SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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- When they pick up the paycheck and take it to the bank.
I find it disgusting that some small-time schools basically sell their players out by getting themselves a spot in FCS so they can get ‘guarantee games’ from schools that legitimately belong in Division 1. Wagner is not App State. My brother went to Hamilton College back in the 60’s and we used to visit him on a football weekend in the fall. Wagner was the toughest game on Hamilton’s schedule. They had three unbeaten teams in the 1960’s and were always tough to beat at that level:
In 1987, they reached the pinnacle of their gridiron achievements when they won the NCAA Division II championship. But their kids will never have another shot at a championship because the school moved up to FCS in 1993. This enables them to use their football players like boxing’s ‘tomatoes cans’ – opponents who are brought in to give the big time schools an extra home game and a sure but meaningless win where they can play everybody in exchange for a big check. The small-time school will say that that enables them to fund the rest of their athletic program but how did they do that before they sold out their football players by rising to a division they could never win? And that’s the purpose of divisions- to give everyone the possibility of winning a championship if they can keep winning games. The Wagner players cannot do that. They are just taking their lumps so the school can make money. What kind of an educational experience is that?
The Seahawks are likely the worst team Syracuse will have played in the entire post World War II Era. Before the war, Syracuse, like a lot of big-time schools, would start the season by playing 2-3 small college teams, then play the “big-time portion of their schedule”. Their real record would be how they fared against the latter:
Look at 1929, for example. We beat Hobart 77-0, St. Lawrence 55-0 and John’s Hopkins 85-6. Against everybody else, we were 3-3 and outscored the big-time opposition 42-40. In the post-war era the games against small college teams disappeared, although some of our opponents are now FCS. But keep in mind that ‘FCS’ is Division 1 but there’s a championship those teams can’t win. Wagner can’t win at all in FCS, having lost 23 games in a row. They’ve twice played Syracuse before. A 3-8 Wagner team lot 0-54 in 2013 and a 4-7 Wagner team lost 10-62 in 2018. This team is worse than those teams.
And what does it do for SU to blow-out teams from the lower divisions? Let’s look at the Dome Era.
In 1981 we beat Colgate 47-24 and lost to Navy 23-35 the next week.
In 1982 we beat Colgate 49-15 and lost to Navy 18-20, the first of three straight losses to end the season.
In 1987 we beat Colgate 52-6 and then won our last four games.
In 2002 we beat Rhode Island 63-17 and then lost out last four games.
In 2008 we beat Northeaster 30-21 but lost our next four games.
In 2009 we beat Maine 41-24 but lost our next two and five of six games.
In 2010 we beat Maine 38-14 and then Colgate 42-7 and then beat South Florida 13-9, lost to Pitt 14-45 but won 3 of the next four.
In 2011 we beat Rhode Island 21-14, then lost to Southern California 17-38 before winning 3 of 4.
In 2012 we beat Stony Brook 28-17, then lost 10-17 at Minnesota, beat Pitt 14-13 and lost to Rutgers 15-23
In 2013 we beat Wagner 54-0 after an 0-2 start, then beat Tulane 52-17 before losing 2 of 3.
In 2014 we barely got by Villanova 27-26, blew out Central Michigan 40-3 and went 1-9 the rest of the season.
In 2015 we beat Rhode Island 47-0 and then beat Wake Forest and Central Michigan before finishing 1-8.
In 2016 we opened beating Colgate 33-7, then came the Lamar Jackson game, 28-62 and 4 losses in 5 games.
In 2017 we opened beating Central Connecticut 50-7 and then lost to Middle Tennessee 23-30 and 3 for 4 games. (The middle of Tennessee is tougher than the middle of Connecticut.)
In 2018 we beat Wagner 62-10 and won the next two to go 4-0 on the way to 10-3.
In 2019 we beat Holy Cross 41-3 and then lost four in a row.
In 2021 we beat Albany 62-24 and then played four games in a row decided by a field goal, winning the first and losing the last three.
My conclusion is that a blow-out over an overmatched opponent doesn’t predict how well we will do against our other opponents and a closer-than-expected win doesn’t’ necessarily foretell disaster, either. You basically return to your mean, whatever that it is, no matter how mean you were to your visitors.
I find it disgusting that some small-time schools basically sell their players out by getting themselves a spot in FCS so they can get ‘guarantee games’ from schools that legitimately belong in Division 1. Wagner is not App State. My brother went to Hamilton College back in the 60’s and we used to visit him on a football weekend in the fall. Wagner was the toughest game on Hamilton’s schedule. They had three unbeaten teams in the 1960’s and were always tough to beat at that level:
In 1987, they reached the pinnacle of their gridiron achievements when they won the NCAA Division II championship. But their kids will never have another shot at a championship because the school moved up to FCS in 1993. This enables them to use their football players like boxing’s ‘tomatoes cans’ – opponents who are brought in to give the big time schools an extra home game and a sure but meaningless win where they can play everybody in exchange for a big check. The small-time school will say that that enables them to fund the rest of their athletic program but how did they do that before they sold out their football players by rising to a division they could never win? And that’s the purpose of divisions- to give everyone the possibility of winning a championship if they can keep winning games. The Wagner players cannot do that. They are just taking their lumps so the school can make money. What kind of an educational experience is that?
The Seahawks are likely the worst team Syracuse will have played in the entire post World War II Era. Before the war, Syracuse, like a lot of big-time schools, would start the season by playing 2-3 small college teams, then play the “big-time portion of their schedule”. Their real record would be how they fared against the latter:
Look at 1929, for example. We beat Hobart 77-0, St. Lawrence 55-0 and John’s Hopkins 85-6. Against everybody else, we were 3-3 and outscored the big-time opposition 42-40. In the post-war era the games against small college teams disappeared, although some of our opponents are now FCS. But keep in mind that ‘FCS’ is Division 1 but there’s a championship those teams can’t win. Wagner can’t win at all in FCS, having lost 23 games in a row. They’ve twice played Syracuse before. A 3-8 Wagner team lot 0-54 in 2013 and a 4-7 Wagner team lost 10-62 in 2018. This team is worse than those teams.
And what does it do for SU to blow-out teams from the lower divisions? Let’s look at the Dome Era.
In 1981 we beat Colgate 47-24 and lost to Navy 23-35 the next week.
In 1982 we beat Colgate 49-15 and lost to Navy 18-20, the first of three straight losses to end the season.
In 1987 we beat Colgate 52-6 and then won our last four games.
In 2002 we beat Rhode Island 63-17 and then lost out last four games.
In 2008 we beat Northeaster 30-21 but lost our next four games.
In 2009 we beat Maine 41-24 but lost our next two and five of six games.
In 2010 we beat Maine 38-14 and then Colgate 42-7 and then beat South Florida 13-9, lost to Pitt 14-45 but won 3 of the next four.
In 2011 we beat Rhode Island 21-14, then lost to Southern California 17-38 before winning 3 of 4.
In 2012 we beat Stony Brook 28-17, then lost 10-17 at Minnesota, beat Pitt 14-13 and lost to Rutgers 15-23
In 2013 we beat Wagner 54-0 after an 0-2 start, then beat Tulane 52-17 before losing 2 of 3.
In 2014 we barely got by Villanova 27-26, blew out Central Michigan 40-3 and went 1-9 the rest of the season.
In 2015 we beat Rhode Island 47-0 and then beat Wake Forest and Central Michigan before finishing 1-8.
In 2016 we opened beating Colgate 33-7, then came the Lamar Jackson game, 28-62 and 4 losses in 5 games.
In 2017 we opened beating Central Connecticut 50-7 and then lost to Middle Tennessee 23-30 and 3 for 4 games. (The middle of Tennessee is tougher than the middle of Connecticut.)
In 2018 we beat Wagner 62-10 and won the next two to go 4-0 on the way to 10-3.
In 2019 we beat Holy Cross 41-3 and then lost four in a row.
In 2021 we beat Albany 62-24 and then played four games in a row decided by a field goal, winning the first and losing the last three.
My conclusion is that a blow-out over an overmatched opponent doesn’t predict how well we will do against our other opponents and a closer-than-expected win doesn’t’ necessarily foretell disaster, either. You basically return to your mean, whatever that it is, no matter how mean you were to your visitors.