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

In this installment of the ZHK, we will break down SU’s 2nd opponent, the Akron Zips.

This is the home opener for the Cuse, and thanks to my negative prediction last week of a loss to Northwestern, AD Darryl Gross can safely estimate an opening day crowd of 27K to watch us battle this MAC foe. On a side note, any chance of building some kind of rabid fan base with this blog probably went south with that pick too. Oh well, at least my pick was etched in pencil. But seriously, many fans will be taking a hard look at the program this season and that first game will either bring a full chorus of vitriol on Greg Robinson or maybe it could signal a Rich Brooks led Kentucky like resurrection of the program, or maybe neither.

Now back to the Zips.

What we know:

The Zips went 4-8 last season with wins over Army, Kent St, Western Michigan, and Ohio. Losses were to Ohio St, Indiana, UConn, Temple, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Miami OH, and Central Michigan. The Zips really struggled on Offense, ranking 97th in scoring, 90th in rushing (although at 127.8 yds per game its more than double our total 62.8 per game), and 100th in passing yds. The offense returns 7 of those starters, including All-Mac left tackle Chris Kemme.

Spring Developments:

On the positive front, Akron broke ground on a new on campus football stadium. On the not so positive front, expect Akron to lose 5 scholarships thanks to the NCAA. The defense plays an unconventional 3-3-5 defensive set. Only 4 starters return on D and to put more talent on that side of the ball, All-MAC RB Bryan Williams moved to the secondary. Several transfers from BCS schools (Miami, WV, Iowa) are expected to fill in and play critical roles.

Chris Jacquemain runs the offense. He may be pushed by redshirt frosh Matt Rogers. To continue to mock our spring fling, Akron split their team into a Blue vs Gold matchup and played a full game. None of this offense vs defense crap.

Most pundits are picking Akron as a middle of the pack team in the MAC with a potential to contend if things fall into place. The Quad ranks Akron as the #103 team out of all Div-I schools.

Quick fact:

Akron sports NFL Man of the Year/Dancing with the Stars runnerup Jason Taylor as a prominent alumni.

Why we can win:

On paper, Akron appears to offer a one dimensional ground attack. With the sheer number of changes going on the defensive side, this game is tailor made for the offense to establish something positive on the ground.  We also should have some success working in our youngsters at WR. The lack of productivity on the passing game for the Zips will alleviate our inexperience in the secondary.

Why we can lose:

Anyone that watched last season’s game against Miami Oh knows what we are capable of. Akron’s strength’s will be their OLine and depth of RBs. If they can run the ball and minimize mistakes they could hang around.

ZHK says:

This game should shape up as a solid indicator of where the team is heading. Typically, teams show their greatest improvement between the first and second games. A decisive win would do well to put fannies in the seats for the remaining home schedule. Struggling in this game, will cause me to rethink the merits of blogging this program. Plus it all but guarentees that next week’s game w/ PSU will feel more like a game at the Happy Valley then a home game.
Fortunately I’m not picking that. I expect to see Delone Carter make a big splash and rush for 100 yards. This is a game that we shouldn’t miss the services of Instant Six (Who I will forever reference as Deep Sixed from this point forward). The knob is turned down to simmer on the Grob seat this week. Chisel this game in stone as the Cuse gets a nice win. Hope springs eternal as Penn St rolls in next week.

Next week on ZHK: Penn St.

Thoughts? Talk to the Hand…