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.

Well its finally time to put summer camp aside and focus on our Week One opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats. Read along for everything you’ll need to know about this game! A huge thank you to reyes39 for providing the majority of this preview.

When: Saturday August 30th, 2008 – 12:00PM Eastern/ 11:00AM Central (local kickoff time)

Where: Evanston, Illinois at Northwestern’s Ryan Field

Capacity: 47,130

Television: ESPN2 HD

The Spread: Opened at Syracuse +12. Currently floating around Syracuse +11 and +11.5

Rivalry info: The two teams have faced each other seven times. The last being in 1984. Syracuse owns a 4-3 record in the all-time series winning the last four meetings.

Fun Fact: The upcoming movie showcasing Ernie Davis and the Syracuse Orangemen, “The Express” – was shot mostly in Evantson, Illinois. Producers felt Ryan field closely resembled Archbold Stadium – home of the Orangemen until 1980.

Coaches: Northwestern- Pat Fitzgerald – 2 seasons at Northwestern (10-14 overall.) Syracuse- Greg Robinson – 3 seasons at Syracuse (7-28 overall.)

Last time they played: Syracuse pulled out a nail-biter over Northwestern on September 15th, 1984 – beating the Wildcats 13-12.

Syracuse passing game vs. the Northwestern secondary: Heading into 2008 the Orange expected to have one of the top passing units in all of the Big East. Then – top Wide Receiver Mike Williams was kicked off the team for academic reasons, Taj Smith bolted early for the NFL (Green Bay Packers), and Dan Sheeran broke his leg in summer camp. Now the Orange are left with a group of unproven and inexperienced talent at the position. Lavar Lobdell is the most talented and top receiver from 2007 returning but has shown little in his few opportunities in orange and blue. Freshman Marcus Sales is expected to contribute immediatly and Donte Davis returns after missing all of 2007 with a hand injury. Rounding out the group is Bruce Williams who transitioned back over from safety and will take time to get comfortable in the offense again – and theres a small chance freshman Van Chew will be worked into the mix after joining the Orange in early January.
Northwestern lost two starting DB’s in FS Reggie McPherson and CB Deante Battle but do return SS Brendan Smith who missed most of ‘07 due to injury. Last years staff did yield 243.3 ypg but is expected to be improved with 3 of 4 starting backs returning with strong game time experience. The only real question mark heading into 2008 is with CB Justan Vaugh who is expected to share time with Jordan Mabin opposite Sherrick McManis.
Who has the edge? Although unproven, Lobdell and Robinson should be able to find some holes in the Northwestern secondary. Initially I would think it would be a push…but due to our overall uncertainty at the WR position – Northwestern gets the nod.
Syracuse rushing attack vs. the Northwestern front seven: After ranking dead last in almost all major rushing categories in 2007 – the Orange look to be in much better shape heading into the 2008 season. Delone Carter and Curtis Brinkley are both back and healthy – and Doug Hogue rounds out what should be one of the most well rounded RB units the Orange have had in years. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter who’s in the backfield if the Offensive Line is anything like it was last year. New Offensive Coordinator Mitch Browning has a great track record or piecing together great Offensive Lines – but will he have enough time in Syracuse to really make a change?
Northwestern returns a rather experienced and strong front seven that was able to mingle in the mid 60’s-70’s nationally against the run in 2007. Fortunately, big run stuffing DT John Gill, Northwestern’s best defensive player, has been suspended from the season opener against the Orange. Losing Gill is something the Orange will try to take advantage of – but giant DE Wootton (6′7”) will provide enough problems in the trenches alone. Northwestern also lost leading tackler Kadela to graduation who racked up 125 tackles last year.
Who has the edge? Due to the Orange’s problems with the Offensive Line in 2007 – we’ll have to give Northwestern the edge for now until we see Brownings product on the field this Saturday. The Orange are in much better shape at Running Back than last season though. A true starter is yet to be named – but its probable Coach Robinson will use a committee anyways.
Syracuse Offense vs. Northwestern Defense synopsis: Everything falls on the offensive line. If they are indeed improved from 2007 the Orange have the play makers to put up some points. Expect things to look sloppy at times as the Orange transition into Brownings offense regardless of the offensive lines performance.
Northwestern passing game vs. the Syracuse secondary: Northwestern probably brings one of the most well rounded and underrated WR crops in the Big Ten to the table this Saturday. Peterman, the best overall receiver in the bunch, returns after a 66 catch 744 yard performance in 2007. He’ll be joined by Rasheed Ward (brings speed/elusiveness) and Ross Lane (Big target/red zone threat.) Converted quarterback Andrew Brewer figures to be worked back into the mix in the Wildcats four wide sets as well. The success of the Wildcats falls into the hands of their best players – QB C.J. Bacher. Bacher led the Big Ten in passing yards per game averaging just over 300 yards last year but did have problems controlling the ball – throwing 11 interceptions in the Wildcats final four games last season.
The Orange are expected to only have two starters in the secondary with starting experience in SS A.J. Brown (pressured strongly by Kevyn Scott) and sophomore CB Mike Holmes. Da’Mon Merkerson has made the transition from WR back into his natural CB position and officially won the starting spot over Nico Scott just days ago. Scott is expected to see the field quite a bit especially against Northwestern’s spread 3-4 receiver sets along with senior Ryan Howard. Mike Holmes will be starting opposite Merkerson and was rather impressive in action last year notching starts at both CB and Safety.
Who has the edge? Once again – the Orange are beat out by a much more experienced WR core. Bacher is slated to have a monster season with all of his major targets from 07 returning. Syracuse’s secondary will be much improved from last season and has a bright future but might not show for a few weeks.
Northwestern rushing attack vs. the Syracuse front seven: Like the Orange – Northwestern also has offensive line problems of their own. The Wildcats do return one of the Big Ten’s top RB’s in Tyrell Sutton. Sutton has close to 3,000 total yards in his career although he was banged up and unavailable much of the 2007 season. Omar Conteh is a serviceable compliment to Sutton and last year was able to rack up nearly 5 yards per carry. The offensive line is the Wildcats biggest question mark especially after losing three starters from last year – although thats not necessarily a bad thing. Last years line had trouble protecting much of anything and gave up 32 sacks on the year.
With DT Arthurt Jones – the Orange should be able to flourish against a weak and diminished offensive line. Kimmel has to take advantage of the extra attention Jones will receive – and Santiago (lost 40lbs in offseason) and Girruzi (transitioned from LB) only have one more year to showcase their talents. The only glaring issue heading into 2008 is with the Linebacking core. The Orange seem to be all set at MLB with Flaherty – but outside of him the unit is young and rather raw. Conley has voiced his satisfaction with his entire core but Orange fans don’t really know what to expect from Mele and Smith until we see them in action on Saturday. Overall the group is in better shape due to youngsters getting PT last year – but until Saturday its another coin flip.
Who has the edge? When it comes down to the trenches – I think Syracuse has the definite edge. But our questions at Linebacker still loom large and the two headed Wildcat running attack give them the slight edge overall. If Kimmel and Giruzzi can keep Sutton contained we have a shot at really slowing down Northwestern ground game.

Northwestern Offense vs. Syracuse Defense synopsis: If the Orange can contain Sutton and Bacher – the Orange should completely dismantle the Wildcat offense. The thing is – thats not easy – especially with the question marks we have on defense.
Why Syracuse will win: Arthur Jones and the Defensive Line expose Northwestern’s weak Offensive Line and shake up Bacher and Sutton. The Orange Offensive Line makes a 180 degree turn and Carter and Co. run wild on the Gill-a-monster-less Northwestern D-Line making it easy for Robinson to hook up with Lobdell for a few red-zone scores.
Why Northwestern will win: Bacher and Sutton are just way too much for the Orange to handle and shred a young Orange defense. The Orange O-Line isnt much improved from 2007 and Carter and Co. aren’t able to get things rolling. Robinson has the usual 3 seconds of time to pass and cant establish a passing game without Taj or Mike.
Syracuse player to watch: Defensive Tackle Arthur Jones. Jones is the staple of the Orange Defense and was able to rack up 17.5 TFL in 2007.

Northwestern player to watch: Quarterback C.J. Bacher. Bacher lead the Big Ten with 305 passing yards per game and totaled for 23 scores in 2007.

Five things I don’t want to see on game day:
5) A punt/quick kick on third down.
4) The corner backs playing 15 yards off the ball.
3) 3 or more sacks allowed.
2) CJ Bacher having all day to throw.
1) The Orange walk out of the tunnel. I want to see fire and emotion not that parade march we endured last season.

Reyes39 Prediction: Northwestern 35 – Syracuse 27
Lvilleorange Prediction: Northwestern 38 – Syracuse 23
Collegefootballnews Prediction: Northwestern 37 – Syracuse 20
Phil Steeles Prediction: Northwestern 31 – Syracuse 21
-Northwestern helmet thanks to Nationalchamps.net
-Stats thanks to ncaa.org and cfbdatawarehouse.com
-click on photos to see them from host site

Welcome to in the inaugural edition of what I am currently calling the ZHK, Zero Hand Knowledge. Its everything you have the ability to know but are too lazy to hunt down yourself. Consider me your zero hand!

With the football season on the horizon, I want to start with some incite on our upcoming opponents. As we all know, this is really a make or break season for Coach Robinson. The fan base has already witnessed the tearing down of the program. We knew that the talent had declined in the later part of Paul Pasqualoni’s career, but no one invisioned 1-10, 4-7 or 2-10 for this program. Robinson now has 3 recruiting classes in house. What can we expect this season as fans? More than one win in conference? A bowl appearance? I’ll try and pick apart the schedule and see how our opponents are looking. In this addition, the ZHK will break down our opening game foe, the Northwestern Wildcats.

What we know:

# of returning starters O – 8
# of returning starters on D – 7

Northwestern’s record last year was 6-6. Many experts rated their schedule as one of the easiest in the nation, yet they did not go bowling. They did not play Wisconsin or Penn St. They pretty much beat who they were expected to beat minus losing to Duke at home. Wins: Northeastern, Nevada, Mich St, Minnesota, Eastern Michigan, Indiana. Losses: Duke, Ohio St, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Illinios. Their best win was against Michigan St on the road.

This is a pass first team. They return their core group of skill players. CJ Bacher led the Big 10 in passing last season. He has an experienced cast of receivers in Eric Peterson (66 catches), Ross Lane (49) and Rasheed Ward (46). Running backs Tyrell Sutton and Omar Conteh combined for 50 receptions as well and split the carries evenly also on the way to a combined 1000 yards. Sutton has the potential to be a big time back. He rushed for 1500+ yards as frosh and 1000 as a sophmore but missed 7 games last season. How well Sutton returns will dictate whether the Wildcats will have balance on offense or rely on Bacher to direct the attack.

Key Spring developments:

Northwestern must replace 3 starters on the line and it looks like redshirt frosh Al Netter will be manning the all important LT position. They have an new O Coordinator like we do in Mick McCall. He is looking to install a no-huddle offensive to help turn the Wildcats offensive yardage into points.

On the D side, Mike Hankwitz takes over as D coordinator and will be looking to improve on a defense that gave up alot of yards via the air and sacked opposing QBs only 18 times. The secondary is undergoing some position battles that will be decided in fall. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Spring game:

The NU spring game pretty much followed the breakdown of their team. The offense scored TDs in 3 of its first 4 series. And get this, they were able to pull off a 75 play scrimmage! That’s like a double spring session for us Cuse fans!

Quick fact:

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald played during the Gary Barnett era, won Nagurski/Bednarik awards as LB.

Why we can win:

It’s the opener. The Cats will be unveiling 3 new starters on the line. Their secondary weakness could be exploited by our biggest strength in Mike Williams, aka Instant Six! We will learn alot about our team in the opener. Last year we played a mobile QB in Jake Locker and were horribly exploited. Bacher is a throw first qb in the lines of our Andrew Robinson. Hopefully that means easier assignments for our D, which will have to put pressure on and limit the running game. Their Dline did not pressure the QB well and if we can get time to throw that will be to our advantage. Having a healthy stable of RBs in Hogue/Carter and Brinkley will take pressure off of ARob. Mitch Browning’s experience with having seen Northwestern will be a plus.

Why we can lose:

It’s the opener, duh, and its on the road. We are also trotting out a new offensive system and our weaknesses on the Oline will still be unknown as to any or how much improvement. NU’s strength is on offense and if their new no-huddle starts clicking we could be in for a long day, as they have the experience needed to make it work. This aspect scares me more than any other development. If Sutton runs well we will be in trouble. Our LB core, while it got some experience last year, is not a strength at this point. Our young secondary will be tested as well. Northwestern could be a sleeper this year in the Big 10. This will not be an easy game.

Areas of note:

Check out Northwestern blog laketheposts for his interview with Brian from Orange::44!
A more historical look at NU can be found at hailtopurple.

ZHK says:

We will probably be a team that gets better as the season progresses. If we want to entertain any thought of going bowling, this game is a must win. On the other hand, it may be alot to expect a win given Northwestern’s offensive experience. We can probably hang with them, but their ability to move the football will be a big factor, especially at home. I pencil this game as a loss.

Next ZHK: Akron

Now, talk to the Zero Hand!