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Syracuse Preview: Upstate, Down Times

 

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Who Shot Who In The What, Now?  Penn State (2-0) at Syracuse (0-2).  The Orange lost to Akron last week by two touchdowns.  That followed a 20-point loss at Northwestern.  Penn State, as you may have heard, obliterated Oregon State last week, 45-14.  Kickoff at 3:30 p.m.  The teams have not played since 1990.  Penn State leads the all-time series 40-23-5.  They met every year between 1922 and 1990. 

Dubious Statistical Achievements.  The Syracuse Athletics page notes that RB Curtis Brinkley led Syracuse last year in rushing with 371 yards on 111 carries.  He's a good player, however, and clearly Syracuse's best offensive weapon.  He also majors in communications and rhetorical studies.  Does an Orange rot if it's not properly handled for six years?

So, You Enjoy Weird Sports Trivia?  Syracuse will start Cameron Dantley at quarterback against Penn State.  He's the son of former NBA star Adrian Dantley, which leads us to the following trivia.  The rookies of the year in 1977 in the NBA, MLB, and NFL all had initials of A.D.  Adrian Dantley is one of them.  Who are the others?  Answers to be provided whenever you Google them.

Before Donovan, Don.  Some Syracuse relevance from the late 80's:


Encouraging!  Through two games in 2008, Syracuse ranks 112th nationally (out of 118 teams) in rushing defense.  This should work well for them on Saturday, because Penn State never runs the ball.  And yes, Syracuse's first game was against traditionally pass-happy Northwestern.

The Disembowlment Will Be Televised.  ABC for most of you in the northeast.  Coverage map may be found herrrre.

A Fool And His Money.  Penn State is roughly a 27-point favorite.

While You Wait.  Not that this item is automatically going to be a Black Heart Gold Pants link every week, but you could bring the JoePa Chronicles to your own PSU tailgate with this lovely shirt.  Then again, it being 9/11 and all, you could always go with The Leman.

No, But Seriously, This Game Is Going To Suck.  Let's not kid ourselves.  This game is essentially target practice, but could conceivably reap mild benefits for Penn State.  It's a road game.  Penn State doesn't play well in road games, a trend which generally persists regardless of the opponent.  So putting on those obnoxiously plain white uniforms and stomping a team in their own building isn't necessarily a bad thing.  You'll probably see plenty of Pat Devlin handing the ball off to Brent Carter in the second half.  On a more intriguing note, take particular notice of the defensive substitutions once the game is out of hand.  How much action will Nate Stupar, Mike Mauti, and Chris Colasanti get at linebacker?  Will James Terry or Brandon Ware get reps at defensive tackle?  They're both a bit too, uh, puffy for Joe Paterno's liking right now, but given the attrition along the defensive line, Paterno's hand may be forced into giving them a little playing time.  We shall see.

 

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Like you've...

mentioned, it should be a nice game to get a lot of second team guys some PT. My one concern is how they handle Devlin. I didn’t like how they brought him in last week with two runs and then an impossible BS pass. They need to keep his confidence up. I would like to see him have some time with 1st team O and give him a meaningful opportunity to move the offense and throw a little…

by WETSU on Sep 11, 2008 11:15 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

If you absolutely positively have

to miss a PSU game this year, this is the one.

OJ should be served in the second quarter.

Anyone else think that these soft OOC games are hurting the starters? PSU does need to develop the LBs and QB and with blowouts limiting their playing time and setting the bar so low they are probably not getting the most out of the experience.

by DrDetroit on Sep 11, 2008 11:17 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I'm going...

Andre Dawson for baseball. Haven’t thought of a football ROY yet.

by Screen Name 20 on Sep 11, 2008 11:23 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

They only football player I can think of...

is Tony Dorsett, but he was still on Pitt in the early 80’s right?

by Screen Name 20 on Sep 11, 2008 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

well yes

I surprise even myself. I was fairly sure of the Hawk for baseball, Dorsett was a guess based on the fact he was the only player that fit the description.

by Screen Name 20 on Sep 11, 2008 11:28 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Brandon Ware

Has he shed any weight since we brought him in? Although, he looked mobile enough in the Big33 game. He could be similar to that monster that Alabama has on their D-line.

by Screen Name 20 on Sep 11, 2008 11:32 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Anyone else going to this one?

It’s going to be my first PSU road game. Should be fun being in the minority for once.

by apy5000 on Sep 11, 2008 11:43 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I don't think PSU fans will be the minority

How many Syracuse fans are going to pay money to see their team get creamed? My guess is not many.

Also, lots of PSU fans live in the Syracuse area. I think you’ll see more PSU fans than Syracuse. But what do I know? I’ll be watching from a bar!

I bleed Blue and White.

by Horse N Buggy on Sep 11, 2008 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Last one

I was at the last Penn State/Syracuse road game, circa 1989. It was excellent… the Penn State fans were very vocal and we pretty much kicked the crap out of Syracuse for four quarters. O.J. McDuffie was a sophomore on that team and I remember that he returned a punt for a touchdown. We all went nuts. It was probably the first glimpse of great things to come for the guy.

by BSM PSU 93 on Sep 11, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dome noise

I was at that game, too. And while ratio of Syracuse to Penn State fans was probably 4:1, the fact that it’s a dome means a quarter of the fans can make a LOT of noise.

by lmrlion on Sep 11, 2008 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Good call

Now that I think about it I was actually at the Temple “road” game last year. The Owl screeches after every Temple first down drove me crazy. Oranges tend to be more docile animals, so it should be a more pleasant experience in the dome.

by apy5000 on Sep 11, 2008 12:00 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Let's name the game: (ala tOSU-USC)

I want to call it DOMINATION IN THE DOME

I don't know, Mello Yello is pretty awful. What's the worst that could happen?

by psu on Sep 11, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

ha ha...

You listen to Mike & Mike in morning?

by WETSU on Sep 11, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

yes

I should have given credit for this idea, I was listening to them this am and came up with this for our game.

I don't know, Mello Yello is pretty awful. What's the worst that could happen?

by psu on Sep 11, 2008 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

how about

orange you glad its only 60 minutes of football?

For the glory

by lionalum05 on Sep 11, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I thought you said

banana.

pinkertonpark.com - you owe yerself a laugh.

by rahpsu92 on Sep 11, 2008 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Or just DOME-ination

pinkertonpark.com - you owe yerself a laugh.

by rahpsu92 on Sep 11, 2008 12:26 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Syracuse Sodomy

or just SO-DOME-Y

I bleed Blue and White.

by Horse N Buggy on Sep 12, 2008 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Interesting betting opportunity

PSU’s score vs total score of ND / Michigan game. It’s a tricky one, but it could be fun if you have UM or ND fans for friends/co-workers

by mgr135 on Sep 11, 2008 12:50 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Updated Map, including ESPN Spillover Game

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=coveragemaps2008

If you don’t get the Penn State game on ABC, your choices are Oregon at Purdue and Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech. The map will show you which is on ABC and which is on ESPN.

by Aaron PSU on Sep 11, 2008 2:15 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

so espn2 may be an option

if I’m understanding this right. I think the monkey wrench is that the game is considered a “Big East” game because of the location.

by Kevin HD on Sep 11, 2008 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

There's no afternoon games on ESPN2

Sorry for not making that clear. NHRA Carolinas Nationals Qualifying on ESPN2. sigh

by Aaron PSU on Sep 11, 2008 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

According to what I'm seeing...

ESPN alternative is out. VaTech/GaTech and Purdue/Oregon will get the ESPN simulcast treatment, while PSU is relegated to ESPN360.com or GamePlan PPV.

What’s really strange, in my mind anyway, is that PSU/Syracuse gets the HD cameras, while GaTech/VaTech does not. I realize more eyes will have access to the PSU game, but you’d think the “Tech Battle” was the bigger game. Anyone know if DirecTV offers up GamePlan games in HD?

by Kunk on Sep 12, 2008 9:08 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Cheech and Chong

Do Cheech and Chong aka Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma do they get to travel with the team or do they have to stay home? I think to really send the message across is to make them and both AJ Wallace and Andrew Quarless stay home also. Does anyone know?

by jetskijoe on Sep 11, 2008 2:40 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Mystery theatre

Nobody seems to know yet. It’s hard enough to get a reliable report as to whether the guys are even practicing.

by Run Up The Score on Sep 11, 2008 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

This story gets weirder and weirder every day

I have no clue what is going on anymore with this story. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I understand he wants to send a message to the team. Could he be doing this because he doesn’t want to lose during the Big10 schedule. That way if something does come down JoePA can go back and say hey look I sat these guys for X# of games.

by jetskijoe on Sep 11, 2008 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Nailed it.

Could he be doing this because he doesn’t want to lose during the Big10 schedule

Yes. Yes he could. But that’s a matter of luck and convenience. He can afford to suspend them for three games, and who’s going to really argue that it wasn’t enough when all is said and done?

by Run Up The Score on Sep 11, 2008 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

About those drug tests...

We’ll never really know what the results are. It’s not going to be public knowledge, the program has no duty to release the results, and really, they’re going to discipline these players however they want (practically regardless of the results).

by Run Up The Score on Sep 11, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

but

aren’t the blood test part of the criminal investigation with state college police? if the think the drug test are a major part of their investigation it will be made public…

by WETSU on Sep 11, 2008 3:20 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

No

The drug tests are not part of the police investigation. They were administered by the athletic department. They are considered medical records and the university actually has an obligation to keep them private. Only Joe, the doctors, and the players directly involved will see the results of those tests.

by BSD on Sep 11, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah...

HIPAA or FERPA… either way.

by BSM PSU 93 on Sep 11, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Besides, the drug tests don't change the fact the the PO-PO found weed

They don’t care if anyone in the apartment was smoking it or not. They only care about the posession part.

I bleed Blue and White.

by Horse N Buggy on Sep 11, 2008 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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