Ohio Bobcats (Week 1)

[Mac Bobcat]

Bobcat fan here, logging in to share some information and to learn some stuff about the Orange before the week one match up. I think the key to this game for the Bobcats is just to settle in. In the first quarter, If there are no major self-inflicted wounds and Ohio can adjust to ACC physicality, then It will be a competitive game. Ohio has a very talented on the OL, especially the interior offensive line, and they have a LT transfer from Virginia Tech who is 6'7", 375. Ohio probably has the best overall RB room in the MAC so the running game is formidible, when considering the RBs and OL. The number one RB De'Montre Tuggle is a Sunday prospect. He is also a talented kick off returner.
Syracuse was 1-10 last year but they really showed some nice moments at times. I didnt watch all of their games but first QTR and 1/2 against Notre Dame in 2020 was pretty darn good, until some self-inflicted stuff made it easier for ND. Taj Harris is obviously a game-changer but a few other guys stood out. I am a big fan of your FB, Chris Elmore- 265? pounds! He is fantastic and scary. And LB Mikel Jones, boy, you got one there. Anyone else you guys see standing out in Athens in week one?

 

[Mac Bobcat]

6'4" 255lbs TE Adam Luehrman, RS Sr

He'll meet our DEs and LBers I bet...Hopefully not our DBs

Adam is a great player for Ohio, primarily a blocker, although he has good hands when called upon. Adam has a twin brother, Ryan, who is also on the team. Ryan has been featured more in the passing game so far than Adam has but they both can catch and block. For folks who saw Western Michigan vs Syracuse in 2019, Ohio uses their TEs similarily in the running game at times. Ohio has a ton of offensive talent who do not stand out statistically because they spread the ball around so much. The number 1 RB Tuggle could easily rush for 1500+ yards in a season but they employ a 2-3 back rotation. The second RB could rush for 1000 yards+

 

[Mac Bobcat]

This game is very difficult to get a read on. Normally most opening weeks you can get a gut feeling or at least some general sense of how the game will play out but this one just feels like it could go a bunch of different ways. Perhaps its the total unknown of the SU offense (is it going to look decent or look the tire fire that was last year) that's really making this a head scratcher. A big time blowout either way seems highly unlikely but anything else would not surprise me in the least.

I like the thought process here-it is tough to get a read on either team and there are a lot of unknowns for both teams. Ohio only played three games last year and the Orange had a bunch of injuries. I think if the Orange wins they will have a strong amount of rushing production or rushing explosive plays from QBs. If Ohio wins, there will be an even or better turnover margin and they will hit their explosive plays in action off the running game.

 

[Mac Bobcat]

You get the interview with the players. You get the interview with the coach. You just don't get to see the scrimmage behind the cloak of invisibility.
And definitely no water melon for anyone.

hahaha. that is so funny, and true. Maybe a team might get a few first downs with the cloak of invisibility but over the course of a game you arent hiding anything. The worst FBS coaches can figure out what is going on after a handful of plays. I guess it is worth a few first downs

 

[Mac Bobcat]

That is a huge plus...however, can Coach Albin keep the magic...I think catching them the first game is a plus.

I doubt they throw too many new wrinkles at us

Someone else made a great comment about a 'Cloak of Invisibility' in this forum and I think the Bobcats have gone into that mode. Fans didnt get to see most of Ohio's second scrimmage and what is seen in practice this week by the media has been limited, so I wonder what is going on. I think Ohio's base schemes will be similar or the same but we could see a few new things. To your point, current HC Albin has had a ton of offensive success doing what he does and the bulk of that will not change.

 

[TheCusian]

Bobcat fan here, logging in to share some information and to learn some stuff about the Orange before the week one match up. I think the key to this game for the Bobcats is just to settle in. In the first quarter, If there are no major self-inflicted wounds and Ohio can adjust to ACC physicality, then It will be a competitive game. Ohio has a very talented on the OL, especially the interior offensive line, and they have a LT transfer from Virginia Tech who is 6'7", 375. Ohio probably has the best overall RB room in the MAC so the running game is formidible, when considering the RBs and OL. The number one RB De'Montre Tuggle is a Sunday prospect. He is also a talented kick off returner.
Syracuse was 1-10 last year but they really showed some nice moments at times. I didnt watch all of their games but first QTR and 1/2 against Notre Dame in 2020 was pretty darn good, until some self-inflicted stuff made it easier for ND. Taj Harris is obviously a game-changer but a few other guys stood out. I am a big fan of your FB, Chris Elmore- 265? pounds! He is fantastic and scary. And LB Mikel Jones, boy, you got one there. Anyone else you guys see standing out in Athens in week one?

Welcome!

Yeah, 1-10 is a bit deceiving. We had a ton of injuries on our OL and started a FB as G for a while. Our top two RB opted out due to COVID, but allowed our freshman RB Tucker to play and I think we found a good one. Sunday potential. We are fairly healthy on the OL and feel good about our new OL coach. If we can protect our QB and run some our offense might explode this year (and will need to after 2 down years). We have 2 QBs, one with a big arm who gets the yips due to poor protection - but when on has an NFL arm. Our other QB transferred in from the SEC and can throw and run. You’ll see both.

Our D got worn down by bad offensive production and being on the field too long, so an even marginally better, more efficient offense will help them roll into year 2 of the new defense with some momentum. Our DL is all upperclassmen and won’t get pushed around. Should be a fun battle.

I’d say team with the most effective running game, barring TOs, should win. While that’s not a stretch normally, I think the strengths of both teams is the RB room.

Should be fun. Stick around all week.

 

[kcsu]

You have absolutely no idea what SU's financial circumstances are.

Lol. Enlighten me.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Bobcat fan here, logging in to share some information and to learn some stuff about the Orange before the week one match up. I think the key to this game for the Bobcats is just to settle in. In the first quarter, If there are no major self-inflicted wounds and Ohio can adjust to ACC physicality, then It will be a competitive game. Ohio has a very talented on the OL, especially the interior offensive line, and they have a LT transfer from Virginia Tech who is 6'7", 375. Ohio probably has the best overall RB room in the MAC so the running game is formidible, when considering the RBs and OL. The number one RB De'Montre Tuggle is a Sunday prospect. He is also a talented kick off returner.
Syracuse was 1-10 last year but they really showed some nice moments at times. I didnt watch all of their games but first QTR and 1/2 against Notre Dame in 2020 was pretty darn good, until some self-inflicted stuff made it easier for ND. Taj Harris is obviously a game-changer but a few other guys stood out. I am a big fan of your FB, Chris Elmore- 265? pounds! He is fantastic and scary. And LB Mikel Jones, boy, you got one there. Anyone else you guys see standing out in Athens in week one?

Our offensive line was historically atrocious last season. Our lead running back Tucker had some success despite that, so assuming improvement on the line I think he can have a monster year.

We also played a ton of true freshmen on defense last season, and our hope is that accelerated their maturation. I think we were all pretty encouraged by what we saw last season from the defense. If the offense can be just average that would help the defense a ton.

I don't think we're an awesome team. I think we have the chance to be pretty good, and I don't think we're what people would expect from a team coming off a 1-10 season. But after lots went wrong last season we really need a lot to go right.

Ohio's a good program, no doubt, but if we're going to be a competitive P5 team, winning this game on the road against you all is something we need to be capable of doing.

As for people to look out for - Mikel Jones makes stuff happen, but I also think one of our other young linebackers Wax is going to be a force. Garret Williams is an excellent corner, but the true freshman Chestnut and the other young corner Nunn I think will also be very good. We have lots of solid guys on the DL, so the matchups there could get interesting.

On offense, we're deep at running back. Jarveon Howard took the Covid year off last season which gave Tucker a chance to emerge, but he can sneak up on you and make some big plays. Our TE Benson can fly. It seems like we've got a pile of young WRs and one of them will pop. Everything really comes down to how well our OL can gel and what we get out of our QBs. We have some options, so we'll see what happens.

 

[Alsacs]

Lol. Enlighten me.

It’s not hard to google instead of talking like you do.

Teel: ACC's latest tax filing underscores challenges for new commissioner Jim Phillips

College athletics’ earnings season is upon us, and the ACC’s mixed results underscore the potential windfall of the league’s television network but also the financial challenges facing new commissioner Jim

richmond.com

Every ACC school got 32.4 million last year in payouts.
The idea Babers can’t be bought out is just speculation. As your statement was rightfully called out.
The university obviously doesn’t want to buyout and pay 2 staffs but if Babers sucks this year and we don’t get to bowl game he should be relieved of duties. 1 bowl in 6 years is not acceptable.
You have no clue what the AD financials are.
Except the university will receive a 30+ million dollar paycheck each year from the ACC.

 

[Moontan]

A buyout almost guarantees another 2-3 yr rebuild. New staff, new start, etc etc. i say he’ll get every opportunity & regardless of what happens this year, Dino gets one more to get it right.

0-2 wins won’t do it.
3-4 wins he’ll likely survive.
5+ wins he’ll definitely be back.
10+ wins he’ll be offered an extension.

 

[Alsacs]

0-2 wins won’t do it.
3-4 wins he’ll likely survive.
5+ wins he’ll definitely be back.
10+ wins he’ll be offered an extension.

If we go 5-7 this year it will be 5 losing seasons in 6 years.
I like Dino a lot and have been defending him for years.
Last year was his mulligan.
This is year 6 this entire roster is his.
If he doesn’t get to a bowl we should be hiring a new football coach.
6 years is enough time.

 

[qdawgg]

1-10 record last year isn’t deceiving. We were a terrible team; it doesn’t matter about Covid, injuries, depth etc. We were a 1-10 team. Saying it’s deceiving makes it sound like we were a bowl team with a bunch of bad breaks. We weren’t.

We aren’t a 1 win team this year but nobody really knows if we’re a 4 win or 6 win team. I think a lot on here would like to think we can win 8 but to go from 1 win to 8 is massive leap I don’t think this staff is able to do. Game day and in game decision making are not strong suits at all.

 

[elimunelson]

If we go 5-7 this year it will be 5 losing seasons in 6 years.
I like Dino a lot and have been defending him for years.
Last year was his mulligan.
This is year 6 this entire roster is his.
If he doesn’t get to a bowl we should be hiring a new football coach.
6 years is enough time.

5-7 is a tough call. Need to know how it occurs vs simply saying 5-7 is no good

anything under 5 I think we need to start over (ugh)

 

[Dick_in_MI]

If we go 5-7 this year it will be 5 losing seasons in 6 years.
I like Dino a lot and have been defending him for years.
Last year was his mulligan.
This is year 6 this entire roster is his.
If he doesn’t get to a bowl we should be hiring a new football coach.
6 years is enough time.

We all like Dino and want him to be successful. More to the point, I want SU to be successful and that has been our conundrum of late.

I agree with your whole post. SU has made massive investments (for a private school) in the football program: the IPF, Dome renovations, coaching salaries. An elevated ACC football presence is expected by the new commissioner for the conference. If Dino ends up with his 5th losing season in 6 years, the weak link in SU's football investments becomes obvious. And if someone says "no, you have to look at it in a more nuanced way and ignore the record"...no. No you don't. It is a results-based job. This is a P-5 program, not the Ohio Valley Conference. This isn't the high school history teacher making a few bucks on the side coaching the football team. Dino is the highest-paid employee at Syracuse University and to whom much is given, much is expected.

With luck, any worrying will become moot once the season starts but there should be some legitimate expectations of the program this year.

 

[Chip]

A buyout almost guarantees another 2-3 yr rebuild. New staff, new start, etc etc. i say he’ll get every opportunity & regardless of what happens this year, Dino gets one more to get it right.

Let's say we start 0-2 (I don't think that will happen, but it's hard to say it's not a possibility).

Would you want to give him one more year because you don't want to face a 2-3 year rebuild? We'd have two straight seasons that would be as bad as any rebuild.

 

[orangenauburn]

Good thing we are going 6-1 at home ...

 

[Alsacs]

5-7 is a tough call. Need to know how it occurs vs simply saying 5-7 is no good

anything under 5 I think we need to start over (ugh)

Our schedule is Charmin soft.
Their is no business to go 5-7 this year.
Teams like Wake and BC have done it.
Ohio, Rutgers, Albany, Liberty is not a hard non-conference schedule.
Our ACC schedule is one loss and 7 winnable games.
We should go 3-1, 3-5 and get to 6-6.

Anything less is a terrible job.

 

[qdawgg]

Would you want to give him one more year because you don't want to face a 2-3 year rebuild? We'd have two straight seasons that would be as bad as any rebuild.

And would a rebuild at this point be that bad? The argument for those who want DB to stay almost regardless of record argue recruiting has significantly improved. So if the recruiting has improved so much, any potential rebuild shouldn’t be as devastating. Obviously there’s other factors in a rebuild: coach, philosophy, where players fit but if recruiting is truly so much better than the growing pains should be far less.

 

[syrBossHogg]

Yeah it’s gotta be six wins this year. We don’t have high expectations as a program but there still should be some level of expectations

 

[qdawgg]

but there should be some legitimate expectations of the program this year.

At this point in the tenure , some of the excuses just can’t be excuses anymore and there has to be some expectations of DB/staff. In the very least some level of consistency. Even if say the o-line is still not great but consistently playing at their present ability. I’d be okay with that.

 

[Timonen]

So, not to be a Debbie Downer, but recruiting has been an uphill climb this season.

If, and this is not what we want, but if the staff has another losing season and comes back, the recruiting just gets that much harder, and I'd say the likelihood they get back to winning gets lower.

Which I would take to mean that the AD has decided it's not in their best interests to part ways financially, and it's better to dig the rebuild hole a little deeper and keep the books cleaner a little longer.

It's not going to matter. Dino's getting us back to a bowl and everything will be fine, starting with a W next Saturday against Ohio.

Recruiting may be an uphill climb but I think the portal has effectively put less weight on that versus previous. For a school like us (for now) the best path might be blue chippers who get recruited over/don’t pan out elsewhere. That isn’t gonna show up in recruiting rankings. We need our system to show it’s not broken this year. That’s the difference imo and what while guide the “buyout or no buyout” choice.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Recruiting may be an uphill climb but I think the portal has effectively put less weight on that versus previous. For a school like us (for now) the best path might be blue chippers who get recruited over/don’t pan out elsewhere. That isn’t gonna show up in recruiting rankings. We need our system to show it’s not broken this year. That’s the difference imo and what while guide the “buyout or no buyout” choice.

There's definitely something to be said for scooping up guys we had a relationship with that weren't happy with where they landed on the depth chart, but that's still really difficult with a staff on an extremely hot seat.

 

[SU in Hershey]

Our schedule is Charmin soft.
Their is no business to go 5-7 this year.
Teams like Wake and BC have done it.
Ohio, Rutgers, Albany, Liberty is not a hard non-conference schedule.
Our ACC schedule is one loss and 7 winnable games.
We should go 3-1, 3-5 and get to 6-6.

Anything less is a terrible job.

Just curious, and not trying to antagonize as I often enjoy your posts, but in the Cali Award Prediction thread you predicted we would go 3-9 this season. Obviously that's just for fun, but that has a clearly more pessimistic (realistic?) view of what's going to happen. Here you sound more optimistic, or dare I say hopeful.
So are you saying we should go 6-6, but you don't think we will, as a vote of no confidence in DB? Or is it just another day, and like most of us your outlook varies like CNY weather?

 

[Alsacs]

Just curious, and not trying to antagonize as I often enjoy your posts, but in the Cali Award Prediction thread you predicted we would go 3-9 this season. Obviously that's just for fun, but that has a clearly more pessimistic (realistic?) view of what's going to happen. Here you sound more optimistic, or dare I say hopeful.
So are you saying we should go 6-6, but you don't think we will, as a vote of no confidence in DB? Or is it just another day, and like most of us your outlook varies like CNY weather?

My Cali picks are what I think of the talent. I am hoping I am wrong.
Those are what I expect. I am not going to give up hope until I see the roster.
The offense was so bad last year I am not going to dare to believe in it til I see it.
Our defense was a 6-7 win team last year with mediocre offense. The amount of turnovers and field position they got for the offense was off the hook.

That Louisville game last year was worse than GRob. It doesn’t get mentioned enough. I don’t care we struggled but we didn’t even look functional.
With the schedule we have we should go 6-6 if our coach actually does a good job.

 

[TheCusian]

We all like Dino and want him to be successful. More to the point, I want SU to be successful and that has been our conundrum of late.

I agree with your whole post. SU has made massive investments (for a private school) in the football program: the IPF, Dome renovations, coaching salaries. An elevated ACC football presence is expected by the new commissioner for the conference. If Dino ends up with his 5th losing season in 6 years, the weak link in SU's football investments becomes obvious. And if someone says "no, you have to look at it in a more nuanced way and ignore the record"...no. No you don't. It is a results-based job. This is a P-5 program, not the Ohio Valley Conference. This isn't the high school history teacher making a few bucks on the side coaching the football team. Dino is the highest-paid employee at Syracuse University and to whom much is given, much is expected.

With luck, any worrying will become moot once the season starts but there should be some legitimate expectations of the program this year.

You don’t ignore the record. It is a result based business. When I push back on posts that throw out our record without context, it’s largely understanding that the AD has already taken a nuanced view and has factored in all the info and has specific thoughts on the winning %.

I’m advocating that we need to adopt a similar approach and avoid the lazy view that winning % without context is the beginning and the end of the conversation.

All of that said, I think he’s got a lot to answer for the 2019 season. We need to show improvement on the offensive side of the ball while getting to 6 wins, preferably not finishing last in our division would be good too.