Since we don’t have any current sports on the docket, and we don’t have any current iterations of NCAA Football, we’ll be continuing to play through the Syracuse Orange football season on NCAA Football 13 for the PlayStation 3.
Check out the rest of the series here.
Here we are, five games into the virtual season, and the Orange have done what we didn’t think they could do, going 5-0 to open the year, including 2-0 in conference. It’s allowed them to rise to #6 in the nation in both polls, heading into a matchup away with the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Top 25 is rounding out with many of the usual suspects and the top is a little crowded.
Between the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll, the Michigan Wolverines, Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs are the consensus top three teams in the country, though both polls have them in different orders. All are undefeated at present. The Wolverines knocked off presumptive top team, Alabama in the season opener, 31-6 to shock the country and it places them at the top of the AP. In the Coaches Poll, Clemson is still holding their own as the host Georgia Tech this week.
In the ACC, NC State seems to finally be getting back in this. They’re tied for the lead in the Atlantic, with Clemson and Syracuse, undefeated in league. Also of note, Clemson already has four conference wins heading into Week Six.
The Coastal seems to be outdoing itself in terms of confusing results. Pitt, who Syracuse is heading down to face this week, is at the top of the league at 4-0 (2-0), and followed behind by five other teams between 2-3 and 3-2. Parity is your friend in this division it seems.
Lastly, the important things like watch lists for trophies less than halfway through the season. The current Heisman Watch List is shaping up with some familiar names on it... none of which were remotely in the running for the actual 2019 award.
- Travis Etienne - Clemson RB
- D’Andre Swift - UGA RB
- Malcom Perry - Navy QB
- Najee Harris - Alabama RB
- JJ Taylor - Arizona RB
All solid options, but we’ll see how this shakes out over the course of the season, as we get some more data and into some of the heart of the conference season. Maybe Tua and Burrows find their way into the race later. Does the Ohio State duo pick up steam as the season rolls on? We’ll see how it pans out.
Recruiting:
It’s been a busy few weeks, with the Orange on the recruiting trail. I’ve tried to approach the process a little more holistically than targeted at positions, get the best guys on campus. The current top of the recruiting board is very Northeast heavy. The top of the list are a pair of cornerbacks, Josh Johnson from Everett, Massachusetts and Steven Johnson from Ithaca, New York.
I’ve started to scout a lot of the JUCO options out there, as there’s some talent to be mined from those ranks. Darryl Patterson is a 1-star defensive tackle that’s grading out at a 60. He doesn’t have as much development time coming in as a junior, but it’s better than the goose egg I’ve found at DT so far. The only other main DT target is Josh Holiday, a decently rated 2-star, but he’s a soft verbal to Cincinnati. We’ll keep working that angle.
In more disappointing news, amazingly named 5-star athlete Bobby Hill decided to spurn Syracuse for the warmer confines of the University of Florida. I guess we can’t be too mad at him for that. AJ Rodriguez, the 4-star center prospect from Alaska that the Orange had been courting looks to be a soft verbal to Alabama. While Syracuse is #2 in interest, the passenger seat is a good bit back from the drivers seat at this point.
The pair of outside linebackers that have been prospects for a while now are going in two different directions. Antonio Robinson, who the Orange have been in on for some time and offered after week two, has had recent interest from Michigan and has dropped Syracuse to his second priority. On the other hand, Jon Manning, a 3-star JUCO has brought the Orange into his top-three schools with some renewed interest from the staff.
Last bit of note, the Orange are pursuing Donald Armstrong, a highly rated punter extremely hard, using their full time allotment to speak with the specialist on the week.
Offers Out -
- David Tyson - 5-Star Athlete - 71 Overall
- Joe Paul - 3-Star Quarterback - 67 Overall
- Joe Covington - 3-Star Defensive End - 61 Overall
- Donald Armstrong - 3-Star Punter - 80 Overall
- Rob Dowell - 3-Star Outside Linebacker - 63 Overall
- Josh Johnson - 3-Star Cornerback - 63 Overall
- Antonio Robinson - 3-Star Outside Linebacker - 67 Overall
- Marshall Allen - 4-Star Quarterback - 70 Overall
- Steven Johnson - 3-Star Cornerback - 65 Overall
- Zach Johnson - 3-Star Wide Receiver - 66 Overall
Soft Verbals -
- AJ Rodriguez - Center - Alabama
- Josh Holiday - DT - Cincinnatti
- Lawrence White - OLB - Boston College
Current Commits -
- Justin Poe - Balanced Tackle, 2-Star, 67 (GEM) Overall
- Tyler Schroeder - Run Stopper MLB, 3-Star, 70 Overall
- Tony Koch - Scrambler QB, 3-Star, 66 Overall