The Cuse Roll to Victory over South Florida

      In front of 18,703 fans at the Carrier Dome Sunday, the Syracuse Orange(15-1) once again showed why they're a top 10 team in the country as they beat the South Florida Bulls(10-5) 82 to 65.  This was SU's third Big East game so far, as they improved to 2-1 in Big East play.  The Cuse were in control throughout the entire game, as the inside game for SU was simply too strong for the undersized and undermanned Bulls.  Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson each put up big numbers on offense, as Onuaku threw down 12 points while Jackson's left hand was responsible for 15 hard earned SU points.  SU's major presence down low also led to further offensive opportunities due to offensive rebounds, as Wesley Johnson took advantage to once again put together a huge game for the Orange.  Johnson ended up with 19 points in 37 minutes of play, as it's become clear that as Johnson goes so does the Orange. 
      The lone bright spot for the South Florida Bulls was Dominique Jones, as he was the only South Florida player that could stay with the Cuse.  Jones put up 30 points in 38 minutes, was 3 of 6 from long range, and even was 13 of 17 from the charity strike....are you kidding me?  How about a box and 1 coach?  It didn't make a difference with the overall outcome, but Jones play showed that SU's defense can get broken down to quick passing in the middle and is susceptible to players like Jones that can pierce the lane with a jump stop dribble or a quick drive to the bucket. 

      Brandon Triche also played a more balanced game in this one, as he was 5 of 10 from the field and had 10 points.  Triche's aggressive play led to better opportunities for The Cuse on offense, and further exposed the holes in the Bulls defense, however, Triche went 0 for 3 for behind the arc and also missed all three of his free throws.  Assists also played a role in this one, as Andy Rautins showed how he's become a great passer with phenomenal vision with his 7 assists today.  The Orange were simply too strong, quick, and large for the South Florida Bulls at home today, but it will be interesting to see how The Cuse play on the road over their next three games against Rutgers, West Virginia, and Notre Dame.

**Enjoy the video on Wesley Johnson, hopefully they'll be many more highlights in the remaining games this year.

Jets Outlast Bengals and the Cowboys Embarrass the Eagles

   A week after the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys completely dominated their week 17 opponents by a combined score of 61-0, nothing changed on playoff Saturday, as the New York Jets ousted the Cincinnati Bengals 24-14 and the Dallas Cowboys walked all over the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14.
         The New York Jets were in control throughout the game, as they won the turnover and time of possession battle.  The Bengals had a fumble and Carson Palmer threw an interception to lean the game in the Jets favor.  Shonn Greene, Mark Sanchez and company took advantage of their opportunities as Greene rushed 21 times for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Sanchez was a respectable 12 of 15 for 185 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller.  Greene even exploded for a 39 yard burst that showed his power and speed, as the Bengals had no answer for the Jets rushing attack all day.  As has been the trend throughout the entire year, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis silenced Chad Ocho Cinco and completely took him out of the game.  Ocho Cinco went for a measly 2 catches for 28 yards, as he and the Bengals had absolutely nothing to celebrate in this one.  Even the steady place kicker Shayne Graham missed two field goals from inside 40 yards to eliminate any Bengals momentum in this one.  The only positive on the day for Cincy was the running game of Cedric Benson, as he rushed 21 times for a massive 169 yards and a touchdown, however, the passing game was non-existent for the Bengals to cut off any further scoring opportunities.

          The Dallas Cowboys for the third time this year defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to put them in route to a second round powerhouse matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.  It sounds almost ridiculous to think that the Dallas Cowboys win last night was their first playoff victory since 1996....unbelievable.  Are we talking about the Bills or the Cowboys??  The big difference in this game was the 4 turnovers that the Eagles committed, which ultimately led to Cowboy points and huge momentum.  It didn't take long for the Cowboys to put the game out of reach, as before any Philly fan knew it the game was 27-7.  Felix Jones ran over and around the Eagles defense to rush for 148 yards and a touchdown on only 16 carries, one of which was 73 yards.  Where was the stout Eagles defense in this one....they didn't blitz enough and the Philly corners couldn't contain Miles Austin and Roy Williams.  It was difficult to watch for any Eagles fan, but the Cowboys faithful must have felt like they just won the Superbowl as they dominated their conference rival and won their first playoff game in over 12 seasons.  It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys and Jets fair in their next playoff match up, as emotions ran high in their first playoff game this year. They will need the same intensity and execution next week if they wish for the train to continue to roll.

 

NFL Playoffs Predictions - Opening Weekend

Wild-Card Round (Saturday through Sunday, January 9th through 10th)










AFC Predictions

Saturday, January 9th, 4:30 p.m. ET NBC
New York Jets 17 - Cincinnati Bengals 20

Sunday, January 10th, 1:00 p.m. ET CBS
Baltimore Ravens 24 - New England Patriots 28


NFC Predictions

Saturday, January 9th, 8:00 p.m. ET NBC
Philadelphia Eagles 31 - Dallas Cowboys 28

Sunday, January 10th, 4:40 p.m. ET FOX
Green Bay Packers 27 - Arizona Cardinals 21

The Orange Get Their Groove Back

     The No.7 Syracuse Orange(14-1) once again put together a huge second half to beat the Memphis Tigers(10-4) 74 to 57.  However, the first half was extremely tight, as Memphis guard Roburt Sallie lit it up from downtown hitting 4 of 4.  The Cuse also struggled with turnovers in the first half, as Memphis turned those lose balls into a 6 point lead at one point.  Nonetheless, the turning point in the game was the CLUTCH three pointer by SU guard Andy Rautins to tie up the game 32-32 at the very end of the first half.  The crowd went wild and finally was what the Orange needed to get momentum going into the second half.
      The second half was dominated by The Cuse, as Wesley Johnson put the team on his shoulders for a team high 19 points.  His leadership brought SU out of the funk that had allowed SU to lose to Pitt and only play to a tie in the first half to a bunch of backups at Memphis.  Memphis has been solid this year, however, they lost a lot of pro talent over the last couple years.  Therefore, with Johnson leading the way, other SU players picked up the slack and took control, as Kris Joseph showed why many are really getting pumped with the way he's playing tough this year.  Joseph handles the ball much better than he did last year and is very long on defense.  Joseph's scoring has also picked up considerably, as he put up 15 points off the bench tonight.  Most importantly, the balanced scoring attack of The Cuse once again showed it's presence, as 5 Cuse players scored in double digits. 

      Furthermore, the Syracuse defense picked up and was swarming for the ball, as Arinze Onuaku and company were aggressive and rebounded much better than what we saw last against Pittsburgh.  The one thing I'm definitely looking for going forward is a little more from Brandon Triche, as I didn't notice him at all this game.  Either way, it was a great second half for SU tonight as they outscored the Tigers by 17 to add yet another solid out of conference win this year.   Go Cuse, big W!!

Iowa Takes Down Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl

The No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes (11-2) outlasted No. 9 Georgia Tech (11-3) in the FedEx Orange Bowl Tuesday night to win 24-14, as the stingy Iowa defense took control of the game to hold the Georgia Tech offense to only 156 total yards in the game.  Iowa burst out of the gates with a 14-0 lead early on in the first half due to quarterback Ricky Stanzi throwing 2 phenomenal touchdown passes to Marvin McNutt and Colin Sandeman.  Stanzi was a steady and positive influence for the Iowa offense, as he went 17 of 29 for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns, however, he did toss up a pick that was returned for touchdown at the end of the first quarter. 

The major factor in the Orange Bowl was the lack of a Georgia Tech offense, most notably the absolute disappearance of any type of passing game, and a rushing game that struggled mightily in the first half.  However, Tech did get it together to keep the game close in the second half and pull it to 17-14 early in the 4th quarter.  Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt threw only 9 times and completed 2 passes for a ridiculously low 13 yards.  It was clear this night that the 11th ranked defense in the country (Iowa) completed dominated the 11th ranked offense in Georgia Tech (**Tech averaged 35 points per game but was held to only 14 points, 7 of which was a INT returned for a TD). 

           The Big Ten did well this bowl season to show that they have what it takes to stick with and take down some of the top programs in the other major conferences, as I'm sure this Orange Bowl result opened a lot of eyes...it sure did for mine. 

Texas Tech Rolls without Mike Leach

      In a week filled with controversy surrounding the coaching methods of now former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, the Texas Tech football team overcame another hurdle as they outlasted Michigan State to win the Valero Alamo Bowl 41-31 under interim coach Ruffin McNeill.  This was one heck of a bowl game, as Tech introduced those that weren't already familiar with two phenomenal quarterbacks.  Tech starting quarterback Taylor Potts, aka "Mountain Man," threw for 384 yards and 2 touchdowns and was even benched after a minor injury for backup Steven Sheffield, aka "Sticks," who came in during the 4th quarter to go 9 for 11, with 88 passing yards and a touchdown to take the lead and ultimately cause the stadium to ERUPT!!  Michigan State was unable to recover after that.



As was the theme throughout the game, every other pass play by Texas Tech was followed by some sort of comment about the recent firing of Mike Leach.  As we now know, Texas Tech fired coach Mike Leach on Wednesday, two days after he was suspended by the school as it investigated the treatment of wide receiver Adam James.  James is the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James. 

"I'm very sad to say there's only one person to blame for this and it's Mike Leach," Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance told The Associated Press.

Texas Tech has released a signed, sworn affidavit from an athletic trainer who says former coach Mike Leach instructed him to "lock" receiver Adam James in a dark place and that he disagreed with Leach's treatment of James after the player was diagnosed with a concussion.

Saying he was proud of turning the program around and upping the school's graduation rate, Leach then blasted the groups responsible for his firing.


"Over the past several months there have been individuals in the Texas Tech administration, Board of Regents and booster groups who have dealt in lies and continue to do so," the statement read. "These lies have led to my firing. I steadfastly refuse to deal in any lies and am disappointed that I have not been afforded the opportunity for the truth to be known.  Texas Tech's decision to deal in lies and fabricate a story which led to my firing includes, but is not limited by, the animosity remaining from last year's contract negotiations.  I will not tolerate such retaliatory action.  Additionally, we will pursue all available legal remedies."

At this point it's tough to say whether the firing of Mike Leach was entirely warranted, however, I will say that what he brought to the table at Texas Tech was incredible for that program.  During his time as Texas Tech head coach, he led the team to 10 straight bowl games and nearly a National Championship in 2008.  Texas Tech was a decent program before Leach, but certainly not a national powerhouse.  However, during his time as head coach the offensive numbers for his team all made the front page.  There's no doubt he's old fashioned, and certainly a little quirky, but what do you think, should Leach have been fired for supposedly advising the trainer to put James in a dark place??  As far as I'm concerned, Leach should not have been fired, instead how about a fine or suspension.

The Cuse Get Rocked in the Carrier Dome

     The 5th ranked Syracuse University Men's Basketball team (13-1) lost their first game of the season, as the Pittsburgh Panthers (12-2) came into the Carrier Dome and controlled the game in the second half to beat the Orange 82-72.  Overall, The Cuse played much better in the first half than they did in the second half, however, they were only able to hold a 30-27 lead at the break even after leading by 10 at one point.  The game was very much back and forth throughout the first half, as every SU run was followed by a Panthers bucket to quiet the crowd.  Foul trouble was a big problem for the Orange in this one, as the Carrier Dome fans were kept silent throughout much of the second half as Wesley Johnson had 4 fouls, while Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson both fouled out.  The foul trouble also fed over to diminish the always consistent scoring attack of the Orange, as the only SU starter in double figures was Wesley Johnson with 19 points.  The one lone bright spot for the Cuse was the bench play, as Scoop Jardine put up 15 points and Kris Joseph added 10, as both players played a lot of minutes in this one.
      This season SU has relied on three point shooting from Rautins, Triche, and Johnson, to put together huge runs and emotionally demoralize their opponents on the offensive end.  Clutch shooting had led SU to be the top scoring team in the Big East at over 86 points per game.  However, The Cuse couldn't hit anything is this one, as the Orange were just 1 for 13 from behind the arc.  Most importantly, towards the end of the game, SU was down 15 points with only minutes remaining in the game, nonetheless, even with Andy Rautins not being in foul trouble, Rautins was sitting on the bench.  What's the deal with that Boeheim?? Therefore, it was up to players with very limited experience in a tough fought Big East battle with conference rival Pitt to try and get the job done with leaders such as Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins riding pine.  Any SU fan was desperately hoping for an SU comeback, however, between the lack of SU three pointers and the absolutely no "support" from the referrees, the game seemed to be over with even 3 minutes remaining.
       Hat's off to the Panthers today, as they played very well and deserved the win against SU.  Another point of note was the guard play from the Panthers which was stellar and totally outplayed the Orange, as Ashton Gibbs went 6 of 9 from downtown to put up 24 points, while Jermaine Dixon tossed up 21.  The three point shooting from Pitt was the difference in this one, as the Panthers went 10 of 24, to shoot a solid 41% from out deep.  Furthermore, the physical play of the Panthers was something SU had not seen as much of with their non-conference play earlier on this year.  It's clear SU has had two very tough Big East games already this year to the likes of Seton Hall and Pittsburgh, so it'll be interesting to see how SU bounces back in their next game versus another physical and very fast team in Memphis on January 6th.