The Dome was Orange. The scoreboard was not.

So it is Thursday. And we’re already thinking ahead to the next game. But seeing as I was actually at the Carrier Dome last Friday for the exercise in futility, I thought I would fill the readers in on what you maybe did not see on your HDTV, as well as comment on the game and situation overall.

The Uniforms
Now, I am all for showing off the Orange. It is our one official color (colour for you British out there) and I am fine with showing it off. Frankly, we get hated on a lot for the navy uniforms and the retro look, but I think they are nice and Ernie Davis would approve. However, the orange on orange look was ill advised. I used to love the all orange uniforms. We would crack them out, the crowd would go crazy, and we beat Boston College on Homecoming. That was how it was. They were saved for a special occasion or a huge game. Not for Washington. Moral of the story… until we are great again, or we have an absolutely huge game, like to win the Big East, leave them in storage.

The Run On
By run on, I mean when the players run out of the tunnel before the game starts and gets everyone jacked up to see the game. Yeah… they did not run. Which did not get me fired up, which did not make the dome ELECTRIC as it is supposed to be opening day. Nice choice GRob/Joe 5 Fields.



The Crowd
I was pleasantly surprised when the Dome got somewhat full looking. That is always a plus. But the crowd, other than the student section, was pretty mellow. I am sorry, but there are certain moments when you need to stand up and cheer for your team, wave your keys, and so on. With the crowds in the dome they way they are, the same fair-weather problem we have always had, I’m not surprised the team does not do better. It is totally sad.

New Manley Field House
I took a tour of the newly designed Manley Field House with most of the NCAA Championship Trophies on display so that you can actually touch them. It is pretty cool to touch one of them. I am glad Syracuse is serious about showing off the hardware, and the display cases for the team sports were nice as well. My photo album of the new Manley can be found here. A display case for the swimming program… too soon Daryl, too soon.

Ernie Davis Statue
Being that I was born in Elmira and grew up 15 minutes away, I used to pass the statue of Ernie Davis there quite a lot. It looks just like him. Wearing a varsity jacket, holding books in one hand, and a football in the other. It is classy, and a great tribute. This new statue does not look like Ernie Davis, nor was it even done. Well done SU. I am confused as to why you did not use the same artist that did the last one, as he has been approaching you over and over for the past few years about making an Ernie Davis statue for the University. Well done.

Night Games
We do not have them that often, but damn they are fun. It makes me wish we were a way better team so we could have more of them. I tailgated from about 2pm on and had a blast in the Hoople Parking lot across from the V. If you were there I hope you enjoyed it. You are not seeing another night game this year. If you missed it, you should try to get back for one sometime.

Report Card - Washington
Now onto my game report card. It is a couple of days late but hey, at least we are not Michigan. Since Matt Glaude already put out a report card, I will give my grades then average them next to mine.

Offense
D (D)
Our offensive line is just as bad. How is that even possible? Andrew Robinson was sacked seven times and had no time to look for receivers. When he did find them they had a case of the dropsies. Andrew himself looked pretty good, but the kid cannot run. Stop calling QB Draw plays please. And having no run game is fun. We’re only SYRACUSE. Jim Brown… HELLO!?!?! Eight rush yards. Really?! Really?! I could get eight rush yards if I just pretended there was another beer in the end zone.

Defense
D- (D)
It has been said before, but why does our defense give up for a man that is supposed to be a defensive guru. Where is the guru? Anyone? Hello, is this thing on? Letting Washington’s RB and QB run all over us was fun to watch too.

Special Teams
C (B-)
I’m sorry, you can kick all the field goals you like, run back a shit ton of touchdowns on kickoffs, but when you miss an extra point, I am sorry, but I wont give you better than a C. The kickoff units were fine, and the new punter looks decent. Matt will keep his #47 Heisman T-Shirt and we will hopefully see it cracked out at Homecoming and The Rent.

Coaching
D (D)
See Matt Glaude’s assessment. It is not all GRob’s fault. When you are not able to run the ball it is hard to open up the playbook. However, then you adjust. You call different pass plays. You do anything to try to win the game. Not give up in the third.

GPA
1.45. On probation. We’ll see what they can do next week, but I fear it will be a similar result.

Moving On (already?)
For those of you ready to take the next step, the full Syracuse Basketball schedule came out yesterday. Take a look for yourself here. It is about as expected. I enjoy the non-conference travel to Virginia and the fact we are back in the NIT again. I just wish the Georgetown away game was on a Saturday, making it easier to go to. I’ll probably still be there anyway. The Connecticut game is on a Wednesday which is odd, but acceptable. 18 Big East games is a lot of delicious conference action as well. Very enjoyable.

Ok so there we go. I can be done with talking about Washington. So sorry about calling a win on that one. I almost entitled this entry “I Don’t Know Shit, Don’t Listen To Me”, but I thought that was a bit much and over dramatic. I still think we can get a few wins this year, maybe even five still, and a few in the Big East. Time will tell however. At least we looked good on paper. I am sure we will see some more crying faces yet to come.

Labels: Basketball, Football