Quick Bowl game and end of season thoughts

[orangepassion]

• Great showing by our fanbase
• Kendall Coleman may have made himself some money, showing he can get to the QB w/o Alton
• Richards has a nonstop motor and tremendous hustle. Don't know how many DE's or even LB's chase a guy down 50 yards from the field
• Frederick is a stud. Maybe most underrated player on the team. Thought Scoop overall played fairly well, but think he was the guy who gambled and left Sills wide open for that long pass
• Like Cisco, but he definitely misses some tackles. If he wants to ultimately be a day 1 or 2 pick, he needs to improve this part of his game
• This game was a microcosm of Dungey's career in Orange, taking some physical punishment, making a few mistakes, but overcoming it with a magical play. One of those "no, no, yes!" plays. Nice to see one more flash of Dungey magic
• Thought all the backs looked good. The 42 yard catch and run by Neal was tremendous. Broke or eluded 4 tacklers. Unquestionably the play of the game.
• Loved to see that TD catch by Jackson. Actually our 2 newly eligible transfers combined for 3 TD's. Maybe a message to potential transfers that are out there?
• Great ending to a great season
• Between Shy, Army and the other guys, think we'll be fine at LB. Just hope we don't return to a 4-2-5.
• To me, 3 question marks for next year: Can we replace our OT's, can Devito do the job full time, can we replace Slayton. Think Devito can do it, but don't know it yet. I have no doubts he can throw the ball with time, but how will he do when the D is game planning for his strengths and weaknesses and the pocket breaks down? The first two question marks will go hand in hand, as the better one plays, the better the other will look. Need at least one more DT to step up.
• We got momentum and will be interesting to see if this is reflected on the recruiting trail
• Great to be Orange!

 

[Finwad32]

great write-up.

I think the biggest question is undoubtedly the OL, followed by QB.

I really think we’ll be as good, if not better, everywhere else, save Slayton’s replacement. That can be taken care of though.

If we can protect TD, I think we move right along. RPO game will be great for Tommy bc I think he’s got strong decision making skills with a live arm.

If he’s forced to create in the pocket, I think it’s the only potential hurdle for him. Straight line speed is fine and he’ll be able to execute designed runs. If he can move well in the pocket, it’ll be imo the biggest piece of his development.

Crazy excited about the potential of the program. I think we’re locked and loaded for a long run.

 

[texascpa]

Agree on all, but would add:

- Orlando's road system must have been designed by a monkey. Makes no sense and the traffic congestion on regular roads is the worst I've ever experienced. Absolutely dreadful. Lastly, make sure you always carry change, you never know when you're on a toll road and need to drop in a couple bucks of quarters.

 

[Jake]

I just rewatched the game this morning...and really agree on Frederick. He had a monster game. The breakdowns though were maddening.

Also our fans were freaking loud and into it every play. That was soooo awesome to see / hear.

WVU defensive character was marginal. The faking injury, the low shots on Dungey, the targeting...and they were chippy all day.

I’m not sure how the OL graded out, but I thought they were pretty awful. That was going to be the story line had we lost. Frankly, I thought the OL underachieved this year.

Shy, Whitner and Guthrie were solid again and that group really really stepped up all year long. Thought they completely played to the highest level of their ability over the course of the season.

As much as everyone is pumped for the offense next year, I think the defense is going to be absolutely lights out. Our DBs are going to be awesome and we should have a great pass rush. I could see more press coverage next year allowing more people in the box.

Echo the concerns above about the OL and TD. A graduate transfer at OT would be a phenomenal off season addition.

But what a great year...

 

[Rocketlax44]

quick report on my trip.
Took a direct out of Buffalo Wed PM; not as many cuse fans as I thought I would see, plenty of families going to see the mouse.

Went to Epcot on Thursday, was pretty crowded, I think a lot of locals were there, lots of CFU fans. I saw a couple cuse fans but not as many as I thought I would see.

When we got back to the hotel from Epcot on Thursday night, the hotel had filled with Syracuse fans, like 4-1 ratio with West Virginia, I was near downtown, and not in a hotel affiliated with any team,, so that was a good sign. a drunk WV fan was trying to get under everyone's skin, in the lobby bar, most were ignoring him.

Friday, drank at hotel until around 3pm, then grabbed an uber to the Stadium. first impression; bad neighborhood; next impression, where is west virginia. Also, why are the lots half empty a half hour before
the game, in lots that were sold out ahead of time?

I reunited with a ton of relocated fans, elementary friends, college friends; My son's ex teammates from high school; all from out of town/state, was incredible to see. Walked into stadium 20 minutes before kickoff; first impression: what a dump this stadium is. Can understand not throwing a ton of money at it with only a few events per year; I guess the soccer team has its own stadium now.

Inside the stadium, just a wave of Orange, kudo's to the Syracuse fans leaving their blue shirts in the closet, and going with the orange Tee Shirt, it makes a difference. Chair backs were nice, no cup holders. My seats were sweet, splurged on the sideline ones, real nice site lines, close to the field, probably not a bad seat in the lower bowl.

Team was definitely rusty from the layoff, and we didn't really pickup the blitzes that well, won't get into the x's and o's others on here better for that. Wasn't worried after a few series seeing the WV backup quarterback, and their attempt at a few wildcat plays, We needed to play good for 5-10 minutes, and thats all it took in the 4th quarter.

Orlando is a great destination for the cuse, close for all the snow birds big airport to fly into, and not a bad drive for our southeast fan base. Just looked at schedule for next year, thinking about attending the Duke game, should be another nice small stadium for Orange nation to annex next year.

Everyone enjoy basketball and lax season is around the corner!

 

[rrlbees]

I just rewatched the game this morning...and really agree on Frederick. He had a monster game. The breakdowns though were maddening.

Also our fans were freaking loud and into it every play. That was soooo awesome to see / hear.

WVU defensive character was marginal. The faking injury, the low shots on Dungey, the targeting...and they were chippy all day.

I’m not sure how the OL graded out, but I thought they were pretty awful. That was going to be the story line had we lost. Frankly, I thought the OL underachieved this year.

Shy, Whitner and Guthrie were solid again and that group really really stepped up all year long. Thought they completely played to the highest level of their ability over the course of the season.

As much as everyone is pumped for the offense next year, I think the defense is going to be absolutely lights out. Our DBs are going to be awesome and we should have a great pass rush. I could see more press coverage next year allowing more people in the box.

Echo the concerns above about the OL and TD. A graduate transfer at OT would be a phenomenal off season addition.

But what a great year...

I agree on the OL. I posted at halftime that they really needed to pick it up. They did better in the 2nd half by not allowing a sack after giving up 5 in the 1st half.