Cuse and Wake

[apollo]

Clawson lost his 3rd straight and 4th in 5 games to finish the regular season 6-6....Wake fans are becoming aware of the fact that he can't beat decent teams (1 win in 3 years against teams with a winning record). They also are calling for the OC to be fired. Next year will be a big one for the Claw. If Wake has a down year maybe Jinks can be out and all the Clawson lovers can get their man back.

Meanwhile Syracuse set a school record today by letting Pitt score 76 points. Year one of Dino ball the Cuse finished 4-8. He'll be out in a couple years....especially if he can't recruit.

[MarkL]

Dino brought excitement to Syracuse. He also won some decent games with a roster clearly not built for his golden tourniquet style of football. He will be fine with time. I bet he will recruit well simply by being different.
As for Clawson, I watched some WF this year. Offense was hard to stomach but that defense was excellent and it may still improve. I'm thinking next year will be similar to our 2012 - physical dominance, outstanding D, and so close to a championship. This year they were sorta like our 2011 - good early, then very beatable late against upper half teams in the conference.

[apollo]

Dino won't win just because it's near impossible to win consistently at Syracuse...he's not a good enough recruiter to convince kids that upstate NY is the place to be...there's probably about 10 coaches in the country who could consistently compete for ACC titles and he's not one of them.

Clawson it will depend on his schedule...he isn't going to beat many avg to above avg teams. It's comical to see what Wake fans complain about on their boards, exact same complaints as fans at BG had. Kinda surprised Elko hasn't been hired away by another program. He obviously knows what he's doing.

[hammb]

I said when they both left, and neither has given me reason to think otherwise: Wake & 'cuse are places you go for a paycheck and to get fired. Wake MAY be more willing to recognize their place and be happy if Clawson can get them into bowls (I think if they're patient with him he can be a consistent bowl coach), but neither place is ever going to compete for ACC titles in anything more than a fluke year.

'cuse is the death knell for Babers. It was a quick paycheck, but career suicide unless he can luck into 8 wins next year and bolt again. They still think they can recruit heisman caliber talent and compete in the ACC. They've been nothing in football since joining that conference, and the only reason they're there is their basketball program. They will never compete with Clemson or FSU, and yet they'll hold Babers to that ridiculous standard. It's a quick paycheck to add to your bank account.

I wish both guys the best. I love Dino's style of football, and I love the way Clawson builds things up the old fashioned way instead of shortcutting it. I don't think either are going to achieve much of anything at their current gigs...college football isn't any more fair for Wake or 'Cuse than it is for BGSU. They just have more money to throw around thanks to the TV contracts/bowl payouts.

[factman]

Pretty much agree with hammb on most points, but look at WF as sort of the Nortwestern of the B10 or Vanderbilt of the SEC. If you do things right and can go .500 or above most seasons, and a bowl game you are a long term hero, not to mention, the type of recruits you have to recruit.
Syracuse not so much in any category.

[hammb]

Pretty much agree with hammb on most points, but look at WF as sort of the Nortwestern of the B10 or Vanderbilt of the SEC. If you do things right and can go .500 or above most seasons, and a bowl game you are a long term hero, not to mention, the type of recruits you have to recruit.
Syracuse not so much in any category.

You may be right, and I hope you are. NW would be a good comp. .500 seasons consistently is about the best you can hope for at Wake, and I hope their administration realizes that.

Syracuse, I don't believe for a second, is that in tune with the realities of where they sit in the college football landscape.

[jpfalcon09]

The jury is still out on Babers. Agree that 'Cuse is a project that likely won't succeed, but the fans there will be patient if there's improvement. He still won't be able to get to the caliber of the FSU's and Clemson's, but we'll see. Kids like to play for coaches who have that unbridled enthusiasm so he might luck out on a few guys. Good luck trying to sell going to school there in the winter though.

Clawson will probably be at Wake for a few more years. They kept Grobe there well past his usefulness simply because everyone knows it's difficult to recruit there and win with the high academic standards. I don't think Clawson will end up taking that next step but he'll earn enough cash at Wake to live comfortably for the rest of his life.