DA posts his thoughts on the Penn State nws under this post. Check out Anselmos reasoning for setting it up and then more below.
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In a candid interview with The Fizz’s Andrew Kanell that aired on Fizz Radio Saturday, assistant coach John Anselmo gave some very important insight into how the MetLife game is absolutely vital for SU to continue to grow. Unfortunately Syracuse couldn’t pull off the monumental upset of USC, and the debate of whether the Orange should continue to shortchange its CNY fans by playing these huge games at the Meadowlands is shelved for another year. But if you listen to Anselmo, the ends justify the means.
“It’s a heck of a lot easier to recruit players out of New York City and Long Island, when I can tell them we’re going to play in MetLife Stadium against the teams that we’re going to play… and use that to help us in a recruiting situation, where the other teams down there might not be in that same situation.”
This will continue to be enormous for the Orange as it heads to the ACC.
The step up in conference should pay big dividends against Rutgers and UConn. But how about BC, Pitt and Maryland as SU recruits the northeast and mid-atlantic?
“I think it’s very important. Because when we recruited them, we recruited them telling them, ‘Hey, we’re going to be playing at MetLife Stadium, we’re going to play Southern Cal, we got Penn State, we have Notre Dame.’ Young players in the city, on Long Island, they want to play great competition. You tell them you’re playing in a pro venue, the type of teams you’re going to be playing against, it only helps you in the recruiting process.”
“Those kids when they walk into (MetLife) Stadium, they got their parents there, they got their family and friends there, they got their high school coaches there. Most of the (high school) games in the city are played on Saturdays, so it’s hard for those people to get up to see games in the afternoon in Syracuse.”
He understands the concern from upstaters about playing the best games away from the Dome. But he sees it as a huge advantage as they build the brand around NYC.
“Everybody has their own opinion of the game, but from a big picture standpoint, I would understand that the fans would want to see that game in the Carrier Dome. But on the other hand you’re trying to get into the national spotlight, and you’re trying to secure your recruiting base, you have to go against some other schools downstate that are closer to the city. So this is a good footprint for us to solidify that fact that we are New York’s college team.”
Anselmo also gave a surprisingly honest peek into the message SU is selling the in-state players.
“I tell the kids all the time, ‘You want to go to a place out of state, well there’s going to be 20 kids from that state on that roster, in your recruiting class. So what benefit do you have?’”
The experience of this coaching staff in the five boroughs and New York metropolitan area is obviously paying big dividends? Why? Because of trust.
“The one thing that we always say to the players down there and to the coaches: ‘First of all, Doug’s from the Bronx. So he has a city connection. I recruited the city for 30 years at Nassau. Most of those coaches to me have sent players to me when I was at Nassau. Or coaches on their staff have played for me. So you’re not going to have to go introduce yourself when you get into the coach’s office.
“If a high school coach knows that you have people you can trust on a staff and he can call you up and say, ‘Hey listen I sent you a guy and he’s got a problem, can you look into it?’ And if it takes you 2 weeks to call him back, you’ve got a problem. But that’s never going to happen up here. I’ve had the relationships for 30 years with those people, and we like to think that that pays dividends.”
Syracuse may have lost the battle, but it’s winning the war. The Orange is light years ahead of where it was in recruiting when Marrone took over. And these are the reasons why.
* * *
Now we know SU and Penn State will open the season on ABC. Network TV still holds major national cache and for branding and recruiting purposes, this is huge. Here’s more from SU athletics:¬†
“Syracuse Orange will open the season in New York‚Äôs College Classic against Penn State¬†in a game that will be televised nationally on ABC at 3:30p.¬†Tickets, which start at $75, are on sale.”¬†
While there’s always the concern SU will get beat badly by a program as good as Penn State, the rewards far outweigh the risks. Getting in NY, on the national stage, against elitecompetitions is big. Just look at Anselmo’s quotes above. The previous staff may have left but the reasons to do this remain the same. More from SU:
“First-year head coach Scott Shafer welcomes back 11 starters, including five on offense and six on defense, from the 2012 ECAC FBS Team of the Year, as the Orange rides¬†the momentum of two bowl victories in the last three years and the 2012 BIG EAST co-Championship into the Atlantic Coast Conference.¬†The offensive group includes 1,000-yard rusher Jerome Smith, tight end Beckett Wales and three of five starting linemen in center Macky MacPherson, guard Rob Trudo and tackle Sean Hickey.¬† On defense, Jay Bromley returns to anchor the line, while linebackers Marquis Spruill and Dyshawn Davis, cornerbacks Keon Lyn and Ri’Shard Anderson and free safety Jeremi Wilkes will provide Shafer’s defense, which ranked sixth nationally in tackles for a loss in 2012, with veteran experience.”
What’s great about the Penn State series is how it hardens back to the 60s, 70s and 80s when these two school had a bitter football rivalry. It made for some classics.
“The series against Penn State is the longest in Syracuse‚Äôs storied football history. The teams have met 70 times on the gridiron. Syracuse first visited the Meadowlands in 1979, playing two ‚Äòhome‚Äô games, vs. Penn. State and vs. West Virginia, when the Carrier Dome was under construction. The Orange has a 5-4 record in the Meadowlands, including three victories against Rutgers and wins against Wisconsin and West Virginia.”
The match-up marks Syracuse‚Äôs second of 14 games to be played at MetLife Stadium through 2038. The Orange¬†will face Notre Dame twice. Syracuse¬†played Southern California in New York‚Äôs College Classic last year. I know it takes a home game away from the Dome, but I was there last season. I’ll be there again in August. And to me the pros far outweigh the cons.¬†
Posted:DA
191 responses to “Syracuse/Penn State on ABC at 3:30p: Why This Is Big Yet Again”
@ Ron and Russ, not the dame, but I guess I need to meet this long lost cousin of mine. Thanks for the kind words. It still surprises me that people don’t see the value of this game (MetLife, not PSU, but that’s valuable too). @ 4ourty4our (and others) – Trey Klock, Antoine White, Chad Mavety, Eluemunor, Cabinda, Erv Phillips, AJ Long, Chris Clark, Zaire Franklin, Cory Johnson, KJ Williams. These are just a few active recruits that will all be within an hour’s drive of any MetLife game. Then there are the boosters (because things like the new practive facility rely on their money) and well, those two reasons are enough for me. There is a reason we are talking about those kinds of investments in the same breath as games like this. The students at the game were always an issue (even 15-20 years ago when I went as a student). The Dome gets 30K for a SUBB game when they play a top ten opponent. SUFB gets the same number when they play a top 25 team. Maybe that’s all the area supprot they are going to get, it’s just a full house for one setup and half empty for the other. The biggest issue is that no big opponents want to play in the Dome. It is a strange place to play and there isn’t the same access to recruits. ND has robbed us of NYC talent a lot of late. PSU has owned a large chunk of NJ and Eastern PA for a long time. These teams don’t take a lot from Central NY. Michigan is actively lobbying to play us. They don’t want to do it in the Dome. If we want to play that competition, that is the price to pay. It really isn’t about fans in seats. Its boosters and recruiting.
The biggest things about the Dome as a home field advantage are 1)noise, which doesn’t matter if nobody shows and 2)the playing surface. Because of the roof, the Dome is flat. There is no need to pitch water off the field. That affects QB’s depth perception. They tend to think the receivers are closer than they are, because they can see their feet. As a result, they underthrow. We need to be able to take advantage of that. Until we get better on field production, we won’t get butts in seats. We need MetLife games to improve the product. We need a better game day environment to improve attendance too. November tailgating in CNY is tough, especially for students, most of whom don’t have a car or don’t drive to the game.
@Malone;
Like I said earlier,the plain folks just don’t understand the amount of money coming to the university from a game played at MetLife Stadium.
Look,earlier reports after the USC game was played last September,Syracuse recieved $5 million. I expect that they will get that same(amount)payday after they play Penn State in August.
I don’t mind playing teams like Michigan and other major programs,but to travel to their place(only)and not return the favor is criminal in my mind.
Everyone reading your post,people should take note of the list of recruits that you’ve mentioned that Shafer is after and realize just how big and important those names are and would be if they all decided to commit to Syracuse. If they understand football,looking at that list indicates to me that there are 7 (4*) recruits on it. Can you imagine what that would do for the program?
@Ryan Malone;
If your a sports fan and support syracuse University,your going to find this website probably one of the best to participate on.
As you read the many post here your going to come to the conclusion that this group of people are good people.
I want to say “welcome” to the web page and hope you enjoy it as much as the rest of us do.
let me say that this game is going to be a blast. i’m going on j”j tours for this game and i’m pumped about it. i went last year for the usc game and had a absolute blast. didn’t have to worry about driving, parking etc. i think the ticket is 150-200 bucks per person which included the ticket to the game, the ride, and also the tailgate party they hosted. i’m going to say what a great stage this game is for syracuse football to play in the meadowlands. i really enjoyed the game last year and i’m looking foward to going this year. i hope more fans consider going because it really is a good time.
A greyhound should be comfortably handle 50 or a few more as long as no one’s too big or 250+ if I recollect?.100?NO WHERE NEAR it.. 60 tops!!I think theirs 13 rows of 2 seats on the right then the toilet and 14 rows of 2 except for the back seat that you can squeeze 3 in on the left!!Most people have handbags or purses or laptops!No luggage which can go in top rack or underneath compartment!
@Malone,I always enjoy your unique perspective and learn something new each time you post!@Sackster,yes Ron gave me the same rave review of the JJ bus tour people!Said he really enjoyed it!@Ron,and Malone only mentioned a few big names!TE Ryan Izzo of Pope John VV111 and all the Paramus Catholic,Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep recruits of which on those teams alone must be 15 3*/4* targets!
@Malone,Mich is really wanting to crack into the NY/NJ market in a big way ..so much that they agreed to play UConn at the Rent even tho they tried to change it to NJ but UConn refused!A couple of years ago they would have bought out a game at the Rent!!Now that RU’s going B1G look for a lot of opportunity’s to play in NY/NJ!They (B1G)want to brand bigtime in NYC!!
Totally agree that playing those teams is a big recruiting tool but winning some of these games is more importantThis coming first year for Shafer is super crucial for him and the program.There are a few program making recruits on the board and winning might be enough to bring them into the Dome
@Russell MacEachern;
Russell,your right again. Shafer is after a ton of recruits from the three schools that you’ve mentioned.It’s also getting real hectic for me trying to follow all of the recruits that Syracuse has offers out to from recruits located in southern part of NJ.
All anyone has to do to find these players is go to scout.com and look at the list of players listed.
I hope that we can get maybe 5-6 players this year from NJ. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
@Chris,I agree…I think if we can shock Penn St we’ll also turn around the NY/NJ kids who until now seemed to lose faith in us!! Beating PSU could open the floodgates for us!!!
Ron,I get the sense THIS is the year we get multiple good commits out of NJ and after that nothing can stop us but losing!!
Ron,I didn’t even MENTION St Peters Prep or St Joe’s(Montvale) where there are another 10/14 D1 3*/4* type kids!!NJ is a goldmine and that’s not mentioning S.Jersey or the public’s!!
Beating Penn State was always a hoe in my memories growing up in Syracuse. I never liked Paterno for the stand he took which pretty much forced the games to a halt for too many years . Watching his ass get kicked in 1987 was extremely satisfying. I remember the look on his face when he knew he was not going away with a win. Now there are other more important reasons not to like his memoryThanks to Sandusky and Paterno the name of that institution will always conjure the knowledge of their unthinkable actions and inactions.
@Russell MacEachern;
I do remember the names of those other schools that you’ve memtioned and I believe that here a couple of big time WR’s that Shafer is after that goes to those schools.
After talking to you at the beginning of the year about recruits like DE Kurt Holuba(Bergen Catholic HS) Oradell, NJ and others you directed me to read about the history of Don Dosco and Bergen Catholic High Schools. I’ve followed all of the recruits from NJ Russell,and all I have to say is we’re after a ton of recruits from that area.
Like I’ve posted earlier,we the fans are going to be pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of recruits that commit to Syracuse at the end of the year. The winds of change are a blowing across the football fields at Syracuse University. After we beat Penn State,the noise your going to hear is me yelling that we’re back and to the ACC you better be ready. After we beat Clemson they will probably hear me screaming out in California.
If my prediction gets full filled people, be prepared because this website is going to be “just a jumping”. My enthusiasm/excitement will have no boundries. Just warning all of you ahead of time is all.
Boy I wish the damn games started tomorrow.
@Russell MacEachern;
Russell you and I are on the same page.I’m with you all the way bro; Just think about beating Penn State and Clemson in the same year.
PRICELESS,absolutely PRICELESS.
GO CUSE;
@Russell MacEachern;
Syracuse has offers out to 16 different recruits from the state of NJ. I don’t remember GROB or Marrone having that many during their combined time here.
Terry just to let you know I also believe that Shafer and company has offers out to just about every football prospect within NY State. syracuse is recruiting the south eastern region of PA and is going hard after prospects out of Maryland. And we shouldn’t forget the 15-20 recruits that have offers from Syracuse that live in Illinois,Georgia,Florida,Michigan,California,Arizona and Deleware.
Looks like he’s going back and recruiting the territories that made Syracuse a force to be reckoned with during the 70’s,80’s and 90’s.
Watch out Fla ST…..Get ready for da Pain!!!da “Cuse” is coming and I don’t mean maybe!!!1st stop PSU in the “Massacre in the Meadowland’s”!!!
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