Five Syracuse games scheduled for TV coverage

SYRACUSE — Five of the 12 games slated for the upcoming Syracuse University football season will be played and televised live at noon.

The Orange opens the 2009 campaign against Minnesota at noon on Sept. 5 at the Carrier Dome. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. Four other matchups have been picked up by conference networks. On Sept. 12, SU's game at Penn State will be shown on the Big Ten Network.

Three other Syracuse games are slated for noon kickoffs on the Big East Network: Oct. 3 at home against South Florida, Nov. 14 at Louisville and Nov. 28 at Connecticut.

■ SU received two more verbal commitments for the 2010 season. Rivals.com reported that running back Steven Rene and kicker Ross Krautman are projected to join the Orange.

Rene is an all-purpose back from Canarsie High School in Brooklyn. According to Rivals, he chose Syracuse over offers from Hofstra and Stony Brook. The Post-Standard reported that Rene also received scholarship offers from Oregon, Boston College, Rutgers and Temple. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and competed as a defensive back.

Krautman, a native of Franklin Lakes, N.J., selected Syracuse over an offer from Miami (Ohio). Boston College, Louisville, Rutgers, East Carolina and others were pursuing Krautman. He's the younger brother of former Orange kicker, Ricky Krautman.