Last month in Rhode Island I was on hand for Big East media day. The evening before the media event the conference invited members of the media to join conference representatives, football coaches and selected players and bowl executives and more to come together for a clambake, which was delicious.
Being the new guy in the mix I tended to soak in the whole experience rather than seek out individuals, so I sat down at my table early and waited to see who would join me. A woman approached me and asked if the remaining chairs were taken. They were not. She asked if she and her group could join me. Not realizing at first who she was with I immediately was surprised to see that the group she was with included Ryan Bartholomew, Doug Hogue, Michael Holmes, Rob Long and Derrell Smith. If you are not too familiar with those names, it's ok.
These players are those of Syracuse football players. Given the state of the Syracuse program in recent years since reaching the 1998 Orange Bowl it would be easy to not be familiar with the names playing for Syracuse. The Orange have not had a winning record since 2001 and have not had more than four wins in a season since 2004, when the Orange finished their second straight 6-6 season.
After the players sat down and we exchanged introductions the woman, Syracuse Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications Sue Edson, then introduced me to Syracuse football coach Doug Marrone, who sat down and later found out he had won the golf tournament from earlier in the day, rewarding him with some new top of the line golf clubs. Marrone's message to his players who sat at the table? He proved that he can win in the Big East, now it is time for the players to do the same.
Talking with punter Rob Long was one of my most enjoyable interviews of the conference's media day. He may be a punter but he expressed a great enthusiasm for the upcoming season. Linebacker Derrell Smith though was the main attraction for Syracuse. After putting on a humorous display in front of the cameras with his lobster dinner for the school's athletic website, Smith showed a determination to focus on practices and listened to his coach share stories form the past.
There is a rich football history at Syracuse that has started to slip in the minds of college football fans around the country. Syracuse is where players like Ernie Davis, Jim Brown, Larry Csonka, Marvin Harrison and Donovan McNabb played. The players there now are looking to honor the past by winning today. Is there work to be done? Absolutely. But is the will to win there? In my opinion, based on the feedback I received in Rhode Island, there is no question that the determination is there.
Syracuse was picked by the media to finish seventh in the eight-team conference, ahead of only Louisville. This season the Orange will play two games on the road to start the season and host a pair of FCS schools in their first two home games. Syracuse then has a bye week before opening up Big East conference play and they finish the season with a home game against former Big East rival Boston College, which should be an annual match-up if you ask me (but I also say that Boston College should be in the Big East). The toughest stretch of the season begins in the middle of October. Syracuse will play the top three teams in the conference in consecutive weeks, with the final two coming on the road.
2010 Syracuse Schedule
Home games in CAPS. * = Big East games.
September 4 - @ Akron
September 11 - @ Washington
September 18 - MAINE
September 25 - COLGATE
October 9 - @ South Florida*
October 16 - PITTSBURGH*
October 23 - @ West Virginia*
October 30 - @ Cincinnati*
November 6 - LOUISVILLE*
November 13 - @ Rutgers*
November 20 - CONNECTICUT*
November 27 - BOSTON COLLEGE
Click here for my complete 2010 Big East football preview.
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