Looking ahead

How long can Jonny Flynn and the Orange stay undefeated? (Associated Press)

It’s a fun game everyone plays: Schedule watching.

What do I mean? Well, Syracuse is 8-0 and now people are wondering, “What if?”

What if Syracuse is undefeated headed into Memphis?

What if Syracuse beats Memphis on the road and is undefeated going into Big East play?

What if Syracuse is 17-0 going into the Georgetown game?

It’s not as unreasonable to think that as it was a few weeks ago. Syracuse is off for a week for finals, but after that, the real fun starts.

LSU Shows Interest in G-Rob

Could Robinson (right) join Les Miles' staff at LSU?

LSU has reportedly shown interest in recently-fired SU head coach Greg Robinson.  Tigers head coach Les Miles is apparently interested in interviewing G-Rob for the team’s defensive coordinator position.

Robinson doesn’t deny the interest, but says it is far from a foregone conclusion that he will interview for the position.

“I don’t see myself having the ability to do something right now,” he said. 

Robinson added that he is worrying right now about helping his staff from SU find new jobs.  He also has said he has received interest from other schools as well

Robinson has experience as a defensive coordinator both at the NFL and college level, including two super bowl rings as coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 1997 and 1998.  G-Rob also served as Kansas City Chiefs coordinator, and before coming to Syracuse, Robinson worked under Mack Brown at the University of Texas.

Is Burress Media Attention Too Much?

Are the media overdoing it in the Burress situation?

Before I start this post, let me say I do not condone bringing a gun to any club, in any city, in any situation.  And Plaxico Burress‘ embarrassing accidental shooting last Friday night certainly deserves widespread attention, and I have no problems with Burress being suspended for the rest of the season, but there are problems I’ve seen with how the media have handled the coverage of the Burress situation.

So, is it time to worry?

Daryl Gross is searching long and hard for the next SU head coach. (SU Athletics)

Chip Kelly was locked up by Oregon. Temple’s Al Golden said no. Tennessee hired Lane Kiffin. Auburn and Tommy Tuberville parted ways, creating another marquee opening. Randy Edsall continues to deny his interest as Connecticut’s season concludes.

So where does that leave Syracuse?

Well, Skip Holtz, Turner Gill and Mike Locksley are all still in play, theoretically. But, if Auburn pushes hard for Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, would Tech then go after Gill, the former Big 12 star? Certainly a possibility. And Holtz could be a candidate at Mississippi State.

Yes, the coaching carousel is dizzying.

Was Chip Kelly Gross’ Choice?

That’s what Donnie Webb at Syracuse.com seems to think.  Kelly was nabbed as Mike Bellotti’s successor at Oregon yesterday, throwing at least some sort of wrench into Daryl Gross’ coaching search.  Gross had already spoken with Kelly and was scheduled to meet with him again this week — a meeting Webb thought was just a “formality.” 

Donovan McNabb Weighs in on SU Coaching Search

 

Kevin Rogers

 

He may not know the NFL’s overtime rules, but Eagles quarterback and former Syracuse great Donovan McNabb knows who he wants to replace Greg Robinson as Orange head football coach. McNabb is one of several SU alumni to voice an opinion to The Sporting News.  

A farewell

Robinson's final press conference was, at times, worthy of this reaction. (Associated Press)

Greg Robinson pulled a single sheet of paper, highlighted in green and orange. Why, people wondered, was he able to stay so optimistic through everything — the 10-37 record, the constant speculation and the perrenial losing. He attempted to answer that.

Defiant to the final moments of his tenure as Syracuse football head coach, Robinson read the plot of “The Little Engine That Could” to the 25 or so media members gathered for his final press conference.

“In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain,” Robinson said. “Various larger engines are asked to pull the train. For various reasons, they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain, while repeating…

Robinson then turned to his right and looked at Syracuse play-by-play man Matt Park.

“What did he say, Matt?”

“I think I can, coach,” Park replied. (Later, Park told me that was not rehearsed in any manner at all.)

“That’s right,” Robinson said. “Well you know what? I still think I can. I do.”

Dude, where’d the students go?

Yeah, not very excited.

OK, OK, I know. It’s December. It’s Colgate. Finals are coming up.

But don’t you think the Syracuse students would have been out in full force to thank the Syracuse men’s basketball team for quite the Thanksgiving week? Not exactly.

The announced crowd for Monday night’s game was 18,422, but the student section wasn’t even half full. There was little excitement or noise coming from the students, and it definitely didn’t feel like Syracuse was the No. 16 team in the nation.

So we’re putting the Syracuse student section on notice.

The Orange played a game as a ranked team for the first time since Nov. 23, 2007 — over a year ago. Last week, SU beat Florida, Kansas and Virginia to improve to 6-0. What more do the students need to come out to a game?

Heck, it wasn’t even raining or snowing.

Syracuse’s No. 16 ranking in the AP poll is the highest since Dec. 2, 2006, when SU was No. 15 before losing to Wichita State. That’s reason alone to celebrate.

Not that Jim Boeheim was attacking the students, but on Friday, after Syracuse’s 73-70 win over Virginia — without the students in attendance — the head coach praised the crowd.

“The fans were tremendous tonight,” Boeheim said. “Best I’ve seen in a long time. They were great, absolutely great.”

So even the venerable Boeheim is noticing. Funny, considering the main criticisms of the SU student section in the past few years have been the court rushes against Georgetown. Some would say Syracuse fans should rarely (if ever) rush the court, but that’s another conversation.

Still, how about a little emotion right now?

What’s With the New AP Top 25 Basketball Poll?

Yes, it’s still very early, but it has to come as at least a little bit of a surprise to most college basketball fans that Syracuse was left out of this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Nonconference wins against Florida, Kansas and Virginia were apparently not enough to vault the 6-0 Orange into the AP poll. What’s even more surprising is that both Kansas (No. 22) and Florida (No. 17) each moved UP in the new standings, despite losing to the Cuse in the CBE Classic last week. And Louisville is somehow still ranked third, despite losing to Western Kentucky last night. Does that make any sense?

A Time to Reflect as the Orange Face the Jayhawks

Fans might remember the last time Syracuse and Kansas played each other.  Just in case you didn’t, or just want to feel happy, take a trip down memory lane with this video…