In anticipation of tomorrow's game against the Orange, SBN's Syracuse representative, Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, and I traded some questions.  The questions are mostly in regards to the pigskin clash, but I couldn't help but take a peak ahead to the Big East hoops season.  I thought his answers were both informative and entertaining, and hope you agree.  Q&A after the magic show.

1) Syracuse has had some leads this season before things turned sour.  What changed during the Pitt and Rutgers game that tipped things away from the Orange?

Syracuse seems to be playing actual football the way you play video game football when the game console decides it's going to beat you no matter what.  The game always allows you one or two drives to try and score as much as you can before flipping that internal switch.  All of a sudden, all of your passes are intercepted, the opponent is throwing 50-yard bombs to wide-open receivers and your running game goes completely nowhere.  Before you know it, that 10-0 lead is a 28-10 deficit.

It's been clear all season that two areas the Orange have been lacking in are tackling and conditioning.  If you can't tackle well, a good running back will eventually tear you up, like we saw with UConn's Brown or Pitt's McCoy.  And if you're not conditioned, you're going to break down late in the game, which has happened over and over this season.  It's past the point of being appalling that they haven't fixed this yet because now we just expect it. 

The shame of it all is that, believe it or not, we're one of the least penalized teams in the nation and one of the best in turnover ratio.  Aren't we taught that if you do those two things well, you'll do well?  Only makes this season all the more frustrating.

2) Curtis Brinkley seems particularly dangerous to me.  What plays does he excel in running, and what's the best way for Notre Dame to try and shut him down?

I see Curtis as a grinder.  He's not going to make any flashy sweeps or dazzle you with his jukes but he's going to put his down, barrel ahead and all of a sudden he'll have 90 yards and you'll wonder how that happened. 

Honestly, I think it's pretty easy to shut him down.  SU has no passing game.  None.  Zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Put nine guys in the box.  Go for it.  Believe me, if you take the game out of Brinkley's hands and put it in the hands of our quarterbacks, you will guarantee victory. 

The other side of the coin is that if you can wear Brinkley down, Greggers doesn't like to play any of the other halfbacks.  We can't quite figure it out as he has three very capable backups (Doug Hogue, Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey) but between the three of them they average about five carries a game.  We live and die by Brinkley, take him out of the game and you disrupt the entire offense.

3) Over the last few years, Notre Dame's secondary has given up some big games to opposing wide outs.  Anyone on the Orange depth chart that could cause a code red for the Irish cornerbacks?

Well, yes and no.  Technically there are some really solid wideouts on the roster.  Sophomore Donte Davis has really stepped up, as much as one can, and taken the lead role amongst the receivers.  Freshman Marcus Sales is "the next big thing" for SU and he's been known to make some decent plays this season when he can.  Lavar Lobdell, who we were counting on to become the #1 receiver when our superstar Mike Williams was kicked off the team in the preseason, has been a non-factor all season long and a real disappointment.

I qualified the answer because it doesn't really matter how good these guys are, we don't have the quarterbacks to get them the ball.  Cam Dantley has a rocket on his shoulder but he doesn't know how to use it.  Andrew Robinson showed flashes of brilliance last year against Louisville and Cincy (7 TDs in those games combined) but fell apart at some point in the off-season and hasn't been the same since.  Their combined passing yards last week?  51.  The week before?  35.  THIRTY-FIVE!!!

4) Pick two guys - one a realistic choice, one a reach but your dream - to take over the football program.

I've been saying that, if the criteria for the next head coach is that he has head coaching experience, knows the Northeast, has strong recruiting ability, knows how to build a program and has ties to SU, then you have to go with UConn's Randy Edsall.  Edsall said he doesn't want to be a candidate but if you really look at the statement, it's not rock solid.  And he's refusing to slam the door shut.  I think he's still in play, he just can't talk about it now.

My dream coach?  Geez.  I mean all things equal I'd love Urban Meyer to trade in sunny Florida and the scantilly-clad co-eds therein for the frozen tundra of Syracuse, NY.  But like you said...it's a dream.

5) In honor of Donte Greene starting for the Kings, what's your take on Big East basketball this year?  Awesome, obviously, but who do you think coming out on top?

Is it possible for a conference to be too good?  We may find out this season.  I don't know too much about the specifics of each team but here's what I do know:

• Syracuse is going to be better than people are saying.  Their record might reflect it due to the severity of their schedule, but it'll show when they make the NCAA Tournament.
• As we found out last night, the middle of the conference ain't that shabby either.  If Seton Hall can knock off #20 USC, they can certainly hang with any of the big boys as well.
• I will curse Scottie Reynolds' name at least ten times this year.
• We will all forget that St. John's still has a basketball program until we see them in the first round of the newly-expanded Big East Tournament.
• Notre Dame will shoot threes, Syracuse fans will cringe.
• Pittsburgh will win the regular season title, Marquette will make a run and win the Big East Tournament and Louisville will go to the Final Four.

6) Prediction for the game?

Much like our last few games, I think Syracuse comes out of the gate with a little fire.  The special teams unit gives them a little spark...maybe a blocked punt or a long kick return.  Orange lead after the first quarter.  Notre Dame settles in and begins chipping away at the lead until they take their own into halftime.  In the 2nd half, Notre Dame runs away and never looks back.  ND 34, SU 13.

This is life as a Syracuse football fan.  You predict that you're team will lose by 21 points without batting an eyelash.  Awesome.