Saturday Pick’em – Week 7

No couch is safe when the Syracuse defense rolls into Morgantown.

We’re staring down the barrel of a lean week in Big East play and into the headlights of a Cadillac. Sweet. As you’re watching the game Saturday against West Virginia, make sure that you don’t disturb those around as you softly whisper “It’s almost over” to yourself while curled up in the fetal position weeping.

Recapping my picks last week – they were, in a word, abysmal. I continued my fantastic streak of indicating which road underdog you should bet against and compiled a 2-3 record. I’m looking to turn it around this week and I’m thinking that these six picks should provide me with ample fodder for doing so.

Louisville at Memphis (+7):
Louisville burned me after projecting them to make some noise in the Big East race by promptly losing at home to Connecticut. But let’s remember that the Huskies basically stole that game after Hunter Cantwell decided he liked players wearing blue helmets a little more than those wearing white ones. I have a feeling that Cardinals aren’t going away and that when it’s all said and done they’ll end up in the top half of the conference. As they wrap up their non-conference slate for 2008 over the next two weeks, look for them to carry some nice momentum into their showdown with South Florida after winning two straight. Starting tonight.
Final score: Louisville 31, Memphis 27.

Rutgers (+7) at Cincinnati:
This line is stunning to me. Rutgers has been terrible this year, though they did stick around with West Virginia last weekend. As I expected this season, Mike Teel has been exposed as the same guy who stunk before Ray Rice made his life easier. He can’t stop throwing the ball to the defense, and with a secondary as experienced and talented as Cincinnati’s, I expect that to happen often on Saturday. All this before you incorporate the Chazz factor. Not good for the Scarlet Knights.
Final score: Cincinnati 31, Rutgers 13.

I guess I'm just a little too immature still to not incorporate this joke here.

#5 Texas (+7) vs. #1 Oklahoma:
One thing that really pisses the shit out of me is the political correctness that has infected sporting events. Wasn’t this game called the Red River Shootout not so long ago? But because guns are evil, we have to go for the full-on alliteration of the Red River Rivalry? Is this a tongue-twister or a football game? Also, the Florida/Georgia game is no longer referred to as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” because alcohol is also apparently something which we should never speak of or condone the consumption of. It’s stupid. You know why guns and alcohol are problems? Stupid people. Has anyone ever been shot by a renegade gun thinking for itself and hellbent on destruction? If so, I want that shit posted on YouTube. I will now get off my soapbox.

In no year has it been more appropriate to call this game a shootout than this one. Two of the best quarterbacks in the country squaring off in Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford should mean a lot of points. Don’t expect the kickers to be tested too much in this one. This should be a good one. I’d prefer it if Texas won, but I’m going with the Sooners.
Final score: Oklahoma 38, Texas 35.

#6 Penn State at Wisconsin (+6):
The Badgers choked one away against Michigan and then proceeded to allow Ohio State march down the field and score the go-ahead TD in the waning moments of last week’s game. They do not appear to be a team that can close out a game right now. Add in that explosive Penn State offense and you have a recipe for an 0-3 record in the Big Ten for Wisconsin.
Final score: Penn State 34, Wisconsin 17.

Week 7 Rock-Solid, Surefire Road Dog Upset Special
#4 LSU (+6) over #11 Florida
I realize that its tough to really call this an upset when LSU is ranked ahead of Florida, but it’s been a tough few weeks here and I need to bounce back. Plus, Florida is favored by Vegas, so they are indeed a road dog. Two reasons I’m taking the Tigers – 1) they have a knack for winning close games much more often than they lose them and tend to do so in dramatic fashion, and 2) Florida lost to Ole Miss. I know that seems like a dig at the Rebels, but let’s face it, the Gators are too talented to lose that game. The Swamp is a tough place to play, but LSU’s defense should be up to the challenge and Charles Scott has been phenomenal carrying the ball this season. The Tigers will grind this one out and stay unbeaten.
Final score: LSU 17, Florida 13.

In honor of the big premiere this weekend, I now present to you our feature presentation.

Syracuse (+24) at West Virginia:
Ahh, yes. Mountaineers… we meet again. As has been indicated, this series hasn’t exactly gone our way lately, although I’m pretty sure you could put together a stat package similar to that for just about every team we’ve played over the last 3+ seasons.

Do we stand a chance in hell of winning Saturday? Well, maybe a very small one if Pat White didn’t play. But now Jarrett Brown is probably developing some confidence after they’ve begun using him as their short yardage back in addition to Pat White’s caddy. I would imagine we will continue to have trouble tackling and that speedsters Noel Devine and Jock Sanders will turn those miscues into big plays and points. Therefore, our offense needs to keep theirs off the field. I think we’ll be able to run the ball, though the West Virginia defense has been impressive lately. Points have been at a premium against them this season and despite its improvements, our offense is not premium by any means.

Basically what I’m saying is we’re screwed. But you didn’t really need me to tell you that, now did you?

Final score: West Virginia 38, Syracuse 13.

If you don’t make it to The Express tonight, make sure you check it out after the game tomorrow. You’ll get to see Syracuse win more games in about 40 minutes than you have in the past four years. Sigh.

My Thoughts on “The Express”

I was able to attend a screening of The Express on Tuesday night thanks to my team’s victory in a local sports trivia contest. While I found the movie enjoyable, I don’t know that I completely agree with how the filmmakers chose to deliver the message about Ernie Davis. If I had to compare this movie to others, I’d say it’s a little bit Remember The Titans and a little bit The Pride Of The Yankees.

The meat of the story told is about the 1959 National Championship season for Syracuse with an emphasis put on Davis. You follow his accomplishments, peek into his personal life and enjoy the ride as Syracuse wins it all. At times though, it felt a little too much like your run-of-the-mill football story as they build up through the season to the big game at the end. Kind of expected that, but it takes away a little from the overall story of Ernie Davis.

I would agree with this review that the last 20 minutes feel forced, which is tragic because it’s such an important part of the story. Everything after the 1960 Cotton Bowl feels like it was tacked on as a footnote to the championship. I understand Hollywood takes some creative liberties with biopics, but I would have liked to have seen the championship season more seamlessly woven into the overall fabric of Ernie Davis’ life.

Dennis Quaid was solid, though I have no idea if his interpretation was anything like the actual Ben Schwartzwalder. Overall I thought the movie was cast pretty well. I felt a lot of the interactions between players and coaches were overly dramatized, but again, it’s a movie and you’ll get that.

In the grand scheme of things, I think that both Ernie Davis the man and Ernie Davis the football player were well represented from what I have learned about him over the years. Rob Brown did well in honoring his legacy. This movie should serve as an awakening to those unfamiliar with Ernie’s story. It is my hope that people who aren’t familiar with it will use this as a starting point in their quest to learn about his life and his accomplishments.

I definitely recommend this movie to any fan of college football (except maybe fans of Texas or West Virginia). It’s not perfect and some facts are a bit fudged but it gets right the really important parts. More importantly, the memory of Ernie Davis and his accomplishments will continue to live on.

Saturday Pick’em – Week 6

No Orange game this week (mercifully). I’ll get wrong make a few picks for the remaining Big East games along with a couple other contests that arouse my interest. Also, thank you South Florida for refusing to be the flagship program of the conference this season. We appreciate it.

Vote Chazz '08!

Cincinnati at Marshall (+3.5):
I’m not ready to jump off the Bearcats wagon yet even though they appear to be going through quarterbacks like Syracuse did running backs last season. So they’re down to Chazz Anderson and Zach Collaros, a pair of redshirt freshmen? Big deal. Personally I’m pulling for Chazz because I really think that 2nd Z in his first name sets him apart from Zach. You can’t teach that. Anyway… the Bearcats roll.
Final score: Cincinnati 27, Marshall 10.

Rutgers (+14) at West Virginia:
Rutgers got their shit together long enough to hammer Morgan State last weekend without punching each other in the face on the sideline. It’s a start. However, West Virginia won’t allow them to build too much momentum going forward. Hide your couches.
Final score: West Virginia 34, Rutgers 17.

#24 Connecticut (+7.5) at North Carolina:
Those gritty Huskies did it again, taking that gift-wrapped defensive TD from Louisville and ripping it open like a little kid on Christmas. Perhaps a team will actually play a whole game against them this season, but as a Browns fan I anticipate Butch Davis’ team not quite closing the deal. Just a hunch.
Final score: Connecticut 27, North Carolina 23.

#14 Ohio State at #18 Wisconsin (+1.5):
Camp Randall will be fired up for this one. So far this season the Badgers rank 30th in both scoring defense and yards allowed. Ohio State, meanwhile, ranks 63rd in scoring offense and 84th in total yards (all stats are per game). The match-up on the other side of the field pits Wisconsin’s 37th-ranked scoring offense and total YPG against the Buckeyes 16th-ranked scoring defense and 23rd-ranked total defense. What I’m trying to say is that points will be at a premium. A healthy Beanie Wells helps OSU, but I do believe sweater vests will be frowning in Columbus come Sunday morning.
Final score: Wisconsin 17, Ohio State 16.

Week 6 Rock-Solid, Surefire Road Dog Upset Special
Indiana (+7) over Minnesota:
If you make your way over to the right hand side of this page, you’ll notice that my ability to pick a road underdog to win has been pretty piss poor this season. I got off to a great start and it’s been one swing and a miss after another. This one I’ve got a real good feeling about, though.

Indiana ran into a buzz saw against Nate Davis and Ball State for their first loss. Michigan State came to town last weekend and laid a beating on the Hoosiers. I have to believe that both of those teams are probably better than Minnesota. The Gophers only loss so far is to Ohio State so it’s tough to bury them too badly, but I just don’t feel impressed. It’s a hell of a turnaround from last season’s disastrous 1-11 record, but I’m not a believer.

Indiana QB Kellen Lewis is capable of beating teams with his arm and his legs and inside the dome in Minneapolis, I say he does both to the home team.
Final score: Indiana 37, Minnesota 31.

Check back Sunday and tell me how wrong I am.

Thanks For Helping Our National Profile, ESPN

A slightly ironic sign to for a West Virginia fan to be holding, no?

It’s been well-documented that ESPN has been beating the proverbial dead horse lately when it comes to discussing the sad state of our football program. Then this comes along and I wonder – what’s the point? Now normally I’m all for SU getting a national broadcast, but perhaps the people in charge of the schedule over at ESPNU haven’t noticed a few things:

1. Our head coach has a career record of 8-32.
2. West Virginia has done this and this to us the past two years.
3. We have a defense that refuses to cover or tackle anyone.

If you’re willing to overlook those things (as ESPN clearly is) then I suppose this game is an exciting match-up. Don’t they worry about the outcome of this game being decided with about 5 minutes to play in the 1st quarter? How does this look to advertisers? How does South Carolina/Kentucky merely end up a regional broadcast? I realize there are certain agreements made with conferences relative to programming, but I don’t think we deserve this.

To compensate for the negative publicity, I’m petitioning ESPN Classic to air the following games on the same day as our funeral at West Virginia:

• Syracuse 28, Virginia Tech 26 – 1998
• Syracuse 66, Miami 13 – 1998
• Syracuse 43, Boston College 17 – 2004
• and of course – Syracuse 32, West Virginia 31 – 1987

Chop, chop! Fetch me some Syracuse glory and make haste, demon spawn of Disney’s loins!

CoachWatch Returns

As if you really thought this wouldn’t be back. Seems to me that a lot has changed across the college football landscape since last we visited with my personal wishlist for the heir to Grob’s throne.

It is important to note that this list of candidates is 100% absolutely sure to be interviewing for the job shortly. All have been spotted boarding and exiting the athletic department’s jet. A few have even been into Greg’s office and asked how they would like it remodeled. To the list we go.

#1 – Lloyd Carr, former Michigan coach and bane of the existence of the Syracuse sports media
Just kidding…

In all seriousness, here’s my list this week.

#1 – Butch Jones, Central Michigan (Last Week: Unranked)
If you remember back before that Syracuse winning streak, I had dropped Butch from my top 5. After watching the carnage unfold over the last couple weeks, however, I felt myself becoming more and more compelled to give him a second chance. We can offer him a shot at the BCS and more money. He’s still under most radars which should make any offer we put together more attractive. Clearly, he’s also doing okay at attracting players in areas we are recruiting.

#2 – Skip Holtz, East Carolina (LW: 1)
So I guess ECU was overacheiving pretty heavily there, huh? After a heartbreaker OT loss to NC State, the Pirates got toasted by Houston. It’s fair to say teams are figuring out where ECU gets its bread buttered and are stopping that transaction from happening. However, Skip’s ability to stun two of the top programs in the East already this season proves he’s capable of coaching up an undermanned team. That’s exactly what he’d face at Syracuse right now. I’m not sure about his recruiting chops but they’ve got a few talented guys on that ECU squad. One positive is every loss lowers his price tag. Thank you Wolfpack and Cougars.

#3 – Randy Edsall, Connecticut (LW: 2)
I’m still holding out hope that the Huskies will go in the tank down the stretch and give Randy a reason to think that Storrs is not the place he wants to be. Why he needs a reason, I don’t know, but he’s got a good thing going with his football team right now and I’m not sure he’d want to walk away from that for another project. If you are Daryl Gross, you absolutely have to contact him though. What can it hurt?

#4 – Turner Gill, Buffalo (LW: 3)
The Bulls have had their share of ups and downs so far this season but have really acquitted themselves quite nicely. Their schedule still lines up pretty well for them to finish with 7 or 8 wins, a stunning feat for what was the bar-none worst team in D-1A for most of its formative years at this level. Much credit has to go to Gill and his staff, who have done a phenomenal job with quarterback Drew Willy. His familiarity with the Northeast should be growing at this point and I would imagine him a well-connected guy. If the Bulls are able to sweep October (Western Michigan, Army, @ Ohio) his stock will really take off.

#5 – Lane Kiffin, recently unemployed (No Change)
To be completely honest, I don’t think this is the right guy. We aren’t like to see a schematic change on defense under him and that’s a problem. The biggest plus going for him right now is his value as a recruiter, but how much of his prior recruiting success stems from the school he was at? I’m skeptical that this will result in any real change but fear that his connection to Gross will keep him in the hunt. He’d probably rather fill a vacancy at Tennessee, Washington or Arizona anyway, and I can’t say I’d blame him at this moment.

Also considered: Al Golden (Temple); Bronco Mendenhall (BYU); Chris Peterson (Boise State); K.C. Keeler (Delaware); Dan Mullen (Florida – O. Coord.); Mike Locksley (Illinois – O. Coord.)

Week 5 Recap

"I guess I have to say it... I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."

Talk about a chaotic week. Nine of the top 25 teams in college football go down, including six to unranked teams. Mr. Douche himself, Nick Saban, has proven once again that no matter his personal shortcomings he is a program-building fiend. The shine hath officially worn off the East Carolina Pirates after their second straight loss. Oh, and some team from central New York flirted with a big upset long enough to help the Carrier Dome make a few extra sales at the concession stand.

So if it isn’t abundantly clear, we’re in for another season of carnage in the polls. USC, Georgia and Florida are just a few of the teams who had to cancel their preorders for “Undefeated Champions” gear Sunday morning. Though I was skeptical of the Bulldogs and Gators being able to run the able given their schedule, I didn’t expect Ole Miss to ruin anyone’s plans. Kudos to the Rebels for giving Florida one hell of a battle.

Which leads me to this… I hate to have to start this up on the last day of September with so much football left to be played, but this is shaping up as the latest season to demonstrate why there should be a playoff in Division 1-A football. When it’s all said and done, there probably won’t be anyone undefeated from a BCS conference. The possibility of a MWC team not losing before bowl season is very real, as both Utah and BYU are looking solid so far.

Let me put it simply – if BYU finishes the season undefeated and no one else does, they deserve a shot at the championship. However, I don’t really consider them even a top-5 team, and so the complications come in. But, if you have an 8-team playoff in which you guarantee entrance to any undefeated team, this gets them in the door and then they have a shot to win it on the field. Ask Auburn how much they would have liked that chance a few years ago.

Okay, so about that Syracuse/Pitt game. Most of what needs to be said has been said already. I’ll throw in a few quick thoughts and we’ll be on our way.

• Lavar Lobdell, thanks for showing up. Where have you been the past 4 seasons?
• Cameron Dantley continues to impress me. I was encouraged by the fact that Mitch Browning took the training wheels off and let him throw it downfield a bit. Great throw and catch on the TD to Van Chew.
• Other than the 11-point second half lead, I feel like this was the best chance for our final win of the season. Pitt does not employ Grob’s nemesis, the vaunted spread offense. If only we weren’t buried by the power running attack the entire second half…
• If this were the NFL, Curtis Brinkley’s comments about not being sent in during the 4th quarter would probably be the biggest headline coming out of the game. The team’s starting running back openly questioning the decision-making of the head coach – seems to have worked out well for the Rams.
• After oversleeping, I arrived in the Dome just in time for the score to be 14-3, Orange. From the time I set foot into the Dome until the time I left, Syracuse was outscored 31-10. Sweet.
• Someone in my section (or a rogue scouring the Dome for temporarily unguarded jackets) swiped my rain coat during the 4th quarter. If you are this person, I pity you. I know it’s tough not to be bitter right now, but damn. It’s a Syracuse jacket – clearly its owner is just as upset as you are. That’s cold-blooded. However, thanks for not taking my last beer.
• My picks were disappointing this week. I overestimated Louisville, underestimated Florida State and refused to go with my gut and pick Saban. I’m staying away from picking Alabama games the rest of the season.

Saturday Pick’em – Week 5/Big East Thoughts

There is at least a 30% chance this is how decisions are made for our defensive play-calling.

In life, choices must be made.

Am I feeling like spicy mustard on my sandwich today, or do I go straight-up, old reliable yellow? Do I start Damon Huard this week in fantasy football or do I leave the QB slot empty and try to avoid negative points? Granted, there are tougher decisions and right now many of them relate to handicapping the Big East race.

After a sub-par opening four weeks of the season it’s time to dive into conference play, and really, it’s a pretty underwhelming moment based on the quality of play. We really don’t have any clue at this point if there’s a Big East team that can hang with the elite of college football. Clearly, it won’t be Syracuse or Rutgers. Cincinnati and Pitt don’t look the part thus far, either. However, you can make a case for South Florida, Connecticut, Louisville and West Virginia each having a shot at winning the conference. West Va.’s struggles have been well-documented and it seems they may also have a nice-guy coach in over his head but they still have Pat White and Noel Devine. The defense will get better as well. They’ll definitely be a factor.

So what of Louisville, Connecticut and South Florida? The Bulls may be walking into a trap this weekend at NC State, home of the Pirate killers. Once the Huskies play a good run defense I would expect them to lose. The Cardinals are the real enigma here. They looked worse than the Orange opening weekend, getting absolutely ravaged by Kentucky. However, after laying waste to “D 1-AA Team I Refuse To Look Up” and beating Kansas State, they are suddenly looking competent again.

What this all boils down to is the probability that not one Big East team will go undefeated. I’m making the choice to stick with South Florida to win the conference only because if their defense is healthy I don’t see a team in the conference they can’t beat. But I am wary of the Cardinals, which is a complete reversal from what I was expecting heading into the season.

As for the picks – last week I was a modest 4-2 and yet again, my road dog upset pick fizzled. We’ll see if I can nail down a perfect week this time around.

Connecticut (+3.5) at Louisville:
Revenge game for the seven members of the Louisville football team who are still there from last year. UConn has a stout defense and running game but much like Rutgers has seen with Mike Teel, decent quarterbacks are exposed when the security blanket of a dominant running back is not there. I strongly feel that the Cards will contain Donald Brown and that UConn’s offense will do next to nothing because of this. Just a hunch.
Final score: Louisville 27, Connecticut 10.

#13 South Florida at NC State (+10):
I don’t so much view this as a “trap game” as much as I view this as a chance for the Wolfpack to have a massive letdown following last weekend’s big upset of ECU (weird to write that). South Florida has decided to play a ton of close games this year, and you can say what you want about unconvincing wins, but they find a way to pull games out at the end. I don’t feel that this one will be in doubt to the wire, but without a few starters on defense, the Bulls will have a hard time putting State away.
Final score: South Florida 38, NC State 28.

I will use any excuse necessary to post a picture of a bulldog.

#8 Alabama (+7) at #3 Georgia:
The SEC brings us the Game of the Week for the 2nd straight Saturday. It will be tough to stack up to LSU/Auburn but it should still be entertaining. This is one of the more hostile environments in the country to play at. I can’t shake this feeling that Alabama is going to pull the upset, but I’d rather be wrong than to pick Nick Saban to win anything besides a “World’s Douchiest Douche” contest. Also, as stated before, I’m a pretty big fan of Uga.
Final score: Georgia 27, Alabama 23.

#22 Illinois (+16) at #12 Penn State:
We’re pretty intimately familiar with Penn State and the right foot that they lodged squarely in our football team’s ass. We also got a big dose of Juice Williams last season. Illinois has landed a lot of quality players and they were able to parlay last season’s surprising success into a Rose Bowl invitation. I don’t see it happening again without Rashard Mendenhall and I don’t see them winning in Happy Valley.
Final score: Penn State 41, Illinois 27.

The winning QB in Tallahassee this weekend won't be wearing maroon.

Week 5 Rock-Solid, Surefire Road Dog Upset Special
Colorado (+5.5) over Florida State:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I despise Florida State. I have a hatred for that football program that borders on irrational. I blew it not picking Wake Forest last week but after watching Colorado take down West Virginia (who is still way better than Florida State, by the way) I was stunned to see the Seminoles as favorites in this one. I don’t even really think it’s going to be that close. This might be easier money than Fresno over Rutgers was. Important to remember: we have as many 1-A wins this season as Florida State does. They stink and I love it.
Final score: Colorado 24, Florida State 13.

And finally, the molestation action at the Dome.

Pittsburgh at Syracuse (+15):
I was talking with a co-worker next to the coffee machine this week about college football. We decided that a fair line for this game would have been to spot the Orange 3 touchdowns and probably not less than that. When I saw this line, I was about as surprised as I was with the FSU one.

So what gives? It is very obvious that Vegas has no confidence in the Panthers ability to score. They’ve proven themselves a tad overrated so far this season. They don’t employ our kryptonite – the dreaded spread offense. Their coach also tends to make game-crippling decisions (for example: coaching the team). But that’s not enough for me to reconcile the facts.

We cannot stop ANYONE. We got torched by a mid-level D 1-AA quarterback. After giving up “only” 90 yards on the ground last weekend, we’ve brought our rushing yards allowed per game to a scant 198.3. Seemingly no one can contain anything. Our back seven can’t tackle even if a play is contained. If we don’t make stop with our defensive line, a long play is coming.

Pitt may not be playing well. They’re still going to beat us, after which we’ll all be on pins and needles in anticpation of an important press conference.
FInal score: Pittsburgh 34, Syracuse 13

The Time For Talk Apparently Is Now

In the ongoing saga of “When Will Gross The Executioner Strike?,” ESPN’s Ivan Maisel has a short article up on the Worldwide Leader’s website today. My personal favorite quote of the article – clearly it is courtesy of Grob:

“When it happens, it doesn’t gradually happen,” Robinson said of success. “It explodes. We’re all battling our ass off. I’m really excited about it.”

I’ll bet you are. Meanwhile, Gross rationalizes the decision to bring back Greg for the 2008 season:

“Everyone wanted the guy’s head last year. I said I didn’t want Syracuse to become one of those three-years-and-out schools. I said, ‘Let’s calm down and [if needed] we’ll get the first pick of the draft [of coaching candidates] next year.’ That’s where we are.”

Sure, that makes sense. Why not antagonize your fan base for a season, demoralize your players and alumni and turn your program into a joke so you can land next year’s top coaching candidate? Totally with you on that.

Maisel closes with the extremely deep statement that “Robinson’s time to lead the Orange out of the hole appears to be growing short.” Put that gem right up there with “Paris Hilton appears to be a whore,” “George Bush appears to be an incompetent mess” and “The world’s financial markets appear to be in turmoil.” Any other observations you’d like to bless the ignorant masses with, Ivan?

The Debut of “Meet A Talented High School Senior Flirting With The Orange That Will Sign Elsewhere”

As we continue to look ahead and try very hard not to look back at the recent past, here’s a new treat starting this week. Syracuse’s unconvincing win over the Fightin’ Huskies of Northeastern this weekend has pushed back CoachWatch for a week as I stated I’d give Grob a break for a week at any time the team was able to a win a game. I’m glad we aren’t so bad that we lose to mid-pack 1-AA teams (yet) but it kinda punches a hole in my regular pieces here on TMHMOT.

Enter a new column – “Meet A Talented High School Senior Flirting With The Orange That Will Sign Elsewhere.” Since we’ve all had time to familiarize ourselves with the four high school seniors who have been seduced by that fast-talking Greggers, this will focus on those who haven’t taken the bait yet. From time to time I’ll profile a player currently listed on Rivals or ESPN as having interest in signing with the Orange. I intend to profile the most talented of the bunch so as to indicate to each of you whom to anonymously send cash gifts with the intention of influencing the decisions of these impressionable young men. If any of you own a car dealership, feel free to help out in that way as well.

This week’s prospective “student-athlete,” wide receiver Dwayne Difton, comes to you from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. At 5-11, 166 pounds, Difton “is quick, shifty and shows good speed and run after catch skills,” according to ESPN.com’s Scouts, Inc. profile. More importantly, “he has excellent hands and he can catch the ball away from his body and he has a good feel for being able to screen a defender from the ball” (ahem… Lavar).

As I’m sure you are all aware of, Saint Thomas Aquinas brought us current Orange players CB Dorian Graham, S Kevyn Scott and RB Jerry Harden. Recently ESPN indicated a teammate of Difton’s, LB Conor O’Neill, bumped Syracuse from his top 5 schools. Hopefully Dwayne and Conor are no longer on speaking terms.

Profile
Dwayne Difton
Height: 5-11    Weight: 166 lbs.
Position: Wide Receiver
ESPN.com rating: 78 (#51 WR)
Rivals.com rating: 5.8/4 stars (#38 WR)
Scout.com rating: 3 stars (#81 WR)
Also considering: Auburn, Boston College, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Purdue, South Florida, Southern Miss, Virginia
Note: Previously committed to South Florida, then decommitted.

Saturday Pick’em – Week 4

The picks are back, my friends. Last week was a nice change of pace from the previous two, though I did stumble on my road dog upset. No worries though. This is pretty late but I wanna get it posted this morning so we’ll just dive right in.

Iowa at Pittsburgh (Pick – No Line):
In a nutshell – if Pitt is who they were supposed to be before losing to Bowling Green they must win this game. Iowa is off to a solid start, but the Hawkeyes haven’t really been anything special as of late. This would be a good time for the Panthers to establish themselves, especially after West Virginia blew it for the Big East at Colorado.
Final score: Pittsburgh 20, Iowa 17.

#18 Wake Forest (+5) at #24 Florida State:
I hate Florida State. Can’t stand them. More than any other non-rival of the Orange, they really grind my gears. They scheduled TWO 1-AA teams to start the season and yet they are now ranked in the top 25. Excuse me? Really? Who votes in these polls? Charlie Ward and Chris Rix? Give me a fucking break. I hope Wake annihilates FSU. Unfortunately…
Final score: Florida State 27, Wake Forest 21.

Miami-OH (+11.5) at Cincinnati:
The rubber match in the five game set between the MAC and Big East that’s been played so far. Cincinnati isn’t losing this game no matter who their quarterback is. The Bearcat defense will completely overwhelm the Redhawks and help our conference continue to try and offset West Virginia’s complete collapse to start the season.
Final score: Cincinnati 38, Miami-OH 7.

#6 LSU at #10 Auburn (+3):
I’m surprised they even set a line given that Auburn battled to a 3-2 victory last weekend. Why not just say pick which team will score a TD? I’m betting on LSU.
Final score: LSU 10, Auburn 6.

Week 4 Rock-Solid, Surefire Road Dog Upset Special
Notre Dame (+9) over Michigan State:
After summarily dispatching of RichRod & Co., the Irish will look to continue their conquest of the lower peninsula of Michigan in East Lansing. I still don’t think that this ND team is all that great, but MSU has beaten Eastern Michigan and Florida International thus far and lost to a Cal team that lost to a Maryland team that lost to Middle Tennessee, which I think makes MTSU the best team in the state of Michigan. Well, until the Irish beat the Spartans anyway.
Final score: Notre Dame 31, Michigan State 23.

Northeastern at Syracuse (No Line):
And now… a moment of silence as we commemorate Greg Robinson’s last win as coach of the Syracuse Orange football team.

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Okay. I hear the piece on Syracuse coming up on the TV in the other room. Enjoy the woodshed beating of whatever ego an SU football fan has left today as this one stays way too close for way too long.
Final score: Syracuse 28, Northeastern 24.