Author: Francesco Simone
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Fizz Report Cards: Syracuse Handles Virginia Tech, 84-71
That’s three wins in a row for Syracuse. With March approaching, the Orange are getting hot at the right time. What once looked like hopeless tournament prospects are now still bleak, but at least give SU fans a chance to dream. An 84-71 win over Virginia Tech is the latest step on the climb, giving…
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Fizz Report Cards: Syracuse Dismantled by North Carolina, 103-67
On a day where you couldn’t really do anything else because of the weather, Syracuse subjected its fans to the worst performance of the season. SU got boat raced by North Carolina from start to finish, ending in a 103-67 final at the Dean Dome. Let’s hand out some (predictably bad) report cards. Coaching Staff…
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Fizz Five 12/29: SU Football Trio Returns, Most Important MBB Games & Pitt Preview
Francesco Simone and Liam Griffin connect for the final Fizz Five of 2023 to break down the latest headlines on the hill. 1. SU Football trio returns (1:01-8:31)2. Could Duce Chestnut return to Syracuse? (8:31-14:17)3. Most important games left on MBB schedule (14:17-25:21)4. Pitt preview (25:21-33:00)5. What constitutes a good two-game stretch for SU? (33:00-close)
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Fizz Five 12/16: Georgetown Recap, A former Orange Surprises in the Pros and Oregon Preview
Francesco Simone and Adam Gotkin hop on the mics to discuss a quiet week on the field/court for Syracuse athletics, but a loud one off of it. 1. Georgetown (2:00)2. Fran Brown Recruiting (10:00)3. Women’s Basketball’s Fast Start (17:00)4. Tommy Cutlets (26:00)5. Oregon in South Dakota (35:30)
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Fizz Five 11/27: Hectic Football Time & Maui Invitational Recap
Liam Griffin and Francesco Simone recap a hectic week+ in SU Athletics. 1. Dino Babers Fired (1:09-7:19)2. Wake Forest Recap (7:19-12:41)3. Maui Invitational Recap (12:41-17:43)4. LSU Preview (17:43-22:47)5. Where Could SU Go Bowling (22:47-close)
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Fizz Five 11/11: Syracuse vs Pitt, Donne Freeman Officially Signs, Man vs Zone
Adam Gotkin and Francesco Simone get together to talk all things Syracuse Sports. 1. Pitt Football Preview (1:05)2. Donnie Freeman Officially Signs (9:37)3. Man vs Zone Defense So Far (16:05)4. JJ Starling Early Season Struggles (24:08)5. Is Naheem McCloud The Guy At The Five? (29:00)
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Fizz Report Cards: Syracuse Downs Canisius 89-77
Again, maybe closer than it needed to be, but again, a win over a mid-major opponent for Syracuse, who downed Canisius 89-77 to move to 2-0 on the year. Plenty of good and certainly some bad as well, so let’s hand out some grades: JJ Starling B If you want to talk about physical talent,…
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Benny Williams at ACC Tipoff is a Good Sign
With the college basketball season just a couple of weeks away, we’ve reached another of those offseason markers that indicate the approach of the new season. ACC Tipoff, which is just media day with a fancy title, is October 25 for the conference’s men’s squads. Each team brings its head coach and a collection of…
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Fizz Report Cards: Syracuse Boat Raced by North Carolina, 40-7
That was about as hard a football game to watch as you’ll find. Syracuse gets curb stomped by North Carolina in a game that never really was one. We knew last week’s matchup with Clemson, today against UNC and next week’s trip to Florida State would be a gauntlet, but you at least hoped the…
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Fizz Five 10/6: Syracuse vs. North Carolina, Receiving Questions, Basketball Recruiting Roundup
Francesco Simone and Adam Gotkin connect for another edition of Fizz 5 to break down all the headlines within SU Athletics: 1. Previewing Tomorrow’s Football Game vs North Carolina (1:05)2. What do the Receiving Options Look Like Now? (9:37)3. How Does Syracuse Football Avoid a Late Season Collapse? (17:12)4. What do we Think of Syracuse’s…
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Fizz Five 9/22: Oronde Gadsden, Syracuse vs. Army, Rising Expectations
Syracuse football is 3-0 in back to back seasons for the first time since 1959-60. Tyler Aitken and Francesco Simone hop on the mics to break it all down in this week’s edition of Fizz Five.
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Garrett Shrader Can’t Survive This Offense
Garrett Shrader did what he needed to do for Syracuse to win on Saturday. That’s the biggest headline that came out of SU’s road win over Purdue, only Dino Babers’ 7th in 32 tries on the road against power five opponents as the Orange’s head coach. With Oronde Gadsden out for the season with a…
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Dino Babers Coached A Good Game Against Western Michigan
Dino Babers gets criticized a lot. Often, it’s for fair reasons. Whether it stems from recruiting struggles or his team being undisciplined. However, when he succeeds, he deserves to be praised, and right now is one of those times. Babers coached a great game on Saturday in Syracuse’s 48-7 win over Western Michigan. It began…
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Fizz Report Cards: Syracuse Boat Races Western Michigan 48-7
Another week, and another blowout for Syracuse. SU took a step up in competition, moving from the FCS with Colgate to the MAC with Western Michigan. It didn’t seem to matter. Jalen Buckley gave Orange fans a scare with a 75-yard touchdown run on the Broncos’ second play from scrimmage, but after that, it was…
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The ACC had a Great Weekend
It was quite the weekend for the ACC. First, the conference voted to allow Stanford, Cal and SMU to join. It plunged the ACC into the arms race that is conference realignment, picking up the scraps of a soon to be dissolved Pac 12 and adding a major market team from Dallas in SMU. While…
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Syracuse Offer 2026 Recruit Anthony Brown
The connections between Syracuse basketball and the DMV have been strong for a few years now, and Adrian Autry is trying to solidify them further. With a top 10 class early in the 2024 cycle and plenty of offers already pouring in for 2025, SU has thrown its hat into the 2026 ring. Syracuse has…
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Damien Alford is Primed for a Breakout Year
A year ago, conventional wisdom said that if Syracuse was going to have a breakout receiver that would differentiate himself as the number one option in the passing game, it would be Damien Alford. He was coming off a 2021 season where he flashed. He caught a 70 yard touchdown early in the year against…
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What Does Success Look Like for Garrett Shrader?
Garrett Shrader took a massive leap forward last year. The numbers prove that, with the QB throwing for 1,200 more yards than he did the year prior, while his touchdowns jumped by eight and his interceptions only by three. His yards per attempt mark was 8.3 after it mired at 6.2 in his first season…
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Oronde Gadsden Named To ESPN’s Top 100 Payers List
The preseason accolades keep rolling for Oronde Gadsden. Syracuse’s top offensive target has already been named a preseason first team all-ACC selection and a member of the Maxwell Award watch list, given to the most outstanding player in college football. Now, Gadsden has been named one of ESPN’s top 100 players in college football entering…
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The Potential “Turning Point” Games in Syracuse’s Schedule
Before any team’s season, you can usually pick out a few games that you chalk up as wins, some that you figure will be losses and others that are toss ups. That’s certainly the case with Syracuse this fall. SU faces Colgate, Western Michigan and Army in the first four weeks of the season. Conventional…
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LeQuint Allen Named to Preseason Doak Walker Watchlist
LeQuint Allen is eligible to play for Syracuse this Fall, and is already receiving praise on a national stage. SU’s new bellcow running back was named to the Doak Walker award watch list, one of 75 preseason candidates to win the award for best running back in the nation. Allen is set to be a…
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Should the ACC Add Stanford and Cal?
Conference realignment continues to dominate the landscape of college football. The Pac 12 has all but collapsed, with key schools Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announcing their intentions to leave this week, after UCLA and USC already did so last year. There were only four schools left without a chair as the music…
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Syracuse Not Among Four-Star Mikey Lewis’ Top 6
The momentum around Syracuse recruiting has been high over the last six months, but it took a bit of a hit this weekend. Mikey Lewis, a 2024 four star guard who SU offered, released his top six options, and the Orange are not one of them. Lewis is a 6’3 170 pound combo guard from…
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Analytics Give Syracuse 7% Chance at ACC Title Game
This year marks the beginning of a new era of ACC football. The Atlantic and Coastal divisions have been abolished, and the participants in the conference title game will be determined by overall record against ACC opponents. The schedule format has changed as well, with the ACC adopting a 3-5-3 approach. That sees each school…
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Syracuse Offers 2025 Four-Star DeMarco Johnson
There’s still plenty of work to do for Syracuse when it comes to recruiting for the class of 2024, but why not look ahead to 2025 as well? The Orange have offered four-star guard DeMarco Johnson, listed at 6’2 155, from Castaic, California. Johnson is 247Sports’ 97th best player in the class of 2025 and…
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CBB Analyst has High Hopes for Williams and Starling
Jon Rothstein is one of the more respected voices in college basketball, and he has weighed in on the state of the ACC as we continue through the offseason. Rothstein ranked Syracuse as the 10th best team in the conference, but he did show some love to two SU players. Benny Williams made his list…
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Marcus Adams Jr. Requests NLI Release From Kansas
Syracuse’s recruiting has been highly successful in the 2024 cycle. Elijah Moore, a top 100 four-star guard, committed in January and Adrian Autry held onto him once he took over as head coach. Autry was Moore’s lead recruiter while working under Jim Boeheim. Then, Autry secured a commitment from Donnie Freeman, a top 40 player…
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Former SU Recruit Daniels Named Preseason Big 12 OPOY
A former Syracuse prospect is continuing to make waves with Kansas. Jalon Daniels was named preseason Big 12 offensive player of the year as he prepares for his fourth season as the Jayhawks’ quarterback. Daniels was not heavily recruited out of Lawndale, California in the class of 2020. He was a three star prospect and…
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Donnie Freeman Shines at Peach Jam
One of the premier AAU tournaments of the year is over, and it was a big one for Syracuse commit Donnie Freeman. His Team Takeover won the 2023 EYBL Peach Jam with a 76-61 victory over Vegas Elite yesterday. Freeman didn’t start the title game, but was red hot in the second half, scoring 11…
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New York State Passes NIL Law
The NCAA in the age of NIL can be best compared to the Wild West. There are laws, but they aren’t enforced except in select circumstances with miniscule punishments, meaning that, for all intents and purposes, everyone can essentially do whatever they want. The main rule surrounding NIL is that the schools themselves can’t facilitate…
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Jesse Edwards Staying at West Virginia
The Jesse Edwards saga part two is over. After transferring to West Virginia early in the offseason, questions swirled around Edwards’ future after former Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins resigned following a DUI arrest. After that, there were plenty of questions surrounding the program. West Virginia had brought in a slew of transfers, and many…
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What Else Does Syracuse Have at Running Back?
LeQuint Allen’s future is certainly in doubt. We’ll see what happens in the court system regarding his suspension, but the possibility that he doesn’t play for Syracuse this year, or ever again, is certainly there. So, while we wait for clarity on what Allen’s future holds, let’s examine what else Syracuse has at running back.…
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Syracuse Adds 2024 4-Star QB Jakhari Williams
For the second time in a week, Syracuse has secured a commitment from a class of 2024 quarterback. This time, it’s Jakhari Williams, a four star, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Williams 6’2 188 pounds from Macon, Georgia. The composite rankings list him as the 16th best quarterback in the class and 330th best player…
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Fizz Five 6/24: Judah and JJ’s Draft Chances, Who’s the Starting Center, and Receiver Room Questions
Fizz Five is back with Francesco Simone and Adam Gotkin breaking down everything going on in the SU athletics world. 1. Judah Mintz and JJ Starlings 2024 draft chances (1:08-10:20)2. Maliq Browns chances of starting at center (10:20-18:39)3. What defense with Adrian Autry play next year? (18:39-25:24)4. Is Dino Babers on the hot seat? (25:24-33:06)5.…
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What to Expect From Oronde Gadsden’s Supporting Cast
There aren’t many certainties when it comes to a largely overhauled Syracuse roster heading into the fall, but one of them is that Oronde Gadsden is the number one pass catching option. Gadsden had nearly 1,000 yards last year, nobody else even reached 500. Gadsden will surely be the top option again, and, if spring…
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2024 QB Brandon Zurbrugg Commits to Syracuse
Syracuse has gotten a commitment from a quarterback in the class of 2024. Brandon Zurbrugg, an unranked prospect from Ohio has said he plans to attend Syracuse starting next year. Zurbrugg is 6’3 180 pounds and doesn’t have a star attached to his ranking, according to 247Sports. He’s from Alliance, Ohio and attends Alliance High…
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