We are live from the fabulous Doubletree Hotel in Syracuse, where the Nittany Lions are ready to turn the Orange into juice.
It’s my first time in the Cuse, which seems like a decent mid-sized city. Hard to get a good taste of it last night, since the downtown area was largely blocked off for the premiere of the Ernie Davis movie “The Express.” Bob Costas, Jim Brown and many of the movie’s stars are in town, although the only actor’s name I recognize is Dennis Quaid, who plays Davis’ coach at Syracuse, Ben Schwartzwalder.
Thanks to Penn State beat food guru Frank Bodani, we did find an excellent restaurant near downtown last night, a place called the Mission. It’s in a church that was once a main stop on the Underground Railroad. There’s a dug out cavelike area under the church where slaves lived for, in some cases, months at a time. Before the Civil War, escaped slaves were treated as stolen property, and people who harbored slaves thus criminals. At that point, the Mason-Dixon Line meant nothing. The Underground Railroad’s true destination then was Canada. Upstate New York was a mecca for slaves on the lam, and Harriet Tubman lived in a house the next town over from here. It’s now a museum.
All this according to our waiter, who was very much like a tour guide despite the three metal studs he had pierced into the back of his neck.
After dinner we hit the customary night-before-road-game media get-together for beers and the very entertaining South Florida-Kansas game. JoePa showed up, but only stayed about 15 minutes and was fairly subdued. Joe always looks worn out 7-8 weeks into the season. This year it appears to be happening early. Of course, he’s 81 years old.
Oh yeah, the football. Syracuse’s program is by all appearances - reported administrative indifference, little community support, no stability in the coaching staff, declining facilities - a mess. Coach Greg Robinson, now 7-30 in his fourth season, has been making noises lately like if he’d known how bad it was, he would never have taken the job. Even heard a rumor last night that if his team gets blown out, Robinson will be fired today.
This is a giant mismatch, but I have a feeling with everything going on, the Cuse will make a little bit of a stand. I said a little bit.
Penn State 33, Syracuse 10.
