What I'll Miss...Big East Championship at the Garden.
What I Won't Miss...The terrible yearly ESPN theme song for the Big East Championship.
What I'll Miss...Trips to New England, so I am within driving distance to see WVU.
What I Won't Miss...Trips to New England, so I don't have to see them lose some terrible game to UConn.
What I'll Miss...Beating Rutgers in football, every year.
What I Won't Miss...Losing to Syracuse in basketball, every year.
What I'll Miss...Being the perennial BCS favorite.
What I won't Miss...Failing to reach expectations nearly every year.
What I'll Miss...Skip Holtz in white.
What I won't Miss...Rick Pitino in white.
What I'll Miss...The Backyard Brawl.
What I Won't Miss...Playing DePaul in anything.
What I'll Miss...The Husband/Wife Rivalry (WVU/Cuse)
What I Won't Miss...The Husband/Wife Rivalry.
In all seriousness, the Big East was good to West Virginia. There are a lot of great memories...really too many to choose from. But, it's time to take the next step. Big 12, here we come.
This scene occurred several times on Saturday night.Syracuse went down to Tampa to be apparent Homecoming Fodder to the Bulls looking to earn their first conference win of the season. Syracuse had some big momentum after a home drubbing of Connecticut, but USF was apparently a better team despite their conference shortcomings. And they were fairly dominating for the first half. Then things got interesting. Syracuse pulls off it's biggest 4th quarter comeback since the 1940's. Syracuse wins on the final drive 37 to 36.OffenseB+The first half was terrible, finishing with only three points thanks to a field goal. But then the offense came out and drove down the field to start. Then the defense got the ball back and the offense capitalized on a short field. Five second half touchdowns are pretty good (read: great). Syracuse had 33 first downs, 520 total yards, went 6-13 on first downs, and converted on their one fourth down attempt. Nassib had 328 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.Jerome Smith racked up 127 yards on 28 carries. The trio of Sales, Lemon, and West were also great in the game. The offense absolutely was on fire in the second half.DefenseB-USF had two rushers go over 100 yards in the same game for the first time since 2007. Not good, especially when the team knows that BJ Daniels will run to bail his team out. Syracuse allowed 369 rushing yards from the Bulls. However, USF definitely had trouble passing the ball, and the defense forced a turnover (or at least capitalized on a bad handoff). While Syracuse let the Bulls earn more yards and let them go 8-15 on third downs, they did get stops when they needed to, including keeping the out of the end one on their final drive to allow Syracuse to win with a touchdown.Special TeamsBDespite missing a 22 yard field goal in the first half, they punted well, earned good field position, blocked a punt, and in general had much better field position to start then the Bulls. A blocked punt makes up for a missed field goal, but in general they had a good game.CoachingAThe play calling on the second scoring drive of the second half (starting with a short field to go down) was masterfully put together. Easily the best play calling series of the year. Additionally, the final drive was put together well and the plays were exactly what Syracuse needed to march down the field in that amount of time. A lot of to do was made about Syracuse going for two after the final drive. I had a small debate on Twitter about it. While USF did intercept the ball, it was deep in the end zone. They were not going to run the ball back on that play call. Should they have gone for two? They would have been up three so the only way to beat them would have been a touchdown. It was the right call based on the math. However, running up the middle probably would have been the safter option. However, due to the recent woes of being able to hammer home a touchdown run, I had about as much faith as the coaching staff had in the run. Either way, no harm, no foul. Syracuse wins. And like I said, the second and final scoring drives of the second half were masterful.GPAB+ (3.25)Not as dominating a performance as the UConn game, but the fact that Syracuse managed to get back into this game after being down 23-3 at the half and win was just special. Syracuse managed to play well enough in all three phases in the second half that Syracuse pulled out another conference win, keeping bowl hopes alive. While it is a fact that USF choked a bit, the Syracuse offense just outplayed the USF defense in the second half, and you saw one hell of an ending.IntangiblesC+ to this Big East officiating crew. The last series was hectic, and they did not have great command of the game, but they did get the calls right so for that we're all grateful After all, that was the same crew that botched the extra point last season in the Toledo game in Syracuse.F to ESPN for making us all watch this fantastic game on our phones / laptops. At least we could watch. If you missed it, highly recommend watching the replay of it online.Syracuse not travels to Cincinnati to take on Munchie and the Bearcats. With four games left this is one, like the last few, is critical. Syracuse can put themselves in a good position and earn back to back to back 1-A wins for the first time since 2001.You know, when the question was which Bowl Game, not if.
DOC Gross will congratulate even though it's against the rules to cross that dashed line!And just like that, Syracuse is going back to a Bowl Game. It took another late come from behind effort, but Syracuse again got it done. Nassib to Lemon happened four times in 1:32 and 81 yards for six points. It gave Syracuse the lead with 20 seconds on the clock. Like that, Missouri fans were shocked and Syracuse fans were rejoicing. The Orange leave SEC country with the win 31 to 27.OffenseBRyan Nassib (26/40, 385yds, 2 TD, 1 INT) struggled a little bit in spots during this game, but made big plays when it counted. When Syracuse needed to move the ball he made passes. Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gully didn't rack up significant yardage (101yds), but they did each have a touchdown. Syracuse finished with 25 first downs, 508 total yards, were 7-15 on third downs and 1-1 on fourth down, which happened on the final scoring drive. The offense was stagnant particularly in the third quarter. And they could have put more pressure on Missouri by scoring on their second to last drive instead of throwing a pick, but either way you can't argue with Alec Lemon and Ryan Nassib's performance on the final drive, and the absolute ineptitude to cover Lemon on the final scoring play due to a clever bunch formation which confused the defense and allowed Lemon to go ungarded into the end zone.DefenseB
I know the feeling, Doug.What an utter calamity. For both teams. When it came down to it, Cincinnati was the better team on the field after and during the 60 minute contest. I have no problem with that. It was evident by what they did and the final score. I have a problem with how things transpired however. Cincinnati beats the Orange 35 to 24.OffenseB-Ryan Nassib (23/47, 286yds, 1 TD, 0 INT) started bad, but did get better as the game progressed. The run game was solid, but everything else was spotty. There were fumbles, drops, and all sorts of calamaties. Alec Lemon was again solid, and Beckett Wales was probably the best offensive player on the day. Syracuse went 9/21 on first downs, earned 24, had 479 total yards of offense (more than UC) and was 1/2 on fourth down conversions. They had a solid day, save for the turnovers. Far better than the rest of the team. But a wide receiver should never false start. Ever.DefenseDSyracuse couldn't tackle or stop the run to save their life. While Cincinnati had less yards than Syracuse, and less first downs, they let Cincinnati power down the field multiple times. They couldn't seem to stop them in the second half. I mean, good grief. Forcing three turnovers was good though. It should have been more but we'll get to that.Special TeamsCStarting the game by coughing up the ball for an easy score is probably the worst way to start. Missing two field goals also doesn't help.CoachingDSo. Many. Penalties. The team's offense may have been acceptable on the field, but all those penalties were not. The team regressed in every phase but offense. And even that offense started very slowly. A good chunk of the blame of this game should rest on coaching. Not those WR false starts, but a good portion yes.GPAC- (1.68)This game was a disaster for Syracuse. Not because they lost, but because of the mistakes and penalties. All of which were dumb. Some of which were not their fault, but they couldn't overcome. This game was brutal to watch. I'm glad it's over.IntangiblesF to the replay official. Two plays were clearly botched. It allowed Cincinnati to keep possession twice when they had lost it. It then resulted in two touchdowns. Simply unacceptable.Syracuse now settles in for their last home game against Louisville. A tough task. Easily the hardest game remaining on the schedule. And Homecoming no less. Should be fun.
Now that's how you celebrate Doug.Syracuse managed to earn bowl eligibility by a last minute touchdown against Missouri for another comeback victory. There really is nothing left to play for at Syracuse except pride now. But that doesn't mean Syracuse doesn't want to finish up the regular season on a win.Temple, on paper, is the inferior team in this match. Temple, you may remember depending on your age, is a team that was so bad consistently in the Big East they were booted from the first round of conference realignment really heated up. And this year, their first year back in the conference, they have managed only two conference wins. They beat lowly UConn and USF. But they are a more talented team than their 4-6 record indicates. Interestingly though, this is the last game for Temple for the 2012 season. They are mathematically ineligible to head to a bowl game even if they beat Syracuse. They can't even play spoiler for Syracuse. They are just playing for their seniors. And they could finish with a win. They are a hard running team that can accumulate yards on the ground. Syracuse has been vulnerable with tough running teams earlier in the season, and Syracuse has yet to demonstrate that they can stop screen passes as well. Montel Harris will be tasked with earning a lot of yards and a few scores against the Syracuse defense. He is talented enough to do it. The main match in the game will be him and the Temple offensive line versus the front defense of the Orange. Whoever wins that battle should give their team the big advantage to win the game. But maybe it won't even matter if Ryan Nassib and Alec Lemon continue their absolute domination in passing and receiving. If Syracuse gets off to a quick start Temple might not have the fortitude to play catch up and keep them in a game. This will either be an entertaining close game, or Syracuse is going to run away with it. I do think Syracuse is on too much of a roll to be surprised by anything Temple can do. I like the Orange to win this one in a meaningless game 27 to 17.This game will be shown in stunning high definition at 11:00am on ESPN 2 and on ESPN 3 if you aren't blacked out. While half of the Orange::44 team will be nursing a slight hangover due to Thanksgiving family drinking, this guy will be ready to go at 11 on the Tweets. We'll see you there with a hearty plate of leftovers. Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving.
Syracuse students agree: We're still on break. Colgate sucks.The Red Raiders from nearby Hamilton storm into town after gorging on turkey and stuffing on campus. The longest "rivalry" for Syracuse, Colgate has been playing Syracuse since 1902. Since then, Syracuse has won way more times than Colgate, and the last 46 in a row. Jim Boeheim was a high school senior the last time Colgate beat Syracuse. Colgate is smaller, not as athletic, and... well Colgate. Syracuse should dominate on the boards and prevent any second chance points for Colgate, while racking up points in the paint for themselves. However, Colgate will be shooting over the 2-3, meaning they will be dared to take a bunch of threes. And they can hit them. Senior Murphy Burnatowski can certainly make a difference and keep Colgate hanging around. But this is all relative. Syracuse will pull away and eventually walk ons will be in the game. Syracuse will beat the Red Raiders by 27.
My swank view for the Colgate game
1
-7