There's not too much of a demand nationally for a Syracuse-Akron showdown so the game could pretty much call its own shot in terms of gametime. And so, it will be 3:30pm EST when the two teams face-off next weekend.
When they do, you can pretty much expect Greg Paulus to be the one handling the snaps, like it or not. And if you don't like it, Donnie Webb is wondering why you're so worked up over it?
So much ire and resentment directed at quarterback Greg Paulus by some SU fans after he was benched at halftime against West Virginia. What's that all about? It's one thing to love the back-up QB, but the downright glee some seem to wallow in over watching Greg stumble is puzzling and frankly, rather sad.
I think part of this is that hope had been elevated by the way Syracuse played through the first four games and even through much of the game against South Florida. When it came apart because of the run of interceptions and the bad game against West Virginia, there was hell to be paid and Paulus held the cash register
Donnie himself points out the contradiction in Greg Paulus' performance so far this season. SU's passing offense is 55th in the nation, a stark improvement from 113th last year. However, Paulus has also thrown 10 interceptions, which ranks him 115thout of 120 FBS schools.
ESPN's Ivan Maisel, like many, took note of Paulus' situation and couldn't help but think of his time at Duke as a comparison:
This sounds familiar. Greg Paulus starts with great fanfare and performs to match it. But as his career progresses, he doesn’t improve. That is what happened over four years as a point guard at Duke. He only has a year to play quarterback at Syracuse, but halfway through his "career," Paulus got benched Saturday against West Virginia. Coach Doug Marrone said that Paulus, not sophomore Ryan Nassib, who threw two touchdowns in the second half, remains the starter.
The truth is that, for the time being, the reaction below is exactly how most Syracuse fans act out when they hear the world Paulus. Excitement, trepidation, fear, uncertainty and a whole lot of arm-flailing.
Of course, most of us are wearing pants when we hear it. For the best, really.