ACC Roundtable of the Confidential Correspondents: Week 1/2
Welcome to the ACC Roundtable of the ACC Correspondents! As is and will be the plan for the remainder of the football season, some of the Confidential correspondents will discuss the Week that was (week 1) and the Week that will be (Week 2) for the ACC and their respective schools.
Q1: What stands out about your school’s performance last week?
Harrison Huntley (NC State): The emergence of Ryan Finley was the big story of Week 1. The biggest question mark State had was at QB. The coaching staff wouldn’t name a starter, and made it clear that the battle would be decided on the field. I don’t know if it’s been announced yet, but Finley has to get the nod after his performance last week. He went 17-21 with 174 yards and 2 TD’s. Contrast that with Jalen McClendon’s 6-9, 88 yd and an interception, Finley seems to have ended the debate.
Anthony Caffrey (Syracuse): The fact that Syracuse was able to play so fast in their first game under Dino Babers. Although he claimed it was slow, it was fast enough for Bobby Petrino to make comments that drew the ire of numerous Syracuse blogs. See e.g. here. Look, Syracuse offense has been an “issue” for most of the post-Pasqualoni era. Under Greg Robinson, getting first downs was exciting. The latter part of the Doug Marrone era was a pro-style offense that moved the ball decently, but there were other times when wins came by defense. Scott Shafer’s offenses had some moments, but also had some not so great moments, but remained a defense-first program. The idea of having an offensive-first philosophy has not been the case in a long, long time. That it also happens to be fast paced and tailored to the Carrier Dome is exciting. That it worked pretty well against Colgate stood out.
Q2: What are you looking to see out of your school this week?
Harrison Huntley (NC State): Wolfpack fans have made it clear that the team needs to leave Greenville with a win. There doesn’t seem to be any expectations in terms of stats, all that will matter is what is on the scoreboard. It’s the risk you take playing these kinds of games. A win over ECU won’t make many headlines, but a loss certainly would.
Anthony Caffrey (Syracuse): Well, the offense looked good (not great) against Colgate. How will it look against bigger, stronger, faster, smarter athletes? A few Dungey passes were just missed by Colgate defenders. Against Louisville, that will be a Pick Six. A few other passes were caught because of superior athleticism. That will not happen in any other game. So… how good will Syracuse’s offense be against a very good opponent? We’ll be looking at that very closely.
Q3: Did any other ACC team impress you this week? If so, who and why?
Harrison Huntley (NC State): I was pleasantly surprised with how well Florida State played, especially after trailing by so much. They seem to have solved their QB problem as well with Francois, and the defense played on another level in the second half. I still think NC State will win that one in Raleigh, but they looked very impressive in that second half.
Anthony Caffrey (Syracuse): Miami. I do not care who the opponent is, when you put up points like that, you are doing something right. And, for Miami, it is all the more important that they get some swagger back. If the conference is going to be FSU, Clemson, and a diminutive dozen, so be it. But Miami being an elite program would be good for the ACC by both restoring balance to the divisions and making the conference look better to outsiders. Miami has had good moments in the past, to be sure. The issue is whether Richt will carry it through week after week. We will see.
Q4: As of the season to date, who are you projecting in the college football playoff?
Harrison Huntley (NC State): Alabama, Clemson/FSU, Michigan/Ohio State, Houston.
Anthony Caffrey (Syracuse): Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oregon. Florida State, Michigan, and Houston are all in the hunt obviously. But Houston was upset by UConn last year–there is little room for error this year. If it comes down to 1-loss teams from major conferences–unless Houston’s only loss is to a Louisville team that is also in the playoffs, it is hard to see Houston making it in. Florida State and Michigan would be excluded based on head-to-head results.
What do you think? How would you answer these questions?
The Confidential 
A Sad State of Affairs: Jim Boeheim & Politics
This author grew up in the shadow of the Carrier Dome and has defended Jim Boeheim for years. When he was getting unexpectedly bounced from the Big Dance, this author defended him. When Keith Smart hit that jumper, this author defended him. After forty years of sharing Syracuse basketball together, there have been few instances of criticism. When the Bernie Fine saga broke, it was suggested that perhaps the “all-in” strategy was risky, calling victims liars and resulting in a lawsuit against him. So take this next criticism for what it is–a rarity.
In his report from the Olympics, Jim Boeheim strayed from the expected topics–you know, basketball, the Olympics, and Rio–to discuss American politics. He specifically stated the following:
Boeheim did not just express a “preference,” he came right out and criticized Donald Trump, belittled Trump’s followers, insulted those who think our country can and should be doing better, and went beyond “all-in” with respect to Hillary Clinton.
Look, Boeheim can do what he pleases. He can stay 1,000 miles from politics. He can ride in Hillary Clinton’s campaign bus and get a tattoo of her logo on his face. It is his life to do what he pleases.
However, he has clearly and intentionally insulted a significant portion of his fan base and the country. He has insulted this author. Though this article is written from the sun belt, it is written by a Syracuse fan from birth that has lived most of his life dealing with lake effect snow and scarves. Relative to substance, although the writer of this article seriously questions the direction of our country socially, politically, and religiously… it is with good reason and far from “without reason.”
To be sure, the fairest characterization is that both candidates are demonstrative of a “sad state of affairs.” While Donald Trump is a poor candidate, Hillary Clinton is an equally poor candidate. The former says some really dumb things, while the latter has done some really dumb things. And vice-versa. Neither inspire confidence, which makes their respective nominations all the more disconcerting if you really think about it. Although the Justice Department punted–or perhaps even “quick kicked” when comparing the explanation with the result–on the investigation into Clinton’s emails, has there ever been a major party candidate with such a history of scandal leading up to and including an FBI investigation during the campaign?
But Jim Boeheim did not say that or anything similar. Instead, he took a clear, specific position that just so happened to insult a portion of his fan base and the country. And, without even getting to whether he is “right” or “wrong,” Jim Boeheim has his own history of improper statements and behavior that make him a poor spokesperson on politics or morals. Want to investigate? How about these “sad states of affairs” involving Syracuse basketball under Boeheim:
Given the sexual scandals at Syracuse involving players and assistant coaches, and given Bill Clinton’s history, perhaps Boeheim and Hillary do have something in common.
Regardless, Boeheim has criticized the NCAA for sanctioning him for not knowing what was going on within the Syracuse program academically. Boeheim has claimed to not know what was going on inside his program relative to Bernie Fine and alleged molestation of children. Boeheim seems to have a lot on his plate keeping him from already doing his job to the fullest. In the meantime, there is no need for him to do a “bull in the china shop” routine in the delicate, political landscape. (Parenthetically, what did he mean by Trump “could be” running for President? Was this article written in early 2015?).
And do we really need entertainers using their cult of personality to influence politics? That seems to be an even sadder state of affairs. Americans should know who to vote for without knowing how any other famous person is voting.
For now, there is no protest or significant backlash. Boeheim has a long history of dumb statements that will cause many of his critics to move on quickly. Many Boeheim supporters will shrug off or rationalize these comments with the same vigor that Trump’s supporters shrug off or rationalize Trump’s ill-advised statements. The funny thing is that, in the end, isn’t this a pot criticizing a kettle? Another sad state of affairs.
What do you think? Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Boeheim, do you find it in poor taste for him to include that political opinion in his report from Rio?
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