NCAA Football Syracuse Football

It seemed like a cool thing. A Syracuse alum traveling in Russia actually found a set of Syracuse themed nesting dolls. The dolls even have the numbers of the best players on the Orange squad for this year painted on the back.

• #91 -- Brandon Gilbeaux, DT
• #9 -- Andrew Robinson, QB
• #1 -- Mike Williams, WR
• #4 -- Taj Smith, WR
• #97 -- Arthur Jones, DT

Who knew they were really cursed matryoshka dolls.

Let's look at the facts. The dolls were created in the bowels of the Kremlin, made from the ashes of Josef Stalin's remains, remnants of Hitler's brain and Orange #3. The ingredients were mixed together in a cauldron by this manand set in molds. From there they were placed in a shop that just so happened to be somewhere where American and Syracuse fan Bob Kalka would see them, just HAVE TO buy them, and bring them back to America.

And the curse had begun.

Clearly something was happening.

Things just keep getting better in upstate New York:

Syracuse's top receiver Mike Williams was suspended for academic reasons and is no longer enrolled at the school.

What is it about guys named Mike Williams? I don't know. Williams had ten touchdowns last year as a sophomore and was named second-team All Big East. Syracuse Blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician just wants to know one thing:



The backdrop is Phil Steele's All Big East team; you'll note Williams is the only Orangeman on the first two teams who doesn't keeck a touchdown.

Don McPherson is one of the all-time greats out of Syracuse. He was also elected to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. He seems less than thrilled with what he's seen from the fans and the present football coach of his alma mater.

"Greg Robinson is the right person if everyone around Greg Robinson, including fans and alumni, really step up and support Greg Robinson," McPherson said. "He has to hear what people have to say and pick and choose what parts of that he wants to listen (to).

"When he came in and coach Pasqualoni left, there was a huge void that was created, especially in the New York metropolitan area. I was talking to a junior college coach, one of my old coaches from high school, and I asked that question, 'Are we doing OK down here? Are our coaches down here recruiting?' He said, 'They're here, but coach Pasqualoni used to come in and sit in the office and have lunch.

"They don't know these guys."

So, the head coach at Syracuse needs others to lead him? It isn't for him to create the support? Well, after a 7-28 start in his first 3 years, it would be hard for him to generate support at this point.

It just doesn't look good when one of the school's all-time great is saying that the present Syracuse coach and his staff isn't even remotely connected to the local schools they recruit. Admittedly, New York is not exactly a hotbed for football recruiting, but it is still the home base.

It's definitely a mixed signal from McPherson. On the one hand, he says that Robinson needs the support and could be the right coach. On the other , he is also saying that Robinson has done little to connect to the area and and recruits. That trickles down through the region and diminishes support.

I did this last year, so it seems only fitting that I would do it again.

And it wasn't even close. Louisville had five players drafted, while Pitt and West Virginia had three apiece. Rutgers, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Connecticut had two each. And for the first time since 1975, Syracuse did not have anyone selected.

That's 19 players drafted. And any way I slice it, that's just not all that good for a BCS conference. Looking at the distribution of what rounds the players were taken, it was pretty well spread out over the entire draft for the Big East. But that doesn't make it feel any better. It's especially bad if you look at a team like West Virginia that has had three 11 win seasons in a row along with three straight top ten finishes. They've had exactly four players drafted in the last three years. And Chris Henry and Pac Man Jones the year before that. So we won't even go there.

The ACC? Yeah, that conference we've been quietly laughing at after Miami, Va. Tech, and Boston College left. Yeah, they had 33 players drafted this past weekend. The coaching must really suck over there or something.

Pac 10? Oh, they had 37 players drafted. SEC? 35. Big 10? 28. Big 12? 27. Hell, C-USA had 11 players drafted! Patriot League? Never mind.

Even more upsetting for West Virginia fans, two players left early for the NFL and weren't drafted. Those two being Darius Reynaud and Johnny Dingle. Yeah, sorry folks. Those Dingle-Berry photo's won't be happening anymore. Those are definitely two players the Mountaineers could have used this year, though. I'm not saying that their stock would go up any with one more year of college. But it sure wouldn't go down.

Louisville will have the most holes to fill as well. You don't replace Brian Brohm, Harry Douglas, and Art Carmody. I know there are others, but those three were special at their positions. West Virginia won't be far behind with the loss of Slaton and most of the secondary and defensive line. Rutgers, well we don't know how bad it is because we haven't seen anyone but Ray Rice run the ball. The rest of the conference should be fine. And that's not a good thing if you think about it.

It's been a while since Manley Field House mattered for Syracuse sports. The last time was when then Georgetown coach John Thompson, Jr. was declaring the building closed after the last basketball game played there.

So what does that have to do with Syracuse football? Well, Manley Field House now serves as the headquarters of the athletic department, among other things. One of those things is the Syracuse equipment room. A couple Syracuse football players decided they needed to get into the equipment room (did they need a spare jock?). Around midnight. On a Saturday/Sunday. They broke a roll-up metal gate to get in there.

Does it really shock anyone to learn that alcohol may have impaired their judgment? The two players in question, were senior Paul Chiara and freshman Mikhail Marinovich. Yes, another Marinovich boy playing football, substance abuse and in trouble with the law. What are the odds?

OMG! Football news! February is like the worst sports month in the world! Unless you like meaningless mid-season NBA and NHL games. Sure I love NCAA basketball. But that love has been tainted by my coaches fashion sense and my teams ability to rip defeat from the jaws of victory. So I'm kind of not liking February at all.

Anyhow, some good news today football fans. The Big East released the 2008 football schedule. And while that's nothing compared to being in the stands after hours of tailgating and screaming obscenities at opposing fans and players, it is a reason for hope. The hope that another football season will soon be upon us.

And lookie, there are actually some good out of conference games this year. In September:

Cincinnati @ Oklahoma-Will the Sooners crumble again in the face of Big East might?

Penn St. @ Syracuse- When this game was scheduled Jo Pa was heard saying, "That Paul Pasqualoni is a tricky devil. We're going to have to find a way to shut down McNabb!"

Kansas @ South Florida- The Bulls can't be looking at this game the way they were a year ago.

West Virginia @ Colorado- This game fills the void left by Maryland opting out of the series. And given the size of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, that's quite a void to fill.

Iowa @ Pitt- Again, Iowa might not like this game as much as they did when they scheduled it.

Rutgers vs. TBA-Ah, the unknown enigma that is TBA. You just never know what team you're going to play.

I (and Ed Orgeron) realize that what an AD or university president says one day can quickly become undone the next minute, but when the AD puts out a press release saying the coach will be back -- and there are no games left to be played -- it's very likely true.

I have evaluated our football program now that the 2007 season has concluded and want to make clear that Greg Robinson remains Syracuse University's head football coach. [Emphasis added.]

Syracuse Athletic Director, Dr. Daryl Gross, did say that he has "set a bar of significant expectations" and that there will be some changes. This, as is common practice in coaching, means that various assistants will be sacrificed and scapegoated as needed.

There are various statistics one could throw out there that would suggest that bringing back Robinson to Syracuse is nothing more than the Syracuse Athletic Department skinflint tendencies rearing their head and seeking to avoid having to buy out the remaining two years on Robinson's contract or outright insanity. Things like a three year record of 7-28; a Big East record of 2-19; offenses that couldn't punch it in from inside the one-yard line on six tries. No, what should do it (and as a Pitt alum, it pains me to write this) is that Greg Robinson is 0-3 against Pitt and Dave Wannstedt. As damning a record as there is. Just let that sink in for a while.

The Syracuse bloggers are not nearly as stunned as you might think -- mostly. They are bothered, but they do see a silver lining. As the Syracuse blog The Axeman has pointed out, Gross has completely linked his fate to Greg Robinson's. Considering how despised Gross is at this point by Orange fans, the big picture of getting rid of both Robinson and Gross in one year might be worth another season of empty seats.

With an easy 30-7 win over Syracuse, UConn is actually the team that is in position to win the Big East next weekend. The Huskies are 5-1 in the Big East and 9-2 overall. They will finish their season next week against West Virginia.

If UConn could pull the upset in Morgantown, the Big East and a BCS bid would be theirs outright. West Virgnia still has to play tonight at Cincinnati, and has to win to keep pace with the Huskies. The Mountaineers still have the Backyard Brawl with Pitt a week after UConn as well.

The UConn-Syracuse game was never in doubt. UConn just moved slowly and relatively easily through the Orange. The Husky defense was never seriously challenged.

This should be the final nail in Coach Greg "I am a good coach, really" Robinson's tenure as a head coach (at Syracuse or anywhere). 2-9 this season, 1-5 in the conference. In his 3 seasons, Robinson has won a total of 7 games and lost 27. Only Duke and Ted Roof has had greater ineptitude among BCS schools in that period. Worse than the Orgeron at Ole Miss and Guy Morriss at Baylor.

My record as a blogger is somewhat iffy. I freely admit it. Some of my posts are widely viewed while others barely see the light of day. No biggie, that's the way it goes. But having said that, I can say this. Greg Robinson can't read! In his Tuesday press conference, Robinson proclaimed "I think my record can show that I'm a good coach." But Robinson's record in 2 plus years at Syracuse is 7-26.

A short memory is a good thing to have if you're a corner back, but if you're a coach talking about your level of goodness you need to come with the facts. Or have someone read them to you.

Watching the video (HT: Troy Nunes) of the presser, you almost feel sorry for the guy and wish Dick Cheney was watching his back as well. It's sad to see someone squirming on the hot seat. But this is the same Syracuse that has produced countless NFL players and has spent more time in the top 25 than out of it. A .500 record should never be acceptable. Never mind a 7-26.

From a #2 ranking to unranked with 3 straight losses, South Florida was reeling. Their BCS dreams, Big East championship goals all fell quickly. Of course nothing restores confidence and makes a team feel better than beating up on a bad team.

That is what USF is doing to Syracuse today. A 27-3 lead early in the 3d quarter and it could have been much worse. The Bulls committed 9 penalties in the first half to really slow things down and take away a couple other scoring opportunities.

The Bulls have been so much faster than the Orange. Completely taking away what had remained of the Syracuse running game. On offense, just moving through Syracuse's defense.

The biggest difference for USF in this game is that the Bulls seem to be remembering to run the ball with someone other than QB Matt Grothe. Tailback Mike Ford is having a great game and the first time he has run for more than 70 yards since the Auburn game -- which was also the last time he had more than 8 carries.