Syracuse 38, Maine 14: The Nassibening

Earlier in the day Saturday, I had gone hiking in Mt. Rainier National Forest when I was lucky enough to come across those three black bears you see over there.

Now normally in this situation, I would attack the bears, kill them, skin them, consume their raw flesh, offer up their hearts as a sacrifice to Kali, wear their skins while I do a Maori war dance and wear their innards as jewelery. I think we can all agree that's par for the course.

Then, I thought better of it. Because I knew that, later on, Syracuse was going to murder 70 or so Black Bears inside the Carrier Dome. And so, I let them pass, just this once.

For a little while there, I was regretting my kind gesture. However in the end it was the right thing to do as the Syracuse took down the Maine Black Bears 38-14.

I'll hand it to the Bears. When they find something that works, they stick with it until its beaten into the ground. If trick plays worked last year, by God, let's run trick plays until we do it so often they're no longer considered trick plays. That's the Maine gameplan.

And if you're going to start the game with a trick play, there's no better unit than the Syracuse special teams to try it against. I'm 90% sure Bob Casullo hasn't even met with the kick coverage team this year. I don't even know if he's aware we have one.

We'll get to the links and vids in a second but first a couple notes.

Ryan Nassib - Impressive, young Skywalker. Very impressive. Now if you can do something like that against, say, Pittsburgh, we're in business.

Jose Cruz - The class TE dedicated his touchdown catch to Aaron Weaver, who's season ended this week with a torn ACL.

Nick Provo - Nice to see you again, Nick. Stay a while. Mingle.

The Usual Suspects on Defense - Chandler Jones (7 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) and Derrell Smith (9 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble) doin' work.

Malcolm Cater - He's one of the freshman that a lot of people have been wondering about. Wonder no more. Cater took advantage of the playing time given, getting five tackles and a sack. Plus, dude's basically going to own The Bone for the next three years.

First half issues aside, this is what SU needed. A convincing win over an opponent it should win convincingly over. No need for a parade just yet, but we're on the right track.

SU-Maine Recap: The Sunny Side...Brent Axe

SU-Maine Recap: The Dark Side...Brent Axe

SU-Maine Recap: This, That, and The Other Thing...Brent Axe

SU-Maine Recap: Which Half Will You Remember?...Brent Axe

The choice is yours: Dwell on the awful start or the Syracuse University football team's response...Dave Rahme

Olivero: Poor early play from SU illustrates lingering weaknesses...Daily Orange

After loss of Weaver for season, SU receiving corps steps up in win...Daily Orange

Ten 1st-half penalties draw Marrone's ire after game...Daily Orange

GRIN AND BEAR IT: After rocky 1st half, Syracuse rallies to blowout victory over Maine...Daily Orange

Welcome Everybody to the Ryan Nassib Show!!...CuseConnection

Syracuse vs. Maine Recap: Horror Story Has Happy Ending...Otto's Army

Monday Morning Quarterback 9/20/10...Orange44

A Work in Progress: Syracuse - Maine Observations...Three Idiots on Sports

Record Setter: Nassib Throws Five TDs...SUAthletics.com   

Nolan Weidner hangs out while Bud Poliquin recaps the SU-Maine game:

Orange Win Home Opener

Syracuse vs. Maine Football: Coach Marrone Post-Game Press Conference

The D.O. guys go discuss the win over Maine: