NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Syracuse Orange Offense 3 Things To Know
– It was supposed to be a little bit of a rebuilding year for the Syracuse offense, but not like that. QB Tommy DeVito struggled, but that’s partly because he had to deal with too many defensive players jumping on his head.
The offensive line had a rough year. Four starters are expected back, and senior Airon Servais is an okay veteran at left tackle, but overall the front five can’t be among the three worst in college football in sacks allowed.
There’s bulk, there’s the versatility to play around with the lineup, and there’s the upside with experience to be better. But the offense that didn’t average 400 yards per game and scored 27 points or fewer seven times needs time to operate.
CFN in 60 Video: Syracuse Orange Preview
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– DeVito, again, didn’t get a whole lot of time, and now it’s time for his numbers to skyrocket under new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. The junior-to-be has the talent and the arm, and he held up reasonably well despite all the pressure. He took his lumps, only threw five picks, and he was accurate enough to get by. Rex Culpepper is a bigger passer with just enough experience to be totally lost if he gets thrown into the mix.
Now the receiving corps has to rise up with leading receiver Trishton Jackson leaving early for the NFL and with three of the top four pass catchers gone. Junior Taj Harris is a good-sized deep threat, and senior Nykeim Johnson can move, but someone has to rise up and replace the volume catches from Jackson.
That might come from the tight end tandem of Aaron Hackett and Luke Benson. These two can catch, and 292-pound Chris Elmore is the blocking option.
– The ground started to come on over the second half of the season after getting stuffed for a dead stop far too often over the first half. Leading rusher Moe Neal is gone, but the good tandem of junior Jarveon Howard and senior Abdul Adams should be able to handle the workload without a problem. There’s enough depth to shoot for the second 2,000-yard rushing season since 2013.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Syracuse Orange Defense 3 Things To Know
SEND THE BOSTON COLLEGE GAME ON THE NEXT ROCKET TO MARS, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!
If you’ve been on social media for any five second period during the last month, chances are you’ve seen something about “what quarantine house do you want to be in?”
Whether it’s been food or celebrities you’d rather live with, none held my interest.
Until now.
NBC Sports’ Douglas Farmer put out this tweet and boy oh boy do I have takes.
The only correct answer is House 6. I will not accept any other. And here’s why.
The National Championship loss to Alabama was awful. But if you put in contest, was it really that bad or unexpected?
That team was good. But it was not great. That Alabama team was one of the best in college football history.
The Oklahoma win was the biggest road victory of the Kelly era on a Saturday night in Norman.
The 2017 Citrus Bowl saw the rise of Ian Book and one of the best plays in school history with Miles Boykin’s game-winning TD catch.
And both the Virginia and Virginia Tech games were a team fighting and clawing to dramatic wins.
The highs of those four games are valued more to me than the loss to Alabama.
Here’s how I’d break down the others.
House 1
The three USC victories were great (one a butt-kicking over Sam Darnold and the others were games with huge stakes), but the Bush Push (I see the Dwayne Jarrett catch in my nightmares) and the season-opening loss to South Florida ruin it for me.
House 2
Everyone loves a good Michigan win, but last year’s no-show against the Wolverines coupled with a loss to Duke. No thanks.
House 3
The Snow Bowl is my favorite game of all-time. The UCLA/Samardzija was one I remember jumping up and down in my apartment watching. The Game of the Century is probably my second-favorite game of all-time. BUT…
SEND THE BOSTON COLLEGE GAME ON THE NEXT ROCKET TO MARS, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!
Also, that Nebraska game was a gut punch.
House 4
The wins were good wins, but not epic wins. Utah, Rutgers, Pitt and Navy don’t move the needle for me like others. And I’m sorry Charlie. I don’t care how bad your team is. You don’t lose to Navy at home.
House 5
Love the Stanford wins. 2018 was one of my sneaky favorite games of all-time with Dexter Williams’ return and what it meant for the rest of the season. Obviously the goal-line in 2012 was great.
But that 2015 Stanford game hurt. Bad. That 2015 Kizer-led squad went through a lot and was really, really good. That run by Kizer to put them up I thought had sealed their spot in the playoff.
And you don’t lose to Syracuse. Me meeting my wife later that night was the only good thing to come out of that day.
Unlike the Power 5 Sleeper Teams in the earlier piece, this is more about the teams that won’t be on the radar for most college football fans, but could make a big impact.
It’s a bit much to put these teams into the 2019 Baylor and Minnesota category and challenge for big things – again, that’s what the sleeper team piece was about – but they should be ready to defy expectations.
Think 2019 Illinois and Louisville – they were part of last year’s list of Potential Surprises – but things don’t always work out as hoped for. Arkansas and UCLA didn’t do what we thought they might.
But if we can hit three of five like we did last year, we’ll take it.
And the Power Five programs that could and should be the biggest surprises are …
ACC: Syracuse
Let’s try this again.
The excitement for 2019 was sky-high after a 10-3 2018 campaign. Syracuse was one of just two ACC teams in the preseason rankings – Clemson, of course, was the other – but it all came apart in a big way.
Maryland was awful last season, but it looked like the Kansas City Chiefs against the Orange in a 63-20 win. Even so, a 3-2 SU start provided hope early on, but a four-game losing streak ended all of that.
The run defense was non-existent, the offensive line almost got QB Tommy DeVito killed – allowing the third-most sacks per game in America – and every week was a struggle.
However, things picked up late with wins of two of the last three games -ruining Duke’s bowl hopes along the way – and the offense started to pick up the production.
The O line might have been awful, but it comes back experienced to try giving DeVito a fighting chance. New offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert will crank up the tempo with a decent group of receivers returning.
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Schedule-wise, three of the first four games are on the road, but Boston College, Rutgers and Western Michigan are all winnable. Get through those, beat Louisville at home, and a 6-0 start is likely before dealing with Clemson.
Throw in a manageable back half of the slate, and rebounding to 2018 form isn’t a crazy ask.
Let’s give the voters in the two major polls a little bit of credit on this – the 2019 preseason AP and Coaches polls weren’t all that bad when it came to getting them close to the pin.
Granted, it’s not hard to pick Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and LSU to be good – the preseason top six in both polls – but there are always a few misfires.
Here are five teams ranked in the 2019 preseason top 25 that didn’t live up to expectations, but should be a whole lot better this year. The list is based on last year’s preseason ranking going from the bottom up, starting with …
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2019 Preseason Ranking
AP 24, Coaches NR (26)
Final Record: 5-7
What Went Wrong?
The expectations weren’t exactly through the roof from the pollsters – the Huskers were only ranked in the top 25 in the AP poll – but there was a whole lot of buzz about Year Two under Scott Frost being the launching pad for a new Big Red Machine.
After all, if Northwestern could play for the Big Ten title like it did in 2018, then why not Nebraska? The schedule didn’t look that bad, QB Adrian Martinez had a year under his belt, the talent level was starting to come together, and …
Nope.
Both lines were mediocre, the offense was way too inconsistent, the explosive plays were duds, and there were too many mistakes and turnovers as the Huskers dropped five of their last six games.
It was the first time Nebraska experienced three straight losing seasons since a rough run from 1956 to 1961.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
The defensive line will be the early issue with three starters gone from the front three, and CB Lamar Jackson is going to be a star at the next level, but just about everyone is back on a defense that now has a little bit of depth, too.
It all comes down to how good Adrian Martinez is. If he’s great in Year Three, the offense should finally be what Husker fans have been waiting for with the potential of ten starters returning.
If Nebraska is close to being Nebraska again, the first half of the schedule is a dream.
Nebraska isn’t supposed to lose at home to Cincinnati, or Purdue, or Illinois, and Nebraska is supposed to win at Northwestern. 7-0 is an attainable goal before a brutal finishing kick, but the possibility is there to at least be the Minnesota of last season with a hot start.
ESPN got it wrong when it did not put Herschel Walker, out of Georgia football, as the greatest CFB player of all time.
I waited two weeks to vent a bit after the release of ESPN’s greatest eleven college football players of all time. I get it…that was an incredibly tough assignment for ESPN to choose the final eleven. Selecting from a pool of over 500,000 athletes from more than 200 schools during a 150-year period was a herculean task and they certainly weren’t going to please everyone.
For the most part, the ESPN panel did an outstanding job of selecting players from the different eras. Although skewed heavily towards running backs, most positions were well represented.
As we all know, the panel of 150 media members, administrators and former coaches and players selected Syracuse running back Jim Brown as the greatest college player and Georgia running back Herschel Walker as the runnerup.
Brown indeed was a magnificent college player. Born on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, he arrived on the Syracuse campus from Manhasset High (Long Island, NY) without a scholarship and left as the the school’s greatest athlete of all time. As a sophomore at Syracuse (1954), Brown was the second-leading rusher for the 4-4 Orangemen. As a junior, he rushed for 666 yards (5.2 per carry) as Syracuse went 5-3 and reached a high of No. 18 in the country. In 1956 during his senior year, Brown was a consensus first-team All-American and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He finished third in the country in rushing with 986 yards, scored 14 touchdowns and led the Orangemen to the Cotton Bowl as Syracuse finished 7-2 and reached No. 8 in the country during the season.
Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
He also was standout defensive back and place kicker in college. Perhaps more impressive was his success as a multisport athlete. In addition to his football accomplishments, he excelled in basketball, track, and especially lacrosse. As a sophomore, he was the second-leading scorer for the Orangemen basketball team (15 ppg), and earned a letter on the track team. During his junior year, Brown finished in fifth place in the decathlon national championshp, averaged 11.3 points per game in basketball, and was named a second-team All-American in lacrosse. His senior year, he was named a first-team All-American in lacrosse (43 goals in 10 games to rank second in scoring nationally) and legendary sportscaster Dick Schapp once commented that Jim Brown was the greatest lacrosse player in history.
Brown went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Browns and many still consider him to be the greatest NFL running back of all time. He had a successful acting career, appearing in over 40 films, and was a champion of social activisim.
As great as Brown was during his three years of varsity football competition at Syracuse, Herschel Walker was simply better. Herschel (like Napolean, Michelangelo, Cher and for our Generation Z readers, Zendaya, specifying the last name is not necessary) was a game changer and a difference maker. Never before had such a package of power, durability and world-class speed been witnessed on the football field. The stats were incredible, but Herschel was more than that… he was transcendental. The legendary tales of running over defenders, sprinting past speedy cornerbacks and soaring over defensive lines in the “missle” play were all true.
After the most heated recruiting battle the nation had seen, Herschel came to Athens from Johnson County High in Wrightsville, Georgia (only 150 miles north of Brown’s birthplace). “My God, a freshman!” exclaimed Larry Munson over the radio during Herschel’s first collegiate game on that sultry summer night in Knoxville in 1980. From the beginning, he carried the Bulldogs to victory, elevated his team to new heights and introduced a new style of running back to the college ranks. He was a three-time consensus All-American, The SEC Player of the Year three consecutive years, winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, the only player in history to finish in the top three in Heisman voting in each of his collegiate seasons and the first “true freshman” to become a first-team All-American.
Some players become great, a select few are legendary and even fewer raise their teams to champions. Herschel took a 6-5 Georgia team that averaged 18.7 points per game in 1979 and led the 12-0 Bulldogs to a national championship with 1,616 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 1980. He led Georgia to a 10-2 record in 1981, another SEC Championship and a national ranking of No. 2. During Walker’s junior year, Georgia (11-1) captured its third consecutive SEC Championship as the Dawgs reached No. 1 in the country again. He totaled 5,259 yards and 49 touchdowns during his 33-game (prior to 2002, bowl games were not included in stats) Georgia career.
In addition, Herschel also was a two-time, NCAA track and field All-American selection. He was a member of the SEC champion 4 × 100 meter relay squad in 1981 and ran a 10.10 seconds 100 meters. While playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, he competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics on the USA Bobled team. Herschel has a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do and in 2010, at the age of 48, won his two MMA contests.
Herschel finished his 12-year NFL career ranked second to Walter Payton in career all-purpose yards. Including his 3 years in the USFL, Herschel has 1,737 more all-purpose yards than all-time leader Jerry Rice (in 5 fewer seasons). How much did Herschel mean to the Dallas Cowboys? The security code at their Valley Ranch facility was 3412 — 34 for Herschel, 12 for Roger Staubach (No. 11 on the ESPN list). Why this man is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — that’s a discussion for another time.
Sep 17, 1989; Atlanta, GA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys running back #34 HERSCHEL WALKER in action against the Atlanta Falcons at Fulton County Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Cowboys 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports (c) Copyright USA TODAY Sports
His physique, his durability, his drive, his speed, power, the humility…. there has always been a certain mystique about Herschel and 37 years since he last carried the ball for Georgia, that mystique is even stronger. No player cast a longer shadow over the rich tradition of college football than Herschel.
To honor 150 years of college football, ESPN’s mandate was to select the all-time greatest college football player….not the greatest all-round athlete or greatest professional player. To that end, they failed. There are four major things in life that are immutable; these unchangeable things include death, taxes, the laws of physics and Herschel Walker being the greatest player in college football history.
Count this as news that came out of nowhere as Pete Thamel of Yahoo is reporting that San Diego State head coach Rocky Long is looking to be a defensive coordinator.
Sources: San Diego State head coach Rocky Long has been shopping himself for college defensive coordinator jobs. That includes Syracuse, where he's visiting today. Dino Babers has an open DC job.
This is very odd that Long who is going to turn 70 in three weeks would leave the head coaching job of San Diego State to take a defensive coordinator job.
First of all, he is doing this all wrong because usually when one gets older they go from cold to warm weather and not the other way around.
Back to being serious, Long is getting up there in age and may want to slow down from being a head coach to being a defensive coordinator. The only school named is Syracuse is odd and if this is true it would stand to believe that he has spoken to other teams.
Also, it should be noted that Long gave a qualifier when discussing this report from Yahoo when speaking to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“As of now, I’m still the head football coach at San Diego State,” Long said.
That ”as of now” is a very interesting phrase to a guy who went to a great length of mental gymnastics when discussing him looking to be a defensive coordinator.
Here is that exchange:
Informed of reports on Twitter, Long said, “I don’t let Twitter speak for me. There’s nothing on Twitter that I said.”
Is Twitter accurate?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t read any Twitter.”
Told that Twitter said he was at Syracuse, Long said, “I haven’t read it, so I’m not commenting.”
What Long would say is: “I haven’t made any obvious changes in my status. The coaching staff comes back from Christmas vacation on Wednesday and we have our first staff meeting and we plan on mapping out where we go from there.”
Long also would not comment on reports he was “shopping” for a defensive coordinator job at a Power Five school.
“I don’t talk about rumors,” he said.
What if Long had read Twitter, would his answer be any different than the short answers that clearly allowed for follow up questions? Also, why not give a full denial from the start instead of taking a handful of questions about the Twitter report?
This all seems very odd that Long would be putting himself out there to take a defensive coordinator role and also his responses are odd to fairly direct questions.
It should be noted that Long was not in the office but the staff was away for Christmas vacation and he said he was talking football but would not divulge with who.
Athletics director John David Wicker released a lengthy statement on this news and tried to spin it as Long spending time with other programs about his 3-3-5 defense. However, usually, those visits are rarely kept private and a lot of time those tours and conversations happen when the opposing team has spring practices.
“We have seen the reports circu
lating today concerning our head football coach Rocky Long. As he does every season, Rocky visits other programs throughout the country to talk about his unique 3-3-5 defense and to get ideas he may wish to implement into our program.
“After every season, as I do with all our programs, I sit down with Rocky to discussways that we can improve our program. We are currently in that process now.
“I am proud of the many successes on and off the field by our football program. We are one of 13 programs to make 10 consecutive bowl seasons and one of just 10 schools to reach double-digit victories in four of the last five seasons.
“As I have stated many times since accepting the position at San Diego State, Rocky Long will be our head coach as long as he wants to be, and Rocky Long is still our head coach.”
Overall, this is one of the wildest offseason news reports that has been out there. Long is a guy who can coach at San Diego State as long as he wants and on a certain level it makes sense he would want to slow down at 70 but he doesn’t want to stop coaching altogether.
