunday morning on Dec. 11.
Duce Chestnut, a star defensive back who, like Allen, hails from New Jersey, told Allen he’d been “jumped” by a group outside the party.
Allen went to Chestnut, then returned with him to the party, where a fight occurred with another Syracuse University student.
The fight set off a chain of events that has put Allen’s football future at Syracuse in jeopardy.
Using court records filed earlier this week as part of Allen’s lawsuit against Syracuse University, Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard pieced together a more complete picture of the incident that resulted in Allen’s two-semester suspension by the university.
The documents — which include university emails, police records, Allen’s statements to school officials and more — show how a typical college party at an on-campus apartment turned violent and sparked a university review of Allen and others’ conduct that night.
They also shine a light on the university’s handling of the matter, and how it reached the decision to punish Allen independent of the athletic department and football program.
Allen, the team’s projected starter at running back, is the only SU student known to have been punished for the incident, records show, though several football players and other students were involved, including Chestnut, an NFL-bound defensive back who has since transferred to LSU.
Allen, 18, took responsibility for his actions that night: He punched another student in the face after getting hit twice by the student, Allen wrote in an affidavit.
The explanation SU gave Allen for why he was handed a suspension that will sideline him for the 2023 season left him confused, he wrote. He claimed he was acting in self-defense.
As his case worked its way through the university’s judicial system, the school repeatedly told Allen it could only take into account his actions that night when determining if Allen violated university policy.
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LeQuint Allen's Situation is Another Indictment on Dino Babers (orangefizz.net; Frank)
In the days and hours before news broke of a developing situation with Syracuse starting running back LeQuintAllenn, momentum was strong with the SU football program. Recruits were rolling in the door, including a four-star quarterback, and morale was generally good as the season creeps closer and closer. Then, a bombshell.
All of the details of the situation can be read in the story, but one thing is clear: Allen will have a very difficult and complicated path to playing for Syracuse this season, and likely ever again. With a situation this serious having played out over multiple months and the season just nearly two months away, it feels difficult for a solution to be found and common ground reached. When you’re suing the university, that feels like there is no coming back from that.
So, this leads back to the person who recruited the former New Jersey Gatorade player of the year to Central New York and has been cultivating him over the past year to be the next lead attraction in Syracuse’s backfield, Dino Babers. Now, these actions are not Babers’ fault, and Allen did take accountability for what he did back in December 2022.
“I take full responsibility for all of my actions and will take any and all steps to stay here at Syracuse University,” Allen said in a statement via syracuse.com.
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Syracuse Football: Orange Nation adamantly says let LeQuint Allen Jr. play (itlh; Adler)
An abundance of Orange fans, current players and former players took to Twitter on Tuesday to support Syracuse football running back LeQuint Allen Jr.
Emily Leiker and Anne Hayes of Syracuse.com first reported late Monday night that Syracuse University had issued a season-long suspension to Allen for his involvement in an on-campus fight this past December.
As Leiker and Hayes reported, LeQuint Allen Jr. is suing Syracuse University over the suspension. The 6-foot, 195-pound Allen is a sophomore out of Millville High School in Millville, N.J., who has been expected to take over as the starting running back for the ‘Cuse in the upcoming 2023 season after record-setting RB Sean Tucker headed to the pros.
In a second piece, Leiker wrote that “Supreme Court Judge Robert Antonacci issued a temporary pause on the suspension until a July 19 court date.”
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Syracuse running back files lawsuit against university in attempt to overturn suspension - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Davis)
Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen is suing the university as he tries to overturn a season-long suspension, according to a report.
Allen’s suspension stems from an on-campus fight that took place back in December, according to Syracuse.com. The report says he has been suspended for the summer and fall semesters.
Per the report, Allen’s appeal for his suspension was denied, which led to a lawsuit being filed.
On Dec. 11, Allen said in an affidavit that he punched a man in “self defense” after he had been hit twice in the face. Per the report, Allen was charged with third-degree assault but the case was later settled with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.
If Allen is lost for the 2023 season, that would have significant ramifications for Syracuse’s offense. With Sean Tucker now in the NFL, Allen was set to take over as the Orange’s starting running back.
Last season as a sophomore, Allen rushed for 274 yards and 1 touchdown on 41 carries. His mark of 6.7 yards per carry led the team in 2022.
Syracuse football: RB LeQuint Allen sues school over suspension, per report (TNIAAM; De Guzman)
Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen filed a lawsuit against the university on Monday over a suspension, per a late night report from Emily Leiker and Anne Hayes of Syracuse.com.
The suspension reportedly comes after a fight at a South Campus apartment back in December. Allen was suspended by the university for the upcoming summer and fall semesters. He reportedly appealed the decision with the school, but filed the lawsuit after an informal and formal hearing.
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Fraternity’s lawsuit against Syracuse University reveals disciplinary process riddled with student rights violations (thefire.org; Greenberg)
Syracuse University again finds itself embroiled in allegations that it trampled over the rights of its students. The facts demonstrate that despite absolutely no evidence of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity being engaged in any conduct violation — having been cleared by both law enforcement and SU’s internal conduct process (twice, in fact) — SU repeatedly bowed to outside pressure to ultimately find the group guilty, reopening the investigation numerous times and disregarding clearly established facts to do so.
Alpha Chi Rho has now filed a lawsuit alleging that SU’s arbitrary and capricious punishment of the group ran afoul of New York state law. The lawsuit also details the lengths to which university administrators went to punish the group over clearly baseless allegations.
The incident at issue took place on Nov. 16, when an African-American student claimed members of the fraternity yelled a racial slur at her. The fraternity denied it, pointing out that the accused individual wasn’t even an SU student, let alone a member of their organization.
Regardless, the very next day, SU Chancellor Kent Syverud announced sweeping restrictions on all SU fraternities, even minority fraternities and those that he admitted had nothing to do with the alleged incident. This prompted FIRE to write to SU on Nov. 22, calling on the university to lift its restrictions on students who, by SU’s own admission, did not violate any university rules. FIRE did not receive a substantive response.
According to the Alpha Chi Rho lawsuit, during this time, the Department of Public Safety officers investigating the incident could not find any evidence corroborating the accuser’s claims. In fact, witnesses, including the accuser’s family, contradicted her allegations and supported the fraternity’s version of events. Nevertheless, SU suspended the fraternity and four of its members, charging them with “harassment,” among other violations. On Dec. 6, the hearing board, upon seeing video recordings and hearing testimony demonstrating that no group member uttered any racial slurs, cleared the students of all charges.
But this utter lack of evidence did not deter SU — on Jan. 10, it leveled the same exact charges and alleged the exact same facts against the fraternity. Upon rehearing this same evidence, the disciplinary board unsurprisingly reached the same conclusion and cleared the fraternity in a hearing held on Jan. 17.
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In conduct proceedings, SU gets to make the rules — and change them at will (DO; Stern & Sessa)
When Alpha Chi Rho sued Syracuse University in June after being suspended, the fraternity argued that university officials led a conduct proceeding riddled with errors.
Most alarming to the fraternity and its lawyers was how one university official single-handedly changed the trajectory of the case.
After a student alleged that members of the fraternity shouted a racial slur at a student, a University Conduct Board suspended Crow, claiming that a guest of the fraternity may have shouted the slur. But a University Appeals Board said no policy exists at SU that would make the fraternity responsible for the actions of a guest. The appeals board overturned the prior ruling and threw out the suspension.
A week later, Dolan Evanovich — who oversaw the conduct process and has since retired — rejected the board’s decision. He reinstated the suspension, saying “it was more likely than not that the guest used a racial slur.”
“According to section 11.9 of the Student Conduct System Handbook, I have the authority to overrule decisions of a University Appeals Board,” Evanovich wrote in an email to the fraternity before citing his supervisory authority over SU’s conduct system.
A court ruled against SU and Evanovich on Wednesday, overturning his decision.
The fraternity’s lawsuit is one of several against SU making their way through the state and federal court systems. The Daily Orange reviewed documents filed in lawsuits associated with seven different cases — police reports, emails, transcripts and confidential university documents that demonstrate SU’s wide-reaching disciplinary discretion and how it defends those policies in court.
Shannon Kirkpatrick | Presentation Director
The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities processes approximately 3,000 conduct cases every year, according to a university official. The lawsuits provide just a small glimpse into the private hearings, as many students do not have the resources to take SU to court. The cases highlight key areas where students and their lawyers say SU most frequently strays from its policies or is stringent in applying them.
Christopher Burke, an attorney for Student Legal Services, said SU adheres to its processes and procedures “pretty regularly,” largely due to a section of its Student Conduct System Handbook that reserves the right for SU to modify its procedures at its own discretion.
“When you have that ability, then it’s kind of difficult to say that you really strayed from your rules,” Burke said. “I don’t think the issue is that they don’t follow their procedures … it’s (that) they can change it as they please with that one provision, and then the procedures are ‘fundamentally fair’ as they determine it to be.”
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NY Supreme Court judge overturns suspension of Syracuse fraternity, says they 'did nothing wrong' (campusreform.org)
A New York State Supreme Court judge has reversed Syracuse University's suspension of a fraternity who was initially punished because a guest yelled a racial slur after being at the fraternity house.
According to Syracuse.com, when the fraternity, Alpha Chi Rho, was suspended in 2019, the chancellor for Syracuse University, Kent Syverud said that "substantial evidence" existed which proved that members and guests of the fraternity engaged in racist activities.
Initially, the Syracuse University Appeals Board reversed the decision to suspend the fraternity, but their ruling was invalidated by E. Dolan Evanovich, SU’s senior vice president of enrollment and the student experience
However, New York Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte said in his opinion that Syverud was wrong, and Alpha Chi Rho "did nothing wrong."
“The record is clear: Alpha Chi Rho did nothing wrong,” DelConte wrote in his opinion.
According to DelConte, only one person yelled a racial slur, and that person was not a member of the fraternity, but rather someone who was a guest of a member at the fraternity on the day he made the racial slur. In addition, the remark occurred off-campus.
DelConte said that there is no evidence that any members of the fraternity were present when the guest yelled the racial slur, and there's "no provision in the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policy, or the Code of Student Conduct, that allows the University to punish fraternities for the independent, off-campus actions of former guests."
“There is no provision in the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policy, or the Code of Student Conduct, that allows the University to punish fraternities for the independent, off-campus actions of former guests,” DelConte wrote in his opinion. “Fraternities cannot police the statements of their former guests who leave campus, and it would be unreasonable to have, or apply, a policy that punishes fraternities, or other student social organizations, for conduct they cannot control.”
DelConte also said that there's "no rational basis" for the fraternity to be responsible for the racist remark.
https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...quint-allens-suspension-appears-flawed-unfair (SI; McAllister)
Monday night's news regarding LeQuint Allen's suspension and the reported details surrounding the incident that led to the suspension were a big shock. Since then, I have spoken with multiple sources familiar with the incident as well as the council that investigated the incident and levied punishment. Here is what I have learned according to those sources:
- The council that levied punishment, as well as the appeals council, was comprised of students.
- There was no video of the incident.
- During the hearing, at least one witness to the incident spoke to the council and corroborated Allen's account.
- Self defense was not considered when deciding upon punishment.
- The other individual involved in the incident who, according to Allen, punched Allen first received no punishment.
- The other individual changed his story multiple times. Allen did not.
- The other individual did not appear and give testimony at the hearings.
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Syracuse Football: Orange is on a big recruiting roll with its 2024 class (itlh; Fiello)
Flashback to Monday, May 15th…a day that Syracuse football got three portal transfers in one day (and basketball even got one, too).
A little over one month later, on Monday, June 26th, Syracuse football got three verbal commitments from 2024 high school recruits in one day as well. Hard to hate Mondays like those.
So let’s take a moment to introduce the three new Orange football verbal commitments with their official tweet acknowledging their choosing Syracuse University.
Syracuse football had a terrific Monday on the recruiting trail.
Ta’ron Haile
Michael Matthews-Canty
Keeping Up With The 315 6-27-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Brian Higgins starts the show discussing the most recent Syracuse football news, with RB LeQuint Allen suspended for the season and currently appealing. Brian then makes a comparison from Allen to another Orange football player of year’s past in terms of a similar suspension. Finally, listeners call in to discuss the frustrating stretch for the Mets and more on the LeQuint Allen situation.
Mario Sacco "The 315" 6-27-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
News Channel 9’s Mario Sacco joins the show to chime in on the LeQuint Allen situation and suspension. Mario shares what he’s learned from the reporter side of things and what this could mean for the Orange moving forward.
Millville Football Standout Ta’Ron Haile Makes his College Decision (ESPN; Gill)
The Millville football program continues to place players to continue their careers at the next level. The team is sending three-star pass catcher Ta’Ron Haile to play football at Syracuse Univerity the wide receiver announced via social media on Monday night.
The 6-foot-1 wideout caught 48 passes for 680 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games as a junior in 2022. He is one of numerous former Thunderbolts that have gone on to play at the collegiate level in recent years, including current Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen and former Millville head coach Dennis Thomas who is now the director of high school relations for the Orange.
He chose Syracuse over schools like Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/recruiting/taron-haile-finds-right-fit-at-syracuse (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse football landed a commitment from class of 2024 Millville (NJ) High wide receiver Ta'Ron Haile on Monday. The talented wideout says his decision was based on the best fit.
"It was just the right choice for me," Haile said. "I feel like I will be a great fit on their team with what they do."
During the recruiting process, Syracuse offered Haile back in May of 2022. The Orange stayed in contact ever since and that culminated with an official visit earlier this month. It was during that visit that Haile realized he wanted to be Orange.
"It was when I took my official visit that I knew that was the place I wanted to go," Haile said. "When I was there, speaking with the coaches and players, and just got to see what the environment was like at Syracuse. That's when I knew."
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ACC News
ACC football 2023: Best and worst case scenarios for every team (247sports.com; Crawford)
Expect the unexpected across the ACC football schedule, a slate that includes several must-see matchups in conference play and outside of the league. And as far as best and worst scenarios are concerned for every team, there are several programs in the upper tier capable of being in College Football Playoff contention heading into November, including one who hasn't appeared in the four-team postseason since inception.
Non-conference schedules are not created equal for every team and Notre Dame is included on several ACC slates. There are also a few teams whose preseason projected win totals are a bit worrisome, but these best case projection should bring hope to those fanbases in the middle of the conference.
The ACC's never been a two-bid league in the playoff, but that will change when the system expands to 12 in 2024 given how well Florida State and Miami are performing in recruiting and the transfer portal.
Coinciding with final record predictions for every ACC team, here is a look at each program's best — and worst case — scenarios entering 2023.
Worst case: 3-9, 1-7
Predicting what happens: Can Brent Key push Georgia Tech to a bowl game? That's the immediate goal for a program in transition. It may come down to a challenging November stretch to end the campaign which includes top 10s Clemson and Georgia over the final three weeks. Keep an eye on the opener in Atlanta against Louisville. Georgia Tech played Clemson tough for 2.5 quarters in a similar setting last year before bowing out in the second half.
Worst case: 6-6, 3-5
Predicting what happens: Pat Narduzzi's team is often underrated this time of year in the ACC when most of the preseason jargon revolves around schools with an elite quarterback and higher-profile talent. Pitt's non-conference slate is brutal, but kudos to the Panthers for scheduling Cincinnati, West Virginia and Notre Dame (as if the ACC grouping isn't tough enough). Pitt misses Miami and Clemson at least.
Worst case: 4-8, 2-6
Predicting what happens: Jeff Hafley knows he needs to win in 2023. His teams are scrappy, but the wins have not been there consistently. Close, tough-to-stomach losses need to turn into big-time victories at some point and there's opportunities for those in 2023 against Florida State and others. The first road game of the season might be the most important matchup on the slate (at Louisville). The good news, this is arguably the most favorable schedule Hafley has faced up to this point.
Worst case: 5-7, 3-5
Predicting what happens: Dave Clawson is one of the ACC's most respected coaches, but there is no Sam Hartman this time around to bail Wake Forest out if the defense fails to perform. And with Clemson, Florida State, Duke and Notre Dame on the schedule, there's plenty of opposing teams with much firepower to douse the Demon Deacons' flames. This final record will be telling for Wake Forest with its leader offensively.
Worst case: 4-8, 2-6
Predicting what happens: This could be an ugly season for Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers. There are holes on this roster at key positions and there's no room to breathe early with Tennessee, James Madison, Maryland and NC State to play in September. For a team in need of something positive to happen, that's a potential 0-4 start. Getting to bowl eligibility should be the immediate goal in the coming years for a program in transition.
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Best case scenario: 8-4, 4-4
Worst case: 6-6, 2-6
Predicting what happens: There are several toss-up games against bottom-tier opponents that will determine bowl eligibility. The ACC is a top-heavy conference and no one's going to argue that point. You're not going to find another team in the league with three tougher games — consecutively — than what the Orange face in October. Syracuse could go 4-0 in the non-conference without much issue if it's able to take out Purdue away from the Carrier Dome.
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Links - Syracuse edition - 2023 June 27th (RX; HM)
Links - Syracuse edition - 2023 June 27th
I didn't set out to write a Syracuse-oriented links, it just sort of happened that way...
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Yahoo! Sports says the LSU had to vacate all wins between 2012 and 2015. That means that the LSU victory in the dome at Syracuse officially doesn't count! Leonard Fournett didn't really run roughshod over the Orange, and the 'Cuse finished 4-7 that season, rather than 4-8 (hey, not counting a loss is not the same as a win!)
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Speaking of the Orange, Fansided says Syracuse recently landed one of top QBs left in 2024 college football recruiting class.
Orange football traditionally has performed well when it has a good quarterback.
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Finally, did you realize that this Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Syracuse and Pitt joining the ACC? Happy anniversary!
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BREAKING: NCAA Showdown with States (RX; HM)
BREAKING: NCAA Showdown with States
The inevitable Day of Reckoning is high for the NCAA and State Lawmakers...
However, what happens when state law mandates an action that the NCAA forbids?
This, as they say, is "fixing to get real"! The question I have: will this force the Federal Government to step in and provide uniform guidelines across all states? If so, this would be a win for the NCAA - regardless of what those laws require, IMO (at least everyone would be on the same playing field - level or not). Right now some are on the mountaintops, some are in the valleys, and some are out to sea...
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2023 Inbound Portal Transfers (RX; HM)
2023 Inbound Portal Transfers
"Incoming wormhole!"
From Athlon Sports: College Football Transfer Portal: Team-by-Team Additions for 2023
Here are the ACC transfers (in):
Rx: 2013 To Do List - Final Grade (RX; HM)Rx: 2013 To Do List - Final Grade
It's been 10 years since I put together a To Do list for the ACC [LINK].
How have they done so far?
I reviewed the league's progress after 5 years and had to give out some incompletes [LINK].
Let's take one more look at that list and see if they finally got it done...
DONE (LATE)
The ACC Network reportedly paid out over $9 million per school last fiscal year, and will almost certainly show an increase when this fiscal year's numbers are in thanks to full distribution through Comcast. I took off points for being late, so A-minus.
SATISFACTORY
I'm calling this satisfacotry because of the return of the Gator Bowl - the traditional bowl host of the ACC football champion, now a lower-tier bowl but still well respected and loved by fans. Oh, and did I mention that Jacksonville is in the process of getting a major stadium upgrade, too? B+.
EXCEEDED. The ACC will now have 11 total bowl tie-ins for the next 6 years. A+.
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Stewart Mandel's preseason All-Geezer team is back (theathletic.com; $; Mandel)
My decision in 2021 to turn a long-running mailbag bit about “eighth-year seniors” into an official preseason team arose out of the COVID-19 pandemic, as droves of players took advantage of the free year of eligibility. But the material has grown even richer, thanks first to immediate eligibility for transfers and now name, image and likeness.
Because it’s unlikely that star quarterbacks like Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. would have put off the NFL for a year if not for their ability to get paid in college.
In fact, I easily could have filled the entire 2023 offense with recognizable quarterbacks entering their fifth (Bo Nix) or sixth (JT Daniels) seasons. Instead, I had to make some difficult cuts — like Penix himself.
(Note: I picked 11 players on offense and defense but did not put limits on each position.)
Another year, another school for Daniels, one of three repeat selections on this season’s list. It has been a rocky road for the former five-star recruit, from starting as a true freshman at USC to losing his job at Georgia to Stetson Bennett to getting benched late last season at West Virginia. Here’s hoping he takes the AAC by storm in what allegedly will be his final go-around in college.
Back in spring 2021, Nix, then entering Year 3 at Auburn, inspired a satirical meme: “This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense.” Then he transferred to Oregon, and 2022 finally was his year with 72 percent completions, 4,103 yards of offense and 44 total touchdowns. At that point, many assumed he would take his shot at the NFL, but nope, he’s back, and if he stays healthy, he could reach at least 60 career starts.
The late Mike Leach was still a year away from becoming the coach of Mississippi State when Shrader, then a true freshman, became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback for four games. Known at the time primarily as a runner, Shrader was of little use to Leach, transferring in 2021 to Syracuse, where he threw for 4,085 yards and ran for 1,234 during the past two seasons. Now he aims to lift the Orange to back-to-back bowl berths.
On Sept. 22, 2018, a young Notre Dame quarterback named Ian Book made his second career start at Wake Forest, winning 56-27. Wake’s quarterback that day? True freshman Sam Hartman. Both went on to smash career records for their programs. But whereas Book is already entering his third season in the NFL, Hartman will be back for yet another Wake-Notre Dame game this season — this time as the opposing starter on Nov. 18.
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Hokie Football in Transition: Dealing with Talent, Winning, and Merger Attractiveness (gobblercountry.com; Schneider)
We looked at the first two issues within the program, Fixing the Coaching and Fixing the Offense. After a quick trip into the ACC’s unknown future, it’s time to go back to the Hokies and see how that fits in, and what sort of leverage the program will have given the realities of the re-alignments underway.
Let’s revisit the Talent formula from the Twilight series of the Summer of 2020. The pre-NIL formula for a program’s Talent attractiveness was: (Money+Prestige) NFL Draft potential=Talent. Well, there has to be a way to figure in NIL money going to specific players the trick is where does that fit in when trying to attract the higher levels of talent from either the portal or high school. We do account for Money, which is the wealth of the entire program, and Prestige which is the history/winning thing, but figuring in the individual player’s NIL compensation is difficult, and frankly will probably trump the remainder of the equation if the coin is large enough. For now, because the NIL factor could be big enough to make it a multiplicative like NFL Draft Potential. So, we’ll modify the formula according to that pattern and make it look like some ominous Algebra 2 quadratic equation from the distant past.
The new formula will be: (Money+Prestige) (NIL+NFL Draft Potential) = Talent
There is no point in flip flopping variables around looking for the simplified equation, we’ll just stick to the factors.
The reality for the non-math minded is that NIL is going to drive much of the best talent to programs that have or can arrange the best NIL deals. To say otherwise is casting offerings to the gods of sports into a hurricane. It’s all about the Benjamin’s in this one, and the 4- and especially 5-star talent is going to go make money. Even in high school there are kids being offered NIL consideration. The Virginia High School League has had to formulate a policy regarding the practice.
What’s the upshot of the parade through the professionalization of college athletics, in particular football (and to a lesser extent basketball)? The chase is a self-reinforcing feedback loop that moves in the direction of the talent flow.
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Bryce Baker, Class of 2025 blue-chip QB prospect, announces ACC commitment - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Stone)
Bryce Baker, a Class of 2025 quarterback out of Kernersville, North Carolina, announced Tuesday that he has committed to North Carolina to continue his football career.
Baker represents North Carolina’s first commitment of the 2025 class, and a strong one at that. The 6-3, 185 pound dual-threat QB is rated as the No. 15 quarterback in the country in the 2025 cycle.
He held an impressive offer list, too. Baker chose the Tar Heels over offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Duke, Maryland and Louisville, to name a few.
Baker is considered to be the No. 224 player in the country, as well as the No. 6 player out of the state of North Carolina, in addition to his top 15 QB status per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Below is his highlight tape, via Hudl:
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Will BYU football be more like Utah or Rutgers when it jumps to the Power Five level? (deseret.com; Judd)
The college football landscape changed significantly more than a decade ago, when over a four-year period, 12 schools either moved up to a Power Five conference or changed power conferences.
The past decade-plus of results for those 12 programs paints a foreboding image of what may lie ahead for the next wave of teams that will be switching leagues at the Power Five level.
That will include BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston moving up to the P5 level this Saturday when they officially join the Big 12 Conference.
Next year, bluebloods will be changing conferences — USC and UCLA are heading from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, while Texas and Oklahoma switch from the Big 12 to the SEC.
The question for BYU is, how quickly will it acclimate to a heightened level of competition?
Will the Cougars — who are moving from being an independent program to a long-awaited spot in a power conference — be more like in-state rival Utah, or like Rutgers?
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https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2023 (athlonsports.com; Lassan)
The 2023-24 bowl schedule features 41 overall games, plus the CFB Playoff National Championship, and Athlon Sports is here with complete projections and predictions for all of the matchups. While the season doesn’t get underway until late August, it’s never too early to take a peek at what the bowl games could look like at its conclusion.
The postseason officially begins on Dec. 16 with six matchups and continues until Jan. 8 with the national championship at NRG Stadium in Houston. The semifinals for the College Football Playoff take place on Jan. 1 this year, with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl hosting the matchups.
A few tie-ins and dates are unsettled for bowl games as of late June. However, nearly all of the necessary information regarding the 2023-24 bowl schedule has been released. Projections will be updated as needed this offseason and again during the year.
How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports' predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2023-24:
Projection: Louisiana Tech vs. Ohio
Projection: Liberty vs. Troy
Projection: FAU vs. UConn
Projection: New Mexico State vs. Wyoming
Projection: Boise State vs. Arizona
Projection: UCF vs. Southern Miss*
Projection: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee
Projection: BYU vs. Air Force
Projection: South Alabama vs. UTSA
Projection: Auburn vs. NC State
Projection: Mississippi State vs. Marshall*
Projection: Toledo vs. Coastal Carolina
Projection: Western Kentucky vs. Kansas
Projection: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State
Projection: Northern Illinois vs. Georgia Southern
Projection: Iowa vs. Oregon
Projection: SMU vs. San Jose State
Projection: Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan
Projection: Baylor vs. North Texas
Projection: Maryland vs. Texas Tech
Projection: Wake Forest vs. East Carolina
Projection: Pitt vs. Kentucky
Projection: TCU vs. Texas A&M
Projection: Syracuse vs. Memphis
Projection: Louisville vs. Nebraska
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The B1G 10: Expansion hinges on timing of Pac-12, ACC implosions. It's 'when?', not 'if' (saturdaytradition.com; Hayes)
The only variable is time. And the potential implosion of the Pac-12.
The Flex Protect schedule, conference officials say, allows the Big Ten more flexibility in the 2024 schedule and beyond. But how far beyond?
A year from now, when USC and UCLA are officially on the 2024 Big Ten letterhead, the future of the conference could already be on the way to radical change.
Understand this: the Big Ten won’t raid the Pac-12 until it’s abundantly clear the conference already has been mortally wounded. Those are the clear marching orders from the conference university presidents, a Big Ten athletic director told Saturday Tradition.
In other words, the Big Ten won’t be the reason the Pac-12 falls apart. But it will pick up pieces if/when it does.
That means Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff wields a heavy hand in the future of college sports. Can he find a television and/or streaming partner(s) to pay enough for a multi-year media rights deal that will hold together the current 10 members of the Pac-12?
Kliavkoff has blown through at least 2 soft deadlines without a specific deal for the Pac-12 presidents. Meanwhile, the Big 12 has its sights on the 4 corner schools (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State).
Colorado AD Rick George says the university “will do what’s right for Colorado.” Arizona president Robert Robbins told Sports Illustrated he hopes a Pac-12 media rights deal “will be good enough to keep us together.”
Silent impatience or public hedging, it has been an uneasy summer in the Pac-12.
If the new media rights deal isn’t good enough — in Robbins’ words — to keep the Pac-12 together, the first to move will likely be Colorado. After that, it may look a whole lot like the free player movement orchestrated by the NCAA not so long ago.
That’s where the Big Ten comes into play.
...
Other
PS
We’ll be breathing Canada wildfire smoke in Upstate NY yet again (PS; Coin)
Smoke from wildfires burning out of control in Canada will drift back into Upstate New York for a third time this season.
The state health and environmental conservation departments have issued an air quality health advisory all day Wednesday for Western and Central New York.
The worst air quality Wednesday is expected in Western New York. The state says the air there will be “unhealthy,” which means it could cause itchy eyes and respiratory problems even for people who are relatively healthy.
For Central New York, the air is likely to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” which means people with heart and lung conditions should avoid being outside.
The smoke won’t be as thick as what we inhaled the first week of June, when air in Central New York was considered hazardous, the highest warning level.
This time, Upstate New York will be breathing what is essentially second-hand smoke: The particles drifting our way on Wednesday aren’t coming directly from Canada, but indirectly from the Midwest. At one point today, Chicago and Detroit had the worst air quality in the world, according to the international ranking site iqair.com.
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Upstate NY college says janitor destroyed 20 years of research while cleaning lab (PS; $; TNS)
An Upstate New York university has filed a $1 million lawsuit against a cleaning company after the school said a janitor in a lab accidentally destroyed more than 20 years of scientific research, according to a lawyer.
An employee of Daigle Cleaning Systems was cleaning a laboratory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy on Sept. 17, 2020, when he shut off a circuit breaker that provided electricity to a freezer, says the lawsuit, which was filed June 16.
The freezer was holding cell cultures and samples that needed to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius, or minus 112 Fahrenheit, according to the lawsuit. A fluctuation of 3 degrees could damage or destroy the samples, the lawsuit says.
On Sept. 14, 2020, an alarm was triggered because the temperature inside the freezer rose to minus 78 Celsius, according to the lawsuit. Researchers responded and determined that the samples hadn’t been harmed.
Repair workers could not respond to service the freezer until Sept. 21, 2020, according to the lawsuit, but in the meantime, the freezer’s alarm continued beeping.
Researchers at the lab took precautions to try to make sure no one tampered with the freezer while they waited for it be repaired, according to the lawsuit. They put a lock box over the freezer’s outlet and socket and posted a sign on the freezer door asking that it not be moved or unplugged, according to the lawsuit.
The janitor later said that while he was cleaning the lab on the night of Sept. 17, 2020, he heard “annoying alarms” and thought something was wrong, an incident report included in the lawsuit says. He went into an electrical box to make sure everything was okay and accidentally turned off “important breakers,” the lawsuit says.
This caused the freezer to shut off and the internal temperature to rise to minus 32 degrees Celsius, the lawsuit says.
...
In 2001, Bob Palais published π Is Wrong, where he said pi (π) should not be used for the circle constant—the geometry of a circle expressed in a single number. Instead, he called for tau (τ), which is equal to 2π, or roughly 6.28318, to be used instead. Whereas π compares a circle's circumference to its diameter, τ is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its radius. This means the measurement of the circumference of any circle is about 6.28318 times its radius. 2π is used quite often in mathematics, and proponents of tau say it would be much easier to simply replace that symbol with τ. In general, mathematicians write equations about circles using its radius as well, not its diameter.
On June 28, 2010, Michael Hartl published the Tau Manifesto, which stood behind Palais and expanded on his ideas. Like Palais, he called for tau to replace pi, saying pi is a "confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant." He believed tau is a better way to describe the relationship between the circumference and the radius of a circle. With the release of his manifesto, he also created Tau Day. Just as 3/14 is Pi Day, 6/28 became Tau Day. It is an anti-Pi Day of sorts, and Hartl even called for Pi Day to be known as Half Tau Day. A growing number of mathematicians and physicists agree tau should replace pi, although this is not yet widely accepted.
SU News
Inside the punch and punishment that put Allen’s Syracuse season in jeopardy (PS; Leiker and Hayes)
LeQuint Allen was at a party when he received a call from his Syracuse football teammate early Sunday morning on Dec. 11.
Duce Chestnut, a star defensive back who, like Allen, hails from New Jersey, told Allen he’d been “jumped” by a group outside the party.
Allen went to Chestnut, then returned with him to the party, where a fight occurred with another Syracuse University student.
The fight set off a chain of events that has put Allen’s football future at Syracuse in jeopardy.
Using court records filed earlier this week as part of Allen’s lawsuit against Syracuse University, Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard pieced together a more complete picture of the incident that resulted in Allen’s two-semester suspension by the university.
The documents — which include university emails, police records, Allen’s statements to school officials and more — show how a typical college party at an on-campus apartment turned violent and sparked a university review of Allen and others’ conduct that night.
They also shine a light on the university’s handling of the matter, and how it reached the decision to punish Allen independent of the athletic department and football program.
Allen, the team’s projected starter at running back, is the only SU student known to have been punished for the incident, records show, though several football players and other students were involved, including Chestnut, an NFL-bound defensive back who has since transferred to LSU.
Allen, 18, took responsibility for his actions that night: He punched another student in the face after getting hit twice by the student, Allen wrote in an affidavit.
The explanation SU gave Allen for why he was handed a suspension that will sideline him for the 2023 season left him confused, he wrote. He claimed he was acting in self-defense.
As his case worked its way through the university’s judicial system, the school repeatedly told Allen it could only take into account his actions that night when determining if Allen violated university policy.
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LeQuint Allen's Situation is Another Indictment on Dino Babers (orangefizz.net; Frank)
In the days and hours before news broke of a developing situation with Syracuse starting running back LeQuintAllenn, momentum was strong with the SU football program. Recruits were rolling in the door, including a four-star quarterback, and morale was generally good as the season creeps closer and closer. Then, a bombshell.
All of the details of the situation can be read in the story, but one thing is clear: Allen will have a very difficult and complicated path to playing for Syracuse this season, and likely ever again. With a situation this serious having played out over multiple months and the season just nearly two months away, it feels difficult for a solution to be found and common ground reached. When you’re suing the university, that feels like there is no coming back from that.
So, this leads back to the person who recruited the former New Jersey Gatorade player of the year to Central New York and has been cultivating him over the past year to be the next lead attraction in Syracuse’s backfield, Dino Babers. Now, these actions are not Babers’ fault, and Allen did take accountability for what he did back in December 2022.
“I take full responsibility for all of my actions and will take any and all steps to stay here at Syracuse University,” Allen said in a statement via syracuse.com.
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Syracuse Football: Orange Nation adamantly says let LeQuint Allen Jr. play (itlh; Adler)
An abundance of Orange fans, current players and former players took to Twitter on Tuesday to support Syracuse football running back LeQuint Allen Jr.
Emily Leiker and Anne Hayes of Syracuse.com first reported late Monday night that Syracuse University had issued a season-long suspension to Allen for his involvement in an on-campus fight this past December.
As Leiker and Hayes reported, LeQuint Allen Jr. is suing Syracuse University over the suspension. The 6-foot, 195-pound Allen is a sophomore out of Millville High School in Millville, N.J., who has been expected to take over as the starting running back for the ‘Cuse in the upcoming 2023 season after record-setting RB Sean Tucker headed to the pros.
In a second piece, Leiker wrote that “Supreme Court Judge Robert Antonacci issued a temporary pause on the suspension until a July 19 court date.”
An outpouring of support on social media for Syracuse football running back LeQuint Allen Jr.
Caleb Okechukwu, a redshirt senior defensive lineman for the Orange, sent out a tweet with the hashtag “#letlequintplay.” That hashtag, by the way, seems to be trending a bit on Twitter, as I’ve seen it echoed by others in the ‘Cuse sports community....
Syracuse running back files lawsuit against university in attempt to overturn suspension - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Davis)
Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen is suing the university as he tries to overturn a season-long suspension, according to a report.
Allen’s suspension stems from an on-campus fight that took place back in December, according to Syracuse.com. The report says he has been suspended for the summer and fall semesters.
Per the report, Allen’s appeal for his suspension was denied, which led to a lawsuit being filed.
On Dec. 11, Allen said in an affidavit that he punched a man in “self defense” after he had been hit twice in the face. Per the report, Allen was charged with third-degree assault but the case was later settled with an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.
If Allen is lost for the 2023 season, that would have significant ramifications for Syracuse’s offense. With Sean Tucker now in the NFL, Allen was set to take over as the Orange’s starting running back.
Last season as a sophomore, Allen rushed for 274 yards and 1 touchdown on 41 carries. His mark of 6.7 yards per carry led the team in 2022.
Syracuse football: RB LeQuint Allen sues school over suspension, per report (TNIAAM; De Guzman)
Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen filed a lawsuit against the university on Monday over a suspension, per a late night report from Emily Leiker and Anne Hayes of Syracuse.com.
The suspension reportedly comes after a fight at a South Campus apartment back in December. Allen was suspended by the university for the upcoming summer and fall semesters. He reportedly appealed the decision with the school, but filed the lawsuit after an informal and formal hearing.
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Fraternity’s lawsuit against Syracuse University reveals disciplinary process riddled with student rights violations (thefire.org; Greenberg)
Syracuse University again finds itself embroiled in allegations that it trampled over the rights of its students. The facts demonstrate that despite absolutely no evidence of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity being engaged in any conduct violation — having been cleared by both law enforcement and SU’s internal conduct process (twice, in fact) — SU repeatedly bowed to outside pressure to ultimately find the group guilty, reopening the investigation numerous times and disregarding clearly established facts to do so.
Alpha Chi Rho has now filed a lawsuit alleging that SU’s arbitrary and capricious punishment of the group ran afoul of New York state law. The lawsuit also details the lengths to which university administrators went to punish the group over clearly baseless allegations.
The incident at issue took place on Nov. 16, when an African-American student claimed members of the fraternity yelled a racial slur at her. The fraternity denied it, pointing out that the accused individual wasn’t even an SU student, let alone a member of their organization.
Regardless, the very next day, SU Chancellor Kent Syverud announced sweeping restrictions on all SU fraternities, even minority fraternities and those that he admitted had nothing to do with the alleged incident. This prompted FIRE to write to SU on Nov. 22, calling on the university to lift its restrictions on students who, by SU’s own admission, did not violate any university rules. FIRE did not receive a substantive response.
According to the Alpha Chi Rho lawsuit, during this time, the Department of Public Safety officers investigating the incident could not find any evidence corroborating the accuser’s claims. In fact, witnesses, including the accuser’s family, contradicted her allegations and supported the fraternity’s version of events. Nevertheless, SU suspended the fraternity and four of its members, charging them with “harassment,” among other violations. On Dec. 6, the hearing board, upon seeing video recordings and hearing testimony demonstrating that no group member uttered any racial slurs, cleared the students of all charges.
But this utter lack of evidence did not deter SU — on Jan. 10, it leveled the same exact charges and alleged the exact same facts against the fraternity. Upon rehearing this same evidence, the disciplinary board unsurprisingly reached the same conclusion and cleared the fraternity in a hearing held on Jan. 17.
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In conduct proceedings, SU gets to make the rules — and change them at will (DO; Stern & Sessa)
When Alpha Chi Rho sued Syracuse University in June after being suspended, the fraternity argued that university officials led a conduct proceeding riddled with errors.
Most alarming to the fraternity and its lawyers was how one university official single-handedly changed the trajectory of the case.
After a student alleged that members of the fraternity shouted a racial slur at a student, a University Conduct Board suspended Crow, claiming that a guest of the fraternity may have shouted the slur. But a University Appeals Board said no policy exists at SU that would make the fraternity responsible for the actions of a guest. The appeals board overturned the prior ruling and threw out the suspension.
A week later, Dolan Evanovich — who oversaw the conduct process and has since retired — rejected the board’s decision. He reinstated the suspension, saying “it was more likely than not that the guest used a racial slur.”
“According to section 11.9 of the Student Conduct System Handbook, I have the authority to overrule decisions of a University Appeals Board,” Evanovich wrote in an email to the fraternity before citing his supervisory authority over SU’s conduct system.
A court ruled against SU and Evanovich on Wednesday, overturning his decision.
The fraternity’s lawsuit is one of several against SU making their way through the state and federal court systems. The Daily Orange reviewed documents filed in lawsuits associated with seven different cases — police reports, emails, transcripts and confidential university documents that demonstrate SU’s wide-reaching disciplinary discretion and how it defends those policies in court.
Shannon Kirkpatrick | Presentation Director
The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities processes approximately 3,000 conduct cases every year, according to a university official. The lawsuits provide just a small glimpse into the private hearings, as many students do not have the resources to take SU to court. The cases highlight key areas where students and their lawyers say SU most frequently strays from its policies or is stringent in applying them.
Christopher Burke, an attorney for Student Legal Services, said SU adheres to its processes and procedures “pretty regularly,” largely due to a section of its Student Conduct System Handbook that reserves the right for SU to modify its procedures at its own discretion.
“When you have that ability, then it’s kind of difficult to say that you really strayed from your rules,” Burke said. “I don’t think the issue is that they don’t follow their procedures … it’s (that) they can change it as they please with that one provision, and then the procedures are ‘fundamentally fair’ as they determine it to be.”
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NY Supreme Court judge overturns suspension of Syracuse fraternity, says they 'did nothing wrong' (campusreform.org)
A New York State Supreme Court judge has reversed Syracuse University's suspension of a fraternity who was initially punished because a guest yelled a racial slur after being at the fraternity house.
According to Syracuse.com, when the fraternity, Alpha Chi Rho, was suspended in 2019, the chancellor for Syracuse University, Kent Syverud said that "substantial evidence" existed which proved that members and guests of the fraternity engaged in racist activities.
Initially, the Syracuse University Appeals Board reversed the decision to suspend the fraternity, but their ruling was invalidated by E. Dolan Evanovich, SU’s senior vice president of enrollment and the student experience
However, New York Supreme Court Judge Scott DelConte said in his opinion that Syverud was wrong, and Alpha Chi Rho "did nothing wrong."
“The record is clear: Alpha Chi Rho did nothing wrong,” DelConte wrote in his opinion.
According to DelConte, only one person yelled a racial slur, and that person was not a member of the fraternity, but rather someone who was a guest of a member at the fraternity on the day he made the racial slur. In addition, the remark occurred off-campus.
DelConte said that there is no evidence that any members of the fraternity were present when the guest yelled the racial slur, and there's "no provision in the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policy, or the Code of Student Conduct, that allows the University to punish fraternities for the independent, off-campus actions of former guests."
“There is no provision in the Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policy, or the Code of Student Conduct, that allows the University to punish fraternities for the independent, off-campus actions of former guests,” DelConte wrote in his opinion. “Fraternities cannot police the statements of their former guests who leave campus, and it would be unreasonable to have, or apply, a policy that punishes fraternities, or other student social organizations, for conduct they cannot control.”
DelConte also said that there's "no rational basis" for the fraternity to be responsible for the racist remark.
https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...quint-allens-suspension-appears-flawed-unfair (SI; McAllister)
Monday night's news regarding LeQuint Allen's suspension and the reported details surrounding the incident that led to the suspension were a big shock. Since then, I have spoken with multiple sources familiar with the incident as well as the council that investigated the incident and levied punishment. Here is what I have learned according to those sources:
- The council that levied punishment, as well as the appeals council, was comprised of students.
- There was no video of the incident.
- During the hearing, at least one witness to the incident spoke to the council and corroborated Allen's account.
- Self defense was not considered when deciding upon punishment.
- The other individual involved in the incident who, according to Allen, punched Allen first received no punishment.
- The other individual changed his story multiple times. Allen did not.
- The other individual did not appear and give testimony at the hearings.
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Syracuse Football: Orange is on a big recruiting roll with its 2024 class (itlh; Fiello)
Flashback to Monday, May 15th…a day that Syracuse football got three portal transfers in one day (and basketball even got one, too).
A little over one month later, on Monday, June 26th, Syracuse football got three verbal commitments from 2024 high school recruits in one day as well. Hard to hate Mondays like those.
So let’s take a moment to introduce the three new Orange football verbal commitments with their official tweet acknowledging their choosing Syracuse University.
Syracuse football had a terrific Monday on the recruiting trail.
Ta’ron Haile
Michael Matthews-Canty
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Keeping Up With The 315 6-27-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Brian Higgins starts the show discussing the most recent Syracuse football news, with RB LeQuint Allen suspended for the season and currently appealing. Brian then makes a comparison from Allen to another Orange football player of year’s past in terms of a similar suspension. Finally, listeners call in to discuss the frustrating stretch for the Mets and more on the LeQuint Allen situation.
Mario Sacco "The 315" 6-27-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
News Channel 9’s Mario Sacco joins the show to chime in on the LeQuint Allen situation and suspension. Mario shares what he’s learned from the reporter side of things and what this could mean for the Orange moving forward.
Millville Football Standout Ta’Ron Haile Makes his College Decision (ESPN; Gill)
The Millville football program continues to place players to continue their careers at the next level. The team is sending three-star pass catcher Ta’Ron Haile to play football at Syracuse Univerity the wide receiver announced via social media on Monday night.
I will be committing to Syracuse University!!! @CoachBabersCuse @CoachDT_Cuse @WRCoachmj @CuseFootball pic.twitter.com/1oD1i0BKQi
— Ta’Ron Haile || 3️ (@taronh80) June 26, 2023
The 6-foot-1 wideout caught 48 passes for 680 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games as a junior in 2022. He is one of numerous former Thunderbolts that have gone on to play at the collegiate level in recent years, including current Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen and former Millville head coach Dennis Thomas who is now the director of high school relations for the Orange.
He chose Syracuse over schools like Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/recruiting/taron-haile-finds-right-fit-at-syracuse (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse football landed a commitment from class of 2024 Millville (NJ) High wide receiver Ta'Ron Haile on Monday. The talented wideout says his decision was based on the best fit.
"It was just the right choice for me," Haile said. "I feel like I will be a great fit on their team with what they do."
During the recruiting process, Syracuse offered Haile back in May of 2022. The Orange stayed in contact ever since and that culminated with an official visit earlier this month. It was during that visit that Haile realized he wanted to be Orange.
"It was when I took my official visit that I knew that was the place I wanted to go," Haile said. "When I was there, speaking with the coaches and players, and just got to see what the environment was like at Syracuse. That's when I knew."
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ACC News
ACC football 2023: Best and worst case scenarios for every team (247sports.com; Crawford)
Expect the unexpected across the ACC football schedule, a slate that includes several must-see matchups in conference play and outside of the league. And as far as best and worst scenarios are concerned for every team, there are several programs in the upper tier capable of being in College Football Playoff contention heading into November, including one who hasn't appeared in the four-team postseason since inception.
Non-conference schedules are not created equal for every team and Notre Dame is included on several ACC slates. There are also a few teams whose preseason projected win totals are a bit worrisome, but these best case projection should bring hope to those fanbases in the middle of the conference.
The ACC's never been a two-bid league in the playoff, but that will change when the system expands to 12 in 2024 given how well Florida State and Miami are performing in recruiting and the transfer portal.
Coinciding with final record predictions for every ACC team, here is a look at each program's best — and worst case — scenarios entering 2023.
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
Best case scenario: 7-5, 5-3Worst case: 3-9, 1-7
Predicting what happens: Can Brent Key push Georgia Tech to a bowl game? That's the immediate goal for a program in transition. It may come down to a challenging November stretch to end the campaign which includes top 10s Clemson and Georgia over the final three weeks. Keep an eye on the opener in Atlanta against Louisville. Georgia Tech played Clemson tough for 2.5 quarters in a similar setting last year before bowing out in the second half.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Best case scenario: 9-3, 5-3Worst case: 6-6, 3-5
Predicting what happens: Pat Narduzzi's team is often underrated this time of year in the ACC when most of the preseason jargon revolves around schools with an elite quarterback and higher-profile talent. Pitt's non-conference slate is brutal, but kudos to the Panthers for scheduling Cincinnati, West Virginia and Notre Dame (as if the ACC grouping isn't tough enough). Pitt misses Miami and Clemson at least.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Best case scenario: 8-4, 4-4Worst case: 4-8, 2-6
Predicting what happens: Jeff Hafley knows he needs to win in 2023. His teams are scrappy, but the wins have not been there consistently. Close, tough-to-stomach losses need to turn into big-time victories at some point and there's opportunities for those in 2023 against Florida State and others. The first road game of the season might be the most important matchup on the slate (at Louisville). The good news, this is arguably the most favorable schedule Hafley has faced up to this point.
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
Best case scenario: 9-3, 5-3Worst case: 5-7, 3-5
Predicting what happens: Dave Clawson is one of the ACC's most respected coaches, but there is no Sam Hartman this time around to bail Wake Forest out if the defense fails to perform. And with Clemson, Florida State, Duke and Notre Dame on the schedule, there's plenty of opposing teams with much firepower to douse the Demon Deacons' flames. This final record will be telling for Wake Forest with its leader offensively.
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS
Best case scenario: 6-6, 4-4Worst case: 4-8, 2-6
Predicting what happens: This could be an ugly season for Tony Elliott and the Cavaliers. There are holes on this roster at key positions and there's no room to breathe early with Tennessee, James Madison, Maryland and NC State to play in September. For a team in need of something positive to happen, that's a potential 0-4 start. Getting to bowl eligibility should be the immediate goal in the coming years for a program in transition.
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Best case scenario: 8-4, 4-4
Worst case: 6-6, 2-6
Predicting what happens: There are several toss-up games against bottom-tier opponents that will determine bowl eligibility. The ACC is a top-heavy conference and no one's going to argue that point. You're not going to find another team in the league with three tougher games — consecutively — than what the Orange face in October. Syracuse could go 4-0 in the non-conference without much issue if it's able to take out Purdue away from the Carrier Dome.
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Links - Syracuse edition - 2023 June 27th (RX; HM)
Links - Syracuse edition - 2023 June 27th
I didn't set out to write a Syracuse-oriented links, it just sort of happened that way...
__________
Yahoo! Sports says the LSU had to vacate all wins between 2012 and 2015. That means that the LSU victory in the dome at Syracuse officially doesn't count! Leonard Fournett didn't really run roughshod over the Orange, and the 'Cuse finished 4-7 that season, rather than 4-8 (hey, not counting a loss is not the same as a win!)
__________
Speaking of the Orange, Fansided says Syracuse recently landed one of top QBs left in 2024 college football recruiting class.
Orange football traditionally has performed well when it has a good quarterback.
__________
Finally, did you realize that this Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Syracuse and Pitt joining the ACC? Happy anniversary!
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BREAKING: NCAA Showdown with States (RX; HM)
BREAKING: NCAA Showdown with States
The inevitable Day of Reckoning is high for the NCAA and State Lawmakers...
If it's just a case of "state law permits" and "NCAA legislation prohibits", this might be enforceable.
However, what happens when state law mandates an action that the NCAA forbids?
This, as they say, is "fixing to get real"! The question I have: will this force the Federal Government to step in and provide uniform guidelines across all states? If so, this would be a win for the NCAA - regardless of what those laws require, IMO (at least everyone would be on the same playing field - level or not). Right now some are on the mountaintops, some are in the valleys, and some are out to sea...
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2023 Inbound Portal Transfers (RX; HM)
2023 Inbound Portal Transfers
"Incoming wormhole!"
From Athlon Sports: College Football Transfer Portal: Team-by-Team Additions for 2023
Here are the ACC transfers (in):
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Rx: 2013 To Do List - Final Grade (RX; HM)Rx: 2013 To Do List - Final Grade
It's been 10 years since I put together a To Do list for the ACC [LINK].
How have they done so far?
I reviewed the league's progress after 5 years and had to give out some incompletes [LINK].
Let's take one more look at that list and see if they finally got it done...
7 Things on the ACC's To Do List
1. Launch an ACC TV Network
Goal: match coverage and revenue with other leagues.DONE (LATE)
The ACC Network reportedly paid out over $9 million per school last fiscal year, and will almost certainly show an increase when this fiscal year's numbers are in thanks to full distribution through Comcast. I took off points for being late, so A-minus.
2. Replace Chick-fil-A bowl
Reason: the ACC lost its #2 bowl to the playoffs; it must be replaced with a quality #2.SATISFACTORY
I'm calling this satisfacotry because of the return of the Gator Bowl - the traditional bowl host of the ACC football champion, now a lower-tier bowl but still well respected and loved by fans. Oh, and did I mention that Jacksonville is in the process of getting a major stadium upgrade, too? B+.
3. Secure 9 to 10 bowl tie-ins
Reason: figure on needing bowl spots for ND + at least 8 more.EXCEEDED. The ACC will now have 11 total bowl tie-ins for the next 6 years. A+.
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Stewart Mandel's preseason All-Geezer team is back (theathletic.com; $; Mandel)
My decision in 2021 to turn a long-running mailbag bit about “eighth-year seniors” into an official preseason team arose out of the COVID-19 pandemic, as droves of players took advantage of the free year of eligibility. But the material has grown even richer, thanks first to immediate eligibility for transfers and now name, image and likeness.
Because it’s unlikely that star quarterbacks like Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. would have put off the NFL for a year if not for their ability to get paid in college.
In fact, I easily could have filled the entire 2023 offense with recognizable quarterbacks entering their fifth (Bo Nix) or sixth (JT Daniels) seasons. Instead, I had to make some difficult cuts — like Penix himself.
(Note: I picked 11 players on offense and defense but did not put limits on each position.)
Offense
QB: JT Daniels, Rice (co-captain)
First season of college football: 2018Another year, another school for Daniels, one of three repeat selections on this season’s list. It has been a rocky road for the former five-star recruit, from starting as a true freshman at USC to losing his job at Georgia to Stetson Bennett to getting benched late last season at West Virginia. Here’s hoping he takes the AAC by storm in what allegedly will be his final go-around in college.
QB: Bo Nix, Oregon
First season of college football: 2019Back in spring 2021, Nix, then entering Year 3 at Auburn, inspired a satirical meme: “This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense.” Then he transferred to Oregon, and 2022 finally was his year with 72 percent completions, 4,103 yards of offense and 44 total touchdowns. At that point, many assumed he would take his shot at the NFL, but nope, he’s back, and if he stays healthy, he could reach at least 60 career starts.
QB: Garrett Shrader, Syracuse
First season of college football: 2019The late Mike Leach was still a year away from becoming the coach of Mississippi State when Shrader, then a true freshman, became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback for four games. Known at the time primarily as a runner, Shrader was of little use to Leach, transferring in 2021 to Syracuse, where he threw for 4,085 yards and ran for 1,234 during the past two seasons. Now he aims to lift the Orange to back-to-back bowl berths.
QB: Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
First season of college football: 2018On Sept. 22, 2018, a young Notre Dame quarterback named Ian Book made his second career start at Wake Forest, winning 56-27. Wake’s quarterback that day? True freshman Sam Hartman. Both went on to smash career records for their programs. But whereas Book is already entering his third season in the NFL, Hartman will be back for yet another Wake-Notre Dame game this season — this time as the opposing starter on Nov. 18.
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Hokie Football in Transition: Dealing with Talent, Winning, and Merger Attractiveness (gobblercountry.com; Schneider)
We looked at the first two issues within the program, Fixing the Coaching and Fixing the Offense. After a quick trip into the ACC’s unknown future, it’s time to go back to the Hokies and see how that fits in, and what sort of leverage the program will have given the realities of the re-alignments underway.
The Updated Talent Equation – NIL Looms
It’s a given that a healthy winning program with a solid recruiting conveyor and a competitive edge will be more attractive in a merger or conference jump situation, than something that looks like a low audience draw cupcake. The quest for talent is never ending and has now been complicated further by a new variable in the equation, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) player payments.Let’s revisit the Talent formula from the Twilight series of the Summer of 2020. The pre-NIL formula for a program’s Talent attractiveness was: (Money+Prestige) NFL Draft potential=Talent. Well, there has to be a way to figure in NIL money going to specific players the trick is where does that fit in when trying to attract the higher levels of talent from either the portal or high school. We do account for Money, which is the wealth of the entire program, and Prestige which is the history/winning thing, but figuring in the individual player’s NIL compensation is difficult, and frankly will probably trump the remainder of the equation if the coin is large enough. For now, because the NIL factor could be big enough to make it a multiplicative like NFL Draft Potential. So, we’ll modify the formula according to that pattern and make it look like some ominous Algebra 2 quadratic equation from the distant past.
The new formula will be: (Money+Prestige) (NIL+NFL Draft Potential) = Talent
There is no point in flip flopping variables around looking for the simplified equation, we’ll just stick to the factors.
The reality for the non-math minded is that NIL is going to drive much of the best talent to programs that have or can arrange the best NIL deals. To say otherwise is casting offerings to the gods of sports into a hurricane. It’s all about the Benjamin’s in this one, and the 4- and especially 5-star talent is going to go make money. Even in high school there are kids being offered NIL consideration. The Virginia High School League has had to formulate a policy regarding the practice.
What’s the upshot of the parade through the professionalization of college athletics, in particular football (and to a lesser extent basketball)? The chase is a self-reinforcing feedback loop that moves in the direction of the talent flow.
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Bryce Baker, Class of 2025 blue-chip QB prospect, announces ACC commitment - Saturday Road (saturdayroad.com; Stone)
Bryce Baker, a Class of 2025 quarterback out of Kernersville, North Carolina, announced Tuesday that he has committed to North Carolina to continue his football career.
Baker represents North Carolina’s first commitment of the 2025 class, and a strong one at that. The 6-3, 185 pound dual-threat QB is rated as the No. 15 quarterback in the country in the 2025 cycle.
He held an impressive offer list, too. Baker chose the Tar Heels over offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Duke, Maryland and Louisville, to name a few.
Baker is considered to be the No. 224 player in the country, as well as the No. 6 player out of the state of North Carolina, in addition to his top 15 QB status per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Below is his highlight tape, via Hudl:
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Will BYU football be more like Utah or Rutgers when it jumps to the Power Five level? (deseret.com; Judd)
The college football landscape changed significantly more than a decade ago, when over a four-year period, 12 schools either moved up to a Power Five conference or changed power conferences.
The past decade-plus of results for those 12 programs paints a foreboding image of what may lie ahead for the next wave of teams that will be switching leagues at the Power Five level.
That will include BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston moving up to the P5 level this Saturday when they officially join the Big 12 Conference.
Next year, bluebloods will be changing conferences — USC and UCLA are heading from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, while Texas and Oklahoma switch from the Big 12 to the SEC.
The question for BYU is, how quickly will it acclimate to a heightened level of competition?
Will the Cougars — who are moving from being an independent program to a long-awaited spot in a power conference — be more like in-state rival Utah, or like Rutgers?
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https://athlonsports.com/college-football/bowl-projections-2023 (athlonsports.com; Lassan)
The 2023-24 bowl schedule features 41 overall games, plus the CFB Playoff National Championship, and Athlon Sports is here with complete projections and predictions for all of the matchups. While the season doesn’t get underway until late August, it’s never too early to take a peek at what the bowl games could look like at its conclusion.
The postseason officially begins on Dec. 16 with six matchups and continues until Jan. 8 with the national championship at NRG Stadium in Houston. The semifinals for the College Football Playoff take place on Jan. 1 this year, with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl hosting the matchups.
A few tie-ins and dates are unsettled for bowl games as of late June. However, nearly all of the necessary information regarding the 2023-24 bowl schedule has been released. Projections will be updated as needed this offseason and again during the year.
How will the postseason matchups look by December? Below are Athlon Sports' predictions for every bowl and playoff game in 2023-24:
College Football Bowl Projections for 2023-24
Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: Conference USA vs. MACProjection: Louisiana Tech vs. Ohio
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: Conference USA vs. Sun BeltProjection: Liberty vs. Troy
Cure Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: AAC/C-USA/MAC/Sun BeltProjection: FAU vs. UConn
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: Conference USA vs. Mountain WestProjection: New Mexico State vs. Wyoming
LA Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: Mountain West vs. Pac-12Projection: Boise State vs. Arizona
Independence Bowl (Dec. 16)
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. Pac-12Projection: UCF vs. Southern Miss*
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 18)
Tie-In: AAC/C-USA/MAC/Sun BeltProjection: Appalachian State vs. Middle Tennessee
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19)
Tie-In: AAC/C-USA/MAC/Sun BeltProjection: BYU vs. Air Force
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 21)
Tie-In: AAC/C-USA/MAC/Sun BeltProjection: South Alabama vs. UTSA
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 22)
Tie-In: SEC vs. ACC/AmericanProjection: Auburn vs. NC State
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: SEC vs. American/ACCProjection: Mississippi State vs. Marshall*
Camellia Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: MAC vs. Sun BeltProjection: Toledo vs. Coastal Carolina
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: American/C-USA vs. Big 12Projection: Western Kentucky vs. Kansas
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: MAC vs. Mountain WestProjection: Miami (Ohio) vs. Fresno State
68 Ventures Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: MAC vs. Sun BeltProjection: Northern Illinois vs. Georgia Southern
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. Pac-12Projection: Iowa vs. Oregon
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 23)
Tie-In: American Athletic Conference vs. Mountain WestProjection: SMU vs. San Jose State
Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 26)
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. MACProjection: Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26)
Tie-In: Big 12/AAC/C-USAProjection: Baylor vs. North Texas
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 26)
Tie-In: Big Ten vs. Big 12Projection: Maryland vs. Texas Tech
Military Bowl (Dec. 27)
Tie-In: ACC vs. AmericanProjection: Wake Forest vs. East Carolina
Duke's Mayo Bowl (Dec. 27)
Tie-In: ACC vs. SECProjection: Pitt vs. Kentucky
Texas Bowl (Dec. 27)
Tie-In: Big 12 vs. SECProjection: TCU vs. Texas A&M
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 28)
Tie-In: ACC vs. AmericanProjection: Syracuse vs. Memphis
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28)
Tie-In: ACC vs. Big TenProjection: Louisville vs. Nebraska
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The B1G 10: Expansion hinges on timing of Pac-12, ACC implosions. It's 'when?', not 'if' (saturdaytradition.com; Hayes)
1. The B1G Story
From the moment the Big Ten rolled out the Flex Protect schedule, expansion became the next inevitable move.The only variable is time. And the potential implosion of the Pac-12.
The Flex Protect schedule, conference officials say, allows the Big Ten more flexibility in the 2024 schedule and beyond. But how far beyond?
A year from now, when USC and UCLA are officially on the 2024 Big Ten letterhead, the future of the conference could already be on the way to radical change.
Understand this: the Big Ten won’t raid the Pac-12 until it’s abundantly clear the conference already has been mortally wounded. Those are the clear marching orders from the conference university presidents, a Big Ten athletic director told Saturday Tradition.
In other words, the Big Ten won’t be the reason the Pac-12 falls apart. But it will pick up pieces if/when it does.
That means Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff wields a heavy hand in the future of college sports. Can he find a television and/or streaming partner(s) to pay enough for a multi-year media rights deal that will hold together the current 10 members of the Pac-12?
Kliavkoff has blown through at least 2 soft deadlines without a specific deal for the Pac-12 presidents. Meanwhile, the Big 12 has its sights on the 4 corner schools (Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State).
Colorado AD Rick George says the university “will do what’s right for Colorado.” Arizona president Robert Robbins told Sports Illustrated he hopes a Pac-12 media rights deal “will be good enough to keep us together.”
Silent impatience or public hedging, it has been an uneasy summer in the Pac-12.
If the new media rights deal isn’t good enough — in Robbins’ words — to keep the Pac-12 together, the first to move will likely be Colorado. After that, it may look a whole lot like the free player movement orchestrated by the NCAA not so long ago.
That’s where the Big Ten comes into play.
2. TV market isn’t the answer
The dynamics and logistics of the USC and UCLA additions go far beyond football....
Other
PS
We’ll be breathing Canada wildfire smoke in Upstate NY yet again (PS; Coin)
Smoke from wildfires burning out of control in Canada will drift back into Upstate New York for a third time this season.
The state health and environmental conservation departments have issued an air quality health advisory all day Wednesday for Western and Central New York.
The worst air quality Wednesday is expected in Western New York. The state says the air there will be “unhealthy,” which means it could cause itchy eyes and respiratory problems even for people who are relatively healthy.
For Central New York, the air is likely to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” which means people with heart and lung conditions should avoid being outside.
The smoke won’t be as thick as what we inhaled the first week of June, when air in Central New York was considered hazardous, the highest warning level.
This time, Upstate New York will be breathing what is essentially second-hand smoke: The particles drifting our way on Wednesday aren’t coming directly from Canada, but indirectly from the Midwest. At one point today, Chicago and Detroit had the worst air quality in the world, according to the international ranking site iqair.com.
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Upstate NY college says janitor destroyed 20 years of research while cleaning lab (PS; $; TNS)
An Upstate New York university has filed a $1 million lawsuit against a cleaning company after the school said a janitor in a lab accidentally destroyed more than 20 years of scientific research, according to a lawyer.
An employee of Daigle Cleaning Systems was cleaning a laboratory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy on Sept. 17, 2020, when he shut off a circuit breaker that provided electricity to a freezer, says the lawsuit, which was filed June 16.
The freezer was holding cell cultures and samples that needed to be stored at minus 80 degrees Celsius, or minus 112 Fahrenheit, according to the lawsuit. A fluctuation of 3 degrees could damage or destroy the samples, the lawsuit says.
On Sept. 14, 2020, an alarm was triggered because the temperature inside the freezer rose to minus 78 Celsius, according to the lawsuit. Researchers responded and determined that the samples hadn’t been harmed.
Repair workers could not respond to service the freezer until Sept. 21, 2020, according to the lawsuit, but in the meantime, the freezer’s alarm continued beeping.
Researchers at the lab took precautions to try to make sure no one tampered with the freezer while they waited for it be repaired, according to the lawsuit. They put a lock box over the freezer’s outlet and socket and posted a sign on the freezer door asking that it not be moved or unplugged, according to the lawsuit.
The janitor later said that while he was cleaning the lab on the night of Sept. 17, 2020, he heard “annoying alarms” and thought something was wrong, an incident report included in the lawsuit says. He went into an electrical box to make sure everything was okay and accidentally turned off “important breakers,” the lawsuit says.
This caused the freezer to shut off and the internal temperature to rise to minus 32 degrees Celsius, the lawsuit says.
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