If you think Matt Millen is better as a TV announcer than a General Manager, you are probably wrong. And Florida State fans were quick to criticize Millen’s color commentary yesterday. However, those fans are pretty quick to take any media member to task who fails to bask in the glory of all that is the Seminoles. So take that for what its worth. The game? Pretty good for both teams, actually.
Scott Shafer is a lucky man. He is not being held hostage in the Middle East, much less under any threat of imminent beheading. So that is good. And Syracuse fans should certainly be pleased that we share Shafer’s good fortune in that regard. We are, after all, just discussing a game of football played by young men. Perspective noted. But the last time I checked, Scott Shafer did not use that same perspective when negotiating his salary or imploring his team at practice. All the reference to perspective shows is that Shafer does not get it. He can say the words of a fan in press conferences, but it is apparent that the folksy-speak is just a ruse. He goes not get it. And on the field he does not get it either. Everything that occurred last night during Syracuse’s drubbing by Louisville took place earlier this year. Maybe you missed it or ignored it. But it was there. Last night was just that same stuff being more obvious and not getting the benefit of the doubt anymore. Consider…
The Confidential was tweeting aplenty during the Syracuse-Notre Dame game. Indeed, the Confidential got into a twitter-battle (which always makes me think of Dr. Seuss’s “Muddle Puddle Tweetle Poodle Beetle Noodle Bottle Paddle Battle”) over the Syracuse defensive performance. The upshot is that the Confidential has some legitimate concerns that this Syracuse coaching staff will be seeing Fool’s Gold with the 5 turnovers, just like there was Fool’s Gold with the nearly 1,000 yards of offense the past two weeks.
There is no secret that Syracuse football head coach Scott Shafer wants the Orange to be a hard-nosed football team. Just do a search for Shafer and hard-nosed—see what you get. But after 3 games… does it really appear that this Syracuse football team is hard-nosed? Unfortunately, one can make a strong argument that it is not. And that starts at the top.
Image from CBSSports
Much has already been said and written about Terrel Hunt’s punch and subsequent ejection in Friday night’s game against Villanova. Legendary #44, Floyd Little, expressed his disappointment in Hunt’s decision making, which is likely punishment enough by most metrics. Head Coach Scott Shafer said that the team handled it internally and that no further punishment would be necessary.
However, an interesting debate has emerged among Syracuse fans regarding whether further punishment should be dealt. Most abide by the Head Coach’s decision that Hunt learned his lesson, realized that he put the team’s victory in jeopardy, and let down the team and community. Others feel that this teachable moment is incomplete, and that more action is necessary to both send a message and drive home the point that this type of on-the-field behavior is inappropriate and that leaders should know better. Read more…
This author has been historically positive regarding Syracuse Orange football… looking for positives in the midst of a negative period. It was the only way to cope with the Greg Robinson era and its sequellae. Not to be a Pollyanna, but to find some positive reality in the middle of a negative stretch. Unfortunately, the only way to describe the Syracuse-Villanova game, which ended with a 27-26 score in favor of Syracuse, is to describe it as Syracuse “did not lose.” Notwithstanding the scoreboard, sitting in the Carrier Dome for 4 hours did not persuade me that my team actually won. Here is my synopsis…
Gone are they days when a school could simply request that all of the fans in attendance where the same color shirts in an attempt to (Color)-Out the other team. We’ve seen White-outs in Louisville, which gives Rick Pitino an excuse to wear his Colonel Sanders costume, we’ve seen Orange-outs in the Dome, and we’ve seen black-outs at virtually every frat party we’ve been to (rimshot!).
But, the University of North Carolina recently released their latest innovation in color coordinated seating for their game against San Diego St., significantly upping the ante by asking their fans to dress in either blue or black to complete what they are calling, “The Kenan Stadium Tar Pit Stripe-Out” as illustrated below.
The Washington Monthly has posted its annual list of National University Rankings. Unlike the US News and World Report, this ranking system one is based on the University’s contributions to the public good in the three broad categories: Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).
Let’s see how the ACC teams fared: Read more…
A favorite Saturday morning show growing up (before College football, natch) was Hannah-Barbera’s “Laff-a-Lympics” which featured a cadre of popular HB characters competing as teams in zany sporting competitions, races, and scavenger hunts.
The Confidential started to wonder…if the ACC were in the “Laff-a-lympics”, which characters would best represent the schools?
Here are just some of the matches that we could come up with: Read more…
Well it’s almost time, so your Uncle Mikey is going to share with you his thoughts on the NC State Wolfpack’s chances for 2014.
First a look back. Last year was not bad. It was horrible, devastating, a catastrophe, a waste, a pile of steaming filth of unknown substances. 3-9, including zero conference wins. Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory vs UNC. Loathsome quarterback play, little or no defense, and a bunch of players trying desperately to adapt to a new coach’s system with no success.
So, not much to look forward to, right?
Wrong!!! Click through and I’ll tell you why there are plenty of reasons for optimism in the upcoming season! Read more…
The Confidential 