Sure was nice to experience a win again! Time to kick off Big East play and begin our march to the International Bowl! 

When: Saturday September 27th, 2008 - 12:00 PM Eastern

Where: Syracuse, New York in the Carrier Dome

Capacity: 50,000

Television: Time Warner 26 – SNY – ESPN Gameplan – ESPN 360

Tailgating information: http://www.texanmarktailgate.blogspot.com/

Pittsburgh Reading Material (via pacusefan): http://www.cuseorange.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7482

The Spread: Opened at Pittsburgh -15 and has since moved to Pittsburgh -16. The Over/Under is 46.5.

Rivalry info: The Syracuse and Pittsburgh rivalry lies deadlocked at 30-30-3. The teams first faced off on October 21st, 1916 and have played every year since 1955. Pitt is 5-1 in the series since 2002. The last time Syracuse beat Pitt was in a 2OT thriller in the Carrier Dome in 2004 (click on link for video.)

Coaches: Pittsburgh - Dave Wannstedt - 4th season at Pittsburgh (16-19 overall.) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 4th season at Syracuse (8-31 overall.)

Syracuse Offense ranked #104 vs Pittsburgh Defense ranked #46: Once again Cameron Dantley and the Offense looked pretty good against an inferior defense. Dantley completed 14 of his 17 attempts but only 4 of those completions were to Orange wide recievers (Sales – 2, Davis – 1, Lobdell – 1.) We’re four games into the season and still waiting for someone to really emerge (Lobdell…c’mon.) I know we were somewhat spoiled with a few years of Mike and Taj – but it doesnt seem like 4-5 receptions is too much to ask! It seems our only hope is in FR Marcus Sales who continues to work himself more and more into the offense and continues to show what seems to be the only set of hands on this team. Pitt opponents have been able to find a few seams in the Pitt secondary going 66/110 (60%) for 616 yards – 3 TD’s – and 2 INT’s in three games – so Dantley shouldnt have much of a problem with our short passing game as long as he has time. Which presents a big problem – the Pittsburgh pass rush. The Panthers are ranked 5th in the nation when it comes to sacks – averaging just under four a game. The Offensive line has looked much better but Pitt is going to do whatever they can to get at Dantley – probably sending 7-8 on a regular basis after seeing tape of our non-existent down field threat. Keep an eye on the Offensive Line – this is easily their biggest test and a big time barometer not only to the guys – but to Browning.

Brinkley and Hogue looked spectacular last week – both notching 100 yard games on the ground and powering the offense accounting for all three Orange touchdowns. Donnie Webb reports Carter is back to practicing after suffering a hamstring injury against Penn State – but still doesnt know if he’ll see the field against Pitt. I’d rather avoid all injury – but we’re going to need all the horses for this one. As I already mentioned - Pitt brings a strong rush D and one of the nations best LB’s Scott McKillop to the table. McKillop picked up right where he left off last season and is averaging 10+ tackles a game (just under 2 Tackles for Loss a game.) The outside is going to be sealed off completely – and our success relies entirely on what happens between the tackles. Boonah is going to get his deserved carries and may break a few – but if there is a difference maker in the game – its going to be Hogue and his physicality. Grind the clock, convert a few downs, and why not try tiring out an opposing defense for once?

Pittsburgh Offense ranked #83 vs Syracuse Defense ranked #114: Seems as if Pitt is hurting a lot more than expected this season after losing three starting lineman from 2007. LeSean McCoy is one of the best backs in the Big East but still hasnt been able to hit the 100 yard mark this season – something he did 7 times last year. If there is a game to get back on track its this one for McCoy. LeSean torched us for 140 yards last year and we’re not any better this year giving up nearly 200 yards rushing a game. If Wanny has a brain (arguable) he’ll give the ball to McCoy 35 times and let him do the work. Don’t forgot LaRod Stephens-Howling either. In 2006 Stephens Howling torched us in the Dome on track to 212 rushing yards. Obviously he’s not Pittsburgh’s premier back – but he’ll get a chunk of carries while refreshing McCoy. Who knows what’ll happen when he gets a whiff of that steamy Dome air he remembers huffing and puffing a few years ago after a few 50 yard scampers.

Although Pitt will do more than enough damage on the ground – Pittsburgh’s pass offense is one of the worst we’ll face this season. Quarterback Bill Stull has yet to get much going in the air and has seen his workload decrease game by game. On the season Stull has only thrown one TD to his three interceptions – and thats even against two subpar secondarys in Buffalo and Bowling Green. Pitt wont need to use the air more than 15-20 times to balance things out a bit – but I wouldnt be surprised if they used this game to tweak a few things against our Pass Defense that ranks among the nations worst.

Why Syracuse will win: Flaherty keeps McCoy in his sites all day and is able to keep McCoy somewhat contained. Jones attacks a greener Pitt OL and is able to disrupt Stull a few times and force a few turnovers which we turn into points. Brinkley and Hogue control the ground game and the clock and break out for a few scores.

Why Pittsburgh will win: McCoy breaks out the way everyone thought he would to start the season and torches the Orange for 150+. The Pitt Defense has no trouble stopping the motor of the Orange offense in Brinkley and the Orange are only able to settle for a few FG’s.

Syracuse player to watch: K Patrick Shadle. Shadle is 6/7 on the year for FG’s (missed 51 yarder off the upright against Northwestern) and is 9/9 in PA. The Pitt defense gives up the yardage but has been able to keep opponents out of the endzone. We might need to call on Shadle more than once.

Pittsburgh player to watch: LB Scott McKillop. McKillop is averaging 10.33 tackles a game and 1.67 TFL in three games this season. Mckillop accounted for 151 tackles in 2007.

Reyes39 Prediction: Pittsburgh 38 Syracuse 16

-Stats thanks to ncaa.org and cfbdatawarehouse.com

-Curtis Brinkley photo from Frank Ordonez/The Post Standard

Not a very exciting game – but at least its our best chance at snapping our 7 game losing streak and notching our first win of the season. 

When: Saturday September 20thth, 2008 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Where: Syracuse, New York in the Carrier Dome

Capacity: 50,000

Television: ESPN 360 – ESPN Gameplan – Orange All Access

Tailgating information: http://www.texanmarktailgate.blogspot.com/

The Spread: Most Sportsbooks dont have this game available for wagering because it’s against a D-1AA opponnent – but Betus.com had the opening line at Syracuse -9 (it has since been taken off the books.) Either way – its not a game worth betting – just go scalp a seat for $5 and go watch the game!

Rivalry info: The two teams have never played – but Syracuse is 11-1 all time against the CAA. That lone loss came against Villanova in a 14-13 defeat. Northeastern on the other hand only has 2 all time wins against D-1 opponents (UConn in 2000 and Ohio in 2002.) Northeastern does not own one win against a current BCS conference opponent.

Coaches: Northeastern - Rocky Hager - 5th season at Northeastern (15-31 overall.) Syracuse- Greg Robinson - 4th season at Syracuse (7-31 overall.)

I for one had never even seen Northeastern football in action – thank god for Youtube. Here’s some highlights from Northeasterns game in Ball State earlier this season (fast forward to 1:01for game action.)

Syracuse Offense (ranked 114 out of 119 in FBS) vs Northeastern Defense (ranked 100 out of 109 in FCS): After a 13-32 performance against Penn State – Senior Cameron Dantley has re-sparked the QB controversy. Both Dantley and season opener starter Andrew Robinson are expected to take snaps in this weekends game against the Huskies. If there’s a time to settle a QB controversy – this is the game with Big East play beginning in less than two weeks. Problem is – the Huskie defense has been torched thus far (giving up 455 ypg) and both Dantley and ARob will probably look like Peyton out there – so expect the controversy to last into BE play unless one of them really screws up. Which may be pretty hard seeing as Northeastern is yet to pick a pass this season. If we’re going to try and make any noise or even a chirp in Big East play we have to use this game as our final tweaking session. It’s time to get Sales more involved in the passing game and do whatever you can to pump some confidence into a dissapointing Lavar Lobdell. 

Carter is nursing a pulled hamstring and should be back to practicing soon – but if he’s not 100% theres really no point in suiting him up this weekend. Brinkley and Hogue should be more than enough against a Northeastern defense that have surrendered almost 5 yards a carry thus far. You’d be lying if you said our offensive line hasnt improved and I expect even Chavers to look All-Big East at times. The Northeastern DL is just overmatched and has yet to even record a sack this season against Ball State and Georgia Southern. I expect Boonah to surpass his career high of 143 yards he set a few weeks ago against Akron and Hogue to chip in for 60-80.

Northeastern Offense (ranked 31st out of 109 in FCS) vs Syracuse Defense (ranked 115 out of 119 in FBS): If theres any reason to be concerned about this game – it’ll be because of our defense. As we all know – defensive guru Greg Robinson has yet to display anything close to…well, defense. At times during the Penn State game I felt as if Robinsons old buddy Bill Romanowski would have been more effective against Penn State – by himself.

Northeastern has actually been able to piece together a decent offense this season – especially in the air. Senior QB Anthony Orio (yum) has totalled nearly 450 passing yards for a score and no interceptions in the Huskies two games this season while the Offensive line has only given up 3 sacks. Orio should have some success against our swiss cheese secondary – but the Northeastern OL has never seen a player like Arthur Jones. Jones has been the only bright spot on the defense and I expect him to be all over Orio all game. LB Parker Cantey, CB Dorian Graham, and DB Kevyn Scott are all players to keep an eye on Saturday as they recieve more and more needed experience. I’m interested to see how the young guys stack up against lesser opponents…hopefully Graham lives up to his word to play better after basically being thrown to the dogs by GRob last week against a strong Penn State WR core.

Why Syracuse will win: No matter how bad – they’re just on a whole other level. Brinkley and Jones are true D-1 BCS players and should have field days against an outmatched Northeastern football team. No disrespect to the Huskies at all – They’re out there practicing and putting in work while I sit in my recliner blogging – but I just dont think they have the horses to compete on this level. Sure a few smartass fans might say – ‘Well neither do we’ – but for example: The Skychiefs stink and may not be able to do much with a 90mph fastball – but what do you think they’d do against a Single-A pitcher who throws 75mph meatballs? That ball is probably going 400 feet over the fence. If we lose to Northeastern this program is 10x worse off than we thought.

Why Northeastern will win: They’re able to make a few stops on defense and continue to throw the ball just like any other team has on us this season. Northeastern, like almost all other opponents, will bring much more experience to the field Saturday.

Syracuse player to watch: Freshman WR Marcus Sales. Sure he only has 2 grabs on the season – but if you’ve watched him the past three games you know he can contribute much more to this offense. I really did not expect him to do much this season being a freshman but he already looks better than a few of our other guys who have been around longer (cough Lobdell.) He runs tight routes, has shown good hands, and each time I’ve followed him he’s running full speed. Seems like he’s progressed each game.

Northeastern player to watch: Anthony Orio – threw for 287 yards and a TD last week against Georgia Southern. He has yet to throw an interception in two games.

Reyes39 Prediction: Syracuse 38 Northeastern 28

CollegeFootballNews Prediction: Syracuse 33 Northeastern 14

-Stats thanks to ncaa.org and cfbdatawarehouse.com

-click on photos to see them from host site

Big weekend for all Orange fans as the Penn State Nittany Lions return to the Carrier Dome for the first time in almost 20 years.

When: Saturday September 13th, 2008 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Where: Syracuse, New York in the Carrier Dome

Capacity: 50,000

Television: ABC – ESPN360 – ESPN Gameplan

Tailgating information: http://www.texanmarktailgate.blogspot.com/

The Spread: Opened at Syracuse +26.5 – which has already jumped to Syracuse +28.

Rivalry info: Syracuse and Penn State have faced off 68 times since 1922 but havent played each other since 1990. Penn State leads the series 40-23-5.

Fun Fact:

Coaches: Penn State – Joe Paterno – 42nd season at Penn State (374-125-3 overall.) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 4th season at Syracuse (7-30 overall.)

Last time they played: October 13th, 1990. Penn State beat the Orange 27-21 in College Station.

Syracuse passing game (ranked #99) vs. the Penn State secondary (ranked #80): Last week against Akron – Senior Cameron Dantley was actually able to get a few things going in the air. Dantley completed 13 of 20 passes and threw for three touchdowns. The only problem is – 6 of those completed passes were to Tight Ends Mike Owen and Nick Provo – and two were to FB Tony Fiametta. No, its not a bad thing if your Tight Ends and backs are heavily involved in the passing game, especially with Brownings offense – but it’s a big problem when your Wide Receivers are basically non existent. Outside of Donte Davis (4 receptions a game) all other Orange receivers have only been able to manage a measly 5 total catches in two games against Northwestern and Akron – two teams that aren’t know for their cover corners. Penn State has seemed to of played a bit or a “bend but dont break” pass defense in its first two games giving up 450 yards in the air but for the most part has been able to keep the ball out of the endzone.
Who has the edge? With Dantley at the helm things seemed to flow a little bit more when it came to the passing game. If he can continue to involve TE Mike Owen and if Lobdell or Sales are able to step up – Dantley should be able to keep the Nittany Lions honest giving Carter and Brinkley a bit more room to run. Although Dantley looked promising – we’ll have to give Penn State the nod due to our lack of receivers. You would have to think Lavar Lobdell is at least better than WR Trent Usher out of Coastal Carolina (3 receptions/50 yards/TD against PSU) though…right?
Syracuse rushing attack (ranked #42) vs. the Penn State front six (ranked #29): Ah, one of the lone bright spots to the team this year. Brinkley and Carter have ran the very well thus far – both averaging nearly 6 1/2 yards a carry. Boonah was able to find his way into the endzone for the second straight game last week and racked up a career best 143 yards on 21 carries while Carter chipped in 77 on 13 carries. Although I do want to see one primary back recieve most of the carries – I don’t agree with a guy like Hogue only getting three carries. He’s too good of a player to keep on the sidelines and I would’ve loved to of seen him take that 4th down carry which definitely suits his running style. The more I see from our stable – the more I want to give all three of our backs twenty carries a game. With how we’ve thrown the ball…why bother? Penn State on the other hand has done pretty well against the run thus far – although the two teams they faced do most of their work in the air opposed to on the ground. All-Big 10 DE Maurice Evans and starting DT Abe Koroma have been suspended for this weekends game for a marijuana incident a few weeks ago.
Who has the edge? With the suspension of Evans and Koroma and with how Carter and Boonah have ran the ball so far – I’m going to give us the slight edge. The Offensive Line has done a much better job than last season and hopefully can continue to open a few lanes if we have any chance in competing this weekend.
Syracuse Offense (rated #87) vs. Penn State Defense (rated #50) synopsis: Hopefully Dantley can continue to provide some spark in the offense like he did last week against Akron. I really liked what I saw from the offense last week and if they can mirror what they did last week a few more times we might be able to stay competetive a bit later in this one than a lot of people think. Penn States defense has been relatively untested so far this season and the suspensions really work in our favor. Theres no reason we should be held under 20 points this Saturday.
Penn State passing game (ranked #42) vs. the Syracuse secondary (ranked #84): Penn State QB Darryl Clark has been a decent surprise this season and thus far has done all he has had to do to put a W on the board. Clark has only completed 25 passes out of 37 attempts for 361 yards and 3 TD’s in two games as Penn State has done a majority of their damage on the ground. Darryl is probably feeling better than ever – because after two games his offensive line has yet to let up a sack. Penn State won’t need to air things out this Saturday but if need be it seems Clark can just find WR Jordan Norwood – who has reeled in half of Clarks passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns. The Orange will probably have to have all 11 guys in the box if they have any chance at slowing up the Penn State rush offense – but Clark has the arm to burn you if need be. I don’t see Penn State throwing the ball more than 20 times but I’m sure Clark will hook up with Norwood a few times to keep up honest. Bruce Williams returns to Safety this weekend for the injured Mckinnon and is expected to start. Hopefully he didn’t forget to tackle.
Who has the edge? Penn State wont need to throw the ball – but if they do Clark should be able to dispose of Merkserson and Holmes accordingly.

Penn State rushing attack (ranked #7) vs. the Syracuse front seven (ranked #114): Touchdown Evan Royster. Thats something both Coastal Carolina and Oregon State have probably heard enough of – and something we’ll probably witness a handful of times this Saturday. Royster is off to a fast start this year after racking up 205 yards and 6 TD’s in two weeks of action. A touchdown every four carries isnt bad – and the Penn State offense as a whole has already put up 500+ rushing yards and 11 TD’s. The Orange on the other hand havent done much against the run – mostly because of poor tackling. Akron was able to ‘Zip’ through the Orange defense using the draw gaining 218 yards on the ground. Yeah, 218 yards on the ground to Akron. Arthur Jones has a lot of work on his hands.

Who has the edge? After almost three days of thinking this through – I’ll have to go with Penn State. Who am I kidding – Penn State is going to man handle us on the ground. What we’ll see this weekend is probably just a taste of what we’ll get from Devine, McCoy, and the likes later on this season.
Penn State Offense (ranked #12) vs. Syracuse Defense synopsis (#113): Penn State has dished out brilliant offensive performances so far and are averaging 55 points a game. The Orange have surrendered 36 points a game thus far…I don’t expect much to change this weekend.
Why Syracuse will win: The entire Penn State offense gets caught up in Down Under Leather on Marshall Street (pot shop) and get ripped before the game. Royster and Co. get so high they can’t even stand straight and continually fall over and our defense doesnt even need to make a tackle. (OK, maybe they’re not all pot heads…but c’mon, how else are we going to win/make a tackle?)
Why Penn State will win: They continue to run the ball as well as they did in the first two games.
Syracuse player to watch: RB Curtis Brinkley. Brinkley gained 143 yards on 21 carries last week with a score notching his best ever career start. He’s averaging 6.4 yards a carry this season.
Penn State player to watch: Quarterback Evan Royster. Royster has already scored 6 times this season and racked up 205 yards on the ground.
Reyes39 Prediction: Penn State 49 Syracuse 21
Lvilleorange Prediction: Penn State 56 Syracuse 10
CollegeFootballNews Prediction: Penn State 41 Syracuse 14
-Stats thanks to ncaa.org and cfbdatawarehouse.com
-click on photos to see them from host site

I knew I might regret blogging this football program and after Saturday’s game vs Akron, my worst fears were realized:

“Oh my, we suck again”.

At least on defense, where the Cuse was shredded like mozzarella on a cheese grater, picked apart like a dead carcas by a vulture,  hammered like a drunken frat boy, abused like a red headed step child, exposed like a piece of film, beaten down like Rodney King, run over like herd of bulls in Pamplona,  discarded like yesterdays news,  spanked like a XXX starlet,  crushed like a vat of grapes at a winery, fragile as a new born baby, destroyed like a bunker by a heat seeking missile, bullied like a preteen in the cafeteria,  duped like Frazier on a snipe hunt, smashed like pumpkins on Halloween, carved like Thanksgiving turkey, blitzkrieged like France in WWII, mauled like a menacing hungry bear at a campsite, mulitated like scissored paper, violated like the code of conduct and beaten like the Syracuse defense.  Oh wait I’ve come full circle!

This season’s new theme song is the blog’s title:  My Apocalypse by Metallica.  (Great song by the way, best thing I’ve heard from them since And Justice for All).  It is truly the end for Coach Robinson.  It cannot be a question of if anymore, it’s a question of when.  It is the end of the fans, as aluminum will be more prevalent than Orange the rest of the way.  To complete my thoughts on SU football 2008, I’ll conclude w/ more Metallica references.  The shortest straw has been pulled for you, GRob.  Color my world blackened.

After an ugly loss against Northwestern – It’s time to put that behind and look into our next opponent, the Akron Zips (0-1.) Once again, props go out to Reyes39 for the breakdown and pacusefan for giving us research material. Now, read along for all the information you’ll need for the game!

When: Saturday September 6th, 2008 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Where: Syracuse, New York in the Carrier Dome

Capacity: 50,000

Television: TWC 26 and FSN Ohio

Tailgating information: http://www.texanmarktailgate.blogspot.com/

The Spread: Opened at Syracuse -7. Has quickly moved down to Syracuse -4.5

Rivalry info: This will be the first time the two teams have ever played each other.

Fun Fact: Akron Head Coach J.D. Brookhart served under Syracuse Head Coach Greg Robinson as a defensive assistant when Robinson was the Defensive Coordinator of the Defensive Broncos.

Coaches: Akron – J.D. Brookhart – 5th season at Akron (22-27 overall.) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 4th season at Syracuse (7-29 overall.)

Last time they played: Never

Syracuse passing game (ranked #101) vs. the Akron secondary (ranked #10): After last week…I’m not sure we have anything that resembles a passing game. Robinson looked pretty bad much of the game – only completing 14 of 28 passes for just over 100 yards and an interception. Andrew looked tight the entire game and rarely put the ball where it had to be in Brownings new short swing/slant passing offense. Rumor has it Senior Cameron Dantley has been getting looks with the first team offense this week during practice – but we’ll just count Arob in as the starter until we see otherwise. I’m not sure if it was our recievers, the loss of Williams and Taj – or a combination of both. But Robinson just did not look comfortable in the offense and didn’t seem to groove with anyone last Saturday. No matter who gets the start on Saturday there has to be an improvement – and maybe a passing attempt down field…or two. Akron on the other hand didn’t recieve much of a test against Wisconsin. The Badgers did their work on the ground and only threw the ball a total of ten times but the Zips were able to pick off one of those attempts to keep things tight in the first half.
Who has the edge? It’s hard to really judge the Akron secondary since they were untested most of the game – but with how bad we were in the air in week one we’ll have to go with a push. Neither side showed much of anything in week one to warrant the edge.

Syracuse rushing attack (ranked #70) vs. the Akron front six (ranked #113): Syracuse was able to nearly double their rushing average from 2007 on Saturday rushing for 122 yards overall. The only problem is 60 of those yards came on two bursts by Brinkley and Carter and Grob has yet to chose a back to carry the load. I understand the problem in chosing a back – its gotta be hard not to try and involve the three headed duo of Carter, Hogue, and Brinkley – but by splitting the carries like we did takes the momentum right out of the ground game. No one was able to really get into sync since each drive there was a new back manning the tailback position. The Offensive Line looked improved but still not to the point we would want it – our backs were unable to find much room inside the tackles and usually profited most by bouncing the ball outside or following Fiammetta. The Orange should be able to run the ball down the Zips throat just like the Badgers chose to do. The Zips run a 3-3-5 defense that Wisconsing and P.J. Hill were able to gash open for over 400 yards but to return a decent and experienced Defensive Line. We’re not Wisconsin – but If our O-Line can at least engage all 6 Zips in the box our backs should be able to find a few holes in the Zips easy to run on defensive scheme.
Who has the edge? Although we were pitiful in the air – I think the Orange have an edge over the Akron defense. If we follow the Badgers blueprint and keep the ball on the ground we should be able to put up a few more points this week. Akron was able to keep things closer than expected due to three Wisconsin turnovers – be smart with the ball, run, run, and run – and our offense should be alright this week.
Syracuse Offense (rated #102) vs. Akron Defense (rated #101) synopsis: I wouldn’t mind seeing the Orange try to open things up a bit more with the pass against an opponent we can likely tweak a few things against – but I’d rather go the safe route. Keep the ball on the ground just like Wisconsin did and eat up the clock en-route to a few to a few scores. The Orange actually have more experience on this side of the ball and hopefully flow a bit more like they did last week in the first quarter. I give the Orange the slight edge – no matter who is behind center. We should be able to pick up some good chunks of yardage against the quirky 3-3-5 defense Akron utilizes.
Akron passing game (ranked #43) vs. the Syracuse secondary (ranked #71): Akron Quarterback Chris Jacquemain probably had one of his best performances last week going 22-36 for 227 yards and 2 TD’s against a decent Wisconsin secondary and was able to break his streak of seven consecutive games with an interception thrown. Perhaps some of his success could be attributed to JC transfer Deryn Bowser – Akron’s top catch in the 2007/08 recruiting season. Bowser has great size (6-2 215 lbs) and was able to grab five balls for 76 yards. The Orange defense wasnt spectacular but was able to somewhat slow down one of the nations best and most experienced passing units last week. Like the Wildcats – the Zips run a shotgun spread offense but don’t have the firepower – especially at QB – to run it as fluently as Northwestern. If Brown, Merkerson, and Holmes play a little better than last week then they should be able to force a turnover or two and stall the Zip offense a bit.
Who has the edge? Syracuse. Akron QB Jacquemain had the best game of his career but due to his past turnover issues It’s not enough to believe he has really turned the corner just yet.
Akron rushing attack (ranked #94) vs. the Syracuse front seven (ranked #109): Like Syracuse’s passing game – Akron didn’t show much of anything in their opener on the ground. Akron ran the ball only 22 times for a total of 70 yards – deciding to keep the ball in the air much of the game. The Orange just flat out didn’t do much against the run of Northwestern – missing tackles and assignments – letting the NU ground game eat them up for much of the game. Good thing is – there’s not one back on Akron’s roster that is anything like Sutton and Akron was unable to run the ball well against any formidable defenses last year. Odds are the Zips will try to run the ball a little more than they did against the Badgers since that was our weakness – but as long as we can tackle a little bit better the Akron ground game shouldn’t provide much of a problem.
Who has the edge? Akron does return two 2nd team all MAC offensive lineman – but I think Arthur Jones and Jared Kimmel answer the call and shake things up a bit. LB Mike Mele has to step things up if he wants to see much more of the field. Overall the Orange run Defense has a lot to prove after such a sad performance against Northwestern – but Akron didn’t seem to try to do many things on the ground. I give the Orange the edge for just that reason.
Akron Offense vs. Syracuse Defense synopsis: If the Orange can tackle…they shouldn’t have a problem creating some problems for Akron. Sounds easy – but if you watched last weeks game you know we’re far from fundamental.
Why Syracuse will win: The Orange take a page out of the Badger playbook and run wild on the Akron defense. Brinkley and Carter both rack up nearly 100 yards a piece while Hogue chips in with 50. Jones reverts to 2007 form and makes life for Jacquemain hell as he’s on his back all day. The Orange actually make a few tackles.
Why Akron will win: History repeats itself.  The Cuse blows some assignments on D, there are missed tackles and Akron is allowed to get comfortable while the boo birds come out in full force.  On offense, the play calling stays conservative.  There are lots of 3rd and long situations and down the field passing is non-existent.
Syracuse player to watch: Safety A.J. Brown. Brown made 11 tackles and intercepted a pass against Northwestern in week one.
Akron player to watch: Quarterback Chris Jacquemain. Jacquemain had a career game against Wisconsin throwing for 227 yards and two scores.
5 Things I don’t want to see:
1) The offense pinned inside its 20 all game. If we have 3 or more possessions inside our 20, that means that both the offense and defense are not winning the battle up front and we are losing the field possession game. A recipe for disaster.
2) “The rotation” – I want to see us find the hot hand at tailback and go to him. Someone needs 20 touches. I would think it should be Carter, with Brinkley the 3rd down guy and Hogue as short yardage.
3) “The dropsies” – must be cut down. Lobdell and Davis have to come up with balls to keep the chains moving. Otherwise, I expect that the field will get alot shorter as the defense crowds the box.
4) Maybe this should be heard vs. seen, but here goes: No “I’ll have to look at the tape” quotes from Grob. Give us your take as you saw/remembered. I expect that you were watching this game as keenly as I was.
5) Aluminum. I want to see fans in the seats for 4 quarters. These are our kids. Let’s get behind them. All the way. Period.
Reyes39 Prediction: Syracuse 27 Akron 21
Lvilleorange Prediction: Syracuse 31 Akron 16
-Northwestern helmet thanks to Nationalchamps.net
-Stats thanks to ncaa.org and cfbdatawarehouse.com
-click on photos to see them from host site

Well so much for that.

The kool-aid has been returned to the refrigerator. An offseason of optimistic hopes faded in watching the 2008 edition of the Syracuse Orange take the field against Northwestern. If the Orange was going to make a run at a bowl appearance this season, the opener against Northwestern was going to be important game. Well the Orange showed it is not bowl ready. Now comes the real question. Just how much from this game can be taken as a barometer for the rest of the season?

In the pregame write up there were 5 things I didn’t want to see:
5) Any quick kicks on 3rd down – check
4) Corner backs playing 15 yards off the ball – I give this a check as well, although with the spread you really cannot afford to be too far off of the receiver. Overall I liked the coverage schemes.
3) 3 or more sacks allowed – well we gave up 2 and it was mostly a biproduct of the 3 step drop
4) CJ Bacher having all day to throw. Well 1 sack and 3TDs and getting 10 different players involved in receptions means we didn’t do a much to deter Bacher.
5) No hideous march onto the field – check.

Hey that’s 4 out of 5, so why were we so dismal?

The answer could fill a book, but the long and short of the problem could be filled with about 2 statements.

1) The no huddle completely wore down the defense. It was apparent early that Northwestern was going to have their way with the defense. While it was admirably that they allowed only 23 points, it was clear that NU could do what they wanted when they wanted.
2) SU lost terribly the battle for field position. The Cuse spent the day unside their own 10 3 times and inside the 20 3 other times, just in the first half alone. This put alot of pressure on the arm of Andrew Robinson and the offensive line and it was clear that neither were up to the challenge.

The Good:
1) From a first half perspective only, the rushing attack seems to be improved. All 3 of Brinkley, Hogue and Carter were able to bust runs in excess of 10 yards. The Orange matched their 2007 season average after the first quarter. It was clear that the scripted play calling was successful. After that???
2) Penalties. Only 5 which I took as very good. One of them, the 15 yarder on McKenzie for a chop block was BS. Overall a good job there.
3) We won the turnover battle despite ESPN’s Pam Ward and their crack graphics displayed late in the game. AJ Brown’s int squelched a sure scoring drive in the first quarter and Jared Kimmel’s strip of Sutton helped put the Cuse in the lead in at the start of the 3rd Quarter.

The Bad:
1) Where were the down field throws? I don’t think the Cuse went down the field until there was under 6 minutes left in the game. As a result, the NU defense was allowed to get closer and closer to the line of scrimmage. The result – 68 total yards in the second half and a predictable interception. Note to Browning – is there a pump fake in that 3 step drop playbook?
2) The RB rotation. It looked like GRob went developmental league on us with the rotation of Brinkley, Hogue and Carter. Brinkley starts because of seniority? Carter comes in cold to start the 2nd quarter standing in his own end zone and predictably fumbles. I saw Hogue run more sweeps than smashing between the tackles where you’d think his size would give him more of an advantage. I wasn’t happy with the personnel decisions at RB. Someone has to get 2/3rds of the carries and the other two will have to split what’s left. Note to GRob – your job is on the line. Start coaching like it.
3) Mike Mele – part of the blown coverage that created Northwestern’s first TD, was run through on a couple of occasions. Not his best game. The overall LB core needed to play better and he was the worst of the group.
4) The dropsies were back. Lobdell and Davis started well on the first drive, but each had some regrettable drops. This does not give ARob any confidence and likely caused him to overthink a few throws, especially in the 2nd half. Marcus Sales did look decent in his first game as a collegian.

The Ugly:
1) I have to put Andrew Robinson here. He was off target all day. For a guy with a full year under his belt, his performance was very discouraging
2) Tackling. Part of the problem with the defense was the total lack of commitment to tackling. Numerous arm tackles put NU in short yardage situations all day, allowing them to do all sorts of things and really get their no huddle into high gear.
3) Corey Chavers did not have a good game. Missed several run block assignments, matadored Wooten much of the game, allowing the pressure that brought the safety. It just wasn’t a good game for the senior who will now be pressed by Jonathan Meldrum for playing time.

The GRob Hot seat meter:
Africa Hot. A few more games like this and AD Darryl Gross will have more than two cell phones crammed in his ear.

Around the BE:
Well we aren’t the only team in the Big East that is in big trouble. 25th ranked (well not now anyway) Pittsburgh rolled over in its opener to Bowling Green. Louisville scored a whopping 2 points in its crudge match opener with Kentucky. Both teams played at home and both teams coaches are probably on the hot seat as well.

On the winning side, Cincinnati looked good with Grutza in command. Pat White and WV threw the ball way more than it ran it. A sign that they may be trying to save White some wear and tear early. UConn ran all over Hofstra as expected and USF rolled in its opener.

Rutgers will try and salvage what can only be described as an overall dismal performance by the Big East in Week One as it faces Fresno St today.