Syracuse clearly needs wider concourse areas at the Dome

One takeaway from the Syracuse Orange’s loss to Clemson a couple weeks ago was the fact that it was an amazing and sold out crowd — and as has been now been discussed by Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson, that group had a hard time getting around in the Carrier Dome before, during and after the game.

Initially, the Dome renovations included a larger structural adjustment to the venue which included building out new and wider concourses to help alleviate the sort of congestion that plagues some of the building’s more attended football and basketball games. Carlson’s piece talks about some ideas after the Clemson game including closing certain concessions for periods and encouraging people to enter through their tickets’ designated gates — the former sounds like a recipe for longer lines at open vendors. But the latter is in line with most stadiums around the country (as long as it’s enforced).

There are other ideas that can be utilized, sure. Having fans entering in separate waves could help. And again, different gate entries would be ideal and it’s reasonable to just enforce that. But the best solution is also the most expensive one: Expand the concourses. If you can’t push the outer walls of the venue out, then perhaps it’s worth trying to cut into the seating area somewhat? If it cuts 1,000 seats, it’s a small price to pay to make for a safer and more convenient experience for attendees.

Have other ideas? Feel free to share below.

How will Syracuse try to avoid fan pileup that occurred at Clemson game? (Syracuse.com)

“We learned some things at Clemson,” Sala said. “We know we won’t run into those again, probably this year, with the staff and the lines. The noon games are a little tricky because people like to tailgate up until the 11:59. We do struggle with that.” Syracuse did send out a notice during the week before the Clemson game, warning fans that they should plan on arriving at the game early due to the crowd size.

Syracuse defenders break down team’s turnover success (Daily Orange)

This scenario played out in Andre Cisco’s interception against Liberty. As Fredrick played the outside portion of his receiver, he left the inside open, knowing Cisco had help in that direction. When LU quarterback Stephen Calvert threw to what thought was an open receiver escaping from Fredrick, Cisco barreled into the throwing lane for an interception.

While Marek Dolezaj’s broken finger healed, he focused on getting bigger and stronger (Syracuse.com)

But Dolazaj has been philosophical about it. Injuries happen. His, a finger break, lasted a couple months, compared to something more dramatic like an ACL tear or a severely sprained ankle. He could still run, still work out, still eat. Dolezaj said he’s gained 10 pounds and some necessary strength since last season.

Syracuse’s defensive line looks for other ways to disrupt offenses (Daily Orange)

Anecdotally, players and Babers concur that SU brings additional blitzers or creative four-man rushes more than it has before. Particularly early in games, in an effort to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable from the start, SU has brought extra pressure.

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The breadth of those penalties shocked Georgia Tech and Pastner, largely because the school felt it had handled both situations as aggressively as it could have. LaBarrie was fired almost immediately after the school learned about the strip club trip, and Pastner immediately turned in the violations by Bell to the Georgia Tech compliance staff once he learned about them...

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