sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,740
- Like
- 111,863
Welcome to Juneteenth!
Although Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, it was not until after the war was over that slaves became free in Texas, possibly because the Proclamation could not be enforced there, or because news of the Proclamation had not been spread there. The war ended in April of 1865, but word did not reach Texas until the following month, and it was not until June that the Confederate Army in the area surrendered. On June 19th, Union General Gordon Granger read "General Order No. 3" in Galveston, which said all slaves were free. The next year freed slaves began celebrating not only the proclamation, but the freeing of all slaves in general, and gave the day the name Juneteenth. Over time the celebrations spread to other parts of the country. During the Great Migrations after World War I and World War II, when large amounts of African Americans moved north, they brought Juneteenth traditions with them. Although this helped spread the holiday, in some cases it made it harder for people to celebrate, as it was harder to take time off from work during the week at urban factory jobs than farm jobs. Juneteenth celebrations also were given a boost after the 1968 Poor People's March, when returning attendees brought the tradition back to their communities. By the 1980's and 1990's, Juneteenth celebrations were prevalent all around the country, and almost all states now recognize the day in some way. As of 2021, it has been recognized as a federal holiday.
SU News
'Cuse Q&A with Syracuse Football Legend Donovan McNabb | Syracuse University (youtube; videol Syracuse University)
Offensive lineman Enrique Cruz '25 sat down with Donovan McNabb '98 to talk about the football star's time at Syracuse University, their hometown of Chicago, advice for the future and more!
Recruits, recruits, and more recruits for Syracuse (orangefizz.net; Shalam)
This past weekend was hectic for Syracuse football, hosting nine players on official visits in the 315. On top of that, SU also gained two more commitments from the class of 2025 in the last two days. So who are these new faces that head coach Fran Brown is bringing into the program? Let’s take a look into who these new players are, and the impact they will or could have in Syracuse going forward.
WR-Tyler Williams 2025 (Uncommitted)
Williams is a four-star recruit out of Seffiner, Florida, and took his official visit to Syracuse this past weekend. The wideout is already a highly touted prospect, receiving offers from Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and Syracuse. Williams was more than happy following his visit saying, “The weekend was great, got to spend a lot of time with a great coaching staff and see the family Syracuse is.” in regards to his official visit.
DE-Quante Gillians 2025 (Committed)
Syracuse picked up another local product this past weekend with Gillians committing to the program. Gillians, who is from Rochester, New York, picked Syracuse over Michigan State, SMU, and Pitt among others. The lineman is rated three stars by 247 Sports and is ranked as sixth sixth-best player in the state of New York in the class of 2025.
K/P Scott Starzyk 2025 (Uncommitted)
Now I know you must be thinking, why is a kicker on this list of top recruits? Well, Starzyk comes on as the top-rated kicker/punter in the nation for the class of 2025. The Woodlands, Texas native currently has notable offers from Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State among others. Starzyk said “as great getting up to @CuseFootball for my OV!! Great people who are going to make something big happen here!” Starzyk would be a huge get for Brown, and would further show that SU can compete with top-level SEC schools for the best recruits.
DB Rayshon Andrews 2025 (Committed)
Andrews is a guy who committed to SU after taking his official visit to the 315 this past weekend. The Avon Old Farms product is rated three stars by 247 Sports and had offers from BC, Akron, Bowling Green, and UMass before picking Syracuse. Andrews looks to make an instant impact for the squad in 2025, being ranked as the 13th-best player in Connecticut by 247 Sports.
Virginia Tech football to face QB transfer poised to silence critics in 2024 (fightinggobbler.com; Roche)
Once again, each team in the ACC, aside from Clemson, made some big transfer portal additions for the 2024 season. Miami added Washington State transfer Cam Ward at quarterback and Florida State added former Clemson and Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei to keep the Seminoles one of the conference favorites entering the season.
Syracuse hired Fran Brown as their next head coach and the former Georgia defensive backs coach added a new signal caller for the Orange in Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord. The former Buckeyes QB has a lot to prove for his new team this season one national college football writer thinks he is poised to silence the critics.
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord looking to rebound with the Orange in 2024
The month of November is going to be a big month in terms of scheduling for Virginia Tech. The Hokies will open the month in the Dome against the Orange and will be facing a very tough assignment in McCord and the new-look Syracuse offense. By then, he'll be two months into the season and looking to cement his place in the NFL Draft next April.
Over the last decade-plus, Syracuse has only had two winning seasons, but that should change this season under Brown and McCord. Last season for Ohio State, he threw for over 3,000 yards and had a 24-6 touchdown to interception ratio, and after two months under his belt with his new team, the Hokies will be facing a daunting task on the road in November at the Done in New York.
Syracuse football 2024 opponent preview: Stanford Cardinal (TNIAAM; Ostrowski)
The Syracuse Orange and college football teams all over the country will receive two byes this season (the way it should always be), and after taking an early breather following the ACC opener against Georgia Tech, SU will welcome an opponent to the Dome confines for the first time. And not just any opponent: one of the new additions to the definitely-not-just-Atlantic Coast Conference.
It's a matchup spanning over 2,800 miles, featuring a battle between the world's greatest and most disturbing mascots... oh and programs with suspiciously similar logos.
Stanford Cardinal
School: Stanford UniversityNickname: Cardinal
Mascots: The Stanford Tree (unofficial/band)
#BRAND Slogans: #GoStanford, "The Home of Champions"
Alternate #BRAND Slogan Suggestions: #PlantOurRoots, "Pioneering since Pop Warner" or "They really used to play the Super Bowl anywhere, huh?"
Conference:
History vs. Syracuse: This will be the first ever "Battle for the Block 'S'" as both teams have rarely traveled to the opposite coast.
Coach: Troy Taylor, second season. Formerly a QB for Cal and the New York Jets, Taylor got his first shot at leading an FBS program last fall. He previously led Sacramento State to three consecutive Big Sky titles with a combined 23-1 conference record. His first assistant positions were at Berkeley in the late 90s, and he also spent eight years coaching high school football in Sac-town.
2023 Record: 3-9 (2-7)
Recapping Last Season:
You know it's a grueling year when a team doesn't win in front of their own fans a single time. Losing to Taylor's old Sacramento team in the home opener was a sign of things to come, as the Cardinal's brief time in the national spotlight for beating Coach Prime's Colorado in Double OT was overshadowed by many miserable Saturdays on the Stanford campus. They did win both Friday night games though, the other being at Hawai'i to start the season.
The Stanford offense was... unusual. It's not that they never tried to run the ball, they just couldn't with any success - so much so that by the end of the season, the unit as a whole attempted more passes than rushes. Former Orange Quarterback Justin Lamson acted as a gadget guy, actually leading the team in rushing yards with 334 and adding another 504 through the air. Main QB Ashton Daniels had over 2,500 total yards and 14 overall touchdowns to eight interceptions, but both guys got hammered a combined 41 times in the backfield. The one standout was freshman Elic Ayomanor. After missing all of 2022 with injury, he exploded for a thousand-yard receiving season with six sixes.
...
Syracuse football continues expanding Class of 2025, adds one of Connecticut’s top players (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football’s Class of 2025 added its 23rd member Monday night.
Rayshon Andrews, a 3-star cornerback from Connecticut, announced his commitment via social media. He made an official visit to SU this past weekend.
Andrews also had offers from Penn State, Rutgers and Boston College, which he also made an official visit to, among other smaller programs.
At 6-foot-3.5 and 180 pounds, Andrews is the No. 13 player from his home state and No. 107 cornerback in the class per the 247Sports Composite.
Andrews plays for Avon Old Farms, a prep boarding school in Avon, Connecticut. The team finished 7-3 last season.
The Orange’s 2025 recruiting class is currently No. 15 nationally and No. 2 in the ACC behind Clemson.
Though SU has 10 more commits than the Tigers, 10 of Clemson’s commits are 4-stars compared to just one 4-star currently in Syracuse’s class. The 247Sports Composite rankings weigh both quantity and quality in a class.
...
Syracuse football recruiting: 2025 CB Rayshon Andrews commits to the Orange (TNIAAM; Wall)
The Syracuse Orange picked up their 23rd verbal commitment for 2025 on Monday. Avon Old Farms cornerback Rayshown Andrews picked Syracuse over offers from Penn State, Boston College and Oregon State.
The 6’4” 190lb Andrews was tabbed by On3 as a “rising prospect” in the class. According to Andrews, his official visit over the weekend was all he needed to make his commitment, even with a visit to Penn State looming. He told On3’s Steve Wilfong that he liked the energy of Fran Brown and his staff
Andrews is currently rated as a three-star recruit and 247 has him as the 13th best player in Connecticut in his class. Like a lot of Fran Brown’s skill position recruits, Andrews also excels on the track as he clocked a time of 22.2 in the 200m and recorded a long jump of 22’ 5.75” this spring.
Here’s a look at Andrews on the football field last fall:
pafootballnews.com
Get to Know Your Orange Man: #57, OL Da’Metrius Weatherspoon (TNIAAM; Wall)
It’s time to start preparing for the 2024 Syracuse Orange football season. We’re going through the roster to take a look at each Syracuse player as we get to know a lot of new faces to kick off the Fran Brown Era.
Up next is…
Name: Da’Metrius Weatherspoon
Position: Offensive lineman
Year: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 335 lbs.
Hometown: Clairton, PA
High School: Clairton
Previous College: Howard
2023 stats: Weatherspoon started 11 games at Right Tackle for Howard last year, earning a 77.4 overall blocking grade from PFF. He was named HBCU All-American.
2024 projections: He’s going to be pushing for one of the starting tackle spots after arriving in time for spring ball. If he can lock down the position, it could allow the Orange to have flexibility to move one of the other tackles to guard this summer.
...
Mike McAllister "The 315" 6-18-24 (ESPN; radio; the 315)
247 Sports publisher Mike McAllister joins Brian Higgins to discuss some of the players who recently committed to Syracuse football, which 4-star visitors from this past weekend could end up in Orange, whether or not Adrian Autry is done adding to the 2024 men's basketball roster, and more
Amanda Christovich "The 315" 6-18-24 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Amanda Christovich from Front Office Sports joins Brian Higgins to discuss some of the latest college athletics talking points including the Big 12 exploring a private equity deal, bowl games paying players NIL money, and more.
Keeping Up With The 315 6-18-24 (soundcloud.com; radio; the 315)
Brian discusses Syracuse football's newest commit, previews tonight's Orange matchup in the Salt City Pro-Am, and looks back on other Syracuse players to play in the NBA Finals.
Re-grading Syracuse football's 2020 class: Who's overvalued, undervalued or met expectations? (youtube; podcast; Axe)
On the latest episode of Syracuse Sports, Brent Axe and Emily Leiker re-grade the Syracuse Football recruiting class of 2020, which includes names like Sean Tucker, Justin Barron, Marlowe Wax, Stefon Thompson, Trebor Pena and Damien Alford.Who was overvalued, undervalued, met expectations or just plain fell off the map?
Splash hire signals big changes ahead for UTEP Football (theprospectordaily.com; Guajardo)
UTEP Football has once again taken a significant step towards a brighter future in the Sun City.
UTEP Football Head Coach, Scotty Walden, announced on June 7 that Gino Gigliotti had been hired as the Miner’s new Director of Player Personnel after spending the last three seasons at Syracuse University, a former Power Five school. Previously, Power Five was a collection of conferences financially strong in the college sports landscape, however, it will be disbanded when the fiscal year ends on July 1.
“I am really excited to bring someone in with a wealth of experience in evaluation and recruiting like Gino,” Walden said. “He has worked his way up through the Division III ranks and up to Power Five. He understands what it takes to win at this level and bring in high-level talent year in and year out, but he also has that small college work ethic.”
Before his work at Syracuse University, Gigliotti got started as a student assistant coach for the Division III Cortland Red Dragons. There, he was charged with working with the cornerbacks, those that defend offensive passes, amongst other things, as well as breaking down all defensive film during film sessions.
From Cortland, Gigliotti was then brought on as a recruiting and video technology intern for Costal Carolina University, and in 2018, he served as a recruiting analyst. His responsibilities involved coordinating recruiting schedules for coaches, evaluating game film, assisting with official visits, and contributing to the maintenance of Chanticleer’s recruiting board.
Gigliotti joined the Syracuse recruiting staff in 2019. He quickly rose through the ranks, being promoted to recruiting quality control the following year. In 2022, he was promoted to Director of Recruiting, where he led the program in attracting the best student-athletes to the university.
For UTEP, the pairing of Coach Walden and Coach Gigliotti is a match made in heaven. With Syracuse, Gigliotti’s Orange teams were on the better half of national recruiting rankings year in and year out, and now, with a broad pipeline of connections, experience, and energy between the two coaches, the sky is seemingly the limit for a program that has arguably had the best offseason in program history to go along with arguably the best recruiting class in UTEP football history.
Miner fan Jaime Mota had nothing but excitement to share about Coach Gigliotti’s hiring.
“You can tell something big is brewing here, you know? It just feels like everything is moving in the right direction,” Mota said. “Whether it’s to make a name for themselves, like taking a not-so-good program and turning it into a winner, or whether they really want to build a legacy here, it just feels like there is good energy coming from this program for the first time in a long time.”
ACC News
Leon County Judge Sides With Florida State, Denies ACC's Multiple Motions To Dismiss (SI; Bakich)
In what appears to be a never-ending saga, the Atlantic Coast Conference journeyed to Leon County Court in Tallahassee for the latest hearing between the aforementioned party and Florida State University. FSU sued the ACC in late December.
During this hearing, Leon County Judge John C. Cooper denied the ACC’s motion to dismiss of three counts. The first of the three counts was the notion that FSU could not bring suit against the ACC in Florida. Judge Cooper initially granted this motion to dismiss this count with prejudice, allowing FSU to refile with the ability to amend its complaints.
The school wrote in its second amended complaint in May:
“FSU and the ACC argue this dispute is now very simple. The Court need only construe two contract provisions from two separate contracts to resolve it. First, under the Grant of Rights, whether the media rights to FSU’s home games after it leaves the ACC are ‘necessary’ for the ACC ‘to perform’ its ‘contractual obligations’ under the ESPN Agreement. Second, under Article 1.4.5 of the ACC Constitution, whether the self-described ‘liquidated damages’ ‘withdrawal payment’ ($140 million) is a penalty. Fortunately, the ACC concedes both,” the amendment stated.
Furthermore, Judge Cooper denied the ACC’s motions to dismiss counts two and three which included complaints surrounding the unenforceability of the $140 million exit fee and the notion that the ACC failed to follow its own bylaws, respectively.
However, according to Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times, the biggest head-turning moment came when Judge Cooper “emphasized the importance of mediation.” This is not the first time that the judge has brought it up in court.
“I know there is a possibility you might not settle,” Cooper said. “But sometimes mediations start a process that can ultimately lead to a settlement.”
As chatter surrounding the ACC and FSU continues to turn into rumblings, a settlement from mediation seems more and more likely.
This is a developing story.
...
ACC & SEC Sleeper Teams! | College GameDay Podcast (youtube; podcast; College Gameday)
On the latest episode of the College Gameday Podcast, Rece Davis and Pete Thamel discuss which ACC and SEC teams they think will outperform themselves this year - specifically, they look into NC State and if they can stop stepping on the rake, the embers of a possible Virginia Tech revival, Tennessee toeing the line at a playoff contention and more!
0:00 Welcome!
0:32 How Did Pete Celebrate The Celtics’ 18th NBA Title?
9:55 The Only Independents In FBS: UCONN & Notre Dame
11:08 Rece’s ACC Sleeper Team: NC State
12:31 Pete’s ACC Sleeper Teams: Syracuse & Boston College
24:46 Pete’s SEC Sleeper Team: Texas A&M
28:15 Rece’s SEC Sleeper Team: Tennessee
35:08 More On Celtics Celebration in Pete’s House
Predicting how many ACC teams will make the expanded College Football Playoffs (caneswarning.com; Fariss)
The College Football Playoffs are expanding to twelve teams, with the 5+7 structure giving five conference champions an automatic bid into the CFPs.
As power conferences reduce to four and the former Pac-12 programs join the ACC, Big Ten, or Big 12, teams are fighting for a spot in the first-ever 12-team playoffs.
So, which ACC teams will most likely earn a spot in the CFPs? Will the Miami Hurricanes finally earn a berth to the postseason? Will Clemson return to the playoffs after a short rut? Will Florida State earn redemption from last season’s disappointment?
11 Clemson Tigers
11-1 | ACC Runner-ups
Dabo Swinney has struggled to maintain the Tigers' once consistent dominance since the inception of the NIL.
However, Clemson will find itself near the top of the national rankings by the end of the upcoming season.
With a relatively easy regular season, the Tigers' only loss will be against the Georgia Bulldogs in their season opener. Clemson will fall to Florida State in the ACC Championships game but still earn their place in the CFPs.
8 Florida State Seminoles
10-2 | ACC Champions
The Florida State Seminoles are going to be out for blood in 2024 after being left out of the College Football Playoffs last season.
The Seminoles will go 10-2 in the regular season, with losses to Florida and Notre Dame in non-conference play, and will go on to defeat Clemson in the ACC Championship game.
FSU may not be a top-contender in the CFPs but the Seminoles will finally earn their place in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, Mario Cristobal and the Canes will once again fall short of the College Football Playoffs but maybe, just maybe, Miami can find itself a bowl game win at the end of next season.
...
You are being redirected... (sports360az.com; Wilner)
The Big 12 provided a double dose of news last week with revelations the conference could sell its naming rights to a corporate sponsor and an ownership stake to a private equity firm.
The twin developments come as no surprise. With his schools facing a massive revenue disparity relative to their peers in the SEC and Big Ten, commissioner Brett Yormark has been candid about pursuing every last dollar.
Even if his quest leads down unconventional paths.
Although no conference has sold its naming rights — and the prospect of what published reported have termed “The Allstate 12 Conference” is undeniably jarring — title sponsors are hardly foreign within an industry that spawned the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
But the private equity route is unprecedented. And potentially fraught.
As SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said recently: “In my experience, those involved in private equity want to be paid back.”
Selling ownership in the Big 12 is risky, especially for the percentage under consideration. According to CBS Sports, Yormark and the university presidents are mulling the sale of as much as 20 percent of the conference for $1 billion.
But you know what’s also risky? Not selling ownership.
The Big 12 cannot afford to get lapped by the SEC and Big Ten.
It cannot risk a not-so-slow fade into irrelevance fueled by tight budgets, limited resources and second-rate talent.
Football success is far too important — not because the presidents crave athletic glory but because they crave what athletic glory can provide: Unsurpassed marketing for the university writ large.
The enrollment apocalypse is coming, folks, and on-field success might be the most effective antidote.
“This is macro higher-education stuff driving some of these decisions by (presidents),” an industry source told the Hotline. “It’s pretty understandable through that lens.”
The macro picture for higher education is daunting, with the pool of college applicants expected to shrink starting in 2025 due to a decline in birth rates nationally.
The source of that decline: The Great Recession.
According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, fertility rates fell “more rapidly from 2007 through 2009 than for any 2-year period in more than 30 years.”
Add 18 years to the front edge of that decline, and you get the freshman class of 2025-26.
As a result, “the consensus view is that America will hit a peak of around 3.5 million high-school graduates sometime near 2025,” The Chronicle of Higher Education reported earlier this year.
“After that, the college-going population is expected to shrink across the next five to 10 years by as many as 15 percentage points.”
Connecting the dots from the Great Recession to the Big 12’s private equity play isn’t difficult. It’s simple supply and demand.
Colleges will compete for a shrinking pool of applicants, especially out-of-state students who pay full-cost tuition.
Every metric used in the admissions game will become more important: Membership in the Association of American Universities, placement in the U.S. News and World Report rankings and, of course, the acceptance rates that drive reputation and prestige.
Visibility will be essential in the quest for applicants and the lowering of acceptances.
No branch of the university is more visible than football. Nothing else attracts 50,000 people to campus. Nothing else draws millions of television viewers.
And no branch of the university offers a better return-on-investment.
“If a university gives $20 million to (subsidize) athletics, people are aghast,” another source said. “But what if you don’t give that $20 million to athletics and instead you put it directly to university marketing?
...
But do they really watch CFB? (RX; HM)
But do they really watch CFB?
I found this interactive map of CFB TV viewership by state or region or metro area:
I've used that data to create a subset table of just the ACC-related areas. I've also multiplied out the TV households by the percent who say they like college football to get an estimate of how many serious football fans there are in each area, sorted by the number of households who like college football:
| Television Households | %Who Like CFB | # Who Like CFB | State | School(s) |
| 10.7 M | 12.22% | 1.31 M | Texas | SMU |
| 3.97 M | 19.37% | 0.77 M | Georgia | Ga Tech |
| 3.88 M | 18.54% | 0.72 M | N. Carolina | Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake |
| 2.08 M | 24.88% | 0.52 M | S. Carolina | Clemson |
| 1.68 M | 22.88% | 0.38 M | Kentucky | Louisville |
| 2.03 M | 11.64% | 0.24 M | Virginia | UVa, Va Tech |
| Television Households | %Who Like CFB | # Who Like CFB | Area | School(s) |
| 1.38 M | 25.83% | 0.36 M | N. Florida | FSU |
| 2.60 M | 5.09% | 0.13 M | S. Florida | Miami |
| 1.83 M | 7.00% | 0.13 M | Upstate NY | Syracuse |
| 2.59 M | 4.82% | 0.12 M | Bay Area | Cal, Stanford |
| 1.75 M | 4.82% | 0.08 M | No. Cal. | * see below |
| Television Households | %Who Like CFB | # Who Like CFB | City | School(s) |
| 7.73 M | 3.16% | 0.24 M | NYC | * see below |
| 2.62 M | 8.13% | 0.21 M | Washington DC | * see below |
| 1.17 M | 11.39% | 0.13 M | Pittsburgh | Pitt |
| 2.60 M | 3.00% | 0.08 M | Boston | BC |
Texas, Georgia and North Carolina are all both populous and interested in football. South Carolina is less populous but even more football-crazy, and Kentucky is similar, followed by Virginia.
North Florida (think FSU) is another good area - fewer people, but more rabid. Miami has more people but they're less into [American] football. Upstate NY and the San Francisco Bay Area, along with Northern California, are all mid-level TV markets for CFB.
New York City has more total people than most ACC footprint states, yet the low CFB percentage knocks the Big Apple down below NoCal. Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh have much better fandom percentages, even though they are smaller. Finally, Boston brings up the rear, with the lowest CFB% and not enough people to make up for it.
_____
Do you enjoy reading this blog? Check out how you can support us.
3 teams Penn State football should play a home-and-home against (victorybellrings.com; Yourish)
Penn State will kick off its 2024 season in Morgantown, wrapping up a home-and-home series with longtime rival West Virginia. With conference expansion to include 18 teams in the Big Ten, there isn’t much space to fit in meaningful non-conference games in 2025 the Nittany Lions have Nevada, FIU, and Villanova lined up, three teams they’ve played one total game against, beating FIU 59-0 in 2007.
With Oregon, Washington, and USC, already established as national powerhouse programs, navigating the Big Ten slate is only going to get tougher, so a rekindling an old rivalry against Pitt, like Penn State did from 2016-19 wouldn’t make much sense, but playing these three teams that have a bit of history and less risk of ruining a College Football Playoff bid, like little brother did in 2016, could.
3. Temple
MATCHUPOWLS
4
NITTANY LIONS
40
(1 tie)
Penn State and Temple last played in 2016 and while it may not feel like a heated rivalry, the Owls are the PSU’s fifth most common opponent historically with 45 all-time contests. The Nittany Lions have won 43 of those meetings with three losses and a tie, which certainly contributes to the lack of animosity.
Even without a real threat in Philadelphia, rivals like Ohio State have plucked top talent out of the eastern part of Pennsylvania in recent years, Marvin Harrison Jr. the most painful example. So, a trip back Lincoln Financial Field will be a worthwhile recruiting endeavor for James Franklin when his team heads back there in 2026 and the Owls should continue to be a common fixture on the schedule.
2. Syracuse
MATCHUPORANGE
23
NITTANY LIONS
43
(5 ties)
Fran Brown looks to be building a strong program in Western New York, so Penn State could get a bit more than it bargained for with an ACC home-and-home, but it would still be nice to face the Orange for the first time since a 2013 matchup at Metlife Stadium.
While Pitt is the most memorable rival of yester-year, Penn State has played Syracuse 71 times, the second most common all-time opponent with yearly matchups from about 1920-1990. Penn State leads the all-time series 43-23-5 and have won all three meetings this century.
...
Rivalries Not Worth Saving? (RX; HM)
Rivalries Not Worth Saving?
Is this "Cancel Culture", CFB style? These rivalries dared to be playoff-irrelevant!
Here are "Five college football rivalries that aren't worth saving", according to Saturday Blitzz, that is (I don't agree with most of them), and their ACC-related comments:
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech (Disagree)
...
Pitt’s Cory Sanders Promoted to Assistant Head Coach - Pitt Panthers #H2P (pittsburghpanthers.com)
Pitt's Chris Bickell '97 Head Football Coach Pat Narduzzi announced today the promotion of Cory Sanders to assistant head coach.
Sanders enters his seventh season at Pitt. In addition to his assistant head coach responsibilities, he will continue his work with the Panthers' secondary and have positional oversight of the safeties.
"From the day we hired Cory back in 2018, he has been an outstanding resource for our entire program," Narduzzi said. "This promotion reflects the deep impact he already makes on our players, coaches and staff. Cory is an excellent teacher and mentor who makes everyone around him better. He sees the larger picture in everything we do. Everyone in our building will benefit from his expanded role with our program."
"I am incredibly grateful to Coach Narduzzi for giving me the opportunity to make an even greater impact for Pitt football," Sanders said. "The University of Pittsburgh is a tremendous place and it has been such an honor to work on behalf of the Pitt football program the past six years. I truly believe our best is yet to come and I'm excited to work with our coaches and players to bring another ACC championship trophy back to Pitt."
Under Sanders' direction, the safeties have been an annual strength for Pitt's defense. Despite having to replace both starters for the 2023 season, he developed a highly productive trio in Donovan McMillon, Javon McIntyre and Phillip O'Brien Jr.
McMillon led the Panthers in tackles with 105, the most by a Pitt defender since 2015, and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC. McIntyre was the team's second-leading tackler with a career-high 85 stops and ranked second with seven pass breakups. O'Brien emerged as one of the Panthers' top ball hawks, intercepting three passes to finish second on the squad.
All three players are back in 2024, giving Pitt one of the top safety combinations in the ACC and nationally.
During his tenure, Sanders has built an impressive Pitt safety pipeline to the pros that includes Erick Hallett II (Jacksonville Jaguars), Brandon Hill (Houston Texans) and Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills).
Prior to Pitt, Sanders was the defensive backs coach at Western Michigan (2017), where he developed a pair of NFL Draft selections in cornerbacks Darius Phillips and Sam Beal.
...
Is Josh Pate CONFIRMING the ACC is about to lose teams? l College Football Podcast (youtube; podcast; Locked on College Football)
CBS Sports' Josh Pate sent a cryptic tweet indicating that the ACC could soon be losing teams from the conference. Why would he tweet that, and what moves could be on the horizon?
On today's episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by 'Locked On Big 12' host Drake Toll. Is Oklahoma State capable once again of winning the Big 12 this year? 11:05
Fresno State is once again a contender in the Mountain West, but can they push for the G5 Playoff spot in 2024? That will depend on how they fair on the road on November 30th against UCLA--assuming they have 2 losses or fewer going into the game. 20:40
...
Other
Micron rebound: Stock surges as chip industry exits downturn (PS; Tampone)
Micron Technology in early 2023 was cutting jobs, trimming executive pay and slowing spending on new projects, but the company is now bouncing back in a big way.
Over the last year, Micron’s stock price has spiked as demand for the memory chips the company makes has started to recover after an industrywide downturn. The rapid development and spread of artificial intelligence technology is one big reason for the more promising outlook for both Micron and other companies in the chip industry.
Between May 31, 2023, and May 31 of this year, the company’s stock price rose more than 83% from $68.20 a share to $125. The increase has continued in early June and the stock closed at $147.83 on June 17.
Micron is planning to spend $100 billion building four massive chip plants in the town of Clay, north of Syracuse. The plants will employ 9,000 people if fully built.
You can see details of the company’s recent stock performance in the chart below. If you can’t see the chart, click here to open it in a new window.
The company’s financial performance is also improving. In its most recent quarter, Micron (NASDAQ: MU) posted an adjusted per share profit after five straight quarterly losses, according to Reuters.
It also posted a revenue forecast for the next quarter that was above estimates, indicating further strength and recovery, Reuters said.
Analysts at multiple firms, including Baird, Raymond James and J.P. Morgan have all posted research in recent months forecasting strong performance ahead for the company and raising expected stock prices.
Tristan Gerra, an analyst at Baird, added Micron to his list of top semiconductor picks, along with other industry heavyweights like Nvidia. Gerra raised his price target for Micron stock to $150 a share, up from $115.
The types of memory chips Micron makes will be in high demand in the coming years for AI applications, analysts said. Demand in other sectors the company serves is also rebounding.
Micron’s chips end up in everything from phones and laptops to cars and missile systems.
...
See list of places to stay cool in Central New York (PS; Dellinger)
Today is supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year, with a predicted high of 96 degrees in Syracuse. That can be really miserable if you don’t have any or adequate air conditioning.
Where can you go to cool off?
We have compiled a list of places you can go from the state Department of Health and Central New York counties. Remember, Wednesday, June 19 is Juneteenth so check to make sure a location is open that day.
Note: Is there place that’s not on this list? Let us know at citynews@syracuse.com. (Please put in the subject line “cooling list”.)
Related: Want to know the heat risk for your area? Check here.
Onondaga County
BALDWINSVILLE- Baldwinsville Public Library, 33 E. Genesee St., Baldwinsville, NY 13027, 315-635-5631 Call for operating hours
- NOPL at Brewerton, 5437 Library St., Brewerton, NY 13029, 315-676-7484 Call for operating hours
- Camillus Senior Center, 25-1/2 First St., Camillus, NY 13031, 315-672-5820 Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
- Maxwell Memorial Library, 14 Genesee St., Camillus, NY 13031, 315-672-3661 Call for operating hours
- Cicero Senior Center, 5924 Lathrop Dr, Cicero, NY 13039, 315-452-3298 Call for operating hours
- NOPL at Cicero, 8686 Knowledge Lane, Clay, NY 13039, 315-699-2032 Call for operating hours
- DeWitt Town Hall, 5400 Butternut Dr, DeWitt, NY 13057, 315-446-3910 Hours: Mon-Fri: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- East Syracuse Free Library, 4990 James St., East Syracuse, NY 13057, 315-437-4841 Call for operating hours
- Elbridge Free Library, 241 E. Main St., Elbridge, NY 13060, 315-689-7111 Call for operating hours
- Fayetteville Free Library, 300 Orchard St., Fayetteville, NY 13066, 315-637-6374 Call for operating hours
- Fayetteville Senior Center, 584 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville, NY 13066, 315-637-9025 Hours: Mon-Thu: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Fri: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Dewitt Community Library, 5110 Jamesville Road, Jamesville, NY 13078, 315-446-3578 Call for operating hours
- Jordan Bramley Library, 15 Mechanic St., Jordan, NY 13080, 315-689-3296 Call for operating hours
- Jordan Elbridge Community Center, 1 Route 31, Jordan, NY 13080, 315-689-9031 Call for operating hours
- Lafayette Public Library, 2577 Route 11, LaFayette, NY 13084, 315-677-3782 Call for operating hours
- Liverpool Public Library, 310 Tulip St., Liverpool, NY 13088, 315-457-0310 Call for operating hours
- Manlius Library, 1 Arkie Albanese Way, Manlius, NY 13104, 315-682-6400 Call for operating hours
- Manlius Senior Center, 1 Arkie Albanese Way, Manlius, NY 13104, 315-682-7889 Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Marcellus Free Library, 32 Maple St., Marcellus, NY 13108, 315-673-3221 Call for operating hours
- Minoa Library, 242 N Main St., Minoa, NY 13116, 315-656-7401 Call for operating hours
