SB Nation - Akron Zips

Mid Major College Football Week 10: Rocks, Paper, Scissors

umass09 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:56:30 -0000

Rocks: Wayne Younger, QB, Florida International- Younger who started in place of the injured Paul McCall did not give his team an opportunity to win Saturday. He only completed 14 of his 38 pass attempts for 178 yards. He was not able to find the endzone and turned the ball over three times. All three of the interceptions came in the fourth quarter and were in FIU territory.

Paper: J.D. Brookhart , Akron- The Zips pick up their second victory of the season over Kent St. Akron and Coach Brookhart keep the Wagon Wheel in Akron. The Zips totaled more yards, controlled the clock and forced turnovers in the victory over the Golden Flashes.

Scissors: Case Keenum, QB, Houston- A huge win over Tulsa for Keenum and the Cougars. Completed 40 of his 60 pass attempts for 522 yards and three scores. Keenum also added another 21 yards on the ground, but most importantly got the victory to improve the Cougars to 8-1. Keenum was not only putting up big numbers, but led his team to a big victory after being down eight points in the fourth quarter.

Free Spann! 27-10 W over Akron Postgame

Mike Breese — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:51:01 -0000

I think Kill's fascination with playing Me'co Brown was the story of the game. He's got it all backwards as Me'co should have been spelling him rather than vice versa. Chad Spann should be starting every game and seeing the majority of the important snaps early. How do you feel about the way our backs are being utilized?

"He's running like a man on a mission" - Coach Kill

Final rushing stats:

Northern Illinois Rushing
	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LG
C. Spann	21	125	6.0	2	28
D. Grady	20	109	5.5	0	31
N. Palmer	2	30	15.0	1	23
M. Brown	10	13	1.3	0	4
-. Team	1	-2	-2.0	0	0
Team	54	275	5.1	3	31

Better play-calling on offense this week other than that I believe. We saw more shots down the field, but Grady's limits in accuracy were magnified. But I'm sure the wind had a little to do with his performance.

Kiel & JO were a little banged up throughout the game. No turnovers on O, one forced on D.

Strong play on D other than some lapses in the secondary. We are really missing David Bryant out there. Akron went 0 for 10 in 3rd down conversions and was outgained 275-31 on the ground. By over 100 in yardage overall.

Special teams were big with Salerno & Wilber averaging 49 yds per punt, 2 inside the 20. Akron's guy only averaged 33.4.

How undisciplined this team is this team, garnering 9 penalties for 105 yds. Bad calls? Young players?

Short week and another home game on Thursday. Eastern Michigan plays tonight at 6, on the road in Fayetteville against the Arkansas Razorbacks on ESPNU. Right now, CMU is taking on the BC Eagles on the road on ESPNU as well. Enjoy your Saturday.

What are your thoughts on the game? Warm up your fingers and start typing!

Week 9 MAC Roundtable Roundup: Halloween Eve

Mike Breese — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:52:47 -0000

This week's MAC Roundtable Roundup takes a look at the different thoughts around the MAC Blogosphere, yo. These privileged fellows include: Temple Football Forever, ~~Fire Up Chips~~, Let's go Rockets, FalconBlog, Rasor on the Zips & Over The Pylon. OK, so maybe we don't have FUC's answers for this week yet. Man, do I love their acronym though.

Read on for some Q&A, a coach lookalike Halloween contest and the vaunted MAC Power Poll.

1. Both Ball State and NIU took an early 1900's approach to offense in winning their games this weekend primarily through the ground game. This brings the question: Are you satisfied with the balance of your offense currently? Would you like to see more passing or more rushing?

Toledo bloggers would like to see more of a running game because of the revolving door at QB and the deep talent that they have at the RB position. FalconBlog wants to run more and looks to NIU's attack from 2004-06 for inspiration.

I think you be balanced even if you are a predominant passing team, so long as you can effectively keep the defense honest and run the ball if there are seven in the box, and convert a third and one when you need it. Conversely, if you are a running team, you need to keep the safeties honest by going over the top. The best example I can remember is the Garrett Wolfe NIU teams. Very run heavy play selection, but the ability to go deep to really good receivers as your guys crept up to the line.

Temple FB Forever wants somebody else to touch the ball other than freshman stud RB Bernard Pierce. Ball State bloggers...well they're a little handcuffed at the moment:

For Ball State, I couldn’t care any less about balance. I only care about the win. I am bloodthirsty for victories, and frankly, I don’t care about the sort of statistical oddities needed to win. The first part of the season, our offense was very balanced…. both the passing and rushing games sucked something awful. That led to an 0-7 start. When we become unbalanced, not by choice but by circumstance, we win. Therefore, by the transitive property the more unbalanced we become the more likely we are to win. It’s science.

2. The two best teams in the MAC in Central Michigan & Temple take on non-conf opponents in Boston College and Navy respectively. What positives or negatives come from playing OOC opponents this late in to the season?

The consensus is that CMU needs this victory to boost themselves into the Top-25. LetsGoRockets fears for Danny LeFevour's health:

Unfortunately, CMU risks sustaining injuries to key players facing an undoubtedly bigger team than they’re used to facing with MAC opponents. An injury to LeFevour and CMU suffers a huge set back for the rest of the year.

Mike Rasor believes that Temple just needs to focus on the conference and OTP sees the Temple Owls falling back to reality losing to Navy this weekend.

3. For fun, predict the outcome of the impending doom the 0-7 Eastern Michigan Eagles face as they travel to Arkansas this weekend.

FalconBlog's description of this game is just dripping in smart metaphors:

This is a little like predicting the outcome of deer hunting from the perspective of the deer. I feel bad for Eastern. They are sorta like GM, turnaround plan after turnaround plan, yet all that ever transpires is another turn around plan.

TFF is a little more optimistic than most:

Eastern Michigan will cover the 36 1/2-point spread and lose something like 45-17, 42-21.

Resident SEC expert OTP (They cover both Ball State & Kentucky) sees the other side of the spectrum:

If this was the Houston Nutt led Arkansas Razorbacks, then I would say EMU actually had a shot. Since they are led now by King o the Dickbags Bobby Petrino, I fully expect an ass stomping. And one that isn’t stopped simply because they’re up by 40. Arkansas-52, EMU-7.

4. If your team/coach were to wear Halloween costume, what would they be?

LetsGoRockets pretty much stole our costumes, as they want to be Dr. Jeckll/Mr. Hyde. But what two players would wear those costumes? I pick Aaron Opelt & Austin Dantin.

FalconBlog sees Dave Clawson either metaphorically or physically looking like The Professor from Gilligan's Island.

TFF likes Temple coach Al Golden as Tom Cruise. Too easy:

As for OTP, sigh:

Let’s see… for Stan Parrish, it would have to be a character that has had great success in the past but has fallen on hard times now. It would need to be someone that is not necessarily the nicest guy in town. It would need to be someone who is age appropriate.Easy answer…

And Rasor's got some great stuff for Akron's coach:

There's no need to pile on poor J.D. Brookhart. I could say that his coaches could dress as a parole officer, paramedic and NCAA sleuth, but that would be over the top.

5. MAC Power Poll Time

CMU (unanimous)
Temple (unanimous)
NIU
Ohio
WMU
Toledo
Kent
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Ball State
Akron
Miami
EMU

The top-2 spots seem to be solid at least for a week or so because both of these teams play OOC, as noted above. Ohio is still 4th after losing to Kent State? OK...And also I feel Miami OH is very underrated and will get their first win this weekend against Toledo.

Akron vs NIU: A Primer

Mike Breese — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:46:36 -0000

As previously documented, Akon's been pretty decent occasionally but this year is not one of those years. What has gone wrong for the Apron Kangaroos in 2009?

Join me after the jump as I answer this question and take a look at the Zips' run defense vs Northern Illinois' rushing offense. What factors do you think will be important on Saturday? Make yourself heard in the comments.

Akron (0-3) @ Northern Illinois (2-1)

Kickoff: Saturday, 11:00 AM, TV: ESPN+ (My50 Chicago) Radio: 670 the Score

Weather forecast: 12+ mph winds, high of 50

Spread: NIU by 12 points

Akron last week

14-28 loss to Syracuse

Yes, Syracuse. And it wouldn't have even been that close if it weren't for a 98-yard kickoff return by Dashan Miller to start the second half for the Zips. Akron was outgained 339-191 yardage wise and had zero yards on the ground.

The Syracuse Orange out-rushed Akron 234-0. Extremely similar to what we did to the Miami Redhawks.

Akron so far this season

9/05	@ No. 9 Penn State	0-1 (0-0)	L 31-7
9/12	Morgan State	1-1 (0-0)	W 41-0
9/19	Indiana	1-2 (0-0)	L 38-21
9/26	@ Central Michigan	1-3 (0-1)	L 48-21
10/10	Ohio	1-4 (0-2)	L 19-7
10/17	@ Buffalo	1-5 (0-3)	L 21-17

The Zips like to hang with teams, but can never finish a full 60 minutes. Whenever they get enough on offense to win, they go ahead and turn the ball over at critical junctures. Their turnover margin is -.43 for 9th in the MAC.

Akron Injury Report

Akron's beleaguered starter at QB in Chris Jacquemain was kicked off the team after a violation of team rules after the Morgan State game.

His replacement, Matt Rogers tore his ACL against the Ohio Bobcats. But it doesn't stop there.

Buffalo wasn't kind to the Zips in that they ended two seasons in sending out both leading WR Deryn Bowser out with a broken leg, but also starting LB Aaron Williams out with a broken arm. Geez, Bulls. Any way you look at it, this chain of events is going to kill whatever offensive production this team may have had.

Akron Offense

The Zips problems on offense start and end with the offensive line. It hasn't performed up to snuff this year and has hurt he production of everybody else on that side of the ball. As a result, they rank towards the bottom of all D-I schools in every major category:

Category	National Rank
Rushing Offense	104
Passing Offense	103
Total Offense	117
Scoring Offense	108

The Zips are also 100th in the nation in sacks allowed.

True Freshman Patrick Nicely has some talent at the QB position, but they just took his redshirt off and he is very raw. And who exactly is he going to throw to without Bowser as the main threat in the passing game. Look for the 6'1" JR Jeremy LaFrance to be the main target as he's had a lot of catches for mediocre yardage throughout the season.

As for the running game, it's really a crapshoot where nobody stands out if they even try to run on Saturday.

Akron Defense

Considering how bad Akron's offense is, their defense has been staying in there all season. Kind of like NIU's defense in 2007, these guys play their heart out every game but they can't do anything about how poor they are offensively.

In terms of total defense, they're actually 5th in the MAC and 55th in the nation. Their rushing & passing efficiency D both rank in the 80's, which isn't so hot. Teams have a preference in running against them as their pass defense only gives up around 180 ypg. They just can't seem to get the quarterback though, ranking 117th in the nation in sacks.

Their redzone defense is ranked 34th, which seems to keep them in games.

Akron Special Teams

Dashan Miller is a threat on kickoff returns as evidenced by his return against Syracuse. Other than that, there's not too much to write home about other than their kickoff coverage ranks 26th in the nation.

Akron's Rush D in 2009

The Zips are giving up a very pedestrian 170 ypg, which is 8th in the MAC. In MAC play, opponents haven't had to really do much offensively because Akron routinely turns the ball over, usually by interception.

Nicely threw 2 INTs against Buffalo plus somebody fumbled and in return the Bulls only had to rush for 107 and throw for 205 to win the game. The Bulls QB Zach Maynard ran for 36 yds.

In the Ohio game, the Zips fumbled 3x and Rodgers threw 2 INTs before he was carted off of the field. Game, set, match.

CMU is a good comparison. Turnover margin was equal, but Dan LeFevour ran for 140 yds and 2 TDs as the Chippewas out-rushed the Zips 326 to 69 yds. Flat out brutal. He also passed for an average 197 but scored 4 TDs!

NIU's Rush O in 2009

Everybody knows that we're going to rush the ball over and over and over again, but our coaches don't care. They're going to keep doing it up the middle, off tackle, per the QB, whatever. Let's take a look at the average ypc for each game this season:

Wisconsin - 2.9
WIU - 6.0
Purdue - 4.9
Idaho - 4.3
WMU - 5.1
Toledo - 4.4
Miami - 5.2

The hot back is Chad Spann, because he does things a normal human being can't do, such as fly in to the endzone like superman against WMU or have two punishing TDs against Miami OH. If we see more carries for Me'co Brown than for Spann this upcoming game, I'm going to be immensely disappointed. Brown had a terrible performance against the Redhawks last week both rushing the ball and in pass blocking.

DeMarcus Grady will also be a huge threat considering how much Akron's D gives up rushing yds to quarterbacks.

Intangibles

The weather. It could be a brutal, brutal day in Dekalb on Saturday with terrible winds. This goes to our strong point: Running the Football. Akron will be completely screwed in this situation because all they know right now is to pass the ball, kinda.
Pass defense. We've got a few guys hurting in that department and some young guys will have to step up. Expect to see a sort of the same gameplan that we took to Oxford where we storm the QB.

Your Turn

What are you looking for when the Zips come to town on Saturday? What's your over/under on how many yards the Huskies will get on the ground? Are you nervous about this game at all? Let's hear it in the comments.

OrangeTube 10/28

Sean Keeley — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:00:03 -0000

First up...Kenny! What are the chances those are Kenny's drawings in the background?

Donnie Webb talks to junior defensive tackle Anthony Perkins about his fumble recovery against Akron, playing for the SU defensive line and the Tennessee Titans.

SU Junior Defensive Tackle Anthony Perkins

Mike Waters talks with Brad Pike, Syracuse University basketball's head athletic trainer, about the facility at the Carmelo K. Anthony Center.

Syracuse basketball: the training facility

WAER's Andrew Africk joins CitrusTV in studio to take a look at the upcoming schedule for the 'Cuse and tells us whether or not they have a shot to go bowling.

Scott and Ravi are back to break down why the loss of Mike Williams really hurts the Syracuse Orange. They'll also tell you why special teams under achieved against the Zips.

This MayFest aggression will not stand!

2009 Revenge Tour vol. II: Akron

Mike Breese — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:11:12 -0000

2005 was supposed to be our year, but then again Apron decided to be decent that year as well. We learned from our mistakes losing to the Zips earlier in the year, right? In the MAC Championship, Garrett Wolfe rushed the ball 42 times for 270 yds and 2 TDs. There's no way we lose a game with those numbers, right?

Only Huskie fans with strong stomachs need continue on. You know where this is going.

The first UA commenter mentions it as the best moment of their life. Well to many NIU Huskies fans, it was probably a low point. Just shock, utter shock and then a long bus ride back to Dekalb from Detroit.

In the famous words of DMS' MAC Title track, "I listen to Akon, I eat Acorns, but what the f*ck is Akron man?" They're the "Zips" and their mascot is a kangaroo. Does that make any sense?

The following players were redshirting their freshman year when this all went down, so they have added incentives to beat the Roos to a pulp.

QB Ryan Morris
RB Justin Anderson
TE Reed Cunningham
WR Preston Williams
C Eddie Adamski
DE Brandon Bice
WLB Cory Hanson
~~MLB Phil Brown~~
FS David Bryant

Cunningham, Adamski, Bice & Hanson are the only projected starters.

Phil Brown actually played in the MAC Championship game, where he netted a career-high 10 tackles and an INT. If I were the Zips, I'd watch out for him flying down the field on special teams. He could hurt somebody. 2006 was the year that he got hurt and redshirted.

h/t to future308

*Note: The revenge tour started with our win over WMU earlier this year on homecoming. The Plore For 4 is a series of 4 squads with a combined record of 0-28 excluding a win over a I-AA team and Ball State over EMU.

Week 9 MAC Roundtable: Halloween Edition

Mike Breese — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:02:57 -0000

Here we are again hosting the MAC Blogger Roundtable for what could be the last time this season. This is where I ask questions to the various MAC blogs out there as they answer them throughout the week on their respected sites. These privileged fellows include: Temple Football Forever, Fire Up Chips, Let's go Rockets, FalconBlog, Rasor on the Zips & Over The Pylon. Commence.

I'd definitely like to see a bit more passing for the Huskies. Sure, our starting QB is out in Chandler Harnish but without more of a balanced offense I don't think we'll be able to get better as a team. Sure, running the ball only will work against winless teams like Miami and the like, but what about when we face a team like Central Michigan. I'd like to see Coach Kill take the training wheels off a little.

CMU has slowly been creeping in to the Top-25 and winning @ BC will cement their spot on the national radar. It's only on ESPNU, but I think that a couple more people will jump on the LeFevour-for-heisman campaign after this one. Temple-Navy is a good litmus test for the Owls and should be a great matchup of styles. The only negative I can see from these games is a potential for injures, which would hinder the only thing that really matters: A MAC Championship.

3. For fun, predict the outcome of the impending doom the 0-7 Eastern Michigan Eagles face as they travel to Arkansas this weekend.

The spread is 38 points, but I think that's being generous. 63-3 PIg Soohie.

4. If your team/coach were to wear Halloween costume, what would they be?

The Huskies would have to dress up as Two-Face from Batman fame. NIU is a shady, shady team that can look great against Purdue & WMU and then go ahead and look ugly losing to Idaho, Toledo and even winning @ Miami.

This week I hope to see a more stable Harvey Dent.

5. MAC Power Poll Time

1. CMU - nearing top-25 status

2. Temple - made statement @ Toledo

3. NIU - underrated win @ Miami

4. WMU - held off Buffalo in OT

5. Kent State - very impressive win @ Ohio

6. Ohio - fell victim to the Flashes

7. BGSU - tough loss to CMU

8. Buffalo - OT loss @ WMU

9. Toledo - suffering without their 1st and 2nd string QBs

10. Ball State - won cripple fight @ EMU

11. Miami OH - very underrated passing game and defense

12. Akron - Bad, but not as bad as...

13. EMU

Mike Williams Toys With Our Emotions Yet Again

Sean Keeley — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:04:54 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

Browse more photos »

I got a heads-up from a couple people on Wednesday that a certain player for a certain team was going to be certainly suspended for a certain upcoming game against a certain Akron Zips. It had apparently been making the rounds on the message boards. Now, I didn't really want to blurt it out at the time given that many rumors float around the message boards and never come to pass. When I heard nothing else about it by the afternoon, I figured it had to be bunk.

Much to my chagrin, and to all our chagrins, that rumor was true. Star wide receiver Mike Williams was suspended before the Akron game for the dreaded "violating unspecified team rules" and did not play. The rumor had been that it was academics-related. Doug, care to expand on that?

"I'm not allowed to comment on an academic matter for a student," Marrone said. "We're not allowed to tell grades. We're not allowed to do that. I'm going to go back - the decisions made and the timing of the decisions were always made in the best interests in the program. That's it."

Well then. Speaking of that decision, despite the fact that it was clearly in the works all week, the official word didn't come down until just prior to game time. The reason Strategy, my good man! !

"I think decisions are made, the timing of those decisions are always made in the best interests of the program," Marrone said. "My philosophy is, I believe in privacy for the student-athlete. That's what I believe in."

Now, in situations like this usually the athlete needs to be a sound, lucid, intelligent statement themselves in order to clear the air and announce their intentions on moving forward. Your Facebook page is probably not the best outlet for that (via Axe):

"I HATE COLLEGE I CANT SEE ME DOING THIS FOR LONG.HINT HINT.-0 LMAO"

LMAO? No LMAO, Michael. No LMAO at all. Williams' has since updated his status:

"Everyone, I am staying in school to get my degree Sorry for the false information out there."

False information? Does Mike Williams have that disease where you hands move independently of your brain? Dude, Mike, you don't need to retract. I agree. School sucks. I just wish you'd be honest with yourself and us that you're leaving after this season. We know it. You know it. No hard feelings. We just ask that you get through THIS season without any further numbskull moves. Cool? Cool.

Jared Diamond at the D.O. let Williams have it in his column, saying Mike betrayed the trust of the fans, the players and Coach Marrone:

By missing Saturday's game, Williams let down his teammates, who count on him to shoulder the bulk of the load. He let down the Syracuse fan base, which has showered him with nothing but adulation ever since his return to the field.

And most importantly, he let down Marrone, who stuck his neck out for Williams just to let him on the team at all. His football career was on the verge of collapse - another NFL-caliber prospect who fizzled out in college. These stories are a dime a dozen.

Marrone gave Williams a second chance. Williams disrespected the one man who had the power and authority to help him.

Certainly I can agree that Williams has in some way betrayed the trust that has been given to him. But I would say that Marrone, being a leader and molder of men, did the right thing and Mike Williams will probably be better for it. It sounds like Williams' is having issues, be they academic or otherwise, and to cast him aside at this point would be foolish for his growth.

Marrone did say that Williams' suspension is over now and he will play against Cincinnati (as will formerly suspended player E.J. Carter). How he responds to this 3rd chance will be critical for Williams' sake, as well as the team's chances against the No. 5 Bearcats. I give the final word to Brent Axe on the matter:

Look, I don't know what he did to get suspended nor do I really care to know. "Violation of team rules" could mean a ton of things. All I know is this team dodged a big bullet by having Williams out for this game and not having that really hurt the team. I don't even know if he'll understand the severity of his actions that led to suspension because the team won without him. You have to wonder if this suspension will even humble him a little bit considering the circumstances.

Syracuse 28, Akron 14. Vengeance Is Ours.

Sean Keeley — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:52:42 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

about 1 month ago: Syracuse running back Delone Carter, third from right, follows the block of Jonathan Meldrum (73) into the end zone for a touchdown against Akron during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. Syracuse won 28-14. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Browse more photos »

It's never fun to try and recap a game you didn't watch so I'll leave that to the folks who actually did. Links below and add your own post-game comments as well. (We'll tackle Mike Williams, figuratively, in the next post).

So, first sentence I read in Donnie Webb's game recap:

The Syracuse University football team overcame the loss of star wide receiver Mike Williams (yikes) and a 98-yard kickoff return (yikes!) to turn back Akron 28-14 Saturday afternoon before a Carrier Dome crowd of 36,991 (YIKES!).

Announced 36K??? Oof.

Per Donnie Webb, Delone Carter had career day as Syracuse runs roughshod over Akron. 170 yards and 3 TDs. That's fantastic. After what's been an extremely gritty and not always rewarding season for Delone, great to see he could break through. Huge confidence boost for the O-line as well I'm sure.

In his recap, Brent Axe talks about Greg Paulus was as good as he needed to be.

Greg Paulus, who struggled in his last two games, was as good as he needed to be with a 12-for-17 performance for 105 yards and a touchdown.

The fact that we are talking about what Syracuse did as opposed to what they didn't do, about says it all.

Syracuse University football team punishes rookie Akron quarterback...Donnie Webb
GROUND CONTROL: Carter's 170 yards send SU to win...Tyler Dunne, D.O.
It took a while against feisty Akron, but at the end of the football day, SU zapped those Zips (complete with Moby Dick reference!)...Bud Poliquin
Paulus snaps back to form, plays pick-free...Jared Diamond, D.O.
Is there something more to linebacker Derrell Smith's injury at Syracuse? (YIIIIKES)...Donnie Webb
SU 'D' holds Zips to 0 total rushing yards (wow, Mazel Tov everyone)...Tyler Dunne, D.O.
Syracuse University football team gives mighty Bearcats something to think about...Dave Rahme
Syracuse's Delone Carter makes Big East Weekly Honor Roll...Trish LaMonte
Monday-Morning QB...John Brennan, Orange44
DC3 runs past Akron, looks for more...Sean Herlihy, CuseConfidential
Syracuse-Akron Observations...Russianator, Three Idiots on Sports

Daily Links - The Offensive Line Keeps Shuffling

Sean Keeley — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:25:40 -0000

Marrone shuffles Syracuse offensive line; White, Rosner scheduled for first starts | Orange Football Blog - syracuse.com
Marrone said the Orange will start Adam Rosner and Andrew Tiller at guards, Ryan Bartholomew at center and Jonathan Meldrum at right tackle. The odd man out is Tucker Baumbach.

Bartholomew snaps to his new position on the Syracuse offensive line | Orange Football Blog - syracuse.com
Bartholomew made his hiking debut against West Virginia on Oct. 10. He’ll be back at center on Saturday when Syracuse (2-4) hosts Akron (1-5) at the Carrier Dome.

Evaluating the Orange—Syracuse Football Midseason Report | Bleacher Report
Here is a breakdown of the play on the field, the coaching, the gameday atmosphere in Syracuse's Carrier Dome, and what the rest of the schedule holds for the Orange.

Midseason review: Syracuse - Big East - ESPN
When is a 2-4 record considered progress? When you're Syracuse and you've suffered through hopeless losing seasons for four years prior.

Keeping up with where Jones is - Cleveland.com
Senior Andre Jones has become "Mr. Versatility" for the Zips

YouTube - Congrats to JOHNNY "FLIP YO BANG" FLYNN
Congrats Jonny, you deserve "an standing ovation."

St. Michael Academy power forward Jelleah Sidney commits to Syracuse
Former St. Michael Academy power forward Jelleah Sidney has verbally committed to Syracuse, she confirmed with the Daily News on Tuesday.

Cincinnati's title hopes the story for Big East second half - College Football Nation - ESPN
Prepare yourself. As long as Cincinnati keeps winning, this is the topic that will dominate the conversation in the second half of the Big East season.

Rules of Engagement; Athletic departments across the country look to monitor the way athletes use social media sites in a wide-open online environment - Sports
Within departments across the country, policies vary team by team. Players, meanwhile, are either embracing the attention, such as members of the Syracuse University men's basketball team, or keeping their lives private, like members of the SU field hockey squad.

CuseConfidential.com - A look back at Midnight Madness
Syracuse's Midnight Madness Friday night was not madness at all, and did not occur at midnight. In fact, the event as a whole failed to excite the 10,156 fans in attendance, and left many hoping that the creators of the preseason polls don't take a team's ability to dunk a basketball into consideration when they compile their initial rankings.

How Good/Bad is Rutgers? - Protect R Turf
So how good/bad is Rutgers really? We're six weeks into the season and the Scarlet Knights sit at 4-2 overall, and in the cellar of the Big East with an 0-2 record. Is all hope lost? Is this one of the worst FBS teams in the nation?

Beyond The Hype: Wes Johnson. Shot, edited, and uploaded by Pete Stamm.