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Ann Heisenfelt / AP, 2008East Carolina coach Skip Holtz, left, makes a point with wide receiver Darryl Freeney, right, during a game against Tulane on Sept. 13.

Since Syracuse announced the dismissal of head football coach Greg Robinson last weekend, East Carolina coach Skip Holtz's name has been circulated as a strong candidate for the job. Holtz's team is 6-4 this season, despite losing 12 starters to injuries or suspensions. "It's flattering that everybody throws your name out, but I haven't talked to anybody," Holtz told The (Greenville) Reflector this week.

Skip Holtz's father, Lou, was the head coach at Notre Dame and South Carolina and is currently a college football commentator for ESPN. Lou Holtz played golf with Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross at Augusta National over the summer, but said they didn't talk about his son or the coaching job at SU.

The Post-Standard's Donnie Webb has more on Skip Holtz as a possible candidate for the SU coaching job.

Rob Ianello, an assistant coach and top recruiter for Notre Dame, SU's next opponent, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. He said this week he has not been contacted about the opening at Syracuse.

"My ultimate goal is to be a head football coach at the Division I-A college level. If that opportunity ever arose, I would certainly look into it at any school I felt had the opportunity to win," Ianello said. (Full story)

More Syracuse football:

Saturday's football game between Syracuse University and the University of Notre Dame will air live in HD on NBC. The game starts at 2:30 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage starts a 2 p.m. on NBCSports.com.

This is the 18th year NBC has been the broadcast home of Notre Dame home football.

Tom Hammond will do the play-by-play and Pat Haden will serve as analyst for the game. They will be joined by Alex Flanagan, who is also writes for the NFL Network.

This is sixth meeting between Syracuse and Notre Dame. The Irish lead the series 3-2.

In addition to being rivals on the gridiron, teams from Syracuse and Notre Dame are competing in NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" eco-challenges sponsored by Carbonrally.com. One team will win $10,000 to support campus eco initiatives. There is also an online video contest where students from SU and Notre Dame are challenged to create advertisements that promote sustainable practices. These commercials will be posted on NBCSports.com.

The Syracuse University women's basketball team lost its first game of the season Wednesday night, falling to No. 17 Ohio State University 78-71 in Columbus, Ohio.

Four Syracuse players scored in double figures but couldn't overcome the power of Ohio State's 6-foot-4 center Jantel Lavender, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.Lavender, last year's Big Ten freshman and co-player of the year, made 9-of-11 shots from the field. She was supported by Samantha Prahalis with 17 and Brittany Johnson with 15.

SU was led by Erica Morrow with a game-high 23 points, Chandrea Jones with 14, Juanita Ward with 11 and Vionca Murray with 10.

The Orange outrebounded the Buckeyes 46-36, but Ohio State shot better, making 45.9 percent of its attempts (28-of-61) to 37.7 percent for SU (20-of-77).

Ohio State (3-0) took the lead 3 minutes into the game and never trailed again, building margins of up to 10 points in the first half and 16 in the second half.

SU's Nicole Michael, who led all players with 15 rebounds, left the game with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining after banging her head hard on the court. The extent of her injury was unknown.

Syracuse (2-1) will play its home-opener Saturday, hosting Portland State in the Carrier Dome at 1 p.m.

Chris Wagner
cwagner@syracuse.com

The Syracuse University women's basketball team had their first loss of the season Wednesday night, falling to the 17th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 78-71. The Buckeyes held a double-digit lead in the second half, but the Orange women rallied and pulled to within seven points late in the fourth quarter.

Erica Morrow lead the Orange with 23 points and Nicole Michael pulled down 15 rebounds in the effort.

Next up for the Orange, Portland State on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. The game has a 1 p.m. start.

Syracuse Crunch forward Brian McGuirk is out of the lineup for about three weeks. Wednesday, I talked to him about why that is.

If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip down to the next item.

Shenneika Smith, a top-10 women's basketball recruit, signed a national letter of intent today to play for St. John's.

The signing ends the quest of Syracuse University coach Quentin Hillsman to land the 6-foot-1 Brooklyn star, considered to be the best pure shooter in the Class of 2009.

Last week, it appeared Smith was going to sign with Kentucky, but she made an 11th-hour official visit to Syracuse in recent days and an unofficial one to Ohio State. The early signing period began last Wednesday and ended today.

While the news for St. John's was good on the surface, Smith revealed to ESPN's Hoopgurlz.com that she has a stress fracture and additional damage in her left foot. She is seeking a second medical opinion.

Chris Wagner
cwagner@syracuse.com

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