Orangeyes Daily Articles for Tuesday for Football

[sutomcat]

Welcome to Kiss Day!

Today we celebrate and enjoy kisses. "Kiss" comes from the Old English word "cyssan," which itself came from the proto-Germanic word "kussijanan" or "kuss." This word probably comes from the sound that kissing can make. The first written mention of kissing is in the four Vedic Sanskrit texts, which may date to as early as 1500 BCE.

The orbicularis oris, known as the "kissing muscle," allows lips to pucker. A pucker kiss only takes this and one other muscle, while a French kiss takes 34. "French kiss" is a slang phrase that came about in the English language in 1923; the kiss was given the name because French culture was seen as being overly concerned with sex. This kiss is known as a soul kiss or a tongue kiss in France. About two-thirds of people tip their heads to the right when they kiss, and between 10 million and 1 billion bacteria are exchanged with a kiss.

SU News

Syracuse football coach Fran Brown provides status update on Yazeed Haynes, injured SU players (PS; $; Carlson)

Syracuse starting wide receiver Yazeed Haynes is still away from the SU football team while dealing with a family issue, Orange football coach Fran Brown said on Monday.

Brown did not provide a timeframe for Haynes’ expected return. Haynes was not on the Syracuse sideline on Friday as the Orange was upset by Stanford.

“We’re going to keep his personal business out of it,” Brown said. “He’s not back. When he comes back you’ll see No. 8 on offense out there running around. Right now he has some family things that he has to handle that are extremely important. It’s probably good we don’t talk about them. I’d like to respect him, respect his family and allow them to deal with things.”

Haynes, a wide receiver who transferred from Georgia over the offseason, is expected to be one of the Orange’s leading deep threats. During Syracuse’s first two games he had eight catches for 97 yards.

Without him, Syracuse’s primary options at outside receiver include Umari Hatcher, Jackson Meeks and Darrell Gill Jr. Another outside wide receiver, Justus Ross-Simmons, returned from a hamstring injury against Stanford. He played six snaps on offense.
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SU’s limited run game dampers offensive opportunities (DO; Girshon)

Syracuse’s offensive identity for the last month of the 2023 season was its running game. With quarterback Garrett Shrader faltering with a shoulder injury, the Orange had no passing game threat. So they turned to their biggest strength: establishing the run.

Backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson failed to snap Syracuse’s four-game losing streak versus Boston College on Nov. 3, 2023, but running back LeQuint Allen Jr. rushed for a then-season-high 142 rushing yards. From that point, SU’s offense adopted the wildcat offense with Allen Jr. and tight end Dan Villari taking most snaps under center.

The Orange’s running game blossomed. Allen Jr. built off his 142-yard performance versus BC with three more games with 100 or more rushing yards while Villari tacked on an additional 286. Syracuse reached a bowl game for the second consecutive season despite its passing-game deficiencies.

Ahead of the 2024 season, SU brought in Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord to sure up its aerial attack while retaining Allen Jr. — who had 1,064 rushing yards in 2023 — to lead the backfield. Thus far in Fran Brown’s first season as Syracuse’s head coach and Jeff Nixon’s first as its offensive coordinator, the Orange are running the ball at just a 33% clip. SU’s 25.3 rushing attempts per game are tied with Oklahoma State for 127th out of 134 Division-I teams.

“We also have a few good running backs, so we have to make sure that we’re able to implement them into the football game,” Brown said Monday.

In comparison to the Orange’s 33% run play rate, Atlantic Coast Conference foes Miami, Louisville and Clemson boast 41.3%, 44.4% and 41.3% clips, respectively. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll while the Cardinals are No. 15 and the Tigers are No. 17. SU had been receiving votes in the AP Poll after its Week 2 win over Georgia Tech and its bye week, but it didn’t receive any after falling 26-24 to Stanford Friday.

SU has a litany of options in the passing game, headlined by Oronde Gadsden II and Trebor Peña, but its running back group is one of the team’s strengths. Allen Jr., who was an All-ACC Second-Team selection a year ago, has a 75.6 Pro Football Focus grade, just behind Gadsden’s 76.8 mark and Peña’s 76.6. Allen Jr. has rushed for 206 yards on 38 carries (5.4 yards per carry) while adding a touchdown and 114 receiving yards.

Will Nixon, who missed Friday’s game due to injury, has also been a contributor. In the Orange’s win over the Yellow Jackets, he had 38 rushing yards on nine attempts while adding a catch for 20 yards. Syracuse also has true freshman Yasin Willis, who has seen limited playing time.

To begin their season, the Orange had 30 rushing attempts versus Ohio and 32 versus GT, but it was abundantly clear SU wanted to do most of its work through the air. In those two games, it worked to perfection.
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Does Fran Brown Have a Penalties Problem? (orangefizz,net; Aitken)

Syracuse football’s head coach has been impressive in a lot of ways through his first few games. He managed the clock masterfully in SU’s win over Ohio, he’s been an inspiring leader in press conferences, and he’s gotten the most out of long-time Orange players like Trebor Pena. However, there have been bumps along the road. Syracuse gave up a first down on a key 4th-and-9 against Stanford, in part because defensive back Clarence Lewis was left on an island against star Cardinal receiver Elic Ayomanor. Still, one of the more consistent issues in the first three games has been penalties.

Penalties isn’t an unusual problem for SU football, unfortunately. Dino Babers led the Orange for eight years, and in that time, his teams were famously undisciplined when it came to penalties.

The numbers were always a problem. Syracuse had the 11th-most penalties per game in the country last year, with over seven per game. In fact, the ‘Cuse was penalized more than the average FBS team in each of the eight years that Babers led the squad.

What was even worse than the numbers was the situations in which the penalties happened in. It’s two years later, but pretty much every Orange fan remembers when defensive lineman Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff picked up a 15-yard penalty for a late hit in a loss to Clemson. SU was 6-0 at the time and went on to lose five straight. It didn’t only stem from that one penalty, but it sticks out as a turning point still. Untimely penalties can do that.

For Fran Brown, the penalty numbers haven’t been too bad so far. Syracuse is averaging six penalties per game, which is middle of the pack nationwide. However, there have been some bad penalties at bad times.
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ACC Bowl Watch: How did loss to Stanford change projections for Syracuse football? (PS; $; Carlson)

Syracuse football’s bowl projections were damaged substantially by its loss to Stanford last Friday, a game that most expected that the Orange would win.

ESPN’s Football Power Index now projects the Orange to finish with 5.6 wins, making a 6-6 finish the most likely result of the season according to that metric.

Two national voices, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, are projecting that Syracuse will miss the postseason entirely.

I’m still a little more bullish than that, primarily because the Orange still has a very good quarterback.

Here’s a look at how things could play out in my mind.

College Football Playoff: Miami

Clemson’s impressive response to its season-opening loss to Georgia is improving the ACC’s chances to have two teams reach the playoffs, but the SEC and Big Ten are going to gobble up most of the seven at-large spots. Louisville’s game against Notre Dame this week could go a long way toward improving the odds of multiple ACC teams making it. In these projections, I assume that Miami wins the ACC championship game and earns a presumed automatic bid for the conference. I don’t expect the ACC to have a second team make the field.

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida) vs. SEC: Louisville

The ACC traditionally sends one of its better teams to this game. With Clemson and Notre Dame going the past two years, Louisville is next on the list.

Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, Florida) vs. Big 12: Notre Dame

The ACC has sent a ranked team to this game for seven consecutive years. Notre Dame is always immensely attractive. Right now, the Fighting Irish are outside the College Football Playoff conversation.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina) vs. Big Ten: Clemson

This bowl game has picked a team from North Carolina or Virginia for nine consecutive years. This year it might have the rare opportunity to snag Clemson. The Tigers haven’t played here since 2010 and would be an easy choice if available.

Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, New York) vs. Big Ten: Boston College

Boston College and Pittsburgh are the logical options to anchor this Northeastern bowl. Boston College hasn’t played here since 2017.

Holiday Bowl (San Diego, California) vs. Pac-12: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is looking like one of the ACC’s better teams this season, so it gets a bowl game with a strong tradition. One of the former Pac-12 schools can supply the fans.

Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) vs. Pac-12: Southern Methodist

The Mustangs were impressive last week and would have a short trip.

Military Bowl (Annapolis, Maryland) vs. American: North Carolina

This game has taken teams from North Carolina or Virginia for six straight years. It hasn’t taken North Carolina since 2019.

Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, Texas) vs. Big 12: California

The ACC’s Pac-12 contingent will be placed in Pac-12 bowl games this season. This one avoids an ACC-ACC matchup.

Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Florida) vs. TBD: Duke

The Blue Devils are unbeaten. I don’t think they’re good enough to earn a marquee bowl but they seem likely to be bowl eligible.

Fenway Bowl (Boston, Massachusetts) vs. American: Syracuse

Syracuse’s loss to Stanford drops it down a tier. That’s good news for the Fenway Bowl, which will want a Northeastern team to bring fans.
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Fran Brown talks Stanford miscues, Holy Cross before Week 5 matchup (DO; Stepansky)

Following a 2-0 start to the Fran Brown era, Syracuse took a massive step backward Friday against Stanford.

While the Orange trailed most of the game, Kyle McCord and Co. drove down the field late in the fourth quarter, taking their first lead with just over three minutes to play. But Syracuse’s defense couldn’t get the needed stop, allowing Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels and star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor to convert on a fourth-and-9 to run down the clock for an ensuing game-winning field goal.

Emmet Kenney drilled it from 39 yards out, handing SU its first loss of 2024. The Orange quickly get back to work, going outside the conference for a Week 5 matchup with Holy Cross. The Crusaders have struggled to start the season and give Syracuse a chance to bounce back.

“All those guys are coming off of a tough loss, such as ourselves, so it’ll be a good game,” Brown said.

Here are some takeaways from Brown’s weekly press conference before Syracuse’s (2-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) matchup against Holy Cross (1-3, 0-0 Patriot League):

Stanford cleanups​

In SU’s matchup with the Cardinal, it played without starting wide receiver Zeed Haynes. Haynes missed the matchup due to a personal matter that Brown didn’t elaborate on postgame or Monday, and he isn’t on Syracuse’s Week 5 depth chart. Starting defensive tackle Dion Wilson Jr. missed the game due to injury, though Brown said Monday he expects him to be back in the mix versus Holy Cross.

One injury sustained in the game was to freshman cornerback Marcellus Barnes Jr., who exited in the first quarter. Barnes Jr. is day-to-day per Brown but is moving far better than Friday night.

Versus Stanford, the Orange failed to establish a running game, totaling just 26 rushing yards. The poor execution was clear to Brown from the sideline and after watching the film over the weekend.

“We just got to run the football better. I thought that was something that was obvious,” Brown said.

To fix the issues in the running game, Brown said the emphasis this week in practice will be largely based on aligning the running backs with McCord and the offensive line. Will Nixon missed the game Friday as well, taking away another element of the running game. With an expected full unit versus the Crusaders, the group will have a better chance of establishing them.
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Syracuse football: Three takeaways from SU’s 26-24 loss against Stanford (TNIAAM; Fowler)
The Syracuse Orange got off to a slow start against Stanford, regained the lead late in the 4th quarter, but ultimately fell short in a heartbreaking 26-24 loss.

Let’s not sugarcoat this one. Here are the three takeaways from SU’s week four matchup:

McCord is not the only guy to blame for the loss

Did McCord play perfect, no, but what he did do was give Syracuse a fighting chance until the end, and in a tight game like this one that’s all you can ask for. Head Coach Fran Brown said more or less the same after the game.

“He gave us an opportunity to win, that’s all you can ask,” Brown said. “Did he throw it to the other team? Yeah. But that’s football. You can’t pass for 500 yards every game.”

The star QB threw for over 300 yards, two INTs, and had three total touchdowns, including an electric 19-yard touchdown run to end the third quarter — his longest career rush attempt and first career rushing touchdown.

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https://www.cnyhomepage.com/sports/watch-fran-browns-weekly-syracuse-football-conference/ (cnyhomepage.com; video)

Syracuse University head football coach Fran Brown held his Monday press conference at 1 p.m.

The Orange lost to the Stanford Cardinal, 26-24 Friday.

Fran Brown press conference ahead of Friday night’s game
You can watch the press conference live in the video player above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXQNuggKxA (youtube; video; ACC DN)

The Cardinal traveled cross country to the JMA Wireless Dome for its first-ever ACC Conference game, and Stanford defeated the Orange 26-24 with a 39-yard Emmet Kenney field goal as time expired. Stanford led almost the entire game until Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord connected with Jackson Meeks for a touchdown with 3:13 left in the game. The Cardinal then marched down the field and got a big fourth down conversion on an Elic Ayomanor 27-yard reception to set up the game-winning field goal. Ayomanor finished the game with seven receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels was 23-28 for 178 yards, a touchdown, and 45 yards rushing. For Syracuse, McCord had 339 passing yards and two touchdowns on 27-42 passing. Trebor Pena caught 10 passes for 101 yards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-zJW5N6Sk (youtube; video; WakeUpCallDT)

“Peeling Back the Orange” - DT speaks w/ Syracuse Orange Head Football Coach Fran Brown on the trenches, assessing the offensive & defensive lines within the 1st 3 games (team is 2-1 in those games)…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6FTVAVmsZo (youtube; radio; Cuse Sports Talk)

Syracuse on 247Sports publisher Mike McAllister joins Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia to give his takeaways from the Orange's 26-24 loss to the Stanford Cardinal.

https://www.espnsyracuse.com/2024/09/23/keeping-up-with-the-315-9-23-24/ (ESPN; radio; The 315)

Brian Higgins gives his biggest takeaways from the tough loss to Stanford, including his take on the fourth down play at the end of the game. Then, a couple callers give their thoughts on the game and Gonzaga joining the PAC-12. Lastly, Brian goes over some of the most interesting moments from Fran Brown’s press conference today.

https://www.espnsyracuse.com/2024/09/23/adam-terry-the-315-9-23-24/ (ESPN; radio; The 315)

Syracuse Football radio analyst Adam Terry joins Brian to recap the loss to Stanford, what stood out for the Orange, where this leaves them going forward and previews what would be a successful game against Holy Cross on Saturday.

https://www.espnsyracuse.com/2024/09/23/newhouse-after-noon-9-23-24/ (ESPN; radio; Newhouse after Noon)

Evan Fay, Matt Lesnik, and Izzy Sy discuss the season outlook for Syracuse football after the loss to Stanford, look around the rest of the ACC, recap the weekend of NFL action, and spin the ‘wheel of buy or sell.’

Disloyal Idiots: Syracuse did not Live Más (A Syracuse Orange Podcast)

Following Syracuse football's first loss of the Fran Brown Era to Stanford, the Disloyal Idiots podcast is here to discuss how the Orange move forward.

youtu.be

https://www.nunesmagician.com/2024/...sing-syracuse-orange-vs-stanford-cardinal-acc (TNIAAM; podcast; De Guzman & Haller)

The Syracuse Orange dropped their first game of the season, so what did the Disloyal Idiots think about the Stanford game? Check out the replay of this week’s podcast

• Andy, Christian, and Steve all survived the dome, their EPL teams are frustrating, Syracuse is more frustrating!
• SP+: Thought Syracuse should’ve won. PFF: Thought Syracuse was pretty good. Frustrating loss to Stanford comes down to the human element
• Analyzing all the little moments that swung a one score game on the offensive side of the Orange ball
• Kyle McCord pretty good
• HOMEFIELD APPAREL (Nunes24 for 15% off your first order)
• Defense: stop an outside run, please?
• How is the defense adapting to injuries? Hint: they’ve got a pretty solid core of players that will ride.
• PFF Passing Charts! And the conversation gets pushed back to offense… whoops!
• Syracuse and expectations: why is the sky falling? Is it fair to be upset about the loss?

ACC News

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/s...-in-legal-battle-against-the-acc/75353827007/ (tallahasse.com; Rooney)

Florida State University has spent just north of $3 million in legal fees in its lawsuits against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

That's according to information received Friday from the university after a public records request by the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida.

As of Sept. 11, FSU has spent $3,027,681.29 on legal fees, with the highest single billing of $272,444.98 coming on Aug. 1.

The bulk of that money – roughly $2.3 million – has gone to the Greenberg Traurig law firm, with the rest going to Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, a Birmingham, Alabama-based law firm that also has an office in Charlotte, N.C.

The school sued the conference over its frustrations with its media rights deal in December, claiming uneven distribution of revenue was creating a gap between the Seminoles athletics program, primarily football, and teams in conferences like the SEC and BIG10.

FSU's arguments have led to a nearly yearlong legal fight with the conference as the program explores a potential exit from the ACC, or, as recent reports suggest, a new revenue-sharing plan.

Any settlement between the conference and the school would revolve around the proposed revenue-sharing plan, and an agreement is likely to end the litigation.

The school asked Tallahassee-based Circuit Judge John C. Cooper for a partial summary judgment in the case on Sept. 13, claiming millions of dollars are "needlessly being consumed" in the case. (A partial summary judgment is a court ruling on some issues in a case while leaving others for trial.)

FSU asked for decisions on if the ACC's "grant of rights" is enforceable. It also asked for judgment on the school's claims of the ACC's breach of contract when it sued FSU without the required number of votes from member institutions and on the conference's exit fee.

Just five days after the filing, a report from Yahoo Sports Ross Dellenger suggested the ACC and both FSU and Clemson, with whom the ACC is also battling legally, have discussed a new revenue-sharing plan.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx-wTbUef9w (youtube; video; ACC DN)

Wide receivers take center stage in this week's edition of the ACC Digital Network's Top 5 Offensive Plays of the Week! From Malachi Fields making the back shoulder fade look easy to Elic Ayomanor doing an amazing Odell Backham, Jr. impersonation with a sensational one-handed touchdown grab, pass-catchers all around the ACC put their talents on display all weekend. Check out our top 5 plays of the week here, and see which one earns the No. 1 spot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXv2FyWDW_s (youtube; video; ACC DN)

Defenses in the ACC made huge plays and determined many games in Week 4. From Ahmaad Moses and Brandon Crossley both scoring on defense for SMU to Max Tucker closing the door on Michigan State in BC's big Red Bandana Game win, we saw how impactful these talented defenders in the ACC can be. Find out which defensive play earned the top spot in the ACC digital Network's Top 5 Defensive Plays of week 4 right here.

https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-s...e-fsu-miami-louisville-duke-unc-stanford-2024 (backingthepack.com; PWolf)

1. Clemson (last week: 59-35 W vs NC State)​

The kneejerk reactions to Clemson’s season-opening loss to Georgia may have been too dramatic. The Tigers have annihilated both opponents since, scoring 13 touchdowns and a field goal in 15 first half drives in those games. This is the most impressive team in the ACC right now. Next up is a home day with Stanford before heading to Tallahassee.

2. Miami (last week: 50-15 W @ South Florida)​

Much in the same way you shouldn’t let the final score of Clemson’s win over NC State fool you, Miami led South Florida by just 7 points midway through the 3rd quarter before eventually overpowering the Bulls. This is still a super strong Miami team, and USF pushed Alabama two weeks ago in a game that played out very similarly, so hard to ding the Hurricanes much there. Miami stays in the Sunshine State for the fifth straight week as they host Virginia Tech this Saturday night.

3. Louisville (last week: 31-19 W vs Georgia Tech)​

While they never trailed, Louisville never quite dominated this game, either, needing a 55-yard return of a blocked field goal to pull away in the 4th quarter. Getting outgained 410-to-326 isn’t typically a recipe for victory, but it worked in this one. Even with the offense not clicking like usual, the Cardinals took care of the ball with a turnover-free effort. That was the difference. Louisville heads to Notre Dame this week.

4. Boston College (last week: 23-19 W vs Michigan State)​

The Eagles’ offense did a whole lot of nothing all night against a Michigan State team that entered the game undefeated. The defense bowed up to hold the Spartans to a go-ahead 27-yard field goal with 4:12 to play. That’s when BC’s offense finally clicked, marching 75 yards in 6 plays, capped by a 42-yard TD pass from Thomas Castellanos to Lewis Bond with 1:28 to play. BC’s defense then picked off a pass on Michigan State’s last drive to seal the win. Is BC really the league’s 4th best team? Highly unlikely, but the resume has been good thus far. Western Kentucky comes to Chestnut Hill this week followed by a trip to Charlottesville.

5. SMU (last week: 66-42 W vs TCU)​

Apparently the Mustangs are this year’s ACC team that’s going to swing wildly in performance week to week. Struggle in a road win at Nevada, crush Houston Christian at home. Get stymied in a home loss to BYU, blow out TCU on your home turf. The funniest thing about this game was Sonny Dykes getting ejected against the school he used to coach for. SMU hosts FSU Saturday night in their ACC debut.

6. Pittsburgh (last week: 73-17 W vs Youngstown State)​

Somewhat quietly, Pitt is 4-0 heading into their bye week, just two wins shy of bowl eligibility with North Carolina the next game up for the Panthers. A pair of wins over Big 12 opponents is a nice feather in the cap, while blowing out a pair of inferior opponents is simply doing what you’re supposed to do. There’s value in that.

7. Duke (last week: 45-17 W @ Middle Tennessee State)​

Like Pitt, Duke is sitting at 4-0, but with a far inferior schedule with which they’ve done it against. The win over MTSU was a nice bounce back after struggling with UConn the week prior. Duke’s defense was the star, forcing 4 turnovers and setting up 3 touchdown drives by the offense that covered less than 25 yards each. You’re going to win a lot of games with efforts like that, but there aren’t a lot of teams that are going to be in that much of a giving mood. Hopefully their next opponent (UNC) is as willing.

8. Georgia Tech (last week: 19-31 L @ Louisville)​

This is a pretty good GT team that I should rank higher. On one hand, their two losses have been road contests against Syracuse and Louisville. On the other hand, their wins are against an obviously not-good FSU as well as Georgia State and VMI. The offense couldn’t get Jamal Haynes going against Georgia Tech, so the entire unit’s success fell on the shoulders of Haynes King. King did just fine, but the miscues for the group were killer, surrendering a fumble return touchdown and a blocked field goal touchdown in a 12-point loss. The Jackets are off this week before hosting Duke.

9. California (last week: 9-14 L @ Florida State)​

In their first ever ACC game, the Golden Bears went into Tallahassee and outgained the Seminoles 410-to-284. They had fewer penalty yards - although more penalties - and were even in turnover margin. Still, Cal walked out with a loss. Having to settle for two short 2nd quarter field goals was ultimately the turning point. One of those was aided by the end of the half forcing the kick, but that allowed FSU to only need one more scoring drive to win the game. That’s a tough loss, but efforts like those will win the vast majority of games. Cal may only be underdogs twice more this year. This is a good team.

10. Stanford (last week: 26-24 W @ Syracuse)​

The Cardinal put forth an impressive effort in their first ever ACC game, hitting the road to take a win against Syracuse with a walk-off field goal. I still don’t believe this is a top half of the conference team, but they’re passing the test so far. Next up is a real test: a road game against Clemson.

11. Syracuse (last week: 24-26 L vs Stanford)​

There’s really no reason that LeQuint Allen should only have 8 carries in a game. One of the best running backs in the league needs double that in any game, especially one that went down to the wire and could have used a little more of the Orange running down the clock. Cuse hosts Holy Cross next, then hits the road to take on UNLV. They should be 4-1 entering Raleigh in three weeks, although UNLV will be a tough out.

12. Virginia (last week: 43-24 W @ Coastal Carolina)​

This was UVa’s best effort of the season. The Wahoos jumped out to a 17-3 lead, then quickly responded with another two scores before halftime after Coastal cut it to a 7-point game midway through the 2nd quarter. Coastal never threatened after that. Virginia has a week off and then the sledding gets real tough with games against Boston College, Louisville, and Clemson to follow. More efforts like the one in Conway will get the Cavaliers to a bowl game, but it’s hard to see three more wins on that schedule.
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https://fightinggobbler.com/posts/a...hakeups-after-a-weekend-of-chaos-01j8dfz6345y (fightinggobbler.com; Roche)

Another week has come and gone and we are four weeks through the 2024 college football season. When it comes to the ACC, expect the unexpected. Friday night, Stanford came cross-country to Syracuse to open ACC play and the Cardinal won on a field goal to stun the Orange.

Saturday, Clemson made a statement with a blowout of North Carolina State at home, while Florida State finally picked up their first win of the season at home against California and Louisville outscored a talented Georgia Tech team at home.

In the non-conference, Boston College scored late to edge Michigan State at home in the Red Bandanna Game, Pittsburgh blasted Youngstown State, 73-17, SMU beat TCU, 66-42, and Duke went on the road to beat Middle Tennessee State. Virginia improved to 3-1 and is halfway to bowl eligibility with a victory at Coastal Carolina. James Madison dropped 70 points on North Carolina on the road and Virginia Tech dropped a three-point decision at home to Rutgers.

Before we look ahead to Week 5, let's break down the latest ACC Power Rankings.

Week 4 ACC Football Power Rankings​

Rank	Team	Record	Last Week
1.	Miami	4-0	1
2.	Louisville	3-0	2
3.	Clemson	2-1	7
4.	Boston College	3-1	8
5.	Pittsburgh	4-0	6
6.	Duke	4-0	9
7.	Syracuse	2-1	5
8.	SMU	3-1	13
9.	California	3-1	4
10.	Georgia Tech	2-2	10
11.	Virginia	3-1	14
12.	Stanford	2-1	15
13.	NC State	2-2	12
14.	North Carolina	3-1	3
15.	Virginia Tech	2-2	11
16.	Florida State	1-3	16
17.	Wake Forest	1-2	17

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https://theacc.com/news/2024/9/23/acc-announces-week-6-football-game-times-tv-networks.aspx (theacc.com)

The Atlantic Coast Conference and its television partners announced the following football game times and networks for Week 6, October 4-5.

Week 6 of the season will feature eight conference matchups and a Friday night non-conference showdown between Syracuse and UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada, on FS1.

Friday, October 4

• Syracuse at UNLV – 9 p.m. ET on FS1 – previously announced

Saturday, October 5

• Boston College at Virginia – Noon ET on ACC Network
• Wake Forest at NC State – Noon ET on The CW
• Virginia Tech at Stanford – 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network
• Duke at Georgia Tech – 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network
• Miami at California – 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

The following three games will have the network designated after the Week 5 games this Saturday, September 28.

Saturday, October 5

• SMU at Louisville – Noon ET on either ESPN or ESPN2
• Pitt at North Carolina – Noon ET on either ESPN or ESPN2
• Clemson at Florida State – 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC or 7 p.m. ET on ESPN

ACC Football Notes
Through Week 4 of the 2024 season:

• Week 0 – Florida State versus Georgia Tech saw 5.0 million viewers and was the most-watched Week 0 game on any network since 2019.
• College GameDay from Ireland was the most-watched Week 0 episode ever – 41 percent over the previous most-watched Week 0 show (2022) and averaged 1.6 million viewers, including 2.0 million in the final hour.
• Week 1 – ACC was part of a historical day on Saturday, August 31, as it was ABC’s second-most-watched Kickoff Saturday on record.
  
  • 7.9 million viewers - The Clemson versus Georgia Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta was the most-watched Week 1 Noon Game on record, peaking at 9.5 million viewers.
  • 6.6 million viewers - The in-state rivalry contest between Miami and Florida in Gainesville, Florida, was the most-watched Week 1 Late Afternoon Game since 2017.
• Seven ACC teams are undefeated in non-conference play – tied for the second-most among all FBS conferences.
• The ACC is 37-11 overall in non-conference play.
• The ACC has eight non-conference wins versus fellow Power 4 foes.
• The ACC was the only conference to have played conference games in each of the first three weeks (Week 0, Week 1 and Week 2) of the season to start the year.

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https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2024/09/jhowells-picks-2024-week-5.html (RX; HM)

JHowell's Picks 2024 Week 5

Here are ACC-related projections for Week #4 of the 2024 college football game seasons (through the games of 9-28-24); let's see if the computer can correctly pick the "dogs" again...

Friday, September 27, 2024​

#16-Miami (FL) (-17.5) vs. #78-Virginia Tech (TP=55 Odds=.740)

Saturday, September 28, 2024​

#10-Notre Dame (-9) vs. #20-Louisville (TP=51 Odds=.637)
#17-Clemson (-22) vs. #99-Stanford (TP=58 Odds=.778)
#27-Duke (-8) vs. #43-North Carolina (TP=60 Odds=.607)
#29-Southern Methodist (-9.5) vs. #61-Florida State (TP=54 Odds=.639)
#42-Boston College (-3.5) vs. #47-W. Kentucky (TP=54 Odds=.555)
#60-N.C. State (-7.5) vs. #84-Northern Illinois (TP=52 Odds=.617)
#73-Louisiana (-1) @ #96-Wake Forest (TP=56 Odds=.513)
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https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2024/09/how-far-is-dallas.html (RX; HM)

How Far is Dallas?

[Thanks to MSTiger for the idea for this post]

FSU makes their first ACC trip to SMU this weekend. Just how far away is Dallas?

Of the three new ACC schools, SMU (in Dallas, TX) is clearly the most centrally-located... but just how far is it from other ACC schools, and will the teams need to fly, or can they drive it?

Driving distances to Dallas​

• Atlanta (GT) 783 miles (11.5 hours)
• Tallahassee (FSU) 833 miles (12.5 hours)
• Louisville 836 miles (12.5 hours)
• Clemson 907 miles (13.75 hours)
• South Bend* (ND) 993.5 miles (15 hours)
• Blacksburg, VA (VT) 1,077 miles (16 hours)
• Winston-Salem (WFU) 1,101 miles (16.5 hours)
• Chapel Hill (UNC) 1,163 miles (17.5 hours)
• Durham (Duke) 1,167 miles (17.5 hours)
• Raleigh (NC State) 1,189.5 miles (14.75 hours)
• Charlottesville VA (UVA) 1,208.5 miles (17.75 hours)
• Pittsburgh 1,223 miles (18 hours)
• Miami 1,312 miles (19.5 hours)
• Syracuse 1,511 miles (22.5 hours)
• Palo Alto* (Stanford) 1,707 miles (25 hours)
• Berkeley (Cal) 1,724.5 miles (25 hours)
• Boston 1,767 miles (27 hours)

https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2024/09/ot-pac-12-update-whos-in-whos-not.html (RX; HM)

OT: Pac-12 Update: Who's In, who's not

There's been a lot of action in the Pac-12 rebuild, so I thought I'd give you the tl;dnr version:

Memphis, Tulane, USF and UTSA were invited, but decided to remain in the American (for now).
Utah State has apparently accepted an invitation and will join Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State next year.
UNLV, which had committed to remaining in the Mountain West provided no one else (like Utah State) left, is now said to be considering the Pac-12. That would be the final puzzle piece necessary to meet the NCAA minimum of 8 teams by 2026.

Other

Collegetown Bagels near the Syracuse University campus. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

https://www.syracuse.com/food/2024/...fills-void-across-the-street-from-campus.html (PS; $; Miller)

From Day 1, it was one problem after another for Schoolyard Bagels, a sandwich shop that opened in February across the street from Syracuse University. Customers showed up in droves, but employees didn’t. Neither did the daily orders of bread and other ingredients.

After opening, then closing for a couple weeks to regroup and then reopening, Schoolyard quietly left when the students left for the summer.

The owners reached out to Gregar Brous and his children, a family of bakers that owns Collegetown Bagels in Ithaca, to see if they’d be interested in bringing their popular brand to the corner of Marshall Street and University Avenue. After all, it was already full of bagel-making appliances and furniture.

Throughout July and August, the Brous clan remodeled the inside, added a pickup window for to-go orders, orange chairs and a machine that slices and juices fresh oranges.

“We always wanted to open a place in Syracuse, and we couldn’t have asked for a better spot,” said Lindsey Brous. “Syracuse has a special place in our heart. We were so excited. Can’t you see all the orange in here?”

Her uncle was born here, and her grandfather earned his doctorate degree in economics in the building directly across the street from Lindsey’s new Collegetown Bagels.
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https://www.syracuse.com/data/2024/...rising-these-sectors-are-leading-the-way.html (PS; $; Tampone)

Employment is higher than it was a year ago in the Syracuse metro area in nearly every job sector tracked by the state Labor Department.

Job counts were up in nine of the 11 broad industry sectors tracked by the department in July, the most recent month with numbers available. Job totals were down in the remaining two.

The leader in July was the private education and health services sector, which includes jobs at schools, training centers, hospitals, doctors’ offices and more. Employment in the sector was up by 2,400 jobs in July when compared with the same month in 2023.

That’s an increase of over 4%.

Job counts in two other sectors in the Syracuse metro area were up by over 1,000 jobs in July: leisure and hospitality and government.

That’s an increase of more than 5% for leisure and hospitality and 1.8% for government.

You can see details in the table below. If you can’t see the table, click here to open it in a new window.

The Syracuse metro area includes Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties.

The only two sectors to lose jobs from July 2023 to July 2024 were financial activities and information. The information sector was down 200 jobs and the financial activities sector was down 100.
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https://www.syracuse.com/living/202...the-best-in-the-world-according-to-italy.html (PS; Hernandez)

Italy knows a thing or two about great pizza and some Upstate New York pies are putting their hometown on the map as some of the best in the world.

Jay’s Artisan Pizzeria in Kenmore, just north of Buffalo, has been named on the Guide to the 50 Best Pizzerias in the World for the third year in a row.

The list, published by Italy’s 50 Top Pizza, names Jay’s among pizza city giants like Naples, Barcelona, Rome, New York City, and more.

This year, the Western New York pizzeria has secured the 28th position globally and is ranked sixth in America. Their rise has been impressive; in 2021, they held the 28th spot in the U.S., and in 2022, they were recognized as the 71st best pizzeria worldwide.

The 50 Top Pizza feature notes what makes Jay’s stand out and that includes something they take pride in: their fresh, local ingredients. From their locally-sourced mozzarella to the fresh basil and microgreens and produce, many of the ingredients you will find on your pie come right from Upstate NY.

Jay’s Artisan Pizzeria on Instagram: "Always honored to be surrounded by some of the world’s greatest pizzaioli. We’re thrilled to share that we’ve kept our spot as the 28th best pizzeria in the world @50toppizza It’s been an incredible experience

1,445 likes, 33 comments - jaysartisan on September 10, 2024: "Always honored to be surrounded by some of the world’s greatest pizzaioli. We’re thrilled to share that we’ve kept our spot as the 28th best pizzeria in the world @50toppizza It’s been an incredible experience coming to Naples and...

www.instagram.com

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[Ozone!]