Syracuse

Syracuse. When you think of exotic locales in the world that are absolutely must see, this rust belt gem may not be on the top of many lists. But I can assure you - as a 13 year former resident - that your list should not be amended. Sure, it is cloudy and interminably depressing 300 days a year.  The locals on Saturday night were so immune to weather that the 41 degree misting garbage from the heavens did not even make them deviate from the shorts and ugly jersey cutoff look that is de rigeur in this glaciar splashed paradise. The student body is super into the game - unless the other team scores first -then they rapidly decide that other Saturday night priorities (their Forestry thesis no doubt) take over. The one overwhelming positive about a trip to a college football game in the Salt City has to be the band. We had the good fortune to sit next to this undermanned group, and it was pure joy. Their drum major had a sheaf of song cards that would have made Jimbo Fishers trapper keeper game day collection jealous. In a production that harkened back to college football games of yore, the band was asked to play (gasp) on every single timeout. The Pride of the Orange played a different ditty in all 28 ACC Network breaks. A..different...song... every break. Pop, country, rock...it was all wonderful and hand on the knee pounding joyousness; and this was in support of a team that was doing their best Poland blitzkrieg impression. Just imagine if we turned the Chiefs loose like this. A group of genuinely talented musicians about 6 times as large as this group. Just makes me smile to think about.  Now back to the regularly scheduled game programming.

I absolutely get Coach Norvell rewarding the defense again with the honor of breaking the rock. Adam Fuller has been uninvited to Sunday dinner at my house a couple times in the last few years (granted he did offer to take our family to Bern's after Jax State - and we said yes), but this was a defensive prep job for the ages. SU was completely outschemed, outphysicalled and overmatched. The first play from scrimmage, we countered their lineup with 6 db's...on first down. Pass knocked down. Every move the Orange made was countered effectively with the right personnel. An offense that had kept the Cuse in every game they played all year was neutered right from the jump. A perfectly timed blitz on the second series delivered Patrick Payton unblocked into their wobbly QB's kitchen and if was not injured before the game, that hit had him looking longingly at his friends in the student section hitting the bars 5 minutes into the game. Shy Brown and Jammie Robinson have developed the perfect blitz timing, and Renardo Green made two edge tackles for a loss that had the 4th leading running in SU history wondering where any yards could actually come from. Apparently a healthy Lovett and Verse have made this D line an absolute terror to run on, but the good news is that these guys only had about 20 snaps. The blowout and an aggressive rotation from Odell means that this team is getting healthier in November - as opposed to every team we play who is going in the other direction. 

The game was won after the strip sack where the Cuse took over on the plus 25. Three plays later, they were attempting a 52 yard field goal that their all-consonant kicker badly muffed. That quick change pounding delivered by the Noles took any hope the home team had and stomped it to the NY turf. The entire home team sideline sat down as if the bus bully had got away with stealing their lunch money...again. It was just about the margin then.

Jeff Flanagan has inarguably the very worst group of officials in the conference. We almost expect to be playing 17 on every down. The "sideline" warning after the pick, and the failure to call an obvious safety were in-your-face idiocy. But even more maddening is the subtle incompetence. Wideouts universally look to the side judge to affirm that they are not in an illegal formation. Every SJ from Pop Warner to the Pros gives this guy a small thumbs up or nod to acknowledge their situation. Nole receivers all night were greeted with mime impressions from these zebras. Flanagan games always rocket along because the college rule that the clock stops after a first down are generally ignored by the lead ref. Just how badly the Orange offensive line must have been holding to warrant 4 calls is notable, although his decision to stop the play after a defensive offsides and qb not in danger was fun. This group is so bad, I literally have no idea how they collectively ever get paid. Thank goodness it was on ACC network, because unlike you folks, casual fans turned the channel after the 3rd night glasses commercial and the 21-3 score. 

The opening script worked out again this week as Coach took the first possession down and scored in a hiccup. The offensive braintrust decided that Jordan needed to rest his arm because he had less than a handful of actual downfield throws. Instead Malik and Johnny bitchslapped their line of scrimmage defenders and cruised past for easy scores. I know it was very late and you bunch may have been hip deep in craft beer, but the catch that Kentron Poitier made on the sideline was my grab of the year. This kid is fast and physical and will be a star next year. But again, the story of the game was the disrespectful running of Trey Benson. Being this low to the sideline gave me a better perspective on this boy's two tree trunks he is toting below his belt. He is just a mismatch to tackle. I know it is boring, but some of my favorite moments on Saturday were simple middle runs where no hole opened up. Mo Smith and his sidekicks simply pushed forward and these nothing plays were invariably 5 yard gains. This is a new development and Coach Atkins deserves a ton of credit for the bulldozing. Two years ago, nothing runs were 2 yard losses. Now, a crack means a 20 yard explosive play. The running back room order has flipped, and Treshaun's unintentional Oklahoma style pitch to Jordan means he may be third off the bench for a while. 

Another key for the development of this team happened right before the half when a series of self inflicted paper cuts threatened to disarm a nice drive. Our resurrected kicker had four swipes at it from progressively longer distances as false starts and timeouts gave him a week's worth of practice. Fitz hit every damn one of them and his parents sitting just below us went to the bathroom immediately to ice off their hands from repeated WWE high fives. That kind of confidence is going to pay off in a bigger moment than three TD's up. I like it. 

One of the biggest reasons that the Bowden dynasty happened were blowouts that led to massive intentional substitutions. Getting youngsters playing time - even if you folks have headed early to the tailgate - get hugely valuable reps for kids. These youngsters then have real experience that translates into little to no drop-off when grads leave. These three straight games where the starters are playing hangman on the sidelines in the third quarter are massive to developing a program. The coaches biggest second half dilemmas are managing redshirt games. This may explain the mini-tantrum that AJ Duffy had on the sideline last night. He knew the score, and wanted in. FSU wants the boy to have an extra season to be a Nole and they have to balance that against the omnipresent threat of the transfer portal. It is a champagne problem, but something to watch nonetheless as we saw another of our highly touted freshman already let his temporary angst hit send too quick this week. It is not easy to be a Head Coach in the 2020's...but looking around the country I like our guy.

Kids, these last three games have us thinking it was 2013. We just finished absolutely annihilating three consecutive conference opponents (two on the road) including a rival. There are only two minor differences between the two squads. The three losses and the '13 group had 21 pros starting and this one has umm..3? But that is ultimately the point. Mike has this average group of college football players playing on a crazy natty level. Good gravy, I wish we had Clemson, NC State or Wake next week instead of earlier...But, regardless, this has been been crazy fun and we should all enjoy the treat as we cruise to a great Bowl and a nailbiting relevant ranked battle with the Lizard.