Ohio Bobcats (Week 1)

[syrBossHogg]

Run defense looked ok towards the end of last year especially after the Duke/Liberty embarrassments. Guys like Harper and Caleb got some run, depth should be better this year and the offseason coaching prolly helped.

I expect the run defense to be better otherwise it will be a long season

 

[syrBossHogg]

I'm more of a 2019 vs Western Michigan with TD kind of guy. The 2018 game was closer than anyone wanted in the 4th

It got too close but they put the lid on the comeback early in the 4th quarter

 

[City of Cuse]

It got too close but they put the lid on the comeback early in the 4th quarter

Agreed, and if Dungey stays in Cuse wins by +40.

The 2019 game felt more close to me for some reason. I remember lots of things rolling our way. Couple big injuries, turnovers, etc. I want to say Bellamy fumbled it while about to score.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We're gonna beat the Hell out of this team.

I sure hope so!

 

[Apdaly]

Is it me or does it seem like cuse is respecting Ohio more than Ohio respects Cuse? Listening to the interviews Ohio has a sense of arrogance like they should win this game at home. I’m sure albin likes that, want them to believe they can win. Just has a feel like there isn’t a ton of respect on the bobcat sideline. Maybe I’m just sensitive but I want to smack the out of them!

 

[AAM62]

Is it me or does it seem like cuse is respecting Ohio more than Ohio respects Cuse? Listening to the interviews Ohio has a sense of arrogance like they should win this game at home. I’m sure albin likes that, want them to believe they can win. Just has a feel like there isn’t a ton of respect on the bobcat sideline. Maybe I’m just sensitive but I want to smack the out of them!

I would love to hear some of this. Truly hope this is the case so they can get hit in the mouth.

 

[djorange1989]

I would love to hear some of this. Truly hope this is the case so they can get hit in the mouth.

hopefully they are as overconfident as we were against Maryland in 2019 and the final score reflects it in our favor this time

 

[Scooch]

hopefully they are as overconfident as we were against Maryland in 2019 and the final score reflects it in our favor this time

I think we were the exact opposite vs. Maryland. Dino was clearly rattled all week heading into that game (hell, he was rattled the entire preseason). I think we went into that game knowing that we weren't nearly as good as all that La Familia nonsense tried to portray. And as soon as MD smacked us in the mouth we crumpled like scared children.

 

[kingtidge]

I see the TV for this game is CBSSN.

I just checked my YoutubeTV schedule for tonight and 7:00pm CBSSN is Duke v. Charlotte. (I am in Albany NY metro)

Anyone else seeing similar on their schedule?

Will it only be available in the CBSSN app I am guessing?

 

[JeremyCuse]

I see the TV for this game is CBSSN.

I just checked my YoutubeTV schedule for tonight and 7:00pm CBSSN is Duke v. Charlotte. (I am in Albany NY metro)

Anyone else seeing similar on their schedule?

Will it only be available in the CBSSN app I am guessing?

Yes thats correct, SU plays tomorrow dude.

 

[kingtidge]

Yes thats correct, SU plays tomorrow dude.

LOL... I had this in my head it is a friday night game tonight... Prolly cause they always do that to us! Thx.

 

[TheHaze315]

hopefully they are as overconfident as we were against Maryland in 2019 and the final score reflects it in our favor this time

I hope they’re confident, it’s gonna make the win tomorrow that much better. All anyone sees from last season is the record, but if they looked closer they’d see we played a fullback at guard and at times a receiver at safety. I’m not saying this squad is world beaters, but we’re better than 1-10 and certainly good enough to beat ohio no matter where the game takes place. 31-14.

 

[FloridaRon]

I am going with Syracuse 42-17. Ohio played 3 games and beat 2 crappy teams. This Syracuse team is WAY different than las years team. Rushing 300 yds, Passing 300yds.

 

[JeremyCuse]

This remains a tough game to call. TNIAAM had a good article where they spoke with a writer from the Ohio SB Nation site where he gave some good thoughts on why Ohio could win ie veteran offensive line, upper level to elite run game against SU's generally poor Run D from last year, game at Ohio etc.

To me a lot of this comes down to the SU run Defense and can we generate a passing game outside of Taj. I think we should be able to run the ball with a mostly healthy O line and a real nice stable of backs. I still worry about any sort of consistency beyond Taj and Benson (when we actually throw to him). Really hope we get Lutz and some of the other young O players especially at WR involved. Interested to see what Devito brings as well, Ohio doesn't have much in the way of a pass rush so he should (key is should) have time.

Also interested to see what the play calling looks like, thought it got a lot better toward the end of the season but still some mind-numbing calls in the red zone (see the 4th down spike series of calls) but SU was able to move the ball and score against NC State and ND despite a lack of playmakers and severe restraints at QB. Really hope to see a semblance of the offense we saw the first three years under Babers and not the last two years where everything was a slog.

 

[Shenexon]

I’m pretty saddened by many of the discouraging takes on a season we have yet to start. There are good reasons to think we could much better than the past couple of years. Let the kids play and show us how good they can be. They’re motivated and hungry for success. Our depth is much improved in many areas. While there have been times over the past couple of years that we’ve had glaring weaknesses, that’s not the starting point for this season. Let’s give them a chance before declaring the season as a loss, before a single game or play. I look for a win tomorrow, period. Just win, baby! LGO!!!

Am I not allowed to post here if I'm not a lifelong diehard fan or a parent of a player?


Ok, I'll "be careful."


I've been following college football for more than 45 years. Coached HS and JC for almost 12 years. I am a fan of the game and the process.

Never followed SU football closely until my daughter applied and we visited in the fall of 2018. I found this board after a second child decided to attend SU last spring. I am not a lifelong diehard fan. Which might actually allow me to be a little objective. But I get it. You don't want objectivity. You want to storm the Dome and hang the coach in effigy if the team doesn't meet your expectations. Good luck with that.

Disappointment usually comes when your expectations don't match reality. As I look at this roster roster with 65 freshmen and redshirt-freshman, and only 10 seniors (including 7 RS-Sr), as well as a two-deep depth chart (that came out today) that includes only has 6 seniors in the 47 position players listed, I know I will temper my expectations.

47 position players listed in the two-deep depth chart today; 6 seniors, 8 juniors, 12 sophomores and 21 AARP card carrying freshman.



I will be patient. You do you.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

This remains a tough game to call. TNIAAM had a good article where they spoke with a writer from the Ohio SB Nation site where he gave some good thoughts on why Ohio could win ie veteran offensive line, upper level to elite run game against SU's generally poor Run D from last year, game at Ohio etc.

To me a lot of this comes down to the SU run Defense and can we generate a passing game outside of Taj. I think we should be able to run the ball with a mostly healthy O line and a real nice stable of backs. I still worry about any sort of consistency beyond Taj and Benson (when we actually throw to him). Really hope we get Lutz and some of the other young O players especially at WR involved. Interested to see what Devito brings as well, Ohio doesn't have much in the way of a pass rush so he should (key is should) have time.

Also interested to see what the play calling looks like, thought it got a lot better toward the end of the season but still some mind-numbing calls in the red zone (see the 4th down spike series of calls) but SU was able to move the ball and score against NC State and ND despite a lack of playmakers and severe restraints at QB. Really hope to see a semblance of the offense we saw the first three years under Babers and not the last two years where everything was a slog.

Our run D wasn't as bad as it looks statically. Going backwards from the last game of the year:

We held our own against ND and their great OL, until they had the late garbage time 94 yard run.

We shut down NC State's running game.

We shut down Louisville's run game.

We were respectable vs BC's run game.

We were decent vs Wake's run game.

We were decent against Clemson's run game.

Liberty, Duke, GA Tech we were a mess.

We shut down Pitt's run game.

UNC overall we were respectable. We were good the first 3 Qs then ran out of gas in the 4th.

Are we really going to worry about Ohio's run game when our Run D is on 6 game streak of respectable or better? Or had 8 games out of 11 where they were perfectly fine despite a new DC system and being very young?

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Our run D wasn't as bad as it looks statically. Going backwards from the last game of the year:

We held our own against ND and their great OL, until they had the late garbage time 94 yard run.

We shut down NC State's running game.

We shut down Louisville's run game.

We were respectable vs BC's run game.

We were decent vs Wake's run game.

We were decent against Clemson's run game.

Liberty, Duke, GA Tech we were a mess.

We shut down Pitt's run game.

UNC overall we were respectable. We were good the first 3 Qs then ran out of gas in the 4th.

Are we really going to worry about Ohio's run game when our Run D is on 6 game streak of respectable or better? Or had 8 games out of 11 where they were perfectly fine despite a new DC system and being very young?

The Liberty game was a bad job by both coaches and players. We looked totally lost.

If we look at just the ACC games last year our ypc run D was 7th in conference. The problem is we faced the most attempts which made our ypg 12th best. That was more due to the O stinking and playing from behind.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Our run D wasn't as bad as it looks statically. Going backwards from the last game of the year:

We held our own against ND and their great OL, until they had the late garbage time 94 yard run.

We shut down NC State's running game.

We shut down Louisville's run game.

We were respectable vs BC's run game.

We were decent vs Wake's run game.

We were decent against Clemson's run game.

Liberty, Duke, GA Tech we were a mess.

We shut down Pitt's run game.

UNC overall we were respectable. We were good the first 3 Qs then ran out of gas in the 4th.

Are we really going to worry about Ohio's run game when our Run D is on 6 game streak of respectable or better? Or had 8 games out of 11 where they were perfectly fine despite a new DC system and being very young?

I guess its a concern then for the D overall. SU certainly did have some games where we held the opponents run game in check ie NC State - 95 yards but we then gave up 313 passing.

I certainly don't think Ohio has the ability to replicate what NC State did in the air but I also don't think its crazy to be concerned about a run D that will be missing one of its best D-linemen and struggled against most of the run heavy teams it saw last year save for BC (which is a good sign).

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I guess its a concern then for the D overall. SU certainly did have some games where we held the opponents run game in check ie NC State - 95 yards but we then gave up 313 passing.

I certainly don't think Ohio has the ability to replicate what NC State did in the air but I also don't think its crazy to be concerned about a run D that will be missing one of its best D-linemen and struggled against most of the run heavy teams it saw last year save for BC (which is a good sign).

Duke and Liberty the D was god awful. The rest of the games they played well enough to win. That was with a new DC, new system, and a bunch of young raw players. We should only get better.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Duke and Liberty the D was god awful. The rest of the games they played well enough to win. That was with a new DC, new system, and a bunch of young raw players. We should only get better.

Many an SU season has fallen victim to "should" be better. I certainly am not panicking about the run defense but I want to see it on the field first.

 

[Frozen]

All white uniforms and white helmet for tomorrow.

 

[Chris02M]

had to be since you cant wear white after labor day

 

[orangepassion]

Obviously, the Running game on both sides of the ball is the key to the game. I do wonder if Sharod starting is gamesmanship on Dino's part and believe Courtney Jackson and Damien Alford will get a plenty of reps. Hope they move Taj all over the field. Will also be interesting to see much time Schrader gets and who gets the other NT snaps if Mckinley is out .

 

[upperdeck]

Duke and Liberty the D was god awful. The rest of the games they played well enough to win. That was with a new DC, new system, and a bunch of young raw players. We should only get better.

Gt/Duke/Liberty where where the teams figured out what our new system was trying to do and took advantage of mistakes by the D on being in the right spots.. After the Liberty game the coaches took a step back and removed some of those wrinkles as the kids were just not ready to do those things yet in this system and with all the moving parts and lack of practice time. After that they simplified and the run D got much better.

Games like NC st were not as much as passing but the fact they have big WRs and won a ton of 50/50 type throws into coverage. Its been awhile since we had that ability to win those battles

 

[sutomcat]

Linebackers are all This remains a tough game to call. TNIAAM had a good article where they spoke with a writer from the Ohio SB Nation site where he gave some good thoughts on why Ohio could win ie veteran offensive line, upper level to elite run gameVT against SU's generally poor Run D from last year, game at Ohio etc.

To me a lot of this comes down to the SU run Defense and can we generate a passing game outside of Taj. I think we should be able to run the ball with a mostly healthy O line and a real nice stable of backs. I still worry about any sort of consistency beyond Taj and Benson (when we actually throw to him). Really hope we get Lutz and some of the other young O players especially at WR involved. Interested to see what Devito brings as well, Ohio doesn't have much in the way of a pass rush so he should (key is should) have time.

Also interested to see what the play calling looks like, thought it got a lot better toward the end of the season but still some mind-numbing calls in the red zone (see the 4th down spike series of calls) but SU was able to move the ball and score against NC State and ND despite a lack of playmakers and severe restraints at QB. Really hope to see a semblance of the offense we saw the first three years under Babers and not the last two years where everything was a slog.

I didn’t read the Nunes article, but I have looked at the OU two deep.

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LliamsnTheir OL is pretty undersized by today’s standards. Center 6’2, guards only around 310 pounds, a smallish OT. The only guy with impressive size is TJ Jackson, the transfer from Virginia Tech. He is listed at 6’7, 375 pounds and is probably heavier. It will be interesting to see how effective he is and how he holds up as the game progresses. VT has not had a very good OL and it is not a good thing Jackson was not able to get any playing time for them.

On defense, they play a 4 man front. The DTs have pretty good size but the DEs are short and weigh less than 250 pounds. Their linebackers are really short and very light. We have an enormous advantage in terms of size and strength and that should make running the ball fairly easy to do.

The secondary is also undersized. I don’t think they have anyone more than 6 foot who starts. But 3 of them are from the Miami (FL) area, so I would expect them to be fast and play tough.

Their punter was atrocious last season. Their place kicker was almost as bad. Their KO return team was excellent and we need to get the ball into the end zone consistently on kickoffs (not sure if young Williams will be able to do this).