Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers — along with center Jason Emerich and linebacker Zaire Franklin — addressed the media at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff on Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Here are three things Babers said.

This is a daunting journey

The first thing Babers mentioned in his opening statement was that since he arrived at Syracuse, he has felt like he’s been on a “daunting journey for correctness and righteousness.”

Throughout the spring he harped on the importance of the new techniques the coaches were installing to fit the new systems.

Babers looked to Emrich and Franklin behind him and explained that the two of them are “two of the finer things we’ve got going on on offense and defense.” He said he’s going to try to spread their “effort” and “precision” and spread it throughout the rest of the team.

The first year is boring, a third would be new

Babers has never stayed at one place as a head coach for more than two years. He spent 2012 and 2013 at Eastern Illinois in his first head coaching job and then 2014 and 2015 at Bowling Green.

He explained that the first year is “kind of boring” and like watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island because the team isn’t at the speed that he wants. He described the second year as “really cool” because his players get to the tempo and speed that he wants.

Beyond that, Babers has no idea. He’s never installed his systems at a school for more than two years.

“I’ve never gone to a third year before,” he said. “I really hope I get an opportunity to go for a third year at Syracuse because that would be new water for me.”

Penn State won’t be on the schedule soon

Syracuse and Penn State long had a fierce rivalry dating back to 1922 and extending until 1990 when the two teams played each other once a year for 68 years in row.

Since then, they’ve played just three times including a home-and- home in 2008 and 2009 and a game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in 2013.

Pittsburgh, another ACC school, renewed its rivalry with Penn State for the 2016 and 2017 season, but Babers and Syracuse aren’t eager to do so.

“Someone told me that Syracuse University has the eighth toughest schedule in the country, and that for the next two years we will absolutely be in the top 10,” he said. “When you’re playing a schedule like that and you’re rebuilding a football team, I’m not quite sure we should add Penn State just yet.

“So give us a little time. Let us work it around a little bit and we’ll see what we can do about the Nittany Lions.”

Penn State holds a 43–23–5 record against Syracuse all-time.

Published on July 22, 2016 at 2:53 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus