Sunday, October 24, 2010

Syracuse has been upgraded to "Don't Buy"


It seems at least eight writers (just three coaches) actually noticed Syracuse's big win yesterday at West Virginia. And in case you were wondering if SU is truly relevant again, the polls reflect that.

No, we're not ranked, yet, but we are in the "others receiving votes" category. After all we've been through since 2004, I'd say that's a victory around these parts. We'll take it.

Here are some fun tidbits to hold over your friends based on the newly-released polls:

1. Syracuse has more votes than Florida, Texas and Clemson, to name a few.

2. SU has as many votes in the AP poll as West Virginia and as many votes in the Coaches Poll as California.

3. If you go by others receiving votes, SU is tied with WVU as the HIGHEST RANKED BIG EAST TEAM. That says more about the Big East than Syracuse, but I'll take it.

A few more wins for the Orange, and they might even be upgraded to "Risky."

Doug Hougue named National Defensive Player of Week

Guess it's safe to say Hogue is your MVP from yesterday's game. Hard to argue that with his 10 tackles and two huge INTs. SUathletics.com has the story.

Glass-half full stat of the week

10-3

Haven't had one of these in a while. I guess I'll have to give back some of my sponsorship money to the Dairy Farmers of America. Wish I didn't buy that boat with Joe Fields' picture on the side.

The last time Syracuse started the season 5-2, was in 2001. The Orange went on to finish 10-3 and capped it off with a 26-3 drubbing of Kansas State in the Insight.com bowl. Something to keep in mind.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Who scares you? A look at the rest of the 2010 slate

Now that SU proved it could win a game on the road against a ranked opponent, it's only logical to start buying Fiesta Bowl tickets and book that hotel in Tempe. Right?

Syracuse.com
OK, we're not that crazy ... yet. Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker over SU anyways and will probably go undefeated in the conference, so the Big East title is far from ours. But it is time to start looking at the schedule to see who SU can beat and who it probably can't. Remember, two more wins is all it takes to be bowl eligible for the first time since 2004.

Cincinnati (3-4, 1-1)
The Bearcats eeked out a win over Louisville and have signature wins against Miami (OH) and Indiana St. They also just lost to South Florida at home, and have given up fewer than 28 points just once to an FBS team (Miami). The only problem is, this one's on the road, but SU already has two key Big East road wins so far. The other problem though, is Cincy needs this win after last week. I like the Bearcats ... barely.
Odds of SU winning: 45 percent

Louisville (4-3, 1-1)
The Cardinals are not all that different from Syracuse. They're a better team than the past few years, and they crushed UConn on Saturday. They even hung in with Cincy at home last week. They're certainly not a pushover, but SU has matched up well against the Cards even when they had more talent. I'm taking the Orange at home.
Odds of SU winning: 60 percent

Where am I? SU is 5-2 (2-1) and in the hunt!

I haven't posted in a while, because, frankly, I've been depressed. Depressed that I drove a total of 18 hours to watch SU get dismantled on its home turf. Depressed that the crowd was pathetic, even after the game was tied at 7-7 and the defense needed a lift. Depressed that the Orange still hadn't made "the leap."

But now, I don't know how to feel. Who are these guys? Are they the team that demolishes offenses like Akron, South Florida and even West Virginia? Or are they the team that gets scored on at will by Washington and Pittsburgh?

What can't be debated is that SU is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big East. After USF pulling the upset at Cincy last night, the Big East is still up for grabs. It's probably Pitt's to lose now, and the Panthers have the tiebreaker over the Orange, so the Big East title is still a bit of a pipe dream, but after today, anything is possible.

With five games left, and just two wins needed to qualify for the first bowl berth since 2004, the question is starting to turn into which bowl are we going to? Syracuse is a legitimate team again, capable of beating anyone in the Big East, and that's all we've really been asking for around here for a long time.

I'm going to be happy tonight, but I'm also still very confused. And I'm hoping I don't wake up in a few seconds and realize this was all just a dream.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

5 reasons Syracuse will beat Pitt on Saturday


Ahh, the fabulous world of Twitter, where it becomes painfully obvious that you forgot the name of Pittsburgh's running back, twice ... you know, the one who you said would dominate SU's running game (this has been fixed, thanks to @obscuredv1sions). It's also a world where SU football players actually read my tweets, but don't get to the part where I say I will give five reasons the Orange will actually win the game, tomorrow.

Anyways, before Andrew Lewis tries to hunt me down and kill me, let's get to the five reasons Syracuse will be celebrating on Saturday ... a little earlier than originally scheduled.

1. Defense, defense, defense
SU allowed just 219 yards to South Florda, on the road, in its first Big East test of the season. Now factor in a bump to the defense from a hopefully sold-out Carrier Dome crowd cheering them on, and a Syracuse offense that's still looking for an identity. All that adds up to a big day for the Orange defense on Saturday.

2. Syracuse learned how to win
Doug Marrone said the team needed to figure out how to win games before last week's big road victory. The Orange did just that, growing up in a 98 yard drive that could alter the course of the program. They'll take that newly-found confidence into this game, and it should make a huge difference. The sky is the limit, and the Orange won't be afraid of anyone.

5 reasons Pitt will beat Syarcuse on Saturday

Syracuse.com
Today we look at the Syracuse/Pitt game from a pessimistic point of view. Fear not, however, because tomorrow we'll give you five reasons why Syracuse will upset the Panthers in the Dome. But for now, let's take it down a notch ... for America (copyright: Jon Stewart).
1. Pitt would be at least 4-1 with SU's schedule
I'm not sure if they would have beaten Washington on the road, after dropping games to Utah and Notre Dame already this season. But it's hard to argue the Panthers would have lost to any one of Akron, Maine, Colgate or South Florida. So let's not go too crazy when comparing records here.

2. They're not intimidated by the Dome
The last time Pitt lost to the Orange in the Carrier Dome was 2004. They won each of the last two games in Syracuse by double digits. Saturday should be a different environment than the current Panthers are used to seeing in the Dome, but they've been on bigger stages before.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Awards, awards, awards

When you win a game like that, you deserve some awards. So let's give the people what they want.

Syracuse.com

MVP - Max Suter
This is a tough one. It could go to Delone Carter for his 105-yard performance. Ryan Nassib had a miserable three quarters, but he did lead the team on the game winning touchdown drive. Or how about Antwon Bailey who racked up 81 yards on just nine carries and was the lone spark for the offense for most of the game? But this one has to go to a defensive player, and no one stood out quite as much as Suter in Tampa. The safety piled up a team-high eight tackles, including a big sack on a safety blitz. He also recorded three tackles for loss and chased B.J. Daniels out of the pocket on multiple occasions. Cast your vote in the poll at the left for who you think the MVP was Saturday.

Best offensive player - Antwon Bailey
Already touched on briefly above, but Bailey made the Syracuse offense tick on Saturday. He finally got the touches he deserves, and took advantage of them to rack up 129 all-purpose yards on nine carries and three receptions. When Bailey gets the ball, the offense moves forward. Hopefully Doug Marrone and Co. have finally learned that lesson.

The morning after: wait, we actually won??

SU players flip the USF banner at Varsity for the first time ever
Syracuse is 4-1. It's still a little crazy to think about. The Orange has a better record than Florida, Miami, Texas and USC. That's pretty shocking, to say the least. But the most shocking thing about yesterday's landmark road victory in Tampa was the fact that SU found a way to win the type of game it always found a way to lose for the last six years.

It just had that feeling yesterday. Syracuse was good enough to win, without question, but they just kept missing out on opportunities. You couldn't help but think of previous failures that looked exactly like this one - Virginia (2005), Cincinnati (2005), Wake Forest (2006), Iowa (2006), Pittsburgh (2006), Miami (2007), Louisville (2009).

The SU defense looked like world beaters, but to be honest, we've seen this before. In 2005, the Orange defense could match up with anyone - remember, there were eight guys on that defense that had at least a cup of coffee in the NFL - but the pathetic offense continually hung them out to dry, giving them short fields to defend after about 45 seconds of rest.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Going Bowling

Guess what? ESPN.com has Syracuse in its bowl projections right now. Obviously, it means absolutely nothing at this point in the season. But let's enjoy it while it lasts, and start looking up prices for flights to Birmingham (OK, maybe not just yet).