Syracuse, N.Y. — A nail-biter at the Carrier Dome as Andre Szmyt’s 35-yard field lifts Syracuse to a tight 24-21 victory of Liberty, and the Orange gets a little revenge on the Flames after an embarrassing loss at the loud house last year.
Here are some quick hits on the win.
Defensive Statement
The Syracuse defense must have been tired of the Malik Willis hype that surrounded the build up to Friday night’s game as it stepped up big against the NFL prospect.
The 33 NFL scouts representing 21 teams in attendance saw the Orange defense chase, fluster and flummox Willis to the tune of six sacks and a big turnover in the fourth quarter as Marlowe Wax smacked Willis to the ground and Mikel Jones recovered the ball to set up Syracuse’s winning score.
Willis made the Carrier Dome crowd and a Friday Night Lights audience nervous with some big throws in the second half, but the Orange defense answered the call against the big-time QB.
Garrett’s Game
The pregame shine may have been on Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, but Syracuse head coach Dino Babers made some QB news of his own in switching up his signal caller to give Garrett Shrader the start.
It looks like Babers made the right call to revive the Orange offense.
Shrader fills in some gaps that don’t exist in Tommy DeVito’s game. Shrader’s size and speed makes him an asset in the running game. He had two touchdown runs against the Flames, a 10-yard burst in the third quarter and 1-yard score in the first quarter where he bulled into the end zone.
Shrader can make sideline throws and use the screen game in the passing attack.
Sharder’s first start didn’t come without some hiccups. His obvious flaw comes in the deep passing game. Shrader has nowhere near the arm strength of DeVito in that department. It was especially evident watching Malik Willis deliver several sharp passes.
Despite being roommates with the Orange center, there was also a disconnect between Shrader and Airon Servais, as there were several high or shaky snap exchanges.
The Orange offense stalled in the fourth quarter but played ball control enough to grind out the win, including a big first down run by Shrader.
Tucker’s Town
Sean Tucker did Sean Tucker things against Liberty.
“That dang running back,” as Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze referred to him at halftime rushed for 168 yards on 32 carries, including a 27-yard score.
Tucker bashed ahead for a number of tough runs in the second half even with Liberty keying in on him.
Ball control was the name of the game for the Orange, and Tucker was the wrecking ball that made it happen.
Babers’ Blunders
Once upon time, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers wouldn’t think twice about going for it on fourth down.
Babers’ unfortunate reversal on that aggressive philosophy has eroded confidence in the Syracuse fan base.
The latest head-scratcher came when Syracuse faced a 4th-and-inches in the second half and chose to punt the football. It certainly didn’t help that Syracuse ran a shotgun play on 3rd-and-1 prior to that even with Garrett Shrader and Sean Tucker running efficiently at that point of the game.
Frankly, a lot of Syracuse’s offensive play-calling can be put into question from this game and overall.
Syracuse did manage the clock well down the stretch to set up the winning field goal, but Orange fans still have more questions than answers about the head coach’s philosophy.
Contact Brent Axe: Email | Twitter
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