Since the Syracuse Orange left the Big East, the quest for a true “rival” in the ACC hasn’t led to a definitive answer.
We created a trophy for the Boston College series across all sports, but that sort of fell off once BC decided to take a break from revenue sports and Sean continues to hold the bird hostage in Chicago. Clemson’s a fun online “rivalry.” We don’t get along with NC State fans for one reason or another. And then there’s the Pittsburgh Panthers, who the ACC’s thrown at us as a RIVAL, yet we’re not even sure if they’re a (small-r) rival.
With that idea in mind, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is equally curious about what we are to one another. Looking at six years of ACC play so far, the publication is polling Pitt fans about who they consider an in-conference rival. SU’s in the running, of course. But they’re far from the only ones. One writer even differentiates basketball rivalry (Syracuse) vs. football (Virginia Tech). We’ve long had similar ideas of separation by sport. Is that unique to just the Northeast schools, though?
If we’re looking just at ACC schools, the answer for both is probably each other by way of the league’s forced marriage of crossovers and consistent home-and-homes. Pitt’s basketball downturn has been ill-timed, but football’s been competing at a similar level or higher level to SU’s in recent years, and we’ve had plenty of close games (despite the Orange losing most of them...). If Pitt basketball can pick back up to late Big East levels, maybe we have something on our hands.
That, plus the rest of your Syracuse-related links below:
Through six seasons, who is Pitt’s ACC rival? (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Syracuse — Speaking of wild games, the first of three old Big East foes on this list was the opponent for one no Pitt fan will soon forget. The Panthers and Orange combined for a whopping 137 points and 20 touchdowns in a 76-61 Pitt win at Heinz Field in the 2016 regular-season finale for both teams. It shattered a lot of records and defines this series — at least the ACC portion of it.
Ranking the best defensive lines for the 2019 college football season (Bleacher Report)
Synopsis: If Syracuse isn’t the first team that comes to mind when thinking about defense, you aren’t alone. In 2016, the Orange had one of the worst defenses in the nation, allowing more than 500 yards per game. But how could we not include a team that has two returning players with double-digit sacks last year?
Poetry in Motion: ‘Inspiration Can Strike Anywhere,’ Says Pass Rusher, Poet Kendall Coleman ’20 (SYR.edu)
“In those days, I didn’t think rappers were poets, nor did I think Common represented our family’s values,” recalls Nikki, speaking by phone from Indianapolis, where she is a pharmacist for Eli Lilly and Co. “My perspective has changed considerably since then.” Fitting, if not prophetic, that she introduced Coleman to the jazz-tinged poetry of Langston Hughes—notably, his 1922 chestnut “Mother to Son.”
After a public fall, Lazarus Sims looks to resurrect his place in Syracuse community (Syracuse.com)
“I think it hurt him to his core,’’ Timothy Jennings-Bey, a long-time friend and Henninger classmate. “He’s always been such a positive figure in this community. I think this hurt because it wasn’t just about him.’’ Others noticed a change in Sims as well. “He was just really existing,’’ said Daren Jaime, pastor of the People’s AME Zion Church. “You could see it on his face and in his demeanor and in his spirit. He wasn’t living as the Z we knew.’’
Women’s basketball recruiting: No. 2 senior prospect Angel Reese narrows college list to five (ESPNW)
Now the top undeclared senior women’s basketball prospect in the country is busy planning five fall trips. Reese, who declined an invitation to try out for the USA Basketball U19 team so she could spend one last summer with her AAU team, has narrowed her college list from 10 to five. She will take her official visits to Maryland, South Carolina, Southern Cal, Syracuse and Tennessee.
Brownlow’s Twitter Mailbag: Cam Johnson’s draft stock, ACC beer names and more (WRALSportsFan)
Ranking the ACC’s college football coaches for 2019 (Athlon Sports)
Male Athlete of the Year: Joseph Girard III, Glens Falls (Albany Times-Union)
Watch: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim raves about Mike Hopkins, Buddy Boeheim during NABC awards dinner (Syracuse.com)