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.

Memphis is the major road block in the next nine games. Cleveland State is a fine mid-major, but just that. The Orange was dealt a favor with the soft start to its Big East slate: Seton Hall, at South Florida, DePaul and at Rutgers. And while anything can happen in any Big East game, those four teams already have a combined six losses.

So, how good is this Syracuse team?

It’s the best start for the Orange since 2001-02. Four players are averaging over 12 points per game.

Jonny Flynn has taken the lead, like everyone expected. Paul Harris is almost averaging a double-double and could be playing the best basketball of his career. Arinze Onuaku continues to be a consistent force in the middle. Kris Joseph is a pleasant surprise. And Syracuse has won without a consistent Eric Devendorf, who is still finding his shot.

Boeheim’s aggressive early schedule paid off. He wanted to test his players, fully knowing the amount of experience his team returned. That showed in the many comeback wins SU has already captured.

Memphis and Syracuse match up well. Both teams will want to run and both are full of veteran players (even if Memphis lost most of its top players from last year’s national runner-up squad). A good barometer of how tough the Tigers may be will come this Saturday, when Memphis goes to Washington D.C. to play Georgetown.

Is 17-0 out of the question? Most likely. But it’s fun to wonder, right?

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.

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.

I wrote a few weeks back about the importance of a quick hire.

Gross needs to know if his candidate is committed – and quick. The next coach at Syracuse must be in place before the bowl season begins. Simply, SU can’t afford to lose another recruiting class.

Currently, depending on the recruiting site, Syracuse has between four and six verbal commitments. One verbal commit, Raheem Cardwell, told The Daily Orange on Sunday that he is “exploring his options.” He will wait and see who the next head coach at Syracuse is until he makes a firm decision and assuredly, he isn’t the only recruit doing so. National Letter of Intent Day is Feb. 4, 2009.

This is a major lesson Gross learned from his first hire. Timing is everything, especially when it comes to recruiting.

“It’s great,” Gross said of the head start on finding a new coach. “It’s fabulous. It gives us a chance to recruit. It gives us a chance to recruit and recruit well instead of rushing.”

Not only is it important for recruiting, but for also hiring a staff, retaining current players.

And now, as we’re seeing, it’s important to ack quickly before the top candidates are eliminated.

But if Gross were so high on Kelly, wouldn’t he at least offer the Ducks’ offensive coordinator the job?  I mean being named a successor does not mean Kelly is taking over at OU tomorrow.  That’s why I’m skeptical as to whether Kelly was really Gross’ guy. 

So where do we stand now in the search to replace Greg Robinson?  It’s possible that Boise State head coach Chris Petersen could become an option (a longshot, but still an option).  Oregon reportedly was the one job Petersen was interested in out west.  Other than that, here’s a look at the search thus far:

ALREADY INTERVIEWED

Lane Kiffin (hired as Tennessee’s next head coach); Mike Locksley (Illinois offensive coordinator); Al Golden (Temple head coach); and Mark Whipple (offensive assistant, Eagles)

ON THE RADAR

Skip Holtz (East Carolina head coach); Turner Gill (Buffalo head coach); Doug Marrone (Saints offensive coordinator); Steve Addazio (University of Florida assistant)

ALUMNI RECOMMENDATIONS

Kevin Rogers, Vikings quarterbacks coach (Donovan McNabb); Marrone (Rob Burnett); Randy Edsall, UConn head coach (Qadry Ismail)

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.  

Kevin Rogers, McNabb’s former mentor during his time as Eagles quarterbacks coach and current Vikings QBs coach, is a good fit, McNabb told the Sporting News Magazine, because ”he’s a guy who can recruit the East…He could be a guy that could come in and do the right things with the offense and the defense.”

Other alumni who weighed in on the coaching search include former Ravens defensive end Rob Burnett, who thinks New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone is the man for the job.  Marrone is a Syracuse grad who, Burnett says, “cares about the program and would not be a guy who is just picking up a check.”

Former SU receiver Qadry Ismail continued to endorse Randy Edsall, saying he’s spoken with the UConn coach, but Edsall firmly denies that.  He told the Associated Press, ”This is ridiculous. The last time I talked to Qadry Ismail was over a year ago on a plane.”

Ismail also promoted Buffalo coach Turner Gill as a good fit for SU.

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.”

In an opening statement that lasted nearly 16 minutes, Robinson rambled on just about every subject that caused his demise. He harped on the infrastructure he installed and the positives he saw.

But mostly, Robinson let four years of frustration out in about 25 minutes. From bad penalty calls during his final game, injuries, missed recruits, to the way he and his team “fought the fight.”

“My stomach is sick,” Robinson said. “I need relief. I need a pill, because I’m sick to my stomach that it’s done. That’s what I hate. Is what’s in my gut. Shoot. That’s the biggest regret. Pulling boxes into my office. That’s ugly. It is.”

He talked about his wife, who sat in the very back of the auditorium, and how she embraced the community. He spoke about his son, Dominick, who will continue to live and work in the area while his parents leave. He recalled his relationship with the late Jim Valvano, who motivated him.

He took swipes at the schedule his teams have faced, yearly the toughest non-conference slate in the Big East. He lamented over injuries to Delone Carter, Curtis Brinkley and Jermaine Pierce. He wished, again, that he had Mike Williams and Taj Smith at wide receiver this year.

He even talked about his first recruiting target, Colt Brennan, who wasn’t allowed by school officials to enroll at Syracuse because of charges against him at Colorado.

“I was told to do my homework on him,” Robinson said. “I did. I did my due-dilligence way past what anybody would have ever thought. … I knew we needed a quarterback. And I checked that kid out. You know what? He came in third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. And then he decided to stay his senior year at Hawaii because he felt like those people reached out to him. But hey, he was coming (here). I think if our people knew me better like they do now, they would have said, ‘Go ahead. Work with him.’ That’s easy to say, but that would be a good way to start. That was the first guy I started recruiting.”

At times, he was upset. Mostly, he was fiery.

“My stomach is sick,” Robinson said. “I need relief. I need a pill, because I’m sick to my stomach that it’s done. That’s what I hate, is what’s in my gut. Shoot. That’s the biggest regret. Pulling boxes into my office. That’s ugly. It is.”

For now, he said he will focus on helping his staff find jobs elsewhere. Robinson said he is certain he will coach somewhere next season. He joked about going for the job at nearby Christian Brothers Academy, and even coming back to SU.

“My intent is to re-apply for my job,” Robinson said. “But I don’t know if I’m getting anywhere with that. As a matter of fact, I’m maybe willing to offer up compensation if I get my job back, to give back to the facilities or do whatever.”

It was as surreal as press conferences come. A dizzying and sad ending to four years of futility under Robinson.

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?

The new Coaches’ Poll makes a little more sense. Syracuse jumped ahead of both the Gators and Jayhawks, making its debut at No. 20, while Louisville slipped all the way to No. 11. Aside from the Orange and Cardinals, five other Big East teams remained in the Top 25: UConn is No. 2 behind North Carolina; Pittsburgh comes in at No. 3; Notre Dame is 7th; and Villanova and Georgetown are ranked 16th and 18th, respectively.

Tonight, the Orange and Jayhawks do battle in the finals of the CBE Classic, and this time KU is the defending national champion. And while there is much less at stake this time around, there is still a lot for Syracuse to gain in this matchup.  As my colleague and classmate Matt Gelb wrote, playing the Jayhawks is another example of a new and improved nonconference schedule.  

A win over the Jayhawks would mean back to back victories against the country’s last two champions.  Yes, 18th ranked Florida may have been ranked a little high, and Kansas is down to #22 in the nation, but winning the CBE Classic would go a long way toward boosting SU’s confidence with more tough games to go before Big East play begins.  And for those who haven’t been paying attention, the league currently has seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25, and three in the top 5 alone (#2 UConn, #3 Louisville and #4 Pitt).  It is important for the Orange to stockpile wins before league play gets underway, because every night will be a battle once that kicks off.  Not to mention these wins will boost SU’s NCAA tournament resume down the line.