The Upside - Georgia Tech

[SWC75]

- There was no logical reason for us to be in this game. They scored a touchdown on their first possession. We had two turnovers and gave up a TD after one. We got two takeovers and didn’t score after either. We had 12 penalties. They had three. We passed for only 53 yards. They that much on one TD pass. We missed a field goal, botched an extra point and failed on a two point conversion. But, as in the Pittsburgh game, we slowly took over the game in the second half and scored 19 points in a row, (it was 21 vs. Pitt) with this, (I hate to say it), “Little engine that could” offense. It’s amazing.

- LeQuint Allen is the gamer of all gamers. He ran for 120 yards on 27 carries and scored twice. He’s now got 918 yards rushing on the year and should hit the 1,000 mark next week. He was our leading receiver with 8 catches for 21 yards. He also broke up a sure interception in the end zone. He also returned a punt for 53 yards. And when Dan Villari was running the ball, Allen was usually his lead blocker.

- Villari, strangely, was used mostly to hand off to Allen and throw those rather useless bubble screens in the first half. They let him run the ball in the second half and he did so for 81 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. Imagine this guy catching passes over the middle and taking on those safeties and linebackers next year.

- Despite a fumble, Darrell Gil Jr. has star quality. Tech’s kickoffs were short enough for him to return them and he made it past the 25 each time, averaging 31.4 yards on 5 kick returns.

- The defense, despite springing a couple leaks, (I was reminded of my CPAP machine), got us the ball back repeatedly in the second half so our “Syracuse is the new owie” grind it out attack could slowly pull us back into the game.

- They said that Brady Denaburg leads the country in preventing kickoff returns against his team. He doesn’t have to kick them through the uprights.

5-6 with 1, (or 2) to go

Let’s Go Orange!

 

[SWC75]

 

[stlorange]

Assures Dino's departure...

 

[SWC75]

Assures Dino's departure...

Not so fast my friend...

 

[OrangeTarheel]

Not so fast my friend...

Don’t say that here, this is supposed to be the upside

 

[SWC75]

Don’t say that here, this is supposed to be the upside

Maybe it is?

I like Dino a lot and that counts for something. I acknowledge the problems and am resigned that he'll likely be replaced at the end of this season. That will make me sad but hopeful that the new guy can do better. We one had a streak of 15 straight winning seasons during which we went 118-49-4, (remember ties?). But Coach P was 16-20 after the streak ended. G-Rob went 10-37. "The Saint" was 25-25. Scott Shafer was 14-23. Dino, if he wins next week, will 43-55 but with two straight winning seasons. Total: 108-160. Will the next guy do better than that?

Leading up to the streak, Coach Mac went 30-36-1 and the Sack Mac Pack reigned supreme. But he'd gone 6-5, 6-5, 7-5, 5-6 the previous four years and managed to recruit the guys who suddenly produced 11-0. I think our best bet to pull out of this rut is to run together as many winning seasons as we can and use them to recruit the players, (high school or portal) who can take us to a level above that. Whether it's Dino who does that or the next guy, that's what we need to do. We need to be a school good players will want to come to.

I continue to maintain that you don't fire a coach after a bowl game because the best replacements for him and his staff will have been taken by then. (Been there, done that with G-Rob) You don't fire a coach prior to a bowl game - he got you into a bowl game and you have a chance for a winning season. And you don't fire a coach during a season unless there's a scandal or a player rebellion. We certainly don't have that.

But I wont be making the decision and a good AD always has a list of coaches he's looking at as possible replacements for the current guy. Wildhack may have already made a decision on this. Jake Crouthamel always extended his coaches contract after a winning season so he wouldn't be in this situation. If Wildhack didn't do that last year, that tells you something.

I do hope that if they rid themselves of Dino, it will be done gently and respectfully, offering him another position within the school, perhaps fund-raising. He's said he likes living here and he's 62 years old, having been a coach for 40 years. maybe he and his family would like that. He's a good guy, even if he isn't a great coach. Hopefully the next guy will be.

 

[SWC75]

Maybe it is?

I like Dino a lot and that counts for something. I acknowledge the problems and am resigned that he'll likely be replaced at the end of this season. That will make me sad but hopeful that the new guy can do better. We one had a streak of 15 straight winning seasons during which we went 118-49-4, (remember ties?). But Coach P was 16-20 after the streak ended. G-Rob went 10-37. "The Saint" was 25-25. Scott Shafer was 14-23. Dino, if he wins next week, will 43-55 but with two straight winning seasons. Total: 108-160. Will the next guy do better than that?

Leading up to the streak, Coach Mac went 30-36-1 and the Sack Mac Pack reigned supreme. But he'd gone 6-5, 6-5, 7-5, 5-6 the previous four years and managed to recruit the guys who suddenly produced 11-0. I think our best bet to pull out of this rut is to run together as many winning seasons as we can and use them to recruit the players, (high school or portal) who can take us to a level above that. Whether it's Dino who does that or the next guy, that's what we need to do. We need to be a school good players will want to come to.

I continue to maintain that you don't fire a coach after a bowl game because the best replacements for him and his staff will have been taken by then. (Been there, done that with G-Rob) You don't fire a coach prior to a bowl game - he got you into a bowl game and you have a chance for a winning season. And you don't fire a coach during a season unless there's a scandal or a player rebellion. We certainly don't have that.

But I wont be making the decision and a good AD always has a list of coaches he's looking at as possible replacements for the current guy. Wildhack may have already made a decision on this. Jake Crouthamel always extended his coaches contract after a winning season so he wouldn't be in this situation. If Wildhack didn't do that last year, that tells you something.

I do hope that if they rid themselves of Dino, it will be done gently and respectfully, offering him another position within the school, perhaps fund-raising. He's said he likes living here and he's 62 years old, having been a coach for 40 years. maybe he and his family would like that. He's a good guy, even if he isn't a great coach. Hopefully the next guy will be.

The shoe dropped while I was typing this:

SU fires Babers with 1 game left in 8th season; assistant will coach vs. Wake Forest

Babers' eight-year tenure comes to an end with one game remaining and the team still alive for a bowl game.

www.syracuse.com

Like JB said when G-Rob was fired: "You gotta win".

I just saw a Tommy DeVito touchdown pass on Red Zone. A great throw!