Before last week, this is one of the last times Greg Paulus wore a helmet and pads, as a senior for Christian Brothers Academy a couple days after Thanksgiving 2004:

Yeah, I know, nobody on the white team covered anybody, but still: His team dominated and Paulus was Gatorade's high school player of the year for the entire country, at which point he told interested football programs to take a hike. But either he hasn't lost that touch after four years of focusing on basketball at Duke, or Syracuse is really desperate to find the slightest hint of a spark in its wasteland of an offense, because, after a full week of practice, Paulus is the Orange's new starting quarterback. He has two-and-a-half weeks with the first team to prep for the opener with Minnesota.

So yeah ... Ryan Nassib ... sorry, dude. But you saw the writing on the wall, right? When faced with a choice between a lightly recruited, no-name redshirt freshman whose emergence in the spring caught even the most devoted fans off-guard and a once highly recruited fifth-year senior who comes with a name, a list of jilted suitors, an accompanying media barrage and a loudly ticking clock on his eligibility, it was a no-brainer, really:

If Nassib were named the starter, he could go out on September 5 and fire five touchdowns vs Minnesota and everyone in the building and watching at home would have wondered if Paulus would have thrown six.

Starting Paulus answers the question once and for all. If it doesn't work out, Nassib gets to take the baton and enter the conquering hero and get the chance to prove he is the QB of the future at Syracuse.

That's a little presumptuous, of course: Nobody's going to be watching Syracuse and Minnesota from home, except maybe a few drunk Minnesota fans. But it is true that Nassib has three more years to play after serving as Paulus' insurance policy; the "Floppy" Experience is here, now, for the upcoming 12 games only. Get your formerly ironic t-shirts while supplies last, and while optimism still rules the day.