Future opponents

[Lou_C]

I guess we'll have a better perspective on this at the end of the year.

 

[SaltineWar]

Eh, I wouldn't pencil in a win against Duke just yet. I think they'll go to a bowl again.

You guys will win a few conference games this year I'm sure. You won't 0-fer. But I don't think any individual game is going to be a sure win.

You are correct. Syracuse has no business penciling in any win against an FBS power conference team. I agree that it is sad that this is the case, and it shouldn't be given our history, but we have proven over the last 12 years that we aren't any good.

 

[Alsacs]

Why would a team have to be "on the cusp" to be a difficult challenge for this Syracuse team? Do you not see being a level above BC and Wake to be a significant challenge for Syracuse?

Over the last five years, you've got all of 3 more wins than Maryland, and they started a linebacker at quarterback all last year. And you guys were playing in the Big East, and they were in the ACC. They should make up those three games this year.
Don't get me wrong, I hate Maryland, but where Syracuse SHOULD be vis a vis Maryland and where Syracuse is and has been vis a vis Maryland is not the same thing.

And I'm not saying you shouldn't play Maryland. Maryland is actually a perfect team for you to play. You could beat them. But you should be playing them ONLY, not also ND or NW.

Plus, you'll only have a week to prep for the Irish. You MIGHT go 3-1, but likelihood is 2-2.

Lou,
I respect you but c'mon. Let's see Maryland play a road game before we anoint them as better than Syracuse. I mean they have beaten a I-AA and FIU or FAU one of those schools at home. Syracuse should expect to win every non-Clemson/Florida State home game, and give those teams a scare and play them tough. We have played Penn State and Northwestern not Villanova/Wake Forest and whomever Maryland has played.

 

[SF Cuse]

Why would a team have to be "on the cusp" to be a difficult challenge for this Syracuse team? Do you not see being a level above BC and Wake to be a significant challenge for Syracuse?

Over the last five years, you've got all of 3 more wins than Maryland, and they started a linebacker at quarterback all last year. And you guys were playing in the Big East, and they were in the ACC. They should make up those three games this year.
Don't get me wrong, I hate Maryland, but where Syracuse SHOULD be vis a vis Maryland and where Syracuse is and has been vis a vis Maryland is not the same thing.

And I'm not saying you shouldn't play Maryland. Maryland is actually a perfect team for you to play. You could beat them. But you should be playing them ONLY, not also ND or NW.

Plus, you'll only have a week to prep for the Irish. You MIGHT go 3-1, but likelihood is 2-2.

Lou, your insight is appreciated and you do make valid points around smart scheduling, but you inference that Syracuse can't beat good teams is getting old. You compare us to Duke and BC, but I haven't seen them beat the likes of WVU X2, Mizzou, and routing Louisville the last couple years.

 

[Alsacs]

Eh, I wouldn't pencil in a win against Duke just yet. I think they'll go to a bowl again.

You guys will win a few conference games this year I'm sure. You won't 0-fer. But I don't think any individual game is going to be a sure win.

LOL if we shouldn't expect to beat Duke next year at the Dome then I guess we should expect to be 0-12 next year and throw a parade after each win.

 

[SaltineWar]

Lou, your insight is appreciated and you do make valid points around smart scheduling, but you inference that Syracuse can't beat good teams is getting old. You compare us to Duke and BC, but I haven't seen them beat the likes of WVU X2, Mizzou, and routing Louisville the last couple years.

All with an almost completely different coaching staff and a talented QB.

 

[Lou_C]

Lou,
I respect you but c'mon. Let's see Maryland play a road game before we anoint them as better as Syracuse. I mean they have beaten a I-AA and FIU or FAU one of those schools at home. Syracuse should expect to win every non-Clemson/Florida State home game, and give those teams a scare and play them tough. We have played Penn State and Northwestern not Villanova/Wake Forest and whomever Maryland has played.

Ok, the good thing about it is that we'll see. It will play out.

But I will tell you, NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY outside Syracuse fandom, believes that to be the case. We'll see if the world is wrong and you are right.

I just hope if it does play out the way everyone expects, with 2-3 conference wins, people will acknowledge the state of the program and not act like a coach or a quarterback just tanked a potential 9-win team.

 

[SF Cuse]

All with an almost completely different coaching staff and a talented QB.

So we just just pack it in and not schedule a teams tough as Maryland in future years because 2012 was as good as it can get with the coaching staff and QB?

 

[SaltineWar]

So we just just pack it in and not schedule a teams tough as Maryland in future years because 2012 was as good as it can get with the coaching staff and QB?

I'm not saying pack it in, but there's no reason to schedule a B1G team in addition to an away ND game in our ooc schedule. As far as coaching staff, yeah, Marrone might have been the best situation we can hope for. Holtz turned his nose up at the job only to take the gig at USF. This athletic department likes to do fball on the cheap so I don't see anyone better in the foreseable future.

Maybe we can get Tressel at a deep enough discount with some of his baggage. But don't mention that to these board members or they suddenly turn into church-going moralists.

 

[Alsacs]

Ok, the good thing about it is that we'll see. It will play out.

But I will tell you, NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY outside Syracuse fandom, believes that to be the case. We'll see if the world is wrong and you are right.

I just hope if it does play out the way everyone expects, with 2-3 conference wins, people will acknowledge the state of the program and not act like a coach or a quarterback just tanked a potential 9-win team.

I expected this team to go 7-5 and beat Penn State now I am down to 6-6
We should beat Wagner, Tulane, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Boston College at home, and I expected to split with NC State and Maryland, and thought we would lose to Northwestern, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State and one of NC State/Maryland.

 

[Lou_C]

I expected this team to go 7-5 and beat Penn State now I am down to 6-6
We should beat Wagner, Tulane, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Boston College at home, and I expected to split with NC State and Maryland, and thought we would lose to Northwestern, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State and one of NC State/Maryland.

Really, you EXPECTED to win a game in which your were an 9 pt underdog?

That's good for you if you do, but that's pure fan thinking. I certainly hope the people in charge of Syracuse's schedule are more rational than that.

 

[Alsacs]

Really, you EXPECTED to win a game in which your were an 9 pt underdog?

That's good for you if you do, but that's pure fan thinking. I certainly hope the people in charge of Syracuse's schedule are more rational than that.

Did you watch that game? Penn State started a true Freshman QB and if we had any semblance of an offense we win that game. We played bad and had the ball at our 40 down 6 with 2:30 left. We had a play where a Penn State OL saved a TD on freak tackle and our kicker missed a FG after it. Obviously we lost, but I expected our offense to be better. I am a realist and call it the way I see it. Syracuse should expect to beat Maryland at home 7 out of 10 times. This isn't a worldbeater team and we aren't a patsy. We aren't a consistent top 25 but we should defend our home field versus non-elite teams. Sometimes you lose home games, but the other team outplays you.

 

[SaltineWar]

Really, you EXPECTED to win a game in which your were an 9 pt underdog?

That's good for you if you do, but that's pure fan thinking. I certainly hope the people in charge of Syracuse's schedule are more rational than that.

They aren't.

 

[Legendof44]

the only thing worse than an FSU troll is someone born and bread in Tallahassee.

 

[Legendof44]

I think its fair to say that the only school that has consistantly done LESS with MORE besides Georgia Bulldogs...would be FSU.

 

[Alsacs]

the only thing worse than an FSU troll is someone born and bread in Tallahassee.

Legend,
I will defend Lou he isn't a troll and welcome to post, and I don't expect him to know the SU team and expectations as well as SU fans. I hope he continues posting, and realizes I am not person who drinks the kool-aid I call it the way I see it. Syracuse should have expected to beat a Penn State team with a true Freshman QB in a neutral site and with a team that didn't have 70 scholarship players. Obviously we lost a close game, but SU fans aren't going to call themselves Wake Forest when we have really only been pathetic from 2005 to 2008. Since 2009, we have been a mediocre team not pathetic.

 

[SaltineWar]

the only thing worse than an FSU troll is someone born and bread in Tallahassee.

Woah. Everything Lou has said has been germane and reasonable. It might not be what Cuse fans want to hear, but it might be what Cuse fans need to hear.

 

[Legendof44]

Woah. Everything Lou has said has been germane and reasonable. It might not be what Cuse fans want to hear, but it might be what Cuse fans need to hear.

get over it...it was a joke guys. kind of like his impression of the SU program as a whole.

 

[SaltineWar]

get over it...it was a joke guys. kind of like his impression of the SU program as a whole.

That impression is also reasonable.

 

[Alsacs]

get over it...it was a joke guys. kind of like his impression of the SU program as a whole.

Their was no malice in my response. Fair enough with the joke and I doubt he cares.

 

[Crusty]

Really, you EXPECTED to win a game in which your were an 9 pt underdog?

That's good for you if you do, but that's pure fan thinking. I certainly hope the people in charge of Syracuse's schedule are more rational than that.

Welcome your post Lou, but that makes little sense. Schedules are planned years in advance and there is no way of knowing how good SU or an opponent will be years out. Moreover, its college football - teams go up and down yearly. We beat ND when we stunk, we beat Geno and West Va three years in a row and last year we beat Mizzou and Louisville. So yes, we expect to win games when we are 9 point underdogs because nobody really knows the result ahead of time - that is why they play the games.
Go Orange!

 

[SF Cuse]

Yep, I also like having Lou and appreciate the FSU perspective. Considering the success they've had against us, I understand where he's coming from. What's frustrating is implying that we should know "our place" in college football with BC and Duke. People's perception of Syracuse is based on 2001-2008 and not the 20 years before (top 15 in wins I believe) or the four years after. It is indeed the Yukon time horizon of college football.

 

[BORZAK]

Really, you EXPECTED to win a game in which your were an 9 pt underdog?

That's good for you if you do, but that's pure fan thinking. I certainly hope the people in charge of Syracuse's schedule are more rational than that.

We do that. We upset ranked teams.

 

[Lou_C]

Yep, I also like having Lou and appreciate the FSU perspective. Considering the success they've had against us, I understand where he's coming from. What's frustrating is implying that we should know "our place" in college football with BC and Duke. People's perception of Syracuse is based on 2001-2008 and not the 20 years before (top 15 in wins I believe) or the four years after. It is indeed the Yukon time horizon of college football.

Just to clarify...I don't think with BC and Duke is Syracuse's "place" as a program. Syracuse should be much, much better. But there's a difference between where your place is as a program and where you are or have been for the last 10+ years.

I think some of you guys think you are still in that place as a program, and I don't think you are, and nobody outside your fan base thinks you are. But you SHOULD be, and you CAN be where you should be. Right now you guys are well below your "place", a lot closer to BC and Duke than you are to FSU and Clemson. It shouldn't be that way, but it is, and your program needs to be built back up in a rational way.

I think it will become clearer over the next couple years. To put it in perspective a little, would you not agree that Syracuse's "place" is well above NC State? In the 2009-2012 period, which you specify as more indicative of good Syracuse football, NCSU did better, and in a tougher conference.

And they fired their coach, rather than considering him a savior.

All of which makes this sound like I'm trolling and saying "Syracuse sucks!" or that they can't compete in the ACC. They can. Syracuse should be just behind the FSU, Miami, Clemson mix every year, and sometimes in that mix when things line up.

But some of you think you are there, or are a play here or there, or a better quarterback, or one more lineman, or one less turnover from being that team. And people that think that still want to schedule the two losses a year which you have been averaging out of conference. And THAT's why I care. It hurts the conference as well as hurts your program to start off losing every year.

Build this thing back up to where it should be, and build it back up the way everyone else has. Or keep doing the same thing you've done for 15 years with the same results.

 

[Lou_C]

We do that. We upset ranked teams.

And you still average 2 OOC losses a year with the upsets. That's not something to build a program on. Yes, if you schedule enough games as an underdog, you'll win some. It's not something that sells to recruits.