2009 Football Preview

Check out my Homer Preview of the Orange(men) for the guys at Over the Pylon.

Riiiiiight

So in case you haven't seen the news, Syracuse will be playing home games against USC (2012) and Notre Dame (2014 and 2016) a little far from home. 188 miles from home actually. According to Athletic Director Daryl Gross,

"It's nice to know the new Meadowlands people recruited us. We started a relationship. They're very serious about it. Obviously, we're very excited financially with the terms. It has the makings to be a terrific relationship for the future of our program."

What Syracuse fans within driving distance of the Carrier Dome will be serious about is the fact that the value of your season ticket package in 2012, 2014 and 2016 completely plummeted.

I want to throw something

DOCTOR Daryl Gross, in his infinite wisdom, announced Doug Marrone as the 28th head football coach at Syracuse University. Before this week, we would have been asking the same thing you are right now, "Who the hell is Doug Marrone?" It turns out that Doug is an SU Almnus who has spent that past 6 years working in the NFL. Prior to the NFL he was with various college institutions, including Division I-AA/III/III powerhouses Cortland St., Northeastern and the US Coast Guard Academy.

Marrone has not been in the Northeast College Football realm since 1994. Yes, that is before most current High school footballer players were even playing Pop Warner.

Before 2006, Marrone never held a coaching position higher than Offensive Line Coach. In 2006 he was named the Offensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints (although Sean Payton continues to call the plays).

I salute the fact that DOCTOR Daryl Gross saw that people wanted a coach who is passionate about Syracuse football. The problem is, Marrone has no experience as a head coach, he has no recruiting ties any longer and it looks like we are going to be stuck with 4 years of the new GROB.

Visit our sister site, http://www.firedougmarrone.com.

It's about damn time.

DOCTOR Daryl Gross fires head coach Greg Robinson.

The Consultant Roundabout

I wasn't paying much attention to the internet and the goings on of Daryl Gross last night as I was watching Game 1 of the World Series (Go Phils!). In my absence, The New York Times dropped a bomb on their website regarding the coaching situation at Syracuse. The Times reported that DOCTOR Daryl Gross has hired former Big Eight commissioner Chuck Neinas as a consultant on the search for a new head football coach at Syracuse. Neinas was commissioner of the Big Eight from 1971 to 1980. During his tenure, Nebraska (1971) and Oklahoma (1974, 1975) won National Championships in football.

DOCTOR Daryl Gross was quick to deny any such involvement in a supposed coaching search to the Syracuse Post-Standard last night.

"No, it's absolutely not true," Gross told The Post-Standard. "The reality is . . . I haven't hired anyone and the university hasn't hired anyone. It's speculation and it would be inappropriate for me to hire someone (a consulting firm or search firm) at this point."

Asked if someone else may have hired Neinas on behalf of Syracuse University, Gross said, "no, it would be inappropriate."

Are you fucking kidding me? It would be inappropriate to hire someone at this point? How can you even imagine that it would be inappropriate to hire a consultant to look for a replacement for a coach that EVERYONE knows is going to be gone at the end of the season? I mean the guy has a record of 8-34. The only team he has beat this year is a FCS team that is currently 2-5. Yeah, they have a better record than we do!

And you seriously think it would be inappropriate to hire a consultant to look for a new head coach? The only thing that is inappropriate at this point is the fact that you can't get over your ego and fire the head coach that you personally picked. Greg Robinson can not coach. Your refusal to remove him shows that you are an incapable Athletic Director. Get off your damn high horse and actually show the people who are fans of this team that you plan on doing something to ensure that Syracuse Football is worth something again.

One thing that I would like to note about the situation is that I caught an interview this morning that Gomez and Dave of TK-99 were doing with the Voice of the Orange, Matt Park. The only reason I was listening to TK-99 was because I heard that he was going to be on discussing Big East(Basketball) Media Day and I wanted hear what he had to say regarding the team for the coming year. The guys asked Matt what the word was regarding the article and Matt really danced around the topic. There was one line in particular that he said which was really interesting. He said something to the effect of, "I don't know the what is legal to say and what isn't." To me, it sounded like a guy who had a little inside information and because he works for the Athletics Department, didn't want to reveal any information. Hence why he danced around the topic and why he wouldn't comment on the entire situation other than saying that it was a "tough situation".

So perhaps there is more to it. Perhaps the University has hired someone and Daryl Gross is just trying to be PC and doesn't want to make any sort of move until he can actually say that he has hired someone. Although at this point, I don't think we are going to see the dismissal of Greg Robinson until after the season. And quite frankly, that is bullshit.

If you thought the boo birds were bad at half-time of the Penn State game, I can't wait to hear how bad it is at Midnight Madness when Daryl Gross gets up there to give his rah rah speech. If it is anything like last year, we are in for some fun.

DGTII - Week 8

A Tale of Two Halves. I didn't watch the game this weekend so I can't get into the nuances of where we played well and where we played awful. If you are looking for detailed information like that you are better off checking in with The Axeman who sat inside and watched the entire game. Instead of being inside watching what I knew was going to be a pathetic loss to a good South Florida team, I attended the 40 Below Summit.

For those of you who do not know about 40 Below, it is essentially a community engagement organization that strives to make Central New York a much more vibrant and exciting place to live. They are working to remove the defeatist attitude that is pervasive in the community and they are working to get young people involved in the community. It is a good organization and you should definitely check it out.

While attending the 40 Below Summit I took a look at my blackberry to get the score for the game as I was riding a Connective Corridor bus downtown. What I saw was a Syracuse team that was only down 21-13 in the 3rd Quarter. I had no idea how we had looked in the first half or what we had done, but I knew that we were only down by 8 against a team that we had no business playing with. I thought for a moment that maybe we were turning a corner since we have looked decent at times in our recent losses to Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

About an hour later, I looked at my blackberry again and the score was 38-13. So much for the good feelings. Thank you 40 Below for the after party and the beer.

Based on these second half stats alone (0 first downs, 18 plays, 9 total yards, 1-10 passing, 6:40 time of possession), I am pretty sure you know what the team gets for the weekly DGTII:

DGTII - Week 7

Since we had a bye week in Week 6 of the season there was no DGTII. Although I suppose I really should have given the team 5 Daryl Gross mugs for not losing to the bye week then because it was more of the same with a disappointing loss in Week 7.

The Orangemen had the Mountaineers right where we wanted them, only down by four points, 10-6, until we let Noel Devine go off for 92 yards and a touchdown to seal the victory. Things won't get much easier for the Orangemen this coming week down at South Florida and while Greg Robinson did make some positive adjustments (4-2-5 defense anyone?), he still failed to make the right calls when needed to ensure that we walked away with the victory.

Once again, we did some positive things in the game. If you had told me that we would put up 346 yards, go 8-18 on third down, average 4.0 yards a carry, and possess the ball for 35:16 in the game, I would have told you that we won. The problem continues to be putting all of the pieces together to get a complete game and a win out of the Orange.

So with that, The DGTII for Week 7:

DGTII for Week 7:

Losses to West Virginia Could Bookend Greg Robinson's Tenure

The Charleston Daily Mail has an article about the Mountaineers not looking past Syracuse this weekend. While this is a nice little gesture by Bill Stewart, we all know that WVU has better things to prepare for... such as their date with #20 Auburn on 10.23.

The interesting note that the Daily Mail made was that Greg Robinson made his first appearance as the Head Coach of the Orangemen against West Virginia in 2005. Could his final appearance as Head Coach come against the Mountaineers as well?

I know that there has been plenty of speculation regarding his future, but wouldn't it really be fitting to fire him after a loss at West Virginia? A loss to West Virginia would put him at 2-22 in the Big East and quite frankly there isn't much more that he can do to prove just how inept he is. West Virginia is the closest thing to a rival that Syracuse has in the Big East, with the Schwartzwalder Trophy being awarded to the winner each year.

Much like Paul Pasqualoni's final season was marked by bookend blowouts, it would only be fitting if Daryl Gross did the right thing and fired Greg Robinson on bookend losses to West Virginia. After all, he doesn't have anything to lose.

There is no place like Nebraska

Since Syracuse doesn't play this weekend, I decided that I needed to get my fill of college football and I will be returning to the land of my roots to watch Nebraska take on Missouri on Saturday in Lincoln. Growing up in Nebraska in the 90's spoiled me as to what good college football is. After watching Tommie Frazier run all over Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, I have had an expectation of what great college football teams are supposed to be.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised when I first visited Syracuse University and took in my first football game. We had tickets on the 20 yard line and we witenessed Syracuse beat Miami in Donovan McNabb's last game in the Dome, 66-13. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to go to Syracuse. Little did I know, I would be treated to seeing Troy Nunes and his brilliance the following year.

Regardless, I return to Lincoln with two of my good friends from high school, Matt and Justin. While there we will see friends and family (both my brother and sister live in Lincoln) and will be treated to the finest college football experience you could ever find.

From the moment you see Memorial Stadium off the interstate as you arrive in downtown Lincoln, you get a sense that this is more than just a football game and that these are more than just typical football fans. Bobby Bowden once said, after the home fans applauded his visiting Florida State team which beat Nebraska, "I have never seen people with more class than I saw at Nebraska, the Nebraska fans, players, cheerleaders, band, officials, coaches, etc., gave me living testimony of what college football should be all about."

The sentiments regarding Nebraska football fans can be summed up perfectly by the line that is etched over the gates at Memorial stadium that read, "Through these gates pass the greatest fans in college football".

Anyhow, with this reunion weekend of sorts at Nebraska's homecoming game (Yeah, Syracuse schedules I-AA Northeastern and Nebraska plays #3/#4 Missouri for theirs. Ouch.) I will be away from the blog scene until Monday unless there is major movement by Daryl Gross on any of the fronts that we have been keeping a close watch on.

This would have never happened under Pasqualoni's watch

According to The Idiots, CBS5 was reporting that four members of the Syracuse football team were allegedly involved in a sexual assault on Monday evening/Tuesday morning. While this situation is nothing to make light of, it certainly continues to further show that Greg Robinson maintains zero discipline over his team.

Daryl Gross is happy Lane Kiffin was fired

As reported pretty much everywhere (TNIAAM, Axeman, Idiots, Orange Squeeze, and of course haslanekiffinbeenfired.com), Lane Kiffin was released by the Oakland Raiders. Kiffin will have a press conference today. Some suspect that Daryl Gross, who said that Lane would be near the top of any shortlist for any Syracuse vacancy, will be present at the press conference to announce that Kiffin is the new head coach at Syracuse (before Donnie Webb goes ballistic on me as well, this is complete fabrication).

Another football recruit bites the dust

The Daily Orange sportswriter John Sutton brings us some news from the recruiting trail for Syracuse football, it seems that Leavander Jones isn't so hot on Syracuse anymore. Jones was asked about Greg Robinson possibly being fired and his response was rather grim.

"Not knowing who is coming in after him if he is to go, that changes my mind," Jones said. "They would still be at the top of my list, but I would probably start looking elsewhere a little more."

Scout.com has moved him to a soft verbal and with the impending firing of Robinson, Syracuse will lose another commitment. That will leave the next head coach with a class of only three commitments, none greater than three stars, assuming that no one else chooses to renege.

The Daryl Gross Marketing Machine at work

I love Steiner Sports Collectibles. If you are a Syracuse Alumnus, have purchased anything from the Carrier Dome Box Office, or just plain happen to have had your email address sold by any number of data collection agencies, you have probably received an email from them. In a strategic move that was announced in 2006, DOCTOR Daryl Gross partnered with Scott Steiner who apparently has just as big of an ego as the good DOCTOR himself.

Steiner Collectibles is where you can find amazing Syracuse items. From a game-used ball from our only Big East win last season for $200 to actual travel bags used by the 2006 football team for $100, just hope that they washed them out before selling them...

There are some real gems on the list, including game worn jerseys. Game worn jerseys are definitely a big thing. I don't find them as appealing as a real good throwback, but I can understand the interest in owning the jersey that Dwight Freeney wore when he sacked Michael Vick four and a half times in the Dome. What I don't understand are some of the choices that they have for game worns on Steiner Collectibles. For instance, at only $299, you can own a jersey worn by Carroll Madison. Come on, you know Madison. He was a member of that really solid offensive line that gave up 54 sacks last season.

So it is always funny to me when I get emails from the Athletics Department telling me about the great offers that they have from Steiner Sports. Typically I just delete them and I really should just remove myself from the mailing list but the laughter I get out of each and every one is well worth the laziness of not clicking on the unsubscribe link.

I received an email from my friend Scott, from college, detailing an exchange he had with Daryl Gross after an email that was sent from Steiner Sports. The rest, is an absolute classic.

From: Steiner Sports
To: Syracuse University Alumni

Dear Syracuse University Alumni:

It is with great anticipation that I look forward to another year of SU athletics. I know that our success of last year will only grow! Wherever I travel, I am always impressed by the support SU alumni provide to all of our teams. In that spirit, I wanted to be sure that all of our alumni were aware of their opportunity to share our successes and show your Orange Pride.

We have entered into an agreement with Steiner Sports Memorabilia to form Syracuse-Steiner Collectibles which will carry an exclusive line of SU memorabilia and keepsake items. Through this arrangement, you can get one of a kind SU autographed, game-used, and unsigned sports collectibles. SU athletics and the SU Sport Management program benefit from your purchase. I encourage you to click on the logo above and access the Syracuse-Steiner web site, add it to your favorites list, and sign up for regular updates. This is truly a Win-Win for all of us! Thank you and GO ORANGE!!

Dr. Daryl Gross
Director of Athletics

I recall seeing this email and immediately thought of the really amazing items that I could buy that would have been game worn by Syracuse athletes. Visions of McNabb and Harrison jerseys flashed through my head until I actually visited the site and saw that I was going to be treated to second rate jerseys from 2007. Hey, I guess I could be the world's ugliest uniform for Halloween this year!

From: Scott
To: Daryl J Gross
Sent: Tue Sep 09 13:17:55 2008
Subject: Thanks

Dear Dr. Gross,

Thank you for your invitation to spend my money at the Syracuse-Steiner Collectibles online store. After purchasing a new #44 football jersey, bright orange SU hat and driving from New York City to Chicago to take in SU's season opener in person, I only have $200 left to spend on SU memorabilia this year. Syracuse-Steiner Collectibles has such a wide selection of Orange products that I'm having trouble deciding what to buy. Should I go with the game used football from the 2007 win against Louisville or the one from the Buffalo contest? Maybe I should hold out for something from the 2008 season. Since you seem confident that our success will grow, could you let me know which three football games you see the Orange winning this year?

Also, when I send out emails to large groups of people I generally read over the text several times to ensure that there are no errors in spelling or grammar. I encourage you to do the same. In that spirit, you can ensure that all of our alumni are aware of their Athletic Director's competence and show their Orange Pride.

Scott
Class of '02

PS - Did someone in your office really think that this was a good time to send this note off to the alumni? Really?

Scott. Trust me, don't hold out for anything from 2008.

From: Daryl J Gross
To: Scott
Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 1:43:41 PM
Subject: Re: Thanks

I would be glad to buy you something. Just pick it out.

Cheers,

Daryl

I take it Daryl didn't pick up on the sarcasm dripping from Scott's email.

From: Scott
To: Daryl J Gross
Sent: Tue Sep 09 14:19:45 2008
Subject: Re: Thanks

Daryl,

The travel bags are tempting, as are the Greg Robinson/bag packing jokes that would go along with such a choice but I'm going to focus on the positive and go with the Buffalo game ball.

[Link modified for blog purposes]

Once Steiner makes the 2008 collection available I'll pick up a game ball from SU's third win of the season and send it your way.

[Mailing Address]

Good choice. That game ball will remind you that even though Turner Gill is quickly building a very good program down the thruway in Buffalo, Syracuse is still New York's College Team.

From: Daryl J Gross
To: Scott
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 12:19:52 AM
Subject: Re: Thanks

Seriously, my treat.

Can I just point out that Daryl Gross is answering emails to disaffected Alumni at 12:19 AM. Impressive Daryl. Impressive. Now, want to respond to my open letter?

From: Scott
To: Daryl J Gross
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:45:22 AM
Subject: Re: Thanks
Seriously, thanks. I eagerly await the arrival of that football and I'm especially looking forward to explaining to my wife why a game ball from the Syracuse win over Buffalo in 2007 has to be prominently displayed in our living room.

Go 'Cuse!

-Scott

New York's College Team. Just keep reciting it and I am sure she will understand.

From: Scott
Subject: Fw: Thanks
To: GrossSuperman
Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 4:59 PM

Here you go. I still haven't received my damn football.

Don't worry Scott, I am sure that Daryl has a great explanation. Like how he needs the money from your football to buy out Greg Robinson's contract.

Any more pressure on Gross and his ears might pop

Donnie Webb, who really does a great job covering Syracuse football, has an article today in the Post-Standard covering the attention that has been brought on DOCTOR Daryl Gross. Donnie mentions several of the recent indicators that people are sick and tired of DOCTOR Daryl Gross, the booing at the Penn State game, the column in the OC Register, internet message boards, etc.

Throughout the piece, Nancy Cantor chimed in in support of DOCTOR Daryl Gross. Her love of Gross is well known and Donnie said that Cantor specifically made mention of the contract extension that Gross signed earlier this year. Apparently Donnie's sources say that it lasts through 2014.

While none of the support from Nancy Cantor is surprising, the real surprise is just how similar the defense of Gross is to the defense of Greg Robinson. When Robinson was first being pressured his main defense was always that it takes time to turn the corner. Gross had this to say about the situation:

"Looking back now, it wasn't as set for success as it could have been. When I came into this situation, a lot of people were really upset about the old regime. But no one thought it could get worse, nor did I. We were all hoping for some success. We knew it wasn't going to happen right away.

Playing the time card is just one of the many tips and tricks of the DOCTOR Daryl Gross regime. Another, is taking credit for the success of others.

"One thing people don't realize is that program wasn't fully funded with all the scholarships. The year I got here, they had won a national championship and won it without full scholarships. You can make a case that they did it before and did it again. I'm here to tell you that the Dukes and others have caught up. We put two more scholarships into the men's program. It takes a little while for it to matriculate. We had to fix the off-field culture with some awareness. We had no issues last year. We added staff. We gave them a practice field, which lacrosse never had before. Those things are huge. They're things that help us grow."

Look, Daryl, I understand that you need to point to a positive event during your tenure but this is just madness. John Desko has been at Syracuse since 1976. He has won 10 National Championships (6 as the Assistant Head Coach and 4 as Head Coach). He has done more for Syracuse Lacrosse than you ever will and to even think that you have anything to do with his success is complete and utter bullshit.

And while we all know that Lacrosse is such a huge program here at Syracuse the real problem (at least as far as the national media is concerned) happens to be the football program.

"Sometimes when you have a coaching transition, there is a fallout with recruiting and those things aren't as stable as you want them to be. You know it takes a little while to grow properly. It takes a change in systems, all the dynamics were there that haven't clicked at all to the point we're not where we should be in year four. At the end of the day, it all falls on the athletic director."

This is something that Daryl pulled from the Greg Robinson playbook. When all else fails, mention that things haven't clicked completely. Although at least Daryl finally raised his hand and said, "Yes, it all falls on me." Daryl we have known this since day one. You might want to cut that cord with Greggers before he takes you down with the ship.

More National Media pressure on Gross

By way of my good friend Alan at Over The Pylon, I got news of this piece by Ivan Maisel at ESPN regarding the Syracuse football situation. Ivan is a top-notch journalist and I have had the pleasure of corresponding with him several years ago when Syracuse beat Boston College in their last game in the Dome.

DOCTOR Daryl Gross seems to be hurting from a lot of the recent negative attention he has been receiving. In particular, the ESPN College GameDay piece on the Syracuse program and Lee Corso essentially ripping Gross to shreds which was chronicled here yesterday. According to Maisel, Gross made an unsolicited phone call to ESPN.com to defend himself. Apparently Gross is taking credit for John Desko's 2008 Lacrosse National Championship. Sorry Daryl, Desko has been in Syracuse longer than you have been an egomaniac so it has absolutely nothing to do with you.

Of particular interest is this quote from Gross regarding Greg Robinson, "It isn't working out. It's very disappointing ... He has some work to do out in front of him." There is nothing to disagree with there and I stated as much in the open letter that was sent to Daryl Gross. I'm still waiting to hear back from Daryl, but something tells me he has bigger problems to deal with.

Some other key items from Maisel...

"We got so many good things going on here," Gross said. "The 800-pound gorilla is football. You and I both know we've been very fair to Coach Robinson. Everyone wanted the guy's head last year. I said I didn't want Syracuse to become one of those three-years-and-out schools. I said, 'Let's calm down and [if needed] we'll get the first pick of the draft [of coaching candidates] next year.' That's where we are."

I am pretty sure everyone is in agreement that Greg Robinson is done in Syracuse. The only question is when.

"He isn't going to do anything right now," Robinson, referring to Gross, said Monday night. "I know that. But let me tell you something, we just need to win. We're capable of winning. People don't know it."

Ok. So some people are still in denial.

College Gameday breaks it down

The College GameDay crew breaks down what is wrong with Syracuse. We agree, the problem is Daryl Gross.

In other news, Syracuse is #1!

We showed you earlier that Syracuse is ranked Fourth in the country in Net Punting. I am sure that some of it has to do with the fact that Rob Long happens to get a lot of practice both in practice and during the games, but some of it might actually be that he is a good punter and the coverage unit is actually semi-decent.

However, what we didn't tell you is that Syracuse is actually ranked First somewhere. Of course the place that we are ranked first isn't exactly the place you want to be ranked first. Yes, Syracuse is #1 in the latest Bottom 10, from ESPN.

Syracuse Football is #4 in the Country!

In Net Punting of course...

I think it might be time for a Rob Long for Heisman shirt or two...

DGTII - Week 3

I think we all knew exactly how this week was going to end up, but we were hoping that the football team would show some sign of life. I'll be honest, the team had me fooled for about thirty seconds. When Nick Santiago forced the fumble on Penn State's second play from scrimmage, I thought, just for a moment, that maybe something magical could happen. Oh how I was wrong.

Last week the team was able to move the football but still only received one Daryl Gross mug on the DGTII because they lost to a team that was predicted to finish last in the MAC. This week, it is more of the same for from the Indicator. I can't, reasonably, give the team any more points on the scale when they give up 560 yards of total offense and only gain 159 yards of total offense.

TDGTII for Week 3:

Hadron Links

It has been an eerily quiet week in the realm of Syracuse Athletics. After the events of the football game last weekend, it seems most Syracuse fans are laying low and trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. It won't get much better after this weekend and an embarrassment on ABC Regional (at least until they figure out that Oregon at Purdue or Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech is a better game).

• What story about The Express would be complete without Daryl Gross all throughout it? You guessed it, none.


• TNIAAM brings you bread. And I am going to win it one of these days. At least I have so many chances this year...


• Matt Gelb from The Daily Orange is a really good writer. Today, he has a good article on the connection between Joe Paterno and former Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni.


• This Penn State blogger believes we have no chance of beating Penn State. And we tend to agree.


• Fanhouse asks their bloggers who they would put in the Large Hadron Collider. John Radcliff says Greg Robinson and Charlie Weiss would make the perfect program killers.

DGTII - Week 2

Once again, welcome to Monday. Last week I was at an Anniversary Party and didn't catch the entire game. Of course it was a good thing since there was an open bar and Syracuse ended up losing 30-10 to Northwestern. Originally I was going to attend the game since I was able to find tickets for as cheap as $2.50 on Stubhub, however my father was of the opinion that we were better off watching the game at home. I tend to agree with his assessment due to the fact that we were able to drink our own beer ($7.99 for a 6-pack of Peroni instead of $5 a beer at the Dome) and if at any point we got sick of seeing Syracuse play poorly we could flip it over to one of the other college games that might have provided a little more excitement. Since the game wasn't on HD, I went over to my parents house to watch and showed up right around kickoff. I will admit that while listening to the pre-game broadcast on TK99, I was getting goosebumps hearing the band play the fight song (I'll buy a beer for anyone who wasn't at one point in the band or colorguard and can recite all the lines without looking them up).

After Akron scored on their opening drive I just knew it was going to be a long day. Thankfully, I got a call from work and they wanted me to come in and take care of some things that night so I actually missed the final 10 minutes of the game or so. The most telling moment of the game for me, was when Syracuse tied the game at 28. My mom let out a yell and looked over at my dad and I to see us both sitting in our seats with a blank expression on our faces. I didn't make a sound, I didn't budge, I didn't even crack a smile. Why? I didn't do anything that would exude positive emotion because I knew that the game wasn't over and that Greg Robinson would find a way to foul it up. And Greggers didn't disappoint.

The stats for this one tell all, Syracuse gave up almost 500 yards of total offense. Akron held the ball for 33:24 to our 26:36. Akron was 10-14 on third down conversions. And of course the only stat that matters, Akron 42 Syracuse 28. While it was encouraging to see the offense continue to build on their small successes from last week, it was apparent to everyone that the defense has regressed and will continue to regress under Greg Robinson.


And now for TDGTII for Week 2:



Unfortunately, the bad outweighs the good and I can only give this game one Daryl Gross Mug. Had we been able to win this game, the team would have received two Daryl Gross Mugs, but there is no way that in a loss to Akron the team can show any sense of improvement.

An open letter to Daryl Gross regarding the state of Syracuse Football

Dr. Daryl Gross,

We here at Getgrossout.com have been some of your fiercest critics in your time here at Syracuse University. We have not been critics because we are malicious but rather because we have great pride and appreciation for Syracuse Athletics. As Syracuse Alumni we feel that we have every right to be as impassioned as we have been during your tenure at Syracuse.

Truth be told, we agreed with your decision to fire Paul Pasqualoni. We were of the opinion that Paul had never really accomplished what could have been accomplished with the talent that he had, particularly in the late 90's. We believed that you were correct in your assessment that Syracuse could do better without Coach Pasqualoni and were completely on-board when you removed him as Head Coach following the Citrus Bowl loss to Georgia Tech.

When your search for a new Head Coach lasted only 13 days and you selected a former NFL assistant who had won two Super Bowls we were at first intrigued and then concerned as we learned how little experience he had. As Spring came and the team was practicing, we were quite optimistic with the host of returning players and the recruits who had stayed on board. We were so excited for the season that we purchased tickets for the O-Zone and were there for the first game against West Virginia. While Syracuse lost that game, we were encouraged by the five turnovers that the team caused and by the fact that it had only been an 8 point loss. After Syracuse beat Buffalo and then only lost by three points to eventual Top-25 Virginia we were optimistic for the rest of the season. As it turned out, the team posted the first 10 loss season in Syracuse history.

Following the 2005 season we were of the opinion that Greg Robinson would be able to make improvements on both sides of the football and that the previous season was simply growing pains. We were encouraged by the increased wins in 2006 and felt that there was the potential that we could see a much improved football team that could compete once again in the Big East for the 2007 season. Unfortunately 2007 came and we were treated to the second 10 loss season in Syracuse's illustrious history. We believed that the team had completely reverted from the positives that they had shown in 2006 and that a change of direction was needed. We, along with much of America, believed that you would fire Greg Robinson and that you would bring in a new coach who would start the process over and bring Syracuse back to its former glory.

When the announcement came that you were bringing Robinson back for another year, we were shocked and dismayed. It was our belief that your interest in giving Greg Robinson another year was essentially throwing in the towel and saying that you did not feel that Syracuse could be a better team with the removal of Greg Robinson.

The 2008 season is now upon us and Syracuse was predicted by most media outlets to finish last in the Big East. Our prediction was that Syracuse would go 2-10 this season, beating Akron and Northeastern. After the events of Saturday, we can say that our prediction was incorrect. Now it is hard for us to find a game, other than Northeastern, that Syracuse could potentially win this season. We believe that everyone has seen enough of what the Greg Robinson era of Syracuse football can bring and it is with this letter that we submit our open plea to you. We ask that you show the same commitment and concern for Syracuse football that you did when you fired Pasqualoni and that you take the immediate step to remove Greg Robinson as Head Coach of the Syracuse football team. We ask that you replace him on an interim basis with his assistant Mitch Browning, who has shown he is a capable coach during his tenure at Minnesota and in the two games that he has coached at Syracuse.

With the removal of Greg Robinson now rather than following an embarrassing defeat to Penn State, you will show a disaffected fan base that you are truly committed to the future of Syracuse Football. By making this statement now, you will show Syracuse Alumni, fans, players and critics that the culture of losing that Greg Robinson has perpetuated will not be tolerable at Syracuse University. The appointment of Mitch Browning, now, on an interim basis allows for the healing and an extensive search for the next head coach to begin. It is our belief that this must happen to ensure that Syracuse returns to its traditional place as a Northeastern and National powerhouse.

The time to make to the statement that you are committed to the future success of Syracuse Football is now. And the statement to make is the removal of Greg Robinson as head coach. We trust that you will show your dedication to the future of Syracuse Football and name Mitch Browning as interim head coach.

Yours,

Getgrossout.com

Syracuse will be playing Notre Dame in the Meadowlands soon

While watching the halftime show during the Akron game today, there was an interview with Daryl Gross. During the interview, the question was posed to Daryl regarding scheduling rivalries since we are playing Penn State next week. He responded that we have a 10 game series scheduled with former Big East member Boston College. This isn't news to anyone. However, immediately following that Daryl also dropped the bomb that we have a series scheduled with Notre Dame.

We all know how Notre Dame has wanted to schedule some teams from the Northeast and wants to play their home games in South Bend and play the home games of whatever team they are playing in the Meadowlands. Donnie Webb wrote about the impending move back in August and we know that Rutgers already turned down a similar deal.

So it seems that the deal is now in place and Syracuse is officially Notre Dame's bitch. Awesome. We are definitely back to Irrelevency-town.

The Great Daryl Gross Cell Phone Gate; No Longer a Mystery

I finally figured out what Daryl Gross was doing on two cell phones during the Northwestern game. It seems that DOCTOR Gross has realized just how sad of a state things are in Orangeland and decided that we needed some positive press.

It seems that Minnesota Athletic Director, Joel Maturi, had this to say (by way of twincities.com) regarding the 44,029 that showed up for their opener against Northern Illinois in the Metrodome:

"I'm excited about moving onto campus in a 50,000-seat facility because I think we're going to have 50,000 each week. I don't think empty seats are good, but I see Northwestern had 20,000 for Syracuse, which is a pretty good team, and Indiana had 30-some thousand. The reality is we did OK considering the situation."

[emphasis mine]

It seems that Daryl Gross first placed a phone call to Mitch Browning up in the booth to get Joel's number since they both were at Minnesota together for a few years when Mitch was an assistant under Glen Mason. Then, Daryl called Joel to get the positive spin. The reason he was still on the other phone? Mitch wanted to ask Joel about his mother's pound cake recipe...

Syracuse is in fact relevant again and their was much rejoicing.

Syracuse football is completely insignificant

Here are some Syracuse (and DOCTOR Daryl Gross) notes from around the web today.

ESPN's Pat Forde doesn't think that Syracuse is significant any longer.

"The Cardinals don't play a road game until Oct. 10 against Memphis, and don't play another BCS conference opponent on the road until Nov. 1 -- and that's Syracuse, which really doesn't count."

Ouch. But then again, I can't argue with him. I'm sure that Duke and Baylor are sending Daryl Gross fruit baskets as we speak.

By way of The Idiots, The Orange Report has a great breakdown of the Northwestern game, including referencing "High Fidelity". It was definitely the misery guys. Of note, Arthur Jones is the big playmaker on the team. But then again I think we all knew that coming into the season.

Also, I am going to have to disagree with Orange44, TNIAAM, The Axeman, Kenny Haas and everyone else who has been saying that the running game looked good. I hate to ask you to take off the Orange-tinted glasses, but the running game still stinks. The only reason why the running game (which amassed a total of 122 yards) looked good is because we averaged 68 rushing yards per game last season.

Those 122 yards were good for 67th in the country but that certainly pales in comparison when you see that Navy racked up 558 yards. Jasper Howard out of Connecticut rushed for 146 all by his lonesome... The real problem I have with our rushing game is that if you take away the two big runs by Brinkley (28) and Carter (32), we ended up rushing for a measly 62 yards. And that would be right about where we were last season. Taking away those two big runs and Brinkley averaged 2.63 ypc and Carter averaged 2.6 ypc. Yuck.

After this game, I really don't see any way that Greg Robinson can turn the corner and wrap up enough wins to make it through another year here at Syracuse. Most of the blog-o-sphere agrees and it is more of a matter of when.

CoachesHotSeat says Gross will fire Robinson in December (after the season is over).

Nick still thinks that if Syracuse does marginally well Gross brings Robinson back. I'm not sure what "marginally well" is, but it probably is something similar to "tangible improvement".

Orange Fizz is going to be bringing us potential coaching hires on Wednesdays following an SU loss. For their sakes hopefully they have a good 9 or 10 candidates picked out.

From The Bleacher Report, Syracuse could be looking for a new head coach by Week 4. While I think that before the Northeastern game is way too early to get rid of Robinson, if we do go 0-4 to start the season he had better have his bags packed. If DOCTOR Daryl Gross doesn't fire him at that point, an angry mob might force him out anyways.

And finally, Syracuse will probably be spending most of the season here in the Bottom 10.

The Daryl Gross Tangible Improvement Indicator ⓒ

We are going to be doing something new here at Get Gross Out this year. After every Football, Men's Basketball, and Men's Lacrosse game we will be rating the performance of the Orange with our brand spanking new Daryl Gross Tangible Improvement Indicator ⓒ (patent pending). The Daryl Gross Tangible Improvement Indicator ⓒ is the easiest way for you to tell how the team has performed. Simply look for the number of Daryl Gross heads that accompany the report and you will know just where we stand.

For instance, if the football team is able to handily dispatch Northwestern this weekend, you might see The Daryl Gross Tangible Improvement Indicator ⓒ like this:



However, if the Orangemen fail to score and are demolished like the last time they faced a Big 10 opponent on opening weekend, you might see The Indicator like this:



If any of the indications about the 2008 football season are correct, I don't think you will be seeing too many of Daryl Gross' mugs on the screen...

Football season preview

The guys from Over The Pylon have been putting together their own Pre-season Top 25 Poll and it finally has come to an end. They have ties to Ball State and Kentucky so they know what it means to have overinflated expectations for the year. While you won't find mention of the Syracuse in their Top 25 (or anyone's Top 25 for that matter), they are posting previews of some other schools from across the country and they asked me to provide a nuts and bolts preview of the 2008-2009 Orangemen which you can find here.

Gross Decline?

As I was calculating the updated records of both the Men's and Women's programs this afternoon, I started looking a little closer at just what DOCTOR Daryl Gross's leadership has meant to Syracuse Athletics in terms of winning and losing. Now overall, we have seen marked improvement in certain sports, however in general, the Athletics Program has a much worse record now than it did during the final years of Jake Crouthamel's leadership.

After going through the numbers again and again, it is rather disturbing to see what has happened. The three traditional powerhouse programs for Syracuse University, the Men's Basketball and Lacrosse teams, as well as the Football team have all suffered major setbacks during the DOCTOR Daryl Gross era, which I like to refer to as the Post Apocalyptic Era. During this time, the Men's programs (including the Men's Soccer Program) have gone 145-114-9 (.558). Compare that to the 151-88-7 (.628) record of the same Men's programs prior to DOCTOR Daryl Gross and you can see my astonishment.

The situation gets even more discouraging when I looked at the numbers for the Women's programs. With the sharp decline on the Men's side, I was assuming that Women's sports were suddenly performing with much better results. Of course, you know what they say about assuming. Under DOCTOR Daryl Gross, Women's programs have gone 332-312-11 (.515), compare that to the 315-297-6 (.514) record before DOCTOR Daryl Gross, and you see that he really has not done much to improve Women's sports.

However, the area of greatest concern happens to deal with the revenue generating sports. The two sports at Syracuse that generate the most revenue to fund all of the other sports happen to be the Men's Basketball and Football programs. Under DOCTOR Daryl Gross, these programs have gone an abysmal 98-69 (.587) compared to the 87-41 (.680) that they went prior to his arrival. The question is, how much longer will fans continue to support these Men's teams that have struggled under DOCTOR Daryl Gross?

Do you smell what the DOCTOR is cooking?

I think that most of us saw this coming. Greg Robinson was going to be back as head football coach at Syracuse in 2008. What I really want to know is why did it take DOCTOR Daryl Gross so long to make this pronouncement?

There is plenty of fire in the pot regarding whether or not this was the right move for Syracuse at this time. DOCTOR Daryl Gross sure believes it is. I'm digesting some thoughts before really going in depth with the situation, but I still want an answer to my question.

I have to believe that DOCTOR Daryl Gross has known for a long time that Greg Robinson would be back in 2008. There simply wasn't anything that could have happened during the Cincinnati game which would have changed the outcome of this season. Really, for the past several weeks of the season it was painfully obvious that Syracuse just wasn't a going to do anything this year. If we all could see it, I am sure that DOCTOR Daryl Gross could see it. I can say that DOCTOR Daryl Gross is a lot of things, but I can't say that he is a complete idiot. He had to have seen the discontent with each mounting loss. He had to see the complete uncompetitiveness of this unit and surely he had to see that there was nothing that this coaching staff was going to do that would solve the problem.

Since he had to have seen all of that, why didn't he start to talk with people close to the program and throughout the Syracuse community several weeks ago so that he could have announced the day after the football season was over that Greg Robinson would be returning as head coach? He could have easily sent out feelers to other coaches to see if they were interested in the Syracuse job throughout that time and would have at least known what to make of the entire situation.

To leave Greg Robinson's job status uncertain for the past four days was a public relations nightmare and I really expected much more from a spinster such as DOCTOR Daryl Gross.

In Case You Missed It

Greg Robinson is back next year. Way to completely botch the process DOCTOR Gross.

And in more Daryl Gross is Egotistical news, the headline was, of course, Gross Issues Statement On University's Football Program.

I'll be back for more after I let myself cool down a little.

In Case You Were Wondering

Daryl, you should probably be doing things like this and this.

Average Week for Syracuse Athletics

With Football season finally over, Daryl Gross can relax a little as fans will quickly forget the sins of the season assuming that Jim Boeheim's squad has a good year. With that being said here are the results from last week:

• Football: 0-1 (.000)


• Men's Basketball: 1-1 (.500)


• Women's Basketball: 1-0 (1.00)


• Total: 2-2 (.500)

This was a pretty mediocre week for Syracuse sports as far as the record was concerned. The Women's Basketball team faced off against Lehigh and made short work of them while the means team took third place in a four team tournament in New York. The Football team continued their dismal play by giving their final home game to Cincinnati. As of yet, there has been no announcement from the good DOCTOR as to whether or not Greg Robinson will be back, although all signs seem to be pointing that he will be.

Fairness Doctrine

Perhaps I am naive, but I Was reading the latest from Donnie Webb over on Syracuse.com and he made mention of the "Fairness Doctrine".

From what I know of Syracuse University, there certainly is very little fairness when it comes to being a fan. Aside from the fact that our football team absolutely stinks and that the entire athletics department as a whole is doing worse off since Daryl Gross took over, there are many other things that are completely unfair to fans.

The barrage of advertising that is played at every Syracuse contest is one of those things. I know this has been mentioned by so many of my fellow bloggers out there so I am not going to rehash what has been said, but I found it interesting that after all of the complaining about the level of noise as far as the advertisements go I thought that the noise level was a little less than what it normally is at the Fordham basketball game. I am anxious to hear the noise level of the advertisements for the upcoming football game, but I really felt like the ads were a little less unobtrusive last game. And, there was no time warner dice game. Hopefully that is something that continues throughout this season.

Also, I think most of us fans are pretty sick of the double speak and creative writing that surrounds the athletics department. Syracuse loses it's 18th conference game out of 20 in the Greg Robinson era? Let's talk about Mike Williams instead. Syracuse is in the bottom of the barrel of BCS teams in almost all statistical categories? We have a kickoff returner who has set records this season! The swimming and diving teams have been dumped? We have swimmers who have set University records and will forever be in the record books!

I found out a couple of weeks ago that the new garage that was built a few years ago raised parking fees to $20. I was floored. The garage is farther away from the Dome than the Crouse Garage and now it costs $10 more? From what I can only imagine, the athletics department is hurting, but give me a break! What's next? $15 Hoffman Hot Dogs at the game? Beer for $30 a glass?

But then again, this is DOCTOR Daryl Gross' Athletic Department and as long as he puts his name on it, that is the way it is going to be.

Fact: Daryl Gross Condones Dishonesty

An interesting tidbit from TNIAAM, apparently the Syracuse Athletics website is showing that Syracuse beat UConn and is now 3-8. Don't just take me word for it, visit the site and see for yourself.

And just in case DOCTOR Gross decides that he wants to be a little more honest with us I took a screen shot.

I never thought things would get so bad for DOCTOR Gross and the Athletic Department that they now have to resort to fraud in order to cover their backs.

Women's Basketball Helps Provide a Winning Week

I'm sure that DOCTOR Daryl Gross was breathing a sigh of relief when the Women's Basketball team rallied in the second half of their game against Coppin State to close out with a 69-65 victory on Saturday. The win ensured that the Orange would go 4-3 this week and would raise the overall record of the Women's Basketball program under DOCTOR Gross.

With their loss on Friday in the Big East tournament against Louisville, the Volleyball program finished their season.

For the Football program, Gross only has one more dismal week to sit through before we lean the fate of Greg Robinson. Analysis from Hartford Courant writer Desmond Connor, a twenty year Syracuse resident, is that Robinson should stay while the Axeman provides us with his Memo/Open-letter to DOCTOR Gross regarding Greg Robinson.

• Football: 0-1 (.000)


• Men's Basketball: 3-0 (1.000)


• Women's Basketball: 1-1 (.500)


• Volleyball: 0-1 (.000)


• Total: 4-3 (.571)

Wins and Losses

I added the records of the three major programs since Gross was named Athletic Director on 12.17.2004 to the side bar. For a man who claims to be pursuing excellence in all sports, it is painfully obvious that we are struggling with mediocrity. Since 12.17.2004, inclusive,the three major sports are 99-74, a measly .572 winning record.

I am in the process of compiling the win-loss records of all sports since Gross took over. I'll be posting this as soon as I have it ready.

Steve Pederson East

In response to a question in his mailbag on SI.com, college football writer Stewart Mandel called Daryl Gross, "essentially the East Coast version of Steve Pederson." Stewart goes on to say that Gross "isn't likely to pull the plug on his grand hire after just three seasons." This was in response to a question about Houston Nutt trying to save his job.

Pederson, as you know, is the former Athletic Director of Nebraska who lost his job mid-season due to issues internal to the Athletics Department. Speculation is that Pederson was alienating many fans, donors, staff members, and former athletes. Not that this sounds anything like the Daryl Gross administration...

Mandel included Coach Greg Robinson in his list of coaches who are close to being in trouble but need to perform poorly over the rest of the season to actually get canned. With South Florida, UConn and Cincinnati left to play after this weekends matchup with Pitt, things don't seem to be looking that much brighter for Robinson.