NEW COACH

Take everything you now about Syracuse and throw it away. Except for the horrible colors and the ridiculous mascot. For whatever reason, those things are staying. But under first year head coach Dino Babers, the ‘Cuse is looking to turn just about everything around after a 4-8 finish last season. Babers could be just the man to do it. He was an assistant at UCLA (2003-2007) then Baylor (2008-2011) before becoming the head coach at Eastern Illinois (2012-2014) and then Bowling Green (2015). He is only the fourth coach in the history of the Ohio Valley Conference to take a team from last- to first-place in a single season.

ON OFFENSE 

With all that time in Waco, you can bet Coach Babers knows two things: how to run a potent offense and how not to lay siege to a compound of heavily-armed religious separatists. Syracuse is loaded at the receiver position with height and speed and they only lose one player from last season. This should have Babers salivating. The problem is how to get them the football. While The Orange return a lot of experience at quarterback, it is problematically spread across several players, to include last season’s FIFTH-string QB, Zack Mahoney. At running back, true sophomore Jordan Fredericks posted ‘Cuse’s lone 100-yard effort last season and he should thrive under Babers, who knows a thing or two out of getting production out of the running game. Still, if you can’t protect the QB and open holes, you can’t play offensive football and Syracuse may have some issues up front, as they lose four veteran OL-players with a combined 115 starts.

ON DEFENSE

Take everything you know about Syracuse defensively and throw it out. And honestly, if you know anything about Syracuse’s defensive scheme from 2015, you need to get a life. Anyway, Syracuse are ditching their prior defensive scheme, in which they relied upon aggressive corners, blind luck and foul weather, for the Tampa-2 scheme, in which they probably don’t have the talent or experience, yet, to master. You know, though, that it’ll all come together on October 1.

The ‘Cuse only return eight starters on defense, but they’ll be deep at some position-groups. For example, they bring back nine of ten defensive backs and five of their top six linebackers. On the line, where they need to be dominant if their scheme is to have any success, they may not in fact have the experience necessary, though they could get a lift out of Delaware graduate transfer, Gabe Sherrod. Sherrod started twenty games for the Blue Hens and has thirteen sacks.

BEFORE IRISH-ORANGE

Your guess is literally as good as mine. The Orange are a puzzle, with lots of losses on either side of the ball, fifty guys with experience at quarterback, and a new coach. They open against Colgate, so you figure they’re coming out of that game with a W and cleaner teeth. But after that, who knows? They host Louisville and USF, neither of which ever bothered the Irish much, right? Then, off to UConn, where they face Bob Diaco and his hair.  Then the Irish at a neutral site, e.g. MetLife Stadium. This should be an easy W for Notre Dame, but what the hell do I know?

The post Scouting Report: Syracuse appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Kelly was ranked in the top 10 of all 128 FBS coaches in two separate publications Tuesday. Athlon Sports, which boasts an online readership in excess of 1 million readers annually, chose Kelly as the 10th best coach. The Sporting News, which has covered college football since before the second World War, put Kelly at #9.

Here’s what Athlon said:

The Fighting Irish just missed out an appearance in the College Football Playoff last season, but Kelly has the program on stable ground and poised for another run at the top four in 2016. Since taking over in South Bend in 2010, Kelly is 55-23 at Notre Dame, including an appearance in the BCS National Championship game in 2012. The Fighting Irish have won at least eight games in each of Kelly’s seasons at the helm and finished No. 11 in the Associated Press poll last year. Winning at a high level at different programs is nothing new for Kelly.

From 1991-03, Kelly went 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State, including back-to-back Division II titles (2002-03). Additionally, he went 19-16 in three years at Central Michigan (2004-06) and 34-6 at Cincinnati from 2004-06. Kelly is a proven winner at four different jobs and clearly has a place among the top 15 coaches in the nation.

Here’s what the Sporting News said:

Last Year: 11
Record: 55-23 (108-45)
Lowdown: Give Kelly credit. He’s the steadiest presence the Irish have had on the sideline since Lou Holtz, and he’s coming off his second double-digit win season. He’s still just 11-12 against ranked teams. He’ll test that against the same tough schedule in 2016.

Athlon and The Sporting News both considered Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, TCU’s Gary Patterson, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban to be better than Kelly. Athlon also ranked David Shaw ahead of Kelly, while the Sporting News had Stanford’s head coach at #11 – behind LSU’s Les Miles. (Miles was #25 at Athlon, so there’s quite a discrepancy there.)

Here are the coaches Kelly will face in 2016 and their respective rankings:

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Arrived at @ChefsBuffalo! Lunch with @CoachBabersCuse at noon. Stop by for some food & football. #NoHuddleTour16 (Credit: @CuseFootball)

Dino Babers, Syracuse’s new football coach, told a group of Orange alumni Tuesday that the upcoming meeting between Notre Dame and Syracuse should be the last at the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

“I’ve got something to add about the Meadowlands since we don’t have an athletic director right now,” Babers said. “I want this to be the last time we ever go to the Meadowlands to play Notre Dame University. The next nine times that we play Notre Dame University, we’re playing them in the damn Dome!”**

As a Notre Dame alumnus who lives about an hour’s drive from the Carrier Dome, I loved hearing Babers’ comment today.

But, with all due respect, coach: Your sentiment makes zero sense.

Now let’s examine why:

MONEY

The MetLife Stadium Company reportedly paid Syracuse and Notre Dame in excess of $4.7 million each to play in East Rutherford, N.J. Payouts have to be generous. After all, one of these teams is losing out on the revenue associated with a seventh home game, such as ticket and concession sales. (There’s also a financial impact to the businesses in Syracuse and South Bend if the games aren’t played at someone’s home stadium. I may be cynical, but I don’t think that’s even considered.)

The two teams set a Metlife Stadium attendance record during their September 2014 matchup, with a paid attendance of 76,802. The Carrier Dome seats 49,250 individuals. I think it’s fair to assume that Syracuse University would not have made in excess of $4.7 million from Notre Dame visiting Syracuse and not East Rutherford.

This is a significant payout that Syracuse – and perhaps Notre Dame, too – really needs. In 2014, Syracuse’s athletic department budget – for all sports – was about $67 million. This one game covers at least 7 percent of the total budget!

EXPOSURE

SU’s Walter Reyes scores his fifth touchdown of the day against Notre Dame as he runs past Courtney Watson in the fourth quarter on December 6, 2003. Syracuse won 38-12. (Syracuse.com/Post-Standard 2003)

The 2014 game between 3-0 Notre Dame and 2-1 Syracuse was an 8 p.m. kickoff. The kickoff time for this year’s contest hasn’t been announced. But, if the teams are doing well, it could again be a primetime slot.

ESPN and ABC heavily promote their primetime game. Joe Giansante, then Syracuse’s chief communications officer, said in a September 2014 interview that the promotions during “Dancing With the Stars,” “Monday Night Football” and the like probably created between $10 million and $15 million in brand exposure for Syracuse.

“It’s attracting higher-level athletes for all our programs,” said Giansante. “It’s helping improve our academics, attracting a higher level of student.”

It’s also bringing a game closer to Syracuse’s and Notre Dame’s New York City alumni base. Even if I didn’t live nearby, I’d know there are far more Notre Dame alums within a 50-mile radius of East Rutherford than there are within 50 miles of Syracuse. That’s significant, because New York City alums have more discretionary income to spend on items such as, say, alumni donations that make them eligible for tickets through each university. And with 26,000+ more seats, there’s plenty of tickets to go around.

HIGHER CALIBER OPPONENT

Notre Dame-Syracuse, 2008 at Notre Dame Stadium.

If Syracuse wants to be considered a serious playoff contender, it will need tough opponents on its schedule. Those opponents – with their giant fanbases – will have more leverage than even Notre Dame. USC used that leverage to schedule a game at Metlife. Penn State did too. The Irish weren’t required to schedule Syracuse when they insisted in 2010 to playing the Orange in East Rutherford. Now that Notre Dame is affiliated with the ACC, they will play Syracuse in a rotation. The Orange will come to South Bend on Sept. 22, 2018. The Irish owe a trip back east sometime in 2022, according to the ACC.

Will they play at neutral site again? I’m not sure. But I know these things: If it makes financial sense for both schools, you bet. And if Dino Babers is very successful – or very unsuccessful – he won’t be coaching in The Salt City in six years’ time.

—
** Oh, coach. It’s the University of Notre Dame, not Notre Dame University. We’re kind of anal about that. And you’ll never be around to play the Irish nine times at home. That’s like 36 years.

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