I guess Northwestern should really be wary of the Syracuse Orange. After all, Penn State made and sold t-shirts commemorating their six-point victory over the Cuse last week.
Wow.
That’s REALLY Bush League on the part of PSU. Yes, they’re on sanctions, and they can’t go to a bowl game, but seriously, souvenir t-shirts for that? Beating a very mediocre Syracuse Orange team that is undergoing a regime change?
Penn State sullied it’s storied college football tradition and hurt the Big Ten with this cheap marketing gimmick. As for your Northwestern Wildcats, I think they’ll handle Syracuse just fine. Vegas seems to think NU will take out the Orange by about two touchdowns.
And when that happens I’m sure NU will take the high road and act like they’ve been there before.
Unlike the Nittany Lions.
TV: Big Ten Network, 5pm CDT
Spread: NU -12
Northwestern analysis: The home-opener vs. the Syracuse Orange will be Chicago Blackhawks Day at Ryan Field. Lifelong Blackhawks fan Pat Fitzgerald and NU will honor the 2013 Stanley Cup champions with Blackhawks-themed promotions and appearances throughout the game.
And that’s fitting, as there’s been a lot of hockey sounding talk regarding the injury report this week. We’ve heard “upper body injury” and “lower body injury,” just like we hear in the NHL, regarding the health of Kain Colter and Venric Mark. Here’s detail on the injury report.
“Unless something changes throughout the course of the week, we expect him to play Saturday,” Fitzgerald said yesterday of Colter.
Of course, expect to see a lot of Trevor Siemian in this game. You would anyway, regardless of Colter’s health, but especially so in this game. Last year’s contest with the Cuse went down to the wire and the ‘Cats barely escaped with a victory. It was similar to the Nebraska and Michigan games, which saw a very exciting fourth quarter. However, unlike the Huskers and Wolverines contests, NU closed this one out.
What about the health of Marknado?
“Will be limited in practice early in the week and then we will see as the week progresses,” Fitz said yesterday.
Linebacker Collin Ellis left his mark in the Wildcats’ season opening victory over California last Saturday. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the second half, the first Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player to do that since Sept. 15, 2012, helping Northwestern to a 44-30 road victory. He is the first Wildcat, the first Big Ten player since at least 1996 and just the sixth linebacker in FBS history to accomplish the feat.
Northwestern football is 1-0 after week one because of Siemian. And Dan Vitale, Christian Jones, Tony Jones and Treyvon Green. Most importantly, Ellis, the player of the game. With the exception of Siemian, these are all guys most Big Ten fans haven’t heard of.
The ‘Cats won by two touchdowns. And they did it by leaning on guys that aren’t the two players that most college football fans know (Venric and Kain)
Northwestern football set the tone in week one for 2013, showing they have depth and balance all over the team. As a result, they moved up three spots in the polls.
Syracuse Orange analysis:
They have no more Shamarko Thomas; which is relevant, but not really all that important. I just love saying the name Shamarko Thomas. It’s right up there with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, MyCole Pruitt and Mister Cobble.
See, this is why we don’t have actual nicknames anymore in sports; the athletes’ real names are suitable enough. The guys to look out for on the Syracuse Orange are LB Marquis Spruill, WR Beckett Wales, and Drew Allen who beat out Terrel Hunt for QB1. And that wasn’t revealed until the absolute last minute. Like McKayla Maroney I am not impressed…with Allen who went 16-37 for 189, 2 picks, 0 TDs.
Nor should I be impressed by a stat line like that.
Spruill is impressive though. He may end up in a NFL mock draft or two soon. Wales only had 1 reception for ten yards in the opener vs. PSU.
Brutally honest prediction: Northwestern 37, Syracuse Orange 21.
This will be the fifth game for Northwestern against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent under Fitzgerald, who is 3-1 against ACC foes in his career. NU fell to Duke in Fitzgerald’s second season before beating the Blue Devils in Durham in 2008, and last season completed a home-and-home sweep (2011, 2012) of Boston College. Including ACC newcomers Syracuse and Pittsburgh (but not Notre Dame, because remember ND is only friends-with-benefits to the ACC, they want all the upside of a relationship with the ACC, but of course won’t commit to them), Northwestern is 24-23 all-time against ACC opponents.
I don’t see any reason why the Syracuse Orange would stop the Cats. Look for NU to move on to 2-0.
Brutally honest record: 44-20
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan, he also writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)