sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Cheese Pizza Day!
National Cheese Pizza Day is dedicated to the pie shaped flatbread with toppings, first eaten in Naples in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At the time, this coastal city was not part of Italy, but its own kingdom. The working poor, or lazzaroni, lived outside or in small homes, and needed cheap food. Pizza consisted of flatbread with toppings such as tomatoes, garlic, cheese, oil, or anchovies, and it was sold by street vendors and informal restaurants, and eaten for any meal. Naples became part of Italy in 1861, and in 1889, Queen Margherita and King Umberto visited Naples and tried pizza. Legend has it that she loved mozzarella pizza, which included mozzarella cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil—the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza then took her namesake. But, pizza didn't end up becoming popular in the rest of Italy until the 1940's.
SU News
Beat writers split on whether Syracuse will defeat No. 23 Georgia Tech (DO; Staff)
In the opening game of the Fran Brown era, Syracuse overcame a slow offensive start and a poor defensive showing to take down Ohio 38-22. Quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns as wide receiver Trebor Peña added two receiving touchdowns and one on the ground.
SU’s offensive firepower overshadowed continuous defensive mishaps as the Bobcats rushed for 255 yards. Along the way, the Orange lost linebacker Marlowe Wax, who’s expected to miss at least six weeks due to a leg injury. Following a mid-major opponent to start the season, Syracuse quickly shifts to Atlantic Coast Conference play, where it will face No. 23 Georgia Tech on Saturday
The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 to start the season, including an upset victory over then-No. 10 Florida State in the season opener. GT has been effective on the ground through its two games, averaging 207.5 rushing yards per game.
Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) will fare in its conference opener versus No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC):
Aiden Stepansky (1-0)
Fran’s first strike
Syracuse 33, Georgia Tech 30
There’s no question Syracuse has its work cut out for them Saturday. Wax’s absence is an obvious hurdle, and GT’s potent rushing attack doesn’t bode well for SU’s defense which allowed 255 yards for Ohio.
But here’s where I think we see a different Syracuse team. Brown’s advanced recruiting will be shown through the linebacker depth provided, allowing James Heard Jr. and Anwar Sparrow to step up in a big way. Additionally, I believe SU’s poor rushing defense was partially due to first-game jitters. Everything we’ve seen from Brown and his staff throughout the offseason shows they’ll quickly demand improvements.
Syracuse wins this game in a shootout that comes down to the fourth quarter. The Orange offense, led by McCord, was impressive after a slow first quarter. 38 points in three quarters against the Bobcats is no small feat. McCord and his weapons proved to me they can score at a high level and be effective through the air.
It won’t be easy, but a home win over a ranked opponent gives Brown his biggest win yet, further proving the legitimacy of his program in year one and possibly shooting them into the top 25.
Cooper Andrews (1-0)
What can be, unburdened by what has been
Syracuse 27, Georgia Tech 26
Considering the troubles Syracuse weathered in its season-opener against Ohio, I’m surprised to be making this pick. I penciled this game in as a loss for SU before the year. But, I don’t think the Yellow Jackets are nearly as good as experts make them out to be.
Let’s start with Florida State. Georgia Tech upset the then-No. 10 Seminoles 24-21 in Dublin, Ireland, to open the season. Defeating the preseason ACC favorite right away propelled the Yellow Jackets into the national discussion — rightly so. GT followed it up with a win over Georgia State to cement its place as the No. 23 team in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
Yet, I’m already at the point to deem the Yellow Jackets’ triumph over Florida State as not that impressive. The Seminoles have taken a major step backward. They lost a Monday night home game to Boston College 28-13. With an inaccurate and overwhelmed DJ Uiagalelei under center, FSU is already proving that it’s an average team.
Which leads me to my pick. It’s way too early to write Syracuse off against Georgia Tech. Quarterback Haynes King shines as a dual-threat, but he has plenty of limitations as a passer. I trust SU’s offense far more than I trust FSU’s, especially due to McCord’s electric debut. GT has to enter a hostile environment against the best offense it’s faced so far. The Yellow Jackets will likely gash Syracuse in the ground game. I just think McCord, Allen Jr. and Co. will outscore a relatively one-dimensional Georgia Tech side and deliver a statement win.
Justin Girshon (1-0)
Not there yet
Syracuse 20, Georgia Tech 23
Brown has a huge opportunity to cement how Syracuse can look under his leadership with a win. While I believe the program is in great hands, I think his first crack at an ACC foe will fall just short of a win.
Is GT’s win over Florida State not nearly as impressive as it was this time last week? Absolutely. Does that mean GT is being overvalued by the AP Poll? Not necessarily.
No matter how you slice it, the Yellow Jackets have one of the best rushing attacks in the ACC. Meanwhile, the Orange surrendered 255 yards to Ohio. Even worse, Wax, arguably their best and most important defensive player, won’t be playing.
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Syracuse football vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech predictions: See our picks (PS; $; Staff)
The Syracuse football team will face No. 23 Georgia Tech at noon Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome (TV: ACC Network).
It’s time for our predictions. The panel includes Brent Axe, sports columnist; Chris Carlson, sports enterprise reporter; Emily Leiker, SU football reporter and Nate Mink, managing producer for sports.
BRENT AXE
Syracuse 35, Georgia Tech 30
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
While it certainly raised some eyebrows, I think Ohio’s 255 rushing yards and mobile quarterback woke up the Orange defense and got it better prepared for this game than crushing a cupcake in Week 1 would have.
I also think for all the talk of how Georgia Tech can run the ball, LeQuint Allen is going to have something to say about that on the Orange end of things. Syracuse bends but doesn’t break just enough to walk out of the dome with a hard-fought win.
CHRIS CARLSON
Georgia Tech 34, Syracuse 24
Will Syracuse cover? No
This week comes down to two things: whether Syracuse’s difficulties stopping the run are a personnel deficiency or a blip on the radar, and how much improvement Fran Brown and Elijah Robinson can get from a week of practice time.
The famous football mantra is that the biggest improvements come in Week 2. Syracuse won’t look quite as lost setting the edge as it did against Ohio, but the game ultimately matches one team’s strength against another’s weakness. Georgia Tech’s offensive line is cohesive and its running game is diversified between both running backs and a quarterback.
That’s too much for SU to handle right now, especially without linebacker Marlowe Wax, the leader of that defense.
EMILY LEIKER
Georgia Tech 34, Syracuse 31
Will Syracuse cover? No
I think Georgia Tech’s ability to control the clock thanks to its strong rushing attack is the tipping point here for me. It’s going to wear down Syracuse’s defense and give the Orange offense tighter windows to work in, which leaves smaller margins of error.
Fran Brown and company showed they can coach a drive in crunch time, but this game might ask them to do it multiple times over.
I’m not ruling out this score being flipped and SU coming out on top, but this is going to be a tough second game and a true test for the Orange.
NATE MINK
Georgia Tech 38, Syracuse 35
Will Syracuse cover? No
Fran Brown hails from Camden, New Jersey; home for Brent Key is just outside Birmingham, Alabama. Disparate upbringings aside, these two don’t have many distinguishing differences in how they were raised on the game.
Key is cut from the cloth of George O’Leary, perhaps an underappreciated cog in SU’s renaissance under Dick MacPherson.
Brown’s coaching career saw him rub up against men like Geoff Collins, another branch on the O’Leary coaching tree. Of course, Key, Collins and Matt Rhule were all part of the staff at Western Carolina when Brown was a player there in the early aughts.
Key got a look under the hood of Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty. Brown got the same with Kirby Smart at Georgia, and became well acquainted with how Key has gotten his teams to punch up in weight class since getting the interim tag dropped at the end of the 2022 season.
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Opponent Preview: What to know before SU's ACC-opener vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech (DO; Girshon)
Syracuse began the Fran Brown era with a 38-22 win over Ohio. After SU trailed 6-0 after the first quarter, Kyle McCord and its offense came alive in the second, giving the Orange a 17-9 halftime lead.
Ohio running back Anthony Tyus III, who ran for 203 yards, responded with a touchdown to begin the third quarter. But Syracuse scored 21 unanswered points, propelling it to its 16-point win.
One week later, Brown faces two more firsts: an Atlantic Coast Conference foe and an AP Top 25 team.
Here’s what to know before Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) hosts No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC) Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome:
All-time series
Georgia Tech leads 3-1.Last time they played…
Syracuse traveled to Bobby Dodd Stadium on Nov. 18, 2023, for its second-to-last regular season contest. The Orange and Yellow Jackets each entered the matchup with five wins, needing one more victory to secure a bowl game appearance.The week prior, SU heavily utilized LeQuint Allen Jr. and Dan Villari out of the wildcat formation, running the ball 65 times for 392 yards — with Villari (154), Garrett Shrader (109) and Allen Jr. (103) each running for over 100 yards — en route a 28-13 win over Pittsburgh. The win ended the Orange’s five-game losing streak.
With Shrader’s injuries limiting his abilities under center, Syracuse again utilized its run-heavy, wildcat-centric offense against GT. At first, it failed miserably, as SU trailed 24-3 less than a minute into the third quarter. But the Orange scored touchdowns on three of their first five second-half drives, cutting their deficit to 24-22 on two touchdown runs from Allen Jr. and one from Villari.
With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King ended SU’s scoring run by scoring a rushing touchdown. With Syracuse trailing 31-22 with 2:22 remaining, it pulled a card it hadn’t all season: putting backup quarterback Luke MacPhail under center. On his lone drop back, he threw an interception. It was the last offensive play of the Dino Babers era.
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Syracuse was among country’s worst tackling teams in its opener. Fixing that is critical to beating Georgia Tech (PS; $; Carlson)
Syracuse ranked among the worst tackling teams in the country in its season-opener against Ohio, finishing its first game with 19 missed tackles.
The Orange will need to show substantial improvement on Saturday when nationally ranked Georgia Tech and its strong run game arrives at the JMA Wireless Dome. Through its first two games this season, the Yellow Jackets (2-0, 1-0 ACC) are averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
“I’m not sure exactly what the number (of missed tackles) was but it was too many,” Syracuse defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson said. “One is too many. ... We’re going to own it because we put that on tape, and we’re going to get it fixed.”
Syracuse will aim to make that fix without a player considered to be the most reliable tackler on its roster. Linebacker Marlowe Wax has led the Orange in tackles for two-straight years and missed just 14 tackles all of last season. He is out for approximately six weeks because of a lower-leg injury.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown said he believes the correction is mostly mental. He said the Orange needs to embrace the physicality of the sport. He said Orange tacklers need to seek out contact and take one more step before trying to make a tackle.
“We just have to be more physical,” Brown said. “We don’t have to change anything (schematically).”
According to Pro Football Focus, only Old Dominion (24), Texas Tech (22), Minnesota (20) and UConn (20) missed more tackles last week.
The majority of Syracuse’s issues came while stopping the run. The Orange missed 16 tackles on run plays. Only Old Dominion (18) and Texas A&M (17) missed more.
Part of those struggles were a testament to the hard running of Ohio’s Anthony Tyus III.
Tyus, listed at 6-foot-1 and 226 pounds, transferred from Northwestern. He ran the ball hard against the Orange and finished with 122 yards after contact. Ohio also piled up broken tackles because it remained persistent in running the ball (39 carries), attempting to chew up as much of the game as it could.
Syracuse made tackling Tyus more difficult than necessary by failing to set the edge on defense on multiple occasions. That forced Orange defenders to try to make open-field one-on-one tackles rather than pushing Tyus into the middle of the defense and multiple players.
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Fran Brown lost this receiver’s commitment at Temple. Now, the flip is in his favor (PS; $; Leiker)
Trebor Peña’s mother recorded all the Little League games he played as a kid.
It afforded him a luxury not many kids had: He could watch his own film, using it — and Entertainment Arts’ Madden and College Football video games — to heighten his understanding of the game.
The Syracuse football slot receiver continued building that IQ playing both sides of the ball at Ocean Township High School in New Jersey.
Now, it’s one of the defining traits that has Peña staring down a breakout season four years into his college career.
“He’s a really smart player,” SU quarterback Kyle McCord said Tuesday. “Playing with him makes my job a lot easier when he understands what the defense is trying to do and how we’re trying to combat it.”
Peña had a career performance in the Orange’s season-opening win against Ohio. It was his first game back fully healthy after a nagging hamstring injury caused him to miss all but one game in 2023.
He caught six passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns, plus added another nine yards and a score on the ground.
This time five years ago, Peña was committed to Temple, where current Syracuse head coach Fran Brown was the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach.
He met Brown and the rest of the Temple staff at one of their summer camps for high school athletes. Peña said Brown’s genuineness and down-to-Earth personality stood out to him at the time.
It was one of the first big scholarship offers Peña received.
At that point, he was entering his senior year and his head coach, Don Kleinman, who’d known Peña since about fourth grade, told everyone he knew the multi-positional star was one of the best in their conference.
Despite having a hurt shoulder, Peña played an incredible senior year.
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(youtube; video; CNY Central)
In the days after being named Syracuse football's head coach last December, Fran Brown spoke about a man from his past who helped shape him. Brown's appeal to fans, players, and recruits alike is one rooted in his past. The son of a teenage mother,, Brown endured poverty and grew up surrounded by violent crime in Camden, New Jersey in the 1990s.
Georgia Tech Broadcaster Previews Syracuse Football (youtube; radio; The 315)
Andy Demetra, play-by-play broadcaster for Georgia Tech, joins Brian Higgins to discuss his takeaways from the Florida State victory, how he views the ACC as a whole, what Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King brings to the table, and more
Georgia Tech vs Syracuse: Matchup Breakdown and Prediction With Special Guest Emily Leiker (youtube; podcast; SI)
On the latest episode of Bleav Georgia Tech, RJ and Jackson welcome Emily Leiker from syracuse.com to preview the game and talk about the matchup on Saturday.
Syracuse Orange's Potential in the Open ACC Race | Syracuse Orange Podcast (youtube; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Orange Football is off to a 1-0 start in the Fran Brown era. Where do Kyle McCord and company sit among the ACC powers? The Miami Hurricanes dominated the Florida Gators, while the Clemson Tigers stumbled against the Georgia Bulldogs. Plus, Florida State is off to a horrific start after losing to Georgia Tech and Boston College to open the season.Jackson Holzer and Neil Adler break down the ACC football landscape.
How Syracuse Football Beats Georgia Tech | Syracuse Orange Podcast (youtube; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Can Syracuse Football's Kyle McCord outshine Georgia Tech's Haynes King? How will Fran Brown's top weapon in Oronde Gadsden fare against Brent Key's secondary that hasn't allowed a pass catcher to have 70 yards through two weeks. Plus, how can Elijah Robinson keep Eric Singleton neutralized and holding the Yellow Jackets to field goals in the redzone will be vital to Syracuse's success.
Jackson Holzer and Mike McAllister discuss the upcoming matchup between Syracuse and Georgia Tech on this edition of the Locked On Syracuse Podcast.
30 Minutes in Orange Nation 9-4-24 (ESPN; radio; Orange Nation)
Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia discuss the implications of the upcoming Georgia Tech game, take a listen to the Georgia Tech Head Coach’s scouting report for the Orange, as well as provide a Kiyan Anthony update as he takes his in-home visit today.
Keeping Up With The 315 9-4-24 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Brian Higgins discusses the significance of the upcoming Georgia Tech match-up given that they are ranked, picks a winner for game tickets, and provides an update on basketball recruiting.
https://www.localsyr.com/orange-nation/get-to-know-syracuse-football-assistant-coach-ross-douglas/ (localsyr.com; video; Infanti)
Ross Douglas is in his first season as an assistant coach at Syracuse. Douglas serves as the Passing Game Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach at SU.
Before coming to Syracuse, Douglas spent the last three years in the NFL working for Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots. He got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Rutgers.
Douglas, an Ohio native, played collegiately at both Michigan and Rutgers.
For the full one-on-one interview with Ross Douglas, click on the video player above.
Syracuse football: Kyle McCord opens up the full field in the passing game (TNIAAM; Wall)
The Syracuse Orange unleashed a new look offense last weekend and right away there is a noticeable difference in the passing game.
Kyle McCord set career highs with 27 completions, 354 yards and four touchdowns against Ohio. He spread the ball around to eight different receivers and when you look at where he threw the ball, you’ll see how this passing game is different than in years past.
McCord was especially effective on short passes hitting on 14-16 passes within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. Syracuse gained 115 yards on those plays meaning that the ball is getting to open receivers where they can pick up yards after the catch.
What jumps out to me is the attempts of 20 yards or more. This is an area where the Orange have struggled in the past, but McCord (and his receivers) offer hope of an offense that can punish defenses who want to cheat towards the line. McCord hit 4-8 on these attempts and that doesn’t include one long completion that was called back for a hold.
PFF also credited McCord with two “Big Time Throws” on deep attempts. They list those as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window”.
For the most part the Orange offensive line kept the pocket clean as McCord was only pressured on nine drop backs. We’ve heard all along that he is very good when he’s got time and room to make throws and it certainly showed last week.
Cuse's Kyle McCord Delivers Big In Debut
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord came to the Orange by way of Ohio State, and his debut was highly anticipated. He finished his afternoon an efficient 27 of 39 for 35...
youtu.be
Syracuse football: a look at the history between Fran Brown and Georgia Tech HC Brent Key (TNIAAM; Fowler)
Towards the end of Saturday’s post-game press conference, Syracuse Orange HC Fran Brown quickly, after he made his remarks, added a bit about Georgia Tech’s HC Brent Key — who was on the coaching staff for a year at Western Carolina while Fran was a player.
Two days later, during Brown’s opening statement at his weekly press conference on Monday, Brown referenced Key again.
“Honored for the opportunity we have this week to go against Georgia Tech, especially the opportunity to go against Coach Key as a head coach. He’s known me since I was 20 years old when he was a coach at Western Carolina,” Brown added. “He’s been a part of helping me become successful.”
After Key finished his time as an offensive lineman at GT, he joined the coaching staff in Atlanta for two seasons as a graduate assistant. His next position was at Western Carolina as the running backs and tight ends coach (2004) before he joined UCF for several years.
On Tuesday, at Key’s weekly press conference, a reporter asked Key about his prior relationship with Brown during the short time they spent together at WCU.
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#FakeNunes previews Syracuse vs Georgia Tech (TNIAAM; Wall)
It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means... time for the blog that gives you the internet’s most ridiculous college football preview series- it’s #FakeNunes time. Can we keep finding ways to get #jokesandgarbage into a Syracuse Orange preview? You be the judge...
Now onto this week’s opponent
Opponent: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Location: Atlanta, GA (but definitely not on Bad Street)
Students: 19,516 students who love Calculus a little too much
The 2024 Fake Nunes Statistical Index (#FNSI)
We continue to look to innovate our analytics model so we here’s what the lab cooked up for this season.
Rivalry Trophy
The FNSI staff won’t give up on their quest to bring back more tradition into today’s college game. Let’s see what they’ve got for this one
The Varsity Pizza Cutter Cup
Each campus has a Varsity restaurant located nearby so the winner of this game gets to keep the name and the loser must become The Junior Varsity.
Jersey Boys
Fran Brown wants to reclaim the Garden State so let’s see how the Orange stack up against each opponent.
Georgia Tech has no players from New Jersey on their roster. We don’t love calculus but we know that 0 is less than Syracuse’s 25.
Advantage: Syracuse
Notable Alum
Bringing back this one as we love to drop, some knowledge every now and then to help our loyal readers possibly win a trivia night. After all we are the Syracuse blog that loves you back and we take that seriously.
Quinn Ojinnaka vs Joe Anoaʻi
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Syracuse football: what the college football world is saying about the Orange after week one (TNIAAM; Wall)
Each week, we’ll take a look at what other college football media sites are saying about the Syracuse Orange. Let’s see what they are saying after the win over Ohio
Player Honors
Marlowe Wax was named ACC Linebacker of the Week after recording six tackles with his 9th career forced fumble, which is 2nd all-time in Syracuse history behind Dwight Freeney’s 14.
Syracuse.Com
The local writers have Syracuse 8th this week between Pittsburgh and NC State. Georgia Tech is 4th this week.
ESPN
In this week’s SP+ rankings Syracuse drops four to the 71st spot with the offense 69th (nice) while the defense ranks 67th. The Orange are ranked between Boston College and South Florida. Georgia Tech is ranked 53rd with their offense 31st and defense 80th.
The Football Power Index has Syracuse in 62nd place between Minnesota and Duke. FPI predicts the Orange for 6.3 wins and gives them a 66.4 % chance of making a bowl game. Georgia Tech is ranked 35th.
ACC Network
Eric Mac Lain has the Orange 8th and Georgia Tech 4th this week.
CBS Sports
In the CBS Sports power rankings Syracuse is 68th between BYU and Miami (Ohio) because CBS hasn’t done an update yet. Georgia Tech is/was 53rd.
The Athletic
The Orange drops two spots to 60th in The Athletic’s Top 131 Power Rankings placing them in between South Florida and Mississippi State. Georgia Tech ranks 26th this week.
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Labatt Blue Light Flows Orange for Syracuse Football's ACC Home Opener (prnewswire.com)
Labatt USA will go "Orange" this Saturday, September 7, to help rally fans around Syracuse football's first ACC home opener! The Orange Crate will receive kegs of orange-colored Labatt Blue Light Beer, perfect for thirsty fans!
Labatt Blue Light Pint Glass Image.
"We hope 'Cuse can pull out a win for the Orange faithful," said Jason Folaron, brand manager for Labatt. "There is so much energy and buzz around this season and new coach. We thought it would be fun to get the pre-game started with some orange Labatt Blue Light. We're huge fans and are looking forward to another successful season."
The Labatt tailgate party at the Orange Crate, an on-campus bar and restaurant, includes plenty of food, beer, branded swag for 21+ fans looking to pregame. Additionally, fans can expect a special visit from Syracuse Football Alumni, Rob Carpenter (wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals) and Robert Drummond (running back, Philadelphia Eagles). Doors open at 9 a.m.
About Labatt Blue Light and Syracuse Athletics
Last year, Labatt announced a three-year agreement for Labatt Blue Light to become a "Proud Partner of Syracuse Athletics." The agreement provides the rights for Labatt to have a fully branded lower-level concourse station at the JMA Wireless Dome, as well as four branded upper-level grab and go beverage stations. This is the largest collegiate partnership for Labatt.
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ACC News
Small group dominates ACC's broadcast TV appearances. Should money follow? :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsports.com; Murphy)
The divisions roiling the ACC are well documented, threatening the league’s future and playing out in courtrooms and legal filings across the southeast.
But there's another, related fault line that divides the conference and could trigger more financial fallout: The “ABC 5” and everyone else.
That group — Clemson, Florida State, Miami, North Carolina and Notre Dame, which has a scheduling arrangement with the league — drives nearly all of the league’s conference-game appearances on over-the-air ABC.
The ACC's other 10 members have not played a conference game that wasn't against one of those five teams on ABC since 2019, according to a WRAL analysis of the league's television appearances since 2016.
ESPN owns all of the conference's television rights and places football games across its channels, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and the ACC Network. Some games air on the CW. Games on ABC tend to attract the largest audience, especially as ESPN faces subscription losses due to cord cutting.
Part of conference cut out
Put another way: if you're not playing against one of those teams, you haven't played a conference (or, in Notre Dame's case, a semi-conference) game on ABC since before COVID was a thing or before President Joe Biden was sworn into office.
Cal, Stanford and SMU, the league's newest members, were not included in the analysis. The three schools just began their first season as ACC members.
The last games on ABC that didn't involve at least one of those five schools: Virginia and Virginia Tech on the day after Thanksgiving in 2019 and 2018.
NC State and Boston College played on ABC (and ESPN2, depending on where you were watching) in 2017.
To find a school that played multiple ABC games without one of the "ABC 5" you have to go back to Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson's Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2016 when the Cardinals’ games against NC State and Virginia were on the network. Additionally, Louisville's games against Clemson and Florida State were also televised on ABC.
Duke, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Wake Forest have not played a regular-season conference game (or Notre Dame game) on the network that didn't involve one of the "ABC 5" during the last eight years.
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ACC schools have new path to more revenue: Win in the postseason (PS; AP)
The Atlantic Coast Conference has spent years working to find more money to reduce the gaps with the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences.
The league is hoping a new wrinkle to how it divvies up payments to its member schools can help and provide some stability about its long-term future.
This is the first sports season under a new model allowing ACC schools to keep more of the money generated by their own postseason success, a departure from decades of equal distributions among full league members. That “success initiative” could mean $20 million to $25 million more for a school in a big year, based primarily on football like everything else in college athletics.
It also could incentivize more investments in those revenue-driving programs, with the aim of generating their own bump to the bottom line alongside winning championships.
“We’re seeing more and more of a movement toward if you generate it, you get it,” North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“You’re seeing that within leagues, by the conference affiliations and those changes,” he added. “You’re seeing it more within sports programs, that ‘If I generate it, I should get it.’ So all of this is following that natural pattern. And we’re trying to deal with that while trying to keep a league together and make the league competitive from top to bottom.”
The plan, approved in May 2023, comes amid change and tension for the ACC. The league expanded West to add California and Stanford from the Pac-12, along with SMU from the American Athletic Conference. It is locked in legal battles with top football schools Florida State and Clemson tied to the ACC’s ability to charge hundreds of millions of dollars — through exit fees and by withholding media-rights payments — for any school that leaves the conference.
The arrival of success-driven incentives is another departure from the equal-distribution past; this year’s three new schools are taking reduced or no media-rights payouts for the coming decade. But coaches worried about Big Ten and SEC teams having more money to spend on staff, facilities, amenities and even acquiring players are on board.
“It’s a great opportunity for the teams that succeed and put the product on the field,” said coach Dave Doeren of 24th-ranked N.C. State. “That’s what it’s about, earning who you are on the grass. ... And now you’re getting money for your program when you do that.”
How it works
The ACC’s model centers around the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Teams could earn $4 million for an appearance, another $4 million for reaching the second round, $6 million for the semifinals and $6 million for the title game — a total of $20 million.
Teams also can earn success money by finishing in the top 25 of the CFP rankings and reaching a bowl game. And football money is positioned to climb.
“That grows as we go forward because those other numbers grow, and the CFP dollars grow,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said.
The plan also includes existing revenue distributions for success in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, with “units” earned for wins all the way to the Final Four. The NCAA is moving closer to implementing units for the women’s tournament, which would eventually be included in ACC’s success initiative.
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0-2 hindsight: A timeline of how glaring issues with FSU football got overlooked (tomahawknation.com; Silversmith)
On November 20th, 2023, Mike Norvell handed the reigns to quarterback Tate Rodemaker to lead the 11-0 Seminoles into the Swamp and keep their championship hopes alive, entering the ACC title game the following week. It would be daunting for most coaches to trust a backup quarterback, but the fourth-year Seminole gave the team confidence.
Norvell stated in his pre-Florida press conference that he was “excited for Tate. He did a wonderful job coming in (after Jordan Travis was injured vs. North Alabama). Didn’t shock anybody that was on our team because we’ve seen him do that before. We’ve seen him on the road. We’ve seen him have to lead us back from being down.” There was no need for coachspeak during that presser because it was true — after taking his lumps and growing from a disappointing start to his Tallahassee career, Rodemaker had shown an ability to answer the call.
The first player to join Norvell’s inaugural Florida State recruiting class, he brought FSU back against Louisville the year before and maintained his composure down two scores against North Alabama with the team’s heart and soul injured.
Rodemaker struggled in the Swamp, but he never made the egregious mistake and did enough to leave with a win. The son of a coach managed the game effectively, and after patiently waiting his turn for four years, he seemed destined to lead the Noles through a moderate rebuilding year in 2024, the grizzled veteran in charge of a young brigade.
It would be his final time in garnet and gold.
A fortnight after the snub, Norvell brought high-profile transfer quarterbacks Cam Ward and DJ Uiagalelei for an official visit. Rodemaker left a week later with the cake in the oven. A few days later, Ward declared for the NFL Draft, forcing Miami to increase their NIL offer, and Uiagalelei, the humble quarterback from California, committed to FSU, his only offer. Rodemaker, took a demotion and transferred to Southern Miss, where he threw two picks in his first game.
Looking back on it now, it seems as if Florida State’s playoff snub forced Norvell’s hand to abandon his off-season plans. Instead of allowing his two best recruiting classes to take their lumps in 2024, “The Portal King” attempted to fill every hole left open from the best Seminole roster in a decade, trying to overnight a roster in minutes.
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Florida State football off to 0-2 start. Does that make it a bad TV draw? FSU AD weighs in (tallahassee.com; Henry)
Michael Alford, Florida State's Vice President and Director of Athletics, says the Seminoles' 0-2 start on the football field won't diminish the impact of a legacy program that draws a national spotlight - in good times and bad.
He pointed to the program's marketability and power to attract television viewers on a national basis regardless of the circumstances.
"We live in the competitive arena every day," Alford told the Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday. "We endure the tough times just as we celebrate the good times."
"Clearly, we remain relevant and sometimes the attention we get when we struggle reinforces the prominence of our program in the national landscape," he continued. "We add value to those we are affiliated with on the conference level, as well as to those we compete against nationally.”
FSU, off this Saturday, opened the season with losses in primetime games against Georgia Tech (24-21) in Ireland Aug. 24 and Boston College (28-13) last Monday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The FSU-Tech game attracted 5 million viewers on ABC/ESPN, according to Sportsmediawatch.com, marking the 33rd time since 2012 that FSU has drawn more than 4 million viewers for a game. Viewership numbers from Monday's game on ESPN are not yet available.
FSU's brand strength was also noted in a lengthy story posted Tuesday on wralsportsfan.com. The website reported the Seminoles, along with Clemson, Miami, North Carolina and Notre Dame, which has a scheduling agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference, drive nearly all of the league's conference-game appearances on over-the-air ABC.
The ACC's other 10 members have not played a conference game that wasn't against one of those five teams on ABC since 2019, according to a WRAL analysis of the league's television appearances since 2016.
Overall, the site reported Clemson has played a league-high 26 ACC games on ABC since 2018. FSU is at 18. Notre Dame has 15 ABC games despite only being on ABC when it played road games against ACC schools.
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Is ACC 1-Bid College Football Playoff conference? | Carolina Panthers prep for NFL Week 1 | OG252 (youtube; podcast; Ovies & Giglio)
Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio glance at the AP Top 25 before discussing ESPN's fretting over whether the ACC will only 1 bid to the expanded College Football Playoff. Charlotte Observer's Mike Kaye joined the show to provide a final look at the Carolina Panthers preseason before heading into Week 1. They also take a look at The Athletic's NFL "Hope-O-Meter", only to be surprised by who is the most pessimistic about their teams. In the Lightning Round, Ovies and Giglio cover strange noises in space, bad phone connections, and more.
Tennessee vs. NC State Game Preview | 2024 ACC Football (youtube; podcast; ACC DN)
The No.25 Wolfpack will take aim at No.14 Tennessee on Saturday in the Duke's Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday at 7:30. NC State is coming off of a win against Western Carolina that saw each of their playmakers making an impact. 'Pack QB Grayson McCall tossed 3 scores, each of them to receiver KC Concepcion. Running back Jordan Waters rushed for over 100 yards, and crossed the goal line twice. They will need all hands on deck offensively and defensively to handle the Vols. UT QB Nico Iamaleava is fresh off of a 3 touchdown performance, and Tennessee finished their 69-3 win over Chattanooga with 718 yards of total offense. Defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. headlines a dynamic defense, and they will be a handful for NC State's offensive line. NC State head coach Dave Doeren and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel get you set for this clash in the Queen City.
Friedlander: After Week 1, it’s already time to reset the ACC title race (saturdaydownsouth.com; Friedlander)
Hiding from your mistakes was a whole lot easier before social media.
Make some bad football predictions? No problem.
Just toss your preseason ballot into the recycling bin. Or if you really want to get rid of the evidence, there was always the trusty shredder.
Not anymore.
You can’t even count on the delete button to save you from humiliation.
The internet is forever.
So to get out ahead of the inevitable, I readily admit to having picked Florida State and Virginia Tech to play in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 7. Even though there are still 13 more weeks left in the season, that prediction has already gone up in flames.
The Seminoles have taken themselves out of contention with consecutive losses to conference rivals Georgia Tech and Boston College. Along with some personnel and other issues that are beyond fixing.
The Hokies, meanwhile, lost their opener to Vanderbilt.
Even though it wasn’t a conference game and won’t mathematically affect Tech’s chances of finishing in the league’s top 2 and earning a trip to Charlotte, losing to the Commodores – one of the dregs of college football – should automatically exclude any team from winning any power conference championship.
Of course, I’m not the only one whose predictions have flopped faster and more dramatically than a soccer player begging for a call. FSU and Clemson, the top 2 teams in the ACC’s preseason poll and – coincidentally – the only 2 schools currently suing the league, are a combined 0-3.
So where does that leave us?
With the favored Seminoles and Tigers providing an anchor at the bottom of the new 17-team conference standings, it’s already time to reset our projections and take another stab at predicting which teams will be the last 2 standing once all the games are played.
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No. 24 NC State gets big matchup with No. 14 Tennessee to headline ACC's Week 2 slate (apnews.com; Beard)
Things to watch this week in the Atlantic Coast Conference:
Game of the week
No. 24 N.C. State vs. No. 14 Tennessee, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)This is a neutral-site matchup in Charlotte, a valuable recruiting market for both the home-state Wolfpack and neighboring-state Volunteers. It’s also the kind of nonconference matchup that could factor into the chase for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
The Vols (1-0) beat Chattanooga 69-3 for their biggest season-opening margin of victory since 1915 while rolling up 718 total yards behind redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Things were tougher for the Wolfpack (1-0), who trailed 21-17 entering the final quarter in a mistake-filled slog against Western Carolina before scoring the final 21 points.
The undercard
No. 23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse. Brent Key’s Yellow Jackets (2-0, 1-0 ACC) cracked this week’s AP Top 25 after a season-opening takedown of Florida State in Ireland, the program’s first ranking since the 2015 season. A win against the Orange would mark Georgia Tech’s first 2-0 start in league play since 2017.Syracuse (1-0) opened the Fran Brown era by beating Ohio behind Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord throwing for 354 yards and four touchdowns.
Impact players
Thomas Castellanos, Boston College. The quarterback threw for 106 yards and two scores to go with 73 yards and a rushing score in the Eagles’ win at FSU on Labor Day to open Bill O’Brien’s tenure. The Eagles host Duquesne on Saturday with Power Four nonconference games against Missouri and Michigan State looming.Cam Ward, Miami. The preseason pick for ACC player of the year was terrific in the season-opening win at Florida, throwing for 385 yards and three scores. The Washington State transfer is poised for another big performance as the No. 12 Hurricanes host Florida A&M on Saturday.
Inside the numbers
Duke didn’t have an accepted penalty against it in the season-opening win against Elon, its first game under new coach Manny Diaz. Kansas State was the only Bowl Subdivision teams to avoid a Week 1 penalty. ... Pittsburgh redshirt freshman Eli Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, threw for 336 yards and three scores in the season-opening win against Kent State. That ranked 17th in the FBS ranks for players that have played just once so far and third among ACC passers, trailing only Ward and McCord. Coach Pat Narduzzi is sticking with him as the starter for this weekend’s game against Cincinnati. ... The two ACC teams (Clemson and FSU) to file lawsuits against the league seeking potential exits elsewhere are 0-3. The league’s other 15 teams have combined to lose twice.New leader
North Carolina third-year sophomore Conner Harrell is taking over at quarterback after opening-night starter Max Johnson went down with a season-ending injury at Minnesota.Harrell is due to make his second career start against Charlotte on Saturday for the Tar Heels (1-0), who are replacing the No. 3 overall NFL draft pick Drake Maye.
“Our goal is to build the offense around his strengths,” offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said of Harrell, pointing to “a big arm” and Harrell’s mobility.
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Shaboozey - Last Of My Kind (Official Audio) ft. Paul Cauthen
Listen to the album “Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going". Out Now!Stream: https://music.empi.re/wibiwigBuy CD: https://music.empi.re/wibiwigcdPre-order V...
youtu.be
Anthem by Woodbridge’s Shaboozey to be Featured on ACC Football Coverage (northernvirginiamag.com; Massimo)
If you turn on an ACC college football game this fall, you could be listening to a neighbor’s music. “Last of My Kind,” a country-rock anthem by chart-topping Woodbridge native Shaboozey, is part of the ACC Network’s coverage for this season, ESPN has announced.
“The track underscores the unique spirit of ACC Football, highlighting the traditions, rivalries, and community that define game day experiences,” ESPN said in a statement.
“Shaboozey brings his distinctive Virginia tonality to the anthem,” the network added, noting that Virginia is home to two of the conference’s teams in Virginia and Virginia Tech.
“Last of My Kind” comes from Shaboozey’s album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, which was released in May. Shaboozey was born Collins Obinna Chibueze in Northern Virginia and grew up in Woodbridge, also spending time in Nigeria in his childhood.
Shaboozey’s hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” released in April, has been at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard country charts, and has reached No. 1 in five other countries as well.
His song “Start a Riot” was included on the soundtrack to the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018. He’s also contributed to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album.
You can hear the song in its entirety on Shaboozey’s YouTube channel, and see a snippet of the song in context on the ESPN marketing channel.
How ACC's Success Initiative to Work (AP) (RX; HM)
How ACC's Success Initiative to Work (AP)
Details on the "Success Initiative"...
From AP: ACC schools have a new path to more revenue: Just win... in the postseason
That $20 to $25 million for the top earner is consistent with what we've heard before, but how does it work? Keep reading...
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CFB on ESPN Networks, 2024, Week 2 (RX; HM)
CFB on ESPN Networks, 2024, Week 2
source: ESPN Platforms Present 16 Ranked College Football Teams in Week 2 – ABC Saturday Night Football Features Top 25 Tussle Between No. 14 Tennessee and No. 24 NC State
September 3, 2024
ESPN Platforms Present 16 Ranked College Football Teams in Week 2 – ABC Saturday Night Football Features Top 25 Tussle Between No. 14 Tennessee and No. 24 NC State
Week 2 of college football features a full slate of critical matchups... 16 Top 25 teams are in action on ESPN platforms in Week 2, including a Top 25 thriller between #14 Tennessee and #24 NC State in the Duke’s Mayo Classic on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One. Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be on the 7:30 p.m. ET call from the Queen City, with the top ESPN Radio team of Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer and Ian Fitzsimmons broadcasting live from Bank of America Stadium. The Duke’s Mayo Classic is also this week’s 4K Game of the Week.
Additional ranked teams in action include:
No. 12 Miami vs. Florida A&M | 6 p.m. | ESPN+/ACCNXChuckie Kempf, Forrest Conoly, Marilyn Payne
No. 22 Louisville vs. Jacksonville State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+/ACCNX
Justin Kutcher, Charles Arbuckle
No. 23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse | Noon | ACC Network
Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Coley Harvey
No. 25 Clemson vs. App State | 8 p.m. | ACC Network
Wes Durham, Tom Luginbill, Dana Boyle
For updates to programming schedules and game assignments, please visit ESPNPressRoom.com.
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Links, News and Rumors 2024 Sep 4th (RX; HM)
Links, News and Rumors 2024 Sep 4th
From Bleacher Report: Top 10 Overreactions from Week 1 of 2024 College Football Season
The U Is Back
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JHowell's Picks 2024 Week 2 (RX; HM)
JHowell's Picks 2024 Week 2
JHowell.net has updated projections for Week #1 of the 2024 college football season. Below are JHowell's ACC football game projections through the games of 9-7-24; let's see if his computer can pick the "dogs"...
Friday, September 6, 2024
#22-Southern Methodist (-9.5) vs. #55-Brigham Young (TP=53 Odds=.648)#48-Duke (-1) @ #71-Northwestern (TP=41 Odds=.520)
Saturday, September 7, 2024
#6-Notre Dame (-23) vs. #100-Northern Illinois (TP=48 Odds=.847)#13-Tennessee (-4) vs. #23-NC State (TP=44 Odds=.572) @ Charlotte, NC
#20-Louisville (-21.5) vs. #119-Jacksonville State (TP=52 Odds=.809)
#21-Clemson (-6) vs. #38-Appalachian State (TP=49 Odds=.598)
#31-North Carolina (-26) vs. #128-Charlotte (TP=55 Odds=.848)
#41-Auburn (-8.5) vs. #80-California (TP=45 Odds=.653)
#44-Georgia Tech (-2) @ #72-Syracuse (TP=52 Odds=.533)
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SEC's Toughest Competition, 2024 (RX; HM)
SEC's Toughest Competition, 2024
Last year, 8 of the 14 SEC schools' toughest non-conference opponents were ACC schools [see "SEC's Toughest Compeitition, 2023"]. Is it any different this year? Not really...
ACC vs SEC Games
- Auburn: California
- Florida: Florida State (alread played Miami)
- Georgia: Clemson, in Atlanta (also hosts Georgia Tech)
- Kentucky: Louisville
- Missouri: Boston College
- Ole Miss: at Wake Forest
- South Carolina: at Clemson
- Tennessee: NC State, in Charlotte, NC
- Vanderbilt: Virginia Tech
Note: JHowell's computer says NC State has about a 43% chance of beating Tennessee Saturday night.
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ACC + Rally Cry Championship Tour 2024 (RX; HM)
ACC + Rally Cry Championship Tour 2024
From the official ACC release of September 4, 2024...
ACC Collaborates with Rally Cry as it takes College Football 25 on the Road with College Football Championship Tour
10-week league featuring College Football 25 will travel to college campuses this fall and be played online in connection with Twitch, ACC and Raycom
CHARLOTTE (September 4, 2024) – The ACC, in collaboration with Rally Cry - a gaming technology company that builds inclusive gaming experiences for players of all ages and skill levels - will partner throughout the 2024 college football season. The Rally Cry Championship Tour features a 10-week league with individuals playing College Football 25 online and a mobile gaming truck visiting college campuses weekly across the country to compete in-person for a piece of the prize pool and the custom championship trophy.
The initiative is part of a relationship between Rally Cry, the ACC, Twitch and Raycom to bring the hybrid online and in-person tournament nationally.
Fans can register today at Rally Cry’s official College Football competition platform ahead of the online league starting on September 28.
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Other
Micron announces opening of its Central NY headquarters office (PS; Coin)
Micron Technology, which plans to build a chipmaking complex in the Syracuse suburbs, will have its Central New York headquarters in downtown Syracuse.
Micron announced today it will open offices and a welcome center in the One Lincoln Plaza Building, at the corner of West Fayette and South Clinton Streets. Micron’s logo will also go atop the building, the sixth-tallest in Syracuse.
The company will have offices in the upper floors of the building and a ground-floor welcome and recruiting center where a fitness center used to be.
Micron gave no information on how much space it would use, what the terms of the lease would be, how many employees would work there or when the offices and welcome center will open.
“Micron has seen that downtown is an ideal hub at the core of Central New York for collaboration on community initiatives, building out the local supply chain and workforce development,” said Scott Gatzemeier, Micron’s corporate vice president for U.S. expansion.
The office renovations are being done by E. Smith Contractors, a local Black-owned construction business located just a block away, on West Jefferson Street.
Gatzemeier said the offices would house employees from procurement and facilities construction, operations, government and public affairs departments. The company says it has already hired 17 people, primarily in construction and facilities.
Other tenants of the 18-story building include Chase Bank, environmental consulting firm Arcadis Syracuse, law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, and sandwich shop Darwin on Clinton.
“Today marks a major milestone for Micron making its home in Central NY,” said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, majority leader and author of the CHIPS and Science Act that will provide Micron billions of dollars to build here. “Micron will be at the very heart of Syracuse’s renaissance downtown.”
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A "Big Boy" meat-lovers Chicago-style deep-dish pizza from Tangy Tomato, the 35th stop on our CNY Pizza Tour. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
CNY Pizza Tour, stop #35: Their love for Chicago-style pizza runs deep (PS; $; Miller)
You can count on one hand the number of pizza shops in the Syracuse area that offer true Chicago-style deep-dish. I don’t mean a 1½-inch cakey casserole with the same amount of cheese and meat as the pizza we’re used to. I’m talking a thin crust with a couple dense inches of meats, cheese and sauce on top.
That’s what you’ll find at Tangy Tomato, a pizzeria in Eastwood that opened Nov. 9, 2020. Melanie and Meaghan Austin had worked together for eight years in the same building, back when it was NY Gianni’s “Bronx-Style” Pizza. When Gianni’s shut down in March 2020, they decided to open their own place with a new menu using the same 70-year-old brick-lined pizza oven.
“We wanted something that was our own, our own recipes, own own approach,” Melanie said. “No one was doing Chicago pizza here then, so we jumped right in and learned from the best and eventually created our own process.”
The two made a dozen trips to Chicago to study the art of “the deep” in some of the city’s best pizza kitchens, including Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s.
Judging by the lines during lunch and the dinnertime deliveries, Syracuse seems to have embraced Tangy Tomato. Melanie and Meaghan, who married in January, are selling just as many Chicago deeps as they are the thin New York-style pizzas they made together when they met.
So, let’s dive into the deep end ...
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