Author: Damon Amendolara
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Syracuse Fails Again to Nab Quad 1 Win vs. Virginia
When it comes to Quad 1 wins, Syracuse just can’t seem to deliver. Another chance at a high-quality victory slipped through the Orange grasp 67-62 at the Dome against Virginia. Jayden Gardner had 17 points and drilled a jumper in the final minute as the 6th-ranked Cavs overcame SU. The Orange had a second-half surge but ultimately…
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Syracuse Can’t Afford the Big Time After Tony White’s Departure
Dino Babers is the coach, but Tony White was the reason Syracuse took its massive step forward this season. His departure for Nebraska hurts a lot. White’s defense immediately improved when he arrived, and that side of the football is what kept SU in so many games this year. After a 7-5 season, how many…
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CBS Sports Leaves Boeheim Out of Top 20 Coaches Ranking
Nearly 50 years on the sideline, a national championship, 5 Final Fours, and a Sweet 16 just 18 months ago, isn’t enough to impress CBS Sports. In a ranking of the top 25 coaches in college basketball, Jim Boeheim came in at #22. Yikes. Boeheim was slotted below second-year coaches Hubert Davis (19) and Tommy…
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Harsh Twitter Reaction After Syracuse Is Handed Third-Straight Loss By Pitt
After the good vibes following a 6-0 start, the Syracuse season has come to a screeching halt. Three straight losses, all by different measures, has the Orange wondering if there will even be another victory this season. At 6-3, there’s still three more chances to up the win total and separate this season from just…
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Syracuse’s Defense Was Let Down By The Collapse Around It
College football fans and media around the country will wake up today and see 38 points hung by Notre Dame at the Dome. They’ll assume Syracuse is getting exposed for the shaky 16th-ranked team that it is. They’ll figure the first six weeks of the season were luck, and now the reality is setting in.…
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How will the turmoil of Kanye’s Donda Academy affect recruiting?
In the wake of Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks, his Donda Academy is on life support. It always appeared like a shaky house of cards. A pop-up education ecosystem created by one of the most polarizing and mercurial celebrities was going to last? But it did exist, and it did field a basketball team. And drawn…
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National Outlet Claims Syracuse “Wasted a Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity”
Syracuse took #5 Clemson down to the wire, but not every one believes it was a moral victory or validation for questions surrounding the 6-0 start. CBS Sports writer Shehan Jeyarajah lamented the chance SU let slip away. He chose to make Syracuse one of his losers in the Week 8: Winners & Losers column:…
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Here’s Where CBS Sports Ranks Syracuse After the Thriller vs. Clemson
If any of the doubters watched Syracuse battle tooth-and-nail at Clemson, they’d have to change their tune. (Here’s The Fizz’s reaction from yesterday’s game). For those who have assumed SU’s 6-0 start to the season was luck, mediocre competition and backup QBs, Saturday was a stamp of respect. While the Tigers might not be the…
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College Football is Having Its Bounce Back
The power of college football is undeniable. We have become a football-obsessed country, and while we tolerate and sometimes celebrate other sports, we do not smother them like we do football. The highest-rated television series last year was Sunday Night Football. The second was Thursday Night Football. The difference between first and third (“NCIS”) was an…
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Pack Your Bags for El Paso, Syracuse is Going to the Sun Bowl: CBS Sports
Syracuse is off to its best start in decades, and a massive matchup with #5 Clemson looms next. But it’s time to reap some of the spoils of the Orange 6-0 start. The school is printing up “bowl eligible t-shirts,” which is pretty hysterical. But it’s proof of just how dark days had gotten that…
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Does a Top 25 Ranking Prove Babers Have the Right Formula?
Somehow, someway, Syracuse is ranked. At 5-0, the Orange are ranked #21 in the Coach’s Poll and #22 in the AP. Coming into the year five wins would’ve been a likely season total, and many wondered whether the Dino Babers experiment was flickering at the end. Instead, the Orange have a Cinderella season, great vibes,…
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Syracuse’s Hopes for College Gameday are Now Gone
The exhilarating start to the season has stirred dreams of ESPN’s College Gameday making its first ever appearance at Syracuse. The Orange have come close to hosting of the sport’s most visible and popular show, but it’s never quite come to fruition. The 4-0 record combined with a gimme win over Wagner this weekend will…
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Is This the Beginning of a Magical Syracuse Season?
Another week, another Syracuse win. Another win, another thriller. The Orange are 4-0, and fans are starting to wonder just how far SU can go. By virtue of the win over Virginia on Friday night, SU is almost guaranteed to still be undefeated by mid-October. Next up is Wagner, a game the Orange simply can’t…
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Is Syracuse Getting Disrespected For Its Win Over Purdue?
Garrett Shrader threw the pass. Oronde Gadsden caught the pass and got a foot in bounds. Syracuse showed resiliency throughout the afternoon. The Orange counterpunched every time they trailed in the fourth quarter, and the offense has been a breath of fresh air compared to recent years. So why does it seem some observers still…
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Why did the NFL keep Monday Night away from Bills fans for 13 years?
The Bills are probably the best team in football, and proved it with another ass-kicking of a playoff hopeful Monday night. Buffalo blasted the Titans, last year’s top seed in the AFC, 41-7. Which opponent is going to slow down the Bills is the biggest question in the NFL right now. Incredibly, the blowout was…
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After Felony Arrest is Emoni Bates Becoming a Tragic Story?
The story of Emoni Bates used to be an incredibly positive one with a perpetually upward trajectory. He was the most well-known recruit in the nation. He was the cover boy of Sports Illustrated. He was the superstar staying home to play for a Hall of Fame head coach. He was revered as a prep…
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At 3-0 Here’s the Projections for the Rest of Syracuse’s Schedule
After a wild finish at the Dome over Purdue, Syracuse is 3-0. Garrett Shrader’s first half was rough, but after halftime he came alive and threw the perfect pass to Oronde Gadsen to win the game. As we dissected on the Fizz, Shrader’s development into a star this season has been the best thing that…
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Why Garrett Shrader’s success could change SU football
Don’t look now but Pro Football Focus’ team graded Garrett Shrader as the highest rated QB of the week after the beat down of UConn. He was PFF’s offensive player of the week for his 5 TD day. They noted his 94.5 overall grade because of a perfect 16/16 when there was no pressure, and…
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Why did Zion Cruz – Jersey kid and top-50 recruit – choose DePaul?
The recruitment of Jersey City’s Zion Cruz was always a mysterious one. As the rest of the ’22 Class committed around him, Cruz was the outlier, remaining untethered. As of December, he was one of only 3 in the top 30 who hadn’t chosen a school yet. It would still be another two months, in…
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Is Dino Babers Already Off the Hot Seat?
It’s been a fun start to the season for Syracuse. A surprising demolition of Louisville at the Dome, and a (suddenly) predictable blowout of pathetic UConn makes the Orange 2-0. SU will garner even more votes for the Top 25, and will find itself with optimism and some shock around the nation that the program…
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Should Syracuse Stop the Charade and Run the Option?
Central New York’s worst kept secret is that the Syracuse offense is ugly. When SU needed one win in its final three games to become bowl eligible it scored a total of 34 points in a string of blowout losses. This is a massive concern because the head coach supposedly is a top-level offensive mind,…
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Is Syracuse Too Cheap to Fire Babers?
The short answer is yes. Look around and you see examples of how Syracuse athletics needs to constantly shop on the discount racks. “Jim Boeheim makes a plea to Syracuse fans to step up their NIL donation game” is a headline that blared at the Post-Standard’s website last week. Obviously, legendary coaches at larger, more…
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Rising Guard Elijah Gertrude is Major Piece in Syracuse’s Recruiting Wars
Elijah Gertrude is on Syracuse’s turf. He’s a star on the Albany City Rocks AAU team. He’s a dynamic playmaker for Jersey City-based Hudson Catholic. And he’s being recruited by a slew of SU’s most important recruiting rivals. This one is a big one for the Orange, and Jim Boeheim knows it. At Peach Jam,…
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Bad News for Syracuse, Big Ten is Not Considering the Orange
The conference realignment murmurs have grown into flat out paranoia (“a mass exodus”) in many circles, as programs wonder what their future is. At stake, a spot with the “have’s” at the college football table, a place where dishes are passed around with $75M checks under them. Syracuse’s ACC revenue is significant, and many could…
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One CFB Analyst Predicts “Mass Exodus” from ACC in Realignment
It’s been nearly a month since the dominos fell with USC and UCLA headed to the Big Ten. Since, everyone has braced for the next set of schools to fall. Is it Oregon and Washington? Will the Big 12 and Pac-12 eventually merge (right now the answer is no)? So far, it’s been quiet. And…
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UCLA and USC Just Signaled the Death of the Power Five
While college athletics has been a mutating industry since its dawn (Alabama was once in the SoCon), our current iteration is now dead. The concept of a Power 5 is no longer after USC and UCLA’s decision to flee to the Big Ten. Perhaps that’s for the best since the idea of enough elite football…
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Did Syracuse Strategically Ask For Florida State as a Rival?
The ACC did something extremely smart. It ripped up the old two division format, and created a 3-5-5 scheduling system for football. Instead of a winner coming from the Atlantic and Coastal to meet in the ACC Championship Game, the two best teams in the league will clash. To schedule a one-division league, each team…
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Syracuse Needs 5-Star Ian Jackson to Bring the NYC Swagger Back
The move to the ACC will always be a tortured one for Syracuse fans. Of course, everyone realizes the survival of the program as a Power 5 football school meant it was a necessity. Had the Orange not jumped ship to the ACC it would have been left for dead like UConn, scrambling for a…
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Can Boeheim’s Successor Tap Into The Overflowing Jersey Pipeline?
The New York Times ran a piece Tuesday about the incredible basketball talent pumping out of the Garden State. The story, “‚ÄòJersey Is Taking Over‚Äô: N.J. Hoopers Outshine the Shadow of New York,” highlights all of the top-end recruits playing in New Jersey. “In addition to (Elliott) Cadeau ‚Äî the No. 7 player in the…
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Buyers Beware on Emoni Bates Transfer and His Dad’s Overreach
Back in February we analyzed the bizarre downturn of Emoni Bates. One of the most hyped prep stars in 20 years was a sore spot for Memphis, and would need another rehab assignment before entering the NBA Draft. The Tigers finished strong with a run to the American title game and a win in the…
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New Syracuse QB Del Rio-Wilson Called “First Class” By SEC Coach
Quarterback has been a source of angst for SU fans for years. As the Orange have struggled to get their footing for the last three years, the play under center has been the biggest inconsistency. Garrett Shrader showed promise at times last season, but the transfer of Carlos Del Rio-Wilson certainly makes things more interesting.…
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Judah Mintz’s Commitment Helps Boeheim Leave SU on Higher Ground
Jim Boeheim is crusty and cranky. He scoffs at your criticisms, he belittles the critics. He has run Syracuse basketball’s kingdom for nearly 50 years, and he will remind you of it every chance he gets. Boeheim’s record is impregnable. His status as an icon is unmovable. But his effectiveness has seemed to wear thin…
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Syracuse’s Blowout Loss to Duke is the Final Humiliation for a Limping Program
The season from hell walked right up to the Gates of Hades and asked the Devil to punch it in the face. The Devil, smiling in his red cape and holding that flaming pitchfork, obliged. He looks an awful lot like that Duke mascot, to be honest. Syracuse’s ever-collapsing ’21-’22 continued to splinter with an…
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Did Emoni Bates’ Dad Sink the Best Prep Star of the Decade?
There is no debate that Emoni Bates’ much-anticipated college career has been wildly underwhelming. The prep star with an SI cover story at just 15-years old is now just a bystander as Memphis has turned around its season without him. Bates has a supposed back issue that has kept him out of the lineup (or…
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Chris Bunch Skyrockets Up Recruit Rankings, Insiders See Star
It’s hard to jump from a top 200 recruit to a top 100. It’s even harder to jump from unranked to top 60, but that’s exactly what has happened to Syracuse commit Chris Bunch. While this season has proven painful for plenty of SU fans, next year’s class provides the hope of renewed excellence. The…
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Did Syracuse’s Win over NC State Recharge the Offense?
We know Syracuse’s defense is a problem, and one that won’t be fixed this season. We’re into February, just a month away from the ACC Tournament, and the zone is what the zone is. Unfortunately, it’s filled with guys who aren’t fast enough to their spots, nor rangy enough to play great defense once they…
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