sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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If this team gets to 6 victories, no question it goes bowling. Syracuse is a brand name and a lot more attractive than many of the other schools that would end up with 6-6 records. We would go in front of a number of schools with 7-5 records.
The most improved player on the team is Durell Eskridge. He got off to a rough start, starting the season with a series of games where he played really well but made one or two major gaffes that usually led to a touchdown for the opposition. The second half of the year, he has been terrific. Good to see him emerge as a major force on this team.
Has anyone in college football finished the season facing 3 players better than Winston, Donald and Williams? All 3 should be locks for AA honors. Winston and Williams are surely the best QB and RB in college football this year, and Donald, for my money, is the best player on defense.
Williams by the way, has a shoulder injury that appears to be really bothering him. Amazing what he is doing this season every week against defenses stacked to stop him. BC is going to use a double TE set just about every play, with a FB and one wide out, and just run the ball right down the middle every play. No trickery, no deception. Just old fashioned power football.
Really wish we had Raymon for this one. I guess we are down to Welsh and Robinson at DE. Injuried dEs include Donnie Simmons, Zeke Jonson, Tyler Marona and Sugar Bear Thompson. Not sure what who we are going to use as a backup here. Trejo or Manley? They might have to move Arciniega or a reserve OL to DE temporarily. We might need to use Arciniega some today at LB; at least to give the LBs a breather.
The cave man like power approach is most effective late in the game, when defenses get worn down. With our lack of depth at the DL, LB and DB, we are certainly going to be prone to this.
It would be terrific to get an early lead and force BC to have to change from their game plan. The good news is that BC does not have a great defense and in fact has one of the worst pass defenses in the country. The bad news is that Lasker was as bad as any OT we have ever had attempting to pass block last week. He won't have to block Donald; that should help. Maybe just getting a week of game experience will help him too. But man, it would be great if Hickey could somehow find a way to play this game. I don't know if we can move the ball and get any points with Sweet Lou Alexander II playing a tackle position for us.
This has been a strange team to watch play. They have a ton of heart, no question about it. They have been prone to mental mistakes all season, special teams has been pretty bad all year, we have almost no passing game, but still, we have two victories on the road in conference play and a chance to go to a bowl with a victory today. Right now, I think the jury is still out on this team. If they win, they will be looked upon fondly as the SS's first team, the team that made it to a second consecutive bowl for the first time since the 1990s. If they don't, they will be looked upon much like the 2012 team that go to 5 wins but hampered by injuries, just could not finish the deal and get bowl eligible.
The sheer fury that this defensive unit plays with has been a joy to watch. As others have said, this might be the hardest hitter team in the history of Syracuse football. Teams need when they have played this Syracuse team by the black and blue marks and the expanded injury list after the game. And it is great to have a team that can consistently put pressure on the QB in passing situations.
Today is Judgement Day for this team. I hope they are up for the challenge because it is going to take a special effort to defeat a good BC team that is playing their best ball of the season.
The most improved player on the team is Durell Eskridge. He got off to a rough start, starting the season with a series of games where he played really well but made one or two major gaffes that usually led to a touchdown for the opposition. The second half of the year, he has been terrific. Good to see him emerge as a major force on this team.
Has anyone in college football finished the season facing 3 players better than Winston, Donald and Williams? All 3 should be locks for AA honors. Winston and Williams are surely the best QB and RB in college football this year, and Donald, for my money, is the best player on defense.
Williams by the way, has a shoulder injury that appears to be really bothering him. Amazing what he is doing this season every week against defenses stacked to stop him. BC is going to use a double TE set just about every play, with a FB and one wide out, and just run the ball right down the middle every play. No trickery, no deception. Just old fashioned power football.
Really wish we had Raymon for this one. I guess we are down to Welsh and Robinson at DE. Injuried dEs include Donnie Simmons, Zeke Jonson, Tyler Marona and Sugar Bear Thompson. Not sure what who we are going to use as a backup here. Trejo or Manley? They might have to move Arciniega or a reserve OL to DE temporarily. We might need to use Arciniega some today at LB; at least to give the LBs a breather.
The cave man like power approach is most effective late in the game, when defenses get worn down. With our lack of depth at the DL, LB and DB, we are certainly going to be prone to this.
It would be terrific to get an early lead and force BC to have to change from their game plan. The good news is that BC does not have a great defense and in fact has one of the worst pass defenses in the country. The bad news is that Lasker was as bad as any OT we have ever had attempting to pass block last week. He won't have to block Donald; that should help. Maybe just getting a week of game experience will help him too. But man, it would be great if Hickey could somehow find a way to play this game. I don't know if we can move the ball and get any points with Sweet Lou Alexander II playing a tackle position for us.
This has been a strange team to watch play. They have a ton of heart, no question about it. They have been prone to mental mistakes all season, special teams has been pretty bad all year, we have almost no passing game, but still, we have two victories on the road in conference play and a chance to go to a bowl with a victory today. Right now, I think the jury is still out on this team. If they win, they will be looked upon fondly as the SS's first team, the team that made it to a second consecutive bowl for the first time since the 1990s. If they don't, they will be looked upon much like the 2012 team that go to 5 wins but hampered by injuries, just could not finish the deal and get bowl eligible.
The sheer fury that this defensive unit plays with has been a joy to watch. As others have said, this might be the hardest hitter team in the history of Syracuse football. Teams need when they have played this Syracuse team by the black and blue marks and the expanded injury list after the game. And it is great to have a team that can consistently put pressure on the QB in passing situations.
Today is Judgement Day for this team. I hope they are up for the challenge because it is going to take a special effort to defeat a good BC team that is playing their best ball of the season.