SU 1 1/2 pts underdog

[JeremyCuse]

Not surprised by this line, after the last 3 weeks hard not to be extremely concerned about this offense and its ability to actually score a touchdown. This is the classic fork in the road for the season moment. Win and 7 wins is definitely in sight but lose and I think the wheels come off and come off quickly. Dino's record after a bye and his 6-22 record after Halloween are blaring red lights for the rest of the season.

 

[RF2044]

Not surprised by this line, after the last 3 weeks hard not to be extremely concerned about this offense and its ability to actually score a touchdown. This is the classic fork in the road for the season moment. Win and 7 wins is definitely in sight but lose and I think the wheels come off and come off quickly. Dino's record after a bye and his 6-22 record after Halloween are blaring red lights for the rest of the season.

Agreed.

But on the other hand, we're healthier [in general] than we've been heading into the back third. We're coming off a well-timed bye week after FSU, to further recuperate. And Garret Shrader is upright for the first time at this point in the season for the first time in his three years at SU. We're positioned better than we have been [none of which means that any of these games are gimmes].

So... it all comes back to what you say. Need to win. The past doesn't matter one bit with respect to how things unfold from here.

 

[Scooch]

I think LeQuint Allen has been a pretty positive option on the O too.

He’s been good, no doubt. But he’s not a 25+ carry guy who can power an O.

 

[Moontan]

On an aside, the Bills are playing Thursday night. Considering most of our casuals have 'shuffled off to Buffalo' in regards to their entertainment dollars () it'd be interesting to see what the TV ratings in Central NY end up being.

Most people, especially sports fans, have more than one TV.

 

[PhatOrange]

rutgers won because they got VT to turn it over which is how they usually win those games.

yeah I'm aware of the box score - Rutgers had a whopping 302 yards of offense. VT turned the ball over 2 times.

Rutgers rushed for 256 yards and was 6-13 on 3rd downs. Those are key stats imo. They were also 3-3 in the redzone.

Played the game at home.

Rutgers stinks but the final score is the final score.

 

[RF2044]

From today's press conference, about coming off of a bye week:

“The guys are fresher than they’ve been since July.”

Hope that's accurate. NEED it to be accurate, as we embark on these last five games, which are all winnable.

 

[McNabb2Brominski]

I do not have a good feeling about Thursday’s game at all

-VT is playing a lot better the past couple weeks (They smoked Pitt and Wake at home)
-Lane Stadium at night is a tall order; not great for a team coming off 3 losses trying to right the ship
-Dino is terrible coming out of byes. Have we won a game off a bye during his tenure?

I think this game is going to be the most difficult of the 5 remaining. I just hope our offense shows some life and we at least keep it competitive and the wheels don’t completely come off on this season.

 

[qdawgg]

Most people, especially sports fans, have more than one TV.

And if we learned anything from Rutgers, you just leave the TV on anyway.

 

[qdawgg]

I do not have a good feeling about Thursday’s game at all

-VT is playing a lot better the past couple weeks (They smoked Pitt and Wake at home)
-Lane Stadium at night is a tall order; not great for a team coming off 3 losses trying to right the ship
-Dino is terrible coming out of byes. Have we won a game off a bye during his tenure?

I think this game is going to be the most difficult of the 5 remaining. I just hope our offense shows some life and we at least keep it competitive and the wheels don’t completely come off on this season.

I’m not really worried about this game any more than the others. We can easily win or lose every single remaining game. I have zero clue what’s going to happen and can’t even speculate.

 

[upperdeck]

Our A game is better than VT.. But if we play at a D level again on offense we lose by 30. VT is find a way to get chunk plays we havent had one since mid Sept.

 

[RF2044]

Our A game is better than VT.. But if we play at a D level again on offense we lose by 30. VT is find a way to get chunk plays we havent had one since mid Sept.

Agreed -- it really is a simple as that.

The offense either finds a way to get back to moving the sticks, or we are going to struggle. Not just against VT, but against other teams.

I'm not too worried about struggling on offense against Clemson / FSU, and I don't think you can read too much into that beyond they have blue chip defensive talent [I know that some view it as a trend, but I think it is just about them having superior defensive talent].

But if we devolve down into rock fight games, I don't like our chances. Conversely, if we start moving the ball and scoring points again, things set up favorably.

 

[JeremyCuse]

From today's press conference, about coming off of a bye week:

“The guys are fresher than they’ve been since July.”

Hope that's accurate. NEED it to be accurate, as we embark on these last five games, which are all winnable.

I hope that's true but with Oronde done for the year, Pena likely done for the year and Jones in some injury/dog house combo, the passing game still has major issues even if the rest of the cast is healthy and I am not sure it can be fixed this year. Defensively they appear to be in reasonably good shape injury wise so maybe they rebound after 2-3 really bad performances.

 

[Chip]

Most people, especially sports fans, have more than one TV.

 

[Iony44ny]

From today's press conference, about coming off of a bye week:

“The guys are fresher than they’ve been since July.”

Hope that's accurate. NEED it to be accurate, as we embark on these last five games, which are all winnable.

So him and coordinators have NO excuse for a loss. Can’t wait for this game

 

[JeremyCuse]

Agreed.

But on the other hand, we're healthier [in general] than we've been heading into the back third. We're coming off a well-timed bye week after FSU, to further recuperate. And Garret Shrader is upright for the first time at this point in the season for the first time in his three years at SU. We're positioned better than we have been [none of which means that any of these games are gimmes].

So... it all comes back to what you say. Need to win. The past doesn't matter one bit with respect to how things unfold from here.

I agree the team needs to just win but I do think Babers has shown a track record after byes and in November that just can't be dismissed. Shrader being healthy later is a nice sign as clearly we have no real option behind him but the Wr position right now is a major issue and the O-line while healthy (for the most part) has started to show some worrying signs. Something feels off with this team, I think they really need to win Thursday or things could get ugly.

 

[DPCuse]

Given the relatively close point spread, I'm thinking Dino's inability to properly manage a game will cost us a victory.

 

[RF2044]

I agree the team needs to just win but I do think Babers has shown a track record after byes and in November that just can't be dismissed. Shrader being healthy later is a nice sign as clearly we have no real option behind him but the Wr position right now is a major issue and the O-line while healthy (for the most part) has started to show some worrying signs. Something feels off with this team, I think they really need to win Thursday or things could get ugly.

Who's dismissing it?

There were reasons for why we've struggled in November -- most notably, that we've been decimated by injuries and our QBs tend to get injured, so we're playing subs by that point.

We've certainly had injuries this year, but not to the extent as in the past. And for the moment, Shrader is upright.

It isn't just that "we struggle in November" -- the context for why feels different this season, which is why the bye appeared to be well timed.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Who's dismissing it?

There were reasons for why we've struggled in November -- most notably, that we've been decimated by injuries and our QBs tend to get injured, so we're playing subs by that point.

We've certainly had injuries this year, but not to the extent as in the past. And for the moment, Shrader is upright.

It isn't just that "we struggle in November" -- the context for why feels different this season, which is why the bye appeared to be well timed.

The bye is certainly well timed but the November swoons while certainly impacted by injuries, are in my opinion more then just that. Perhaps this is the year with the late bye and Shrader healthy we move past it but it's hard to dismiss 6-22 as all based on injuries.

I think the other issue is the play of the team coming out after a bye which is often flat and uninspiring. That certainly can't be explained away due to injury. Will that be an issue again Thursday, unknown but I think prior history shows its something to definitely be concerned about.

Maybe my concerns are overblown but when you look at the rest of the year ie 3 games away from the Dome, a team in Pitt SU can't seem to beat regardless of scenario and an improving BC team this game feels massive for the rest of the season.

 

[richard levy]

looking forward to Enter Sandman entrance

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Not surprised by this line, after the last 3 weeks hard not to be extremely concerned about this offense and its ability to actually score a touchdown. This is the classic fork in the road for the season moment. Win and 7 wins is definitely in sight but lose and I think the wheels come off and come off quickly. Dino's record after a bye and his 6-22 record after Halloween are blaring red lights for the rest of the season.

7? If we win this game we are more likely to win 9 than 7.

 

[upperdeck]

2020 didnt happen
2021 the bye was week 10 we couldnt throw at all lost @ UL @nc st and them played ok vs Pitt but couldnt run at all
2022 the bye was week 6. but then played NC st/ Clem/ND @ pitt and FSU and were beaten up again

2018 the bye was week 7 had our team and went 6-1
2019 the bye was week 11, we went 3-1

more like when we are decent and healthy we play ok.. when not we struggle

 

[cusefan88]

Curious to see what they do on OL with Joe More presumably back. Does he go to RG and Petry stays at RT? Or does Bradford stay at RG and More plays RT? Some interesting choices.

 

[PhatOrange]

Our A game is better than VT.. But if we play at a D level again on offense we lose by 30. VT is find a way to get chunk plays we havent had one since mid Sept.

Agreed and that's the rub. When is the last time we played an A game. We're more likely to play a D game than an A game. We're the blind squirrel right now.

 

[sutomcat]

Curious to see what they do on OL with Joe More presumably back. Does he go to RG and Petry stays at RT? Or does Bradford stay at RG and More plays RT? Some interesting choices.

Gotta be a big game for Joe playing so close to home.

My guess is More and Bradford split PT at OG. Maybe it will be Petry and Joe. Looks to me as though Petry is slowly improving though and it seemed like the staff thought Joe was better at OG so if Joe plays, I expect it will be at OG.

Concerned Enrique Cruz and J'Onre Reed are not showing a lot of improvement as the season progresses. Maybe this is a function of them getting banged up and maybe some rest will give them a chance to finish the season strong.

Sure hope so.

 

[upperdeck]

Agreed and that's the rub. When is the last time we played an A game. We're more likely to play a D game than an A game. We're the blind squirrel right now.

the 2nd half vs Army was our last solid game with the ball.

We had some moments vs Clemson where we seemed to know what we wanted to do but not enough.

Great we ran a little vs FSU but the passing game cant not show up. We don't run well enough to run tempo which i think we need to do to be a decent offense.. So we have to throw on our rhythm but that means some pass blocking has to be solid more than not.