Let The Rejuvenating Begin...

We are officially at the 24-hour mark.  Set your phasers to Please-God-Don't-Let-This-Be-Like-The-Washington-Game-Two-Years-Ago.

There's probably a lot going through Greg Paulus' head, including whether or not his head will be going through the Dome turf tomorrow.  But he took the time to sit down with Dave Rahme and talk about the oppurtinity ahead of him:

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play basketball at Duke for Coach K, one of the best ones in the America. I think it is the best. Obviously I'm a little biased. But to have the opportunity . . . there are not a lot of people who get the opportunity to play two sports. And to do it at two different places and two places I love with two sports I love, it's just humbling and it's an honor to be able to represent Syracuse in this way.

Don[t ever say the guy's heart isn't in it.  And it's evident to many of his teammates and coaches:

"The thing that stood apart, the first time you meet Greg Paulus, is he's a competitor," center Jim McKenzie.

"I think he processes information really rapidly. He has a high athletic IQ." - offensive coordinator Rob Spence

"He's got like that competitive nature about him. He's a collegiate athlete veteran. He's got that wisdom you only get, like a senior wisdom. He portrays that on the field." - Ryan Nassib

Though, I do get the feeling being a "collegiate athlete veteran" is a little like being the guy who hold a lifetime hitting record in the minor leagues.

There's been quite a few predictions so far but Brent Axe sets the tone for the season with his over/under list that includes some obvious stat expectations but also some uniques ones as well...

Number of Hookah Bars opened by current players: 1 (under)

Times Doug Marrone uses the word "tremendous" at press conferences: 100 (way, way over)

Times Doug Marrone talks about his team's "have to" at press conferences: 3 (under)

Times Doug Marrone reads "The Little Engine That Could" at a presser: 1 (under)

Times Brent Axe will call Doug Marrone "Greg" at a press conference: 3 (*sigh*...over)

Agreed on all counts.  Especially the last one.

If you're attending the game tomorrow, the Syracuse Police Department would appreciate it if you arrived earlier than later.  They'd probably appreciate it even more if you didn't drive, so, work that out if you can.  Green the Dome...or something.  Donnie has posted the schedule for the day, which includes the Quad festivities, local band Stroke's performance time and when all of the ceremonies will go down before the game.

If you find yourself in the car and have satelite radio, the game will air live on Channel 103 for XM subscribers, and Ch. 127 on SIRIUS.

Finally, Dave Rahme previews the game here and with that, you should be up to speed.  As you know, we'll be here live-blogging so stop by if you can and say hi/cheer/complain/etc.  If you're looking for a place to watch the game across the nation, you can probably find it here.

I'm around today and I'll do some post-game updates tomorrow but after that I'm most likely gone til Tuesday.  Hopefully, not stewing.