Nearly eight months after its second loss of the season to UMass ended another frustrating season for the Orange, SU will take to the court to open the 2008-09 campaign against a neighborhood opponent in the D-2 LeMoyne Dolphins. Most of us are used to seeing LeMoyne on the schedule, but only in the preseason portion. In fact, this will only be the fifth time (and first since 1994) that SU has matched up against LeMoyne in the regular season.

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Once again the Orange are out of bowl contention early. Although the Orange wont be planning on a 13th game this season – hopefully the Seniors can find a way to grab a win in their last game ever at the Carrier Dome.

When: Saturday November 15th, 2008 – 7:00 PM Eastern

Where: Syracuse, New York at the Carrier Dome

Capacity: 50,000

Television: ESPNU

The Spread: The line opened at Connecticut -9.5 and currently sits around -10. The Over/Under for Saturdays game is 47.

Rivalry info: Syracuse is 2-2 against the Huskies. Syracuse’s 20-14 win over the Huskies in 2006 was HC Greg Robinsons first Big East victory.

Head Coaches: Connecticut – Randy Edsall – 10th season at Connecticut (56-58 overall) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 4th season at Syracuse (9-35 overall.)

Last time they played: In 2007, #24 ranked Connecticut beat the Orange in Storrs convincingly 30-7.

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The title here says it all, so let’s get going.

SF – Paul Harris:
2007-2008 Key Stats: 36.1 MPG, 14.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.7 SPG

2007-08 Recap:
TFG: Harris started just one game in 2006-07, but his athleticism had fans foaming at the mouth at the idea of him logging big minutes. The Orange faithful got what they wanted in 2007-08, as Harris led the team in minutes per contest with 36.1, good for third in the Big East. Harris also got to the free throw line a lot. A whole lot. In fact, his 237 attempts not only led the league, but no player since Hakim Warrick in 2004-05 made more trips to the line than Harris in one season (Hak had 310 that year). Paul also added an improved shooting touch beyond the arc to his repertoire, going 11-34 last season compared to an ugly 5% (1-20) in his freshman campaign. While I don’t see him being an everyday three point threat like Devendorf, Rautins and Flynn are, Harris now has one more dimension to his game to use in keeping defenders honest.

After the ACL injuries, Harris was forced over from the three to the two spot, though it didn’t change his style of play all that much. Just ask Villanova’s Dante Cunningham. A lockdown defender to boot, Harris tallied 1.7 steals per game, including a six-game span in conference play where he tallied 18 swipes. My biggest knock on Harris is his ball control, which was epitomized by his crushing gaffe against Pittsburgh in March. As good as he is on defense, he displayed an alarming propensity to cough the ball up himself. He turned the ball over more than anyone in the Big East except for Eugene Harvey of Seton Hall, but Harris was just one behind.
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We’re 1 fer 1 in out must win games in order to crawl into bowl contention…Can Syracuse continue to play at such a high level down in New Jersey?

When: Saturday November 8th, 2008 – 12:00 PM Eastern

Where: New Brunswick, New Jersey at Rutgers Stadium

Capacity: 42,000

Television: ESPNU

The Spread: The line opened at Rutgers -14 and after some fluttering back and forth still sits at Rutgers -14. The Orange are 0-4 against the spread their last four games in Rutgers.

Rivalry info: Syracuse is 28-9-1 all time against Rutgers losing 4 of the last 5 to the Scarlet Knights.

Head Coaches: Rutgers – Greg Schiano – 8th season at Rutgers (41-51 overall) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 4th season at Syracuse (9-34 overall.)

Last time they played: Syracuse opened up with a 14-0 lead over the Scarlet Knights early in the first quarter…but Rutgers scored 38 unanswered to win the game 38-14.

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TFG: As you can guess by the title, LVO and I will preview this season’s starting five. At present, there are no position battles or Burger Boy impact freshmen to speak of, making this year’s first team the most fortified and experienced group to take the floor for the Orange since the 2005-06 season. We’ve broken the starters down into two posts – this one is on the guards and we’ll return with the back of the zone in another post.

We’ll rehash last season’s stats and give extensive outlooks and expectations for each of the starters. We’ll even try to grow a pair and predict some stats, which we may revisit throughout the season. As always, feel free to tell us how unbelievably wrong and shrewd we are in the comments section.

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The Executioner must wait

Well, well, well.  The Syracuse University Orange won a football game last night, defeating the Louisville Cardinals 28-21.  The win improved the Orange to 2-6 on the season and kept slim hopes alive for a post season bowl game.

The game was also a likely stay of execution for Greg Robinson, as it has been talked about ad naseaum that his firing is not a question of if but a question of when.  But while Greg may have survived the axe this week, there appear to be some new targets this week for executioner in the Big East.

With a loss this week to Cincinnati, South Florida coach Jim Levitt should find himself directly in the cross hairs of the exectioner.  How in the world does a team that was predicted by many to represent the Big East in the BCS bowl game, fall to 1-3 in conference and tied with you know who for LAST PLACE in the Big East?  While he should be given credit for rising the profile of South Florida football from backwater to BCS, the alarming losses the last two years should be a sign that Levitt is merely a good coach and not a great one.  How long should he last at USF? 

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