SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
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- Here is the history of this series:
Syracuse vs North Carolina State 1869-2016
That doesn’t include last year’s game were we lost 20-35 to a 7-6 team. That makes us 1-9 all time with the one win against the only losing team we faced. We’ve never beaten an NC State team that wound up with a winning record, as this team is likely to. The average score of the games against Wolfpack winners has been 19-34. If you are thinking that we are going to win this one, you are swimming upstream against history.
- They are better than LSU. They also have a strong defense, full of guys that will be playing on Sunday. But they have an exceptional quarterback in Ryan Finley, a really good running back in Nyheim Hines and a great “slash” type player in Jaylon Samuels, who has played running back, wide receiver and even tight end. LSU got 35 points. This team will get more.
- The LSU brought back memories of the 2002 Auburn game, the games against LSU and Clemson in the Dome two years ago and last year’s win over Virginia Tech. All those SU teams finished 4-8. The 2002 team lost their next three games in a row. The 2015 team lost 8 in a tow starting with the LSU game and including the Clemson game. The 2016 team lost their next game 0-54 and went from 4-4 and thinking bowl game to finishing 0-4 and watching the bowls on TV. Bad or mediocre teams can play very well at times against good teams but that can be very deceiving as to how much they have progressed and where they really are.
- This game begins our ACC schedule. Dino Babers is in his second year here. Dabo Swinney is in his 10th year at Clemson, Jimbo Fisher 8th at Florida State, Dave Doeren 5th at NC State, Dave Clawson, (Babers predecessor at Bowling Green), 4th at Wake Forest, Steve Addazio the same at BC. Bobby Petirno came back to Louisville in 2014, the year Dino showed up at Bowling Green. Pat Narduzzi has been at Pitt for 2 previous years. Mark Richt is in his first year at Miami. Everybody else started their rebuilding program before we did and are therefore farther along than we are. Dino Babers keeps talking about what we’ll be able to do when he gets the players he needs to do it. These teams are already there, or at least closer to their goal than we are. NC State has the sort of team we hope to have in a couple of years. We have the sort of team we have now.
- And that team is a dink and dunk team that doesn’t throw deep or over the middle very much and can’t run the ball. We do a pretty job of moving the chains and can wear teams down with the number and pace of plays. But a really good defense should be able to take that apart. I’m not sure why LSU wasn’t able to but I think these guys are better.
- We don’t know how to win these games. We’ve won two blow-outs and lost our two close games. We leave points on the field and give up scores we shouldn’t give up. Woulda coulda shoulda. If we hadn’t thrown a pick on the first play. If we hadn’t dropped that pass. If the safeties hadn’t bit on the run or taken the wrong angle. If the “specialty” kick had been properly executed. We’ve had several plays like that in each game. It didn’t’ matter against the weaker opponents. It matters very much against the stronger ones. We can’t dream of upsets until we stop doing favors for the other team.
Syracuse vs North Carolina State 1869-2016
That doesn’t include last year’s game were we lost 20-35 to a 7-6 team. That makes us 1-9 all time with the one win against the only losing team we faced. We’ve never beaten an NC State team that wound up with a winning record, as this team is likely to. The average score of the games against Wolfpack winners has been 19-34. If you are thinking that we are going to win this one, you are swimming upstream against history.
- They are better than LSU. They also have a strong defense, full of guys that will be playing on Sunday. But they have an exceptional quarterback in Ryan Finley, a really good running back in Nyheim Hines and a great “slash” type player in Jaylon Samuels, who has played running back, wide receiver and even tight end. LSU got 35 points. This team will get more.
- The LSU brought back memories of the 2002 Auburn game, the games against LSU and Clemson in the Dome two years ago and last year’s win over Virginia Tech. All those SU teams finished 4-8. The 2002 team lost their next three games in a row. The 2015 team lost 8 in a tow starting with the LSU game and including the Clemson game. The 2016 team lost their next game 0-54 and went from 4-4 and thinking bowl game to finishing 0-4 and watching the bowls on TV. Bad or mediocre teams can play very well at times against good teams but that can be very deceiving as to how much they have progressed and where they really are.
- This game begins our ACC schedule. Dino Babers is in his second year here. Dabo Swinney is in his 10th year at Clemson, Jimbo Fisher 8th at Florida State, Dave Doeren 5th at NC State, Dave Clawson, (Babers predecessor at Bowling Green), 4th at Wake Forest, Steve Addazio the same at BC. Bobby Petirno came back to Louisville in 2014, the year Dino showed up at Bowling Green. Pat Narduzzi has been at Pitt for 2 previous years. Mark Richt is in his first year at Miami. Everybody else started their rebuilding program before we did and are therefore farther along than we are. Dino Babers keeps talking about what we’ll be able to do when he gets the players he needs to do it. These teams are already there, or at least closer to their goal than we are. NC State has the sort of team we hope to have in a couple of years. We have the sort of team we have now.
- And that team is a dink and dunk team that doesn’t throw deep or over the middle very much and can’t run the ball. We do a pretty job of moving the chains and can wear teams down with the number and pace of plays. But a really good defense should be able to take that apart. I’m not sure why LSU wasn’t able to but I think these guys are better.
- We don’t know how to win these games. We’ve won two blow-outs and lost our two close games. We leave points on the field and give up scores we shouldn’t give up. Woulda coulda shoulda. If we hadn’t thrown a pick on the first play. If we hadn’t dropped that pass. If the safeties hadn’t bit on the run or taken the wrong angle. If the “specialty” kick had been properly executed. We’ve had several plays like that in each game. It didn’t’ matter against the weaker opponents. It matters very much against the stronger ones. We can’t dream of upsets until we stop doing favors for the other team.
