The ultimate edge (pressure) favors Syracuse on Saturday
by JonnyNYC on Sep 10, 2010 7:16 AM PDT
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First let me be clear that I'm an alum so I'm biased toward the Orangemen.
I get to the statement above by realizing the following:
- After the tough loss last week, UW has a pretty decent amount of pressure to win this game
- According to 90% of experts, Las Vegas and most fans, UW should win this game
- SU hasn't won on the west coast in years, is playing in a very hostile environment and has less talent then UW
- If UW wins, they should win so it's nothing special. Jake stays in the Heisman race, maybe improves his positioning, team is on track.
- If UW loses, lordy lordy this would not be good. 0-2 to start a season, non conference or not, is not ideal. Jake's candidacy takes a hit but more importantly this loss would be a huge black spot for Sark.
- Syracuse effectively has no pressure in this game, they want to win this game but are not expected to for numerous reasons and factors. They have absolutely nothing to lose.
- For Washington, who really needs to win this game, playing a team with nothing to lose can present be very difficult.
- And with this assumed pressure going into the game, any mistake by UW, any big play by SU, or simply if UW does not get out ahead comfortable early, the pressure will build, younger players might try to do too much, over think things, and stress would be compounded.
Now I'm not saying UW to fold into a fetal position and cry by any means. It's incredibly likely they come out firing and none of this is an issue.
I do believe though, a slow start to this game for UW could be very bad and while SU doesn't have superior talent, home field advantage or history on their side, if they can withstand the first assault by UW, in game pressure favors them rather significantly. And this is what represents their best chance to win.
Thoughts from da Pound?
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Dumb and Dumber
This post reminds me of the movie when Jim Carey wanted to date Lauren Holly, and he was told no way. Then she changed it to 1 in a million, and he got all excited because “there was a chance”. I know that they did get together later, but that was Hollywood, this is football.
I doubt if this article makes it to the bulletin board. This is a get well game, and a close victory based upon the above could prove to be a real downer for next week….but not this week.
Disappointed
I have to say that I was really disappointed with the Dawgs last week. That said, after a week to get over that feeling, UW played pretty poorly against a good team who caught every break at home, and somehow not only stayed in the game, but really should have won it.
I’ve been reading a lot of the Cuse media throughout the week and all I really have to say is that is a very cocky bunch who got blown out by a really bad UW team at home 4 years ago.
A lot can change in 4 years and I do think Syracuse is a much improved team, but I think they are digging way too deep into a decent win against “Akron” while overblowing UW’s away loss to a perennial top 25 team in BYU.
I’m not going to make any predictions, but I really do think that the UW has a lot of motivation to hit the ground running and make a statement.
Exactly
UW played pretty stinking sloppy last week and only lost to BYU by 6 points @ BYU. If we would have played just a sloppy game (instead of pretty stinking sloppy) we would have beat BYU.
The big difference in this game is Husky Stadium. This team is much better at home, the Orange are going to be in for a big surprise, and they aren’t going to like it.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
This can be titled if...
If the exact same Husky team shows up from last week they only win by 7 this week.
If they come out motivated to prove all us nay sayers wrong about them they win by 21
If the Huskies get worse than last week then yes the possibility of them losing is there
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
by DAWGFATHER91 on Sep 10, 2010 10:41 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Very well said. I like it.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I'm not to worried but...
I got to school in Orem and I live in Provo. Watching that game dressed in purple in the heart of the BYU student section was, needless to say, extremely disappointing. Week 1 was rough but week 2 is going to lift our spirits. GO DAWGS!
by ReturnOfTheDawgs on Sep 10, 2010 11:17 AM PDT reply actions
In this day and age, the idea of "performance under pressure" has mostly been debunked as a factor in the outcome of sports.
Teams tend to play how they practice with talent / skill / preparation winning out over nebulous concepts like “pressure” almost every time.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I should cite a source...
… as I know that this has been most studied in baseball, I picked up this link
The correlation between past and current clutch performance is .01, with a standard deviation of .07. In other words, there isn’t a significant ability in clutch hitting; if there were, the same players would be good clutch hitters every year.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
Performing under pressure
I think our Syracuse friend are over estimating the “pressure” to win a game. I’d be more concerned with the pressure of playing in a very hostile environment like Husky Stadium.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I'm not over estimating it ;) I'm suggesting it's SU's best chance of winning
I didn’t say it was likely, I didn’t say it was probable. I’m really just saying in order for SU to win, this type of pressure falling on UW would be a big factor
That makes much more sense.
Obviously, I think the biggest obstacle for SU is going to be the crowd.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
I've Heard That...
…there is more pressure to “not lose” then there is to win.
SU lack of QB experience is a glaring weakness. Apparently this is his first road game. Contrast that with Jake Locker playing at home as a experienced senior QB.
Washington Husky Football-"Hear the bark, feel the bite!"
Not To Mention...
…his talent factor. I know, I know, everyone was disappointed last week.
Washington Husky Football-"Hear the bark, feel the bite!"
Let of reasonable comments here
I don’t think my post above really is over confidence or touting SU, so I hope it wasn’t taken that way.
It’s more of an observation of where the pressure falls and that this ‘pressure’ is really what would give SU it’s best opportunity to win.
I dont necessarily disagree with you Gekko Mojo 100% but regardless of the stats, technology and modeling of today – there are just some things which can not be measured within stats.
Why do teams play better then at home then on the road?
Why are free throws tougher at the end of a game then in the 1st half?
Why can’t Peyton Manning play well in the playoffs/big games?
Plenty of examples of where pressure applies itself in sports.
I think it's valid
While I disagree with the title of the post implying the pressure will be the ultimate edge, I agree with the general premise – there’s probably a little more pressure on Washington in this game than on Syracuse. That said, we don’t really know the personality of these teams – for all we know, this group of Huskies will play fast and loose and home with a real swagger. And maybe the Orange are putting too much pressure on themselves to prove that they can win on the west coast.
I think if Syracuse keeps it close all game that it has the potential to rattle the Huskies more, but I don’t know that it’s going to be that big of a factor.
its a tough thing to debate...
… but the reason that I argue that it is a debunked concept is that there are no examples in sports where you can find consistent “over performers” or “under performers” when it comes to dealing with pressure. So, either it doesn’t exist or it exists and everyone can handle it in the same way.
Either way, it refutes the notion that pressure will be a factor in the game. Talent, skill, preparation and the distractions to execution that a home crowd exerts on a visiting team (e.g., line of scrimmage noise, influence on officials, etc) are the factors that matter.
Damn, my eyeball tastes good.
I can agree with all of that
but I don’t think because you can’t measure it directly that it’s not there at some levels
Amen
I want to see a blood bath. A merciless…blood bath.
I do too
But I’m not real confident that’s going to happen. I think we should be pretty happy if we win by 2 TDs.
We will win by 34
I have spoken!
Semper Fi'
WatchKalibRun.com
Pain don't hurt...
by RolloTomasi on Sep 10, 2010 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Perhaps some of the anger and outrage from many bloggers (you know who you are) last week was a wee bit of over-identification with the dawgs. This week you can feel better about yourselves. DAWGS by a minimum of 20 points.
I am one...
And I still see myself as outraged at this point, I will wait for next week against the Huskers to see where we are.
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
by DAWGFATHER91 on Sep 10, 2010 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions
The Ultimate Edge - Syracuse's QB
I’m not sure how this has slipped through the cracks, I haven’t heard anybody talk about it yet, from Bob Condotta:
-And keep Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib, making his first career road start, from getting too comfortable. Because Nassib is making his first start, SU is likely to try to get RB Delone Carter going, and UW needs to keep him in check, as well.
First career start on the road, 2,000 mile from home, at Husky Stadium. Not a recipe for success.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
That's not correct
Syracuse was at Akron last week and Nassib got the start.
Now, that’s not to say that a start on the road a few thousand miles from home in front of 60+ thousand is a little different than starting at Akron…
Off topic a bit...
but whats with all these teams going to small time schools, Cuse’ at Akron, Zona at Toledo, Minnestoa at Middle Tennesee State?
That's how schools can build confidence
Off topic, anyone watching the WVU/Marshall game…WOW
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
by DAWGFATHER91 on Sep 10, 2010 7:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Good point
I was just going off of Bob’s blog, and I agree that it will be quite different than Akron, which will make it a very interesting factor to watch on Saturday.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
Akron is the rubber stadium correct?
I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. Glory favors the bold. Chance favors the prepared mind. Luck, well i have that too. University of Utah goes to the Pac-12 conference in 2011. I expect them to compete immediately for the conference CG. Brock Lesnar will defeat Cain Velasquez. Womens MMA, the next big thing in sports. Utah and Boise take care of business in week one. Don't be surprised if they both go undefeated.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Sep 11, 2010 12:08 AM PDT up reply actions
Rubber Bowl
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Sep 11, 2010 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Those aren't some bad thoughts in the article, but overall the premise is based on the speculative conjecture of some perceived pressure.
It would only be relevant if the collective roster of UW’s perceives there to be any added pressure to win against a team that seemingly has nothing to lose. We can’t know this. Is it possible? Sure. Is the opposite also possible? Yes. Is it probable? No way to know, and if it’s true, there’s no way to find out.
I do agree that a slow start can be very damaging to UW, and could be something that they’d have to pay for later in the game. That said, I don’t think the game will be close to the point that UW will pay dearly for a slow start if they do indeed start off slowly.
Golden!
Emerald City
It’s 6:33 AM and I’m about to hit the road…GO DAWGS!! “Put the squeeze on the Orangemen!” I like mine with plenty of Orange pulp!
I was listening to Millen last night (on demand) they were talking about how the “Carrier Dome” is not air conditioned. Pretty weird huh?
Washington Husky Football-"Hear the bark, feel the bite!"
They only play Basketball and Football there
and those are fall and winter sports resepectively…not really much need for A/C in Syracuse during the Winter.
Where Is That Big Mouth Cuse Fan Now!
I told you he wouldn’t have the balls to show his face after the game!
Washington Husky Football-"Hear the bark, feel the bite!"
I called him out on the Cuse blog
but he stayed hidden under his rock.
Semper Fi'
WatchKalibRun.com
Pain don't hurt...
They never do.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Sep 12, 2010 8:59 PM PDT up reply actions
I doubt he's actually a Syracuse fan.
Looks like he joined just for this week. My guess is that he’s a Duck fan that just want to ruffle our feathers for the week.
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
"BOW DOWN TO WASHINGTON"
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