Tag: Syracuse

ESPN analyst sees Kyle McCord and Kellen Moore as a ‘strong fit’ for Saints

Don’t like Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? ESPN’s Dan Orvlosky sees Syracuse QB Kyle McCord and the Saints as a ‘strong fit’

At this point, it’s pretty safe to project Kellen Moore as the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans has to wait until after the Super Bowl to officially hire the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, but they’ve told everyone else the race is more or less over.

As an offensive minded head coach, the first thought becomes what is he going to do at quarterback. A recent report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini suggested Moore was less than enthralled with the quarterback room, though he may have come around on the idea of working with them anyway.

Don’t like Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? ESPN’s Dan Orvlosky believes Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord would be a “strong fit.”

Drafting a quarterback from the Senior Bowl has been a recent trend for New Orleans. Ian Book, Haener and Rattler all attended the Senior Bowl before getting picked in the fourth and fifth rounds. The Saints could switch it up under new leadership.

McCord attended the Shrine Bowl and was recognized as one of the top performers during practice. CBS Sports’ Emory Hunt said McCord “had a fantastic week throwing the football, just building on what he all season at Syracuse.”

In his lone season at Syracuse, McCord led the FBS in passing yards while also finishing top-five in passing touchdowns. This would mark the third year in a row the Saints drafted a quarterback in the middle of the draft, McCord’s likely range. As with Rattler and Haener, the commitment to a mid-round is low.

This could easily be Moore taking a chance for 2025 while keeping the door open to select a quarterback early in the 2026 NFL draft.

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Notre Dame loses 17-point lead; ex-Irish guard leads Syracuse comeback

That one hurt.

Not along ago, JJ Starling was the top-rated commit for Notre Dame since recruiting rankings began in 2000. When [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] left the Irish after his first season, he transferred to Syracuse. So what happened Saturday had to feel especially good for him.

Starling scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half of a game that the Irish led by 17 with 4:55 left in the first half and then slowly but surely lost control of. That was enough to give the Orange their largest comeback win of the season, 77-69, during which they never led until less than four minutes remained.

Despite the collapse, the Irish (8-10, 2-5) had a chance out of a timeout with 19.5 seconds to tie or take the lead on the Orange (9-9, 3-4). [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] made a clean dribble to the basket, but that only was possible because an illegal screen by [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] that was called, thus wiping out that opportunity.

Starling then split two free throws, Burton drove for a layup, and Kyle Cuffe Jr. made two more free throws, bringing the score to 72-69. With the final seconds ticking away, Burton launched a game-tying 3-pointer that missed, and the Irish collapse was complete.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] suddenly exploded right before the clock ran out, running onto the court in heated fashion. He quickly was whistled for two technical fouls and had to be restrained by his assistant coaches before heading into the tunnel to serve his ejection. Cuffe made all four technical free throws to cap a 13-point game, tying teammate Eddie Lampkin for the day.

Burton scored a career-high 22 first-half points but wasn’t nearly as much a factor in the second half, and he finished with 28. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] finished with 14 points, and 11 each came from Davis and [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag].

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Wisconsin transfer Chucky Hepburn leads Louisville to first road win over rival in eight years

Another big night from Chucky Hepburn

Former Wisconsin star point guard Chucky Hepburn’s career year at Louisville continues to reach new heights.

The former Badger led the Cardinals to their first road win over Syracuse since Feb. 13, 2017, on Tuesday night. The program had lost three straight in the Orange’s JMA Wireless Dome before the 85-61 triumph, plus six of the last seven to Syracuse overall.

Hepburn’s 24 points and seven assists on eight-of-13 shooting and six-of-10 from three led the team to the statement victory.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s narrow win over Ohio State

Louisville is now 13-5 on the season and 6-1 in ACC play after the win, still trailing first-place Duke by just one game. Hepburn has instigated much of that success — his season averages are up to 33.6 minutes, 15.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.5 steals on 44.1% shooting and 33.3% from three.

Those numbers represent career highs in every category.

Hepburn did not miss a beat after transferring to an upstart Louisville program under new coach Pat Kelsey. That status differs from that of fellow Wisconsin transfer A.J. Storr, who recently slid to the bottom of Kansas’ rotation.

The Badgers continue to perform well in the absence of the transfers, as they are now 14-3 on the season (4-2 Big Ten) after a narrow win over Ohio State. The team’s backcourt play without Hepburn, Storr and Connor Essegian has driven the team’s strong start to the calendar year, with John Blackwell and transfer John Tonje each emerging as top-end options.

While Wisconsin is rounding into form and potential Big Ten contention, it’s hard to ignore Hepburn delivering an All-ACC-caliber season with the Cardinals. His profile should continue to grow as Louisville aims for a March run.

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USC lands another offensive lineman in the transfer portal

USC is trying to piece together its offensive line for 2025. Here’s another addition.

Last week, USC football took a first step toward rebuilding its offensive line for 2025 with the addition of Purdue transfer DJ Wingfield. A few days later, the Trojans added another notable name to the room by securing a commitment in the transfer portal from former Syracuse offensive lineman J’Onre Reed.

Reed began his college career at community college before transferring to Syracuse ahead of the 2023 season. He started 25 games for the Orange over the past two years, and will have one season of eligibility remaining.

Adding both Reed and Wingfield is big for new USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson. The Trojans are currently set to return just two starters on the O-line next season.

Hanson is entering his first full season as USC’s offensive line coach, after spending the past three years working with the Trojans’ tight ends. He was moved from tight ends to offensive line following the departure of previous OL coach Josh Henson fo be the offensive coordinator at Purdue.

Former Georgia OL Joshua Miller enters transfer portal for second time

Former Georgia Bulldogs, Syracuse offensive lineman Joshua Miller is back in the transfer portal for a second time

Former Georgia Bulldogs offensive guard Joshua Miller is back in the transfer portal. Miller redshirted during the 2023 season with Georgia. He followed former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown to the Syracuse Orange, but appeared in just one game for the Orange in 2024.

Miller is a former three-star recruit from Life Christian Academy in Chesterfield, Virginia. The talented offensive guard stands 6 feet, 5 inches and weighs 305 pounds. He is likely looking to transfer to a new school where he can get more playing time.

Miller noted his versatility and ability to play any offensive line position after entering the portal. He thanked Syracuse via social media.

“I’m forever grateful for the memories made with my brothers. Thank you to the coaches who’ve helped me grow & thank you to the fans for your support. I will be entering the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility remaining,” said Miller via social media after entering the transfer portal.

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Miller was one of three UGA players to transfer to Syracuse last offseason (wide receivers Jackson Meeks and Zeed Haynes).

Notre Dame men’s basketball team brings offense in win over Dartmouth

Always nice to get a win like this.

After a win over Syracuse in its ACC opener, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team had two more nonconference games scheduled. The first of those games took place against Dartmouth, and it wasn’t in serious doubt for the most part. Although the Big Green made a late run, the Irish emerged with a 77-65 victory.

The Irish (6-5) led the Big Green (4-5) wire-to-wire mainly because of a better and smarter offensive attack early in the first half. They shot 63% from the field in that frame and held a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint.

Although the Irish’s shooting slightly tailed off in the second half for a final field-goal percentage of .525, their drives to the basket produced more overall success than the Big Green’s focus on 3-point shooting (6-of-33). They also were opportunistic, holding a lopsided 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

During the final minutes, the Big Green cut what had been an 18-point Irish lead in half thanks to a 9-0 run. But despite not making a field goal in the final five-and-a-half minutes, the Irish had built up enough of a lead that it proved to be inconsequential, and the Big Green got no closer.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] produced the fourth double-double of his career with 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and dished out a game-high five assists:

The Irish next will be in action Sunday against Le Moyne to close nonconference play.

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Fourth different Notre Dame player this season earns weekly honor

Congrats, Sonia!

If you want to you know exactly how talented Notre Dame is this season, simply look at the roster. A Notre Dame player has been received a weekly honor from the USBWA for the fourth time this season. A different player has won it each time.

This time, it was [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] earning the honor. She began the week with 18 points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven steals in the Irish’s overtime win over Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge. She followed that with her first double-double of the season (25 points, 11 rebounds) to help the Irish beat Syracuse in their ACC opener.

Citron joins [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] as the third Irish player this season to be named one of five national players of the week by the USBWA. [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] also has a freshman of the week honor.

The Irish have another big test coming up Thursday against UConn, and the Huskies might be in trouble if Citron has another game like this one:

Best of luck to the Irish against a quality opponent they have beaten in each of the past two seasons.

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Notre Dame breaks two-game losing streak with overtime win over Texas

Back on track in a big way.

Notre Dame and Texas was billed as a game to watch in this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The problem with that was the Irish needed to sweat it out to try and overcome its disastrous two games in the Cayman Islands Classic.

The Irish took all they could handle from the Longhorns, but it was enough to get them back on track. They’ll head into their ACC opener against Syracuse coming off an 80-70 overtime victory.

The Irish (6-2) were in control for much of the game after the first quarter, but the Longhorns (7-1) came alive to begin the fourth, and the teams engaged in a back-and-forth throughout that frame.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] broke a tie with what appeared to be the game-winning layup in the final seconds, but [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] fouled Rori Harmon with one second left and the Irish in the penalty. Harmon hit both free throws to tie it back up. The Irish called a timeout to set up a game-winning shot, but [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]’s corner 3 missed everything, necessitating free basketball.

Kyla Oldacre scored the first basket of overtime 15 seconds in, but that proved to account for the Longhorns’ final points of the game as they missed their final 10 shots. Four of those misses came from Madison Booker, who wasted a 20-point effort.

The Irish were happy to take advantage as their overtime showing was highlighted by 3s from Hidalgo and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]. The Longhorns couldn’t answer as they simply had run out of gas:

Hidalgo scored a season-high 30 points. Miles and Citron both scored 18 with Citron collecting a career-high seven steals. King achieved a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

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No. 3 Tennessee defeats Syracuse in SEC/ACC Challenge

No. 3 Tennessee wins against Syracuse in SEC/ACC Challenge.

No. 3 Tennessee (8-0) defeated Syracuse (4-3), 96-70, on Tuesday at Food City Center. Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

The Vols remain undefeated during the 2024-25 season.

Chaz Lanier led Tennessee in scoring with 26 points. He also recorded four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 28 minutes.

Igor Milicic Jr. led the Vols in rebounds (10), while Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with eight assists.

Elijah Moore was Syracuse’s leading scorer with 24 points.

Tennessee totaled 32 bench points, 44 points in the paint, 19 points off turnovers, 16 second chance points and 13 fast break points.

The Vols also debuted their dark mode uniforms against Syracuse.

21, 678 were in attendance for the SEC/ACC Challenge contest.

Notre Dame women’s basketball swept during Cayman Islands Classic

Well, this certainly isn’t a pleasant way to get your first two losses.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team got a rude awakening during the Cayman Islands Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. It’s hard to know if the tropical setting affected the Irish, but what is known is that the Irish won’t just cruise to a national championship.

One day after the Irish suffered their first loss of the season, a 76-68 decision to a ranked and undefeated TCU team, they lost, 78-67, to a Utah team that wasn’t even receiving votes in the latest poll. That drops the Irish to 5-2 on the season, and they most definitely will drop from their No. 3 ranking in the latest poll.

It was a real disappointment for the Irish after defeating USC in its own building, and the schedule won’t get any easier. They next face Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge, which will come ahead of their ACC opener against Syracuse and then a game against fellow blue blood UConn.

This is a true test for the Irish, and how they tackle it will say a lot about them.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

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