Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse football offense seems to have adopted a new offensive philosophy going forward and that is it has no philosophy.
The Orange went against everything we’ve been conditioned to expect in a 24-21 nail-biting victory over Liberty on Friday night at the Carrier Dome, won on an Andre Szmyt 35-yard field goal as time expired. Syracuse is now 3-1 for the 2021 season.
“Orange is the New Fast” has been brushed aside for a physical, ground-and-pound approach.
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said in his postgame press conference that Garrett Shrader got the start against Liberty because he was the best quarterback for the Orange for that particular game.
He dropped a big hint at that same presser that the Orange have become chameleons, adopting to what the circumstance calls for to protect itself best.
“What I told the guys is that all the rules and all the bells and whistles and all that stuff is off. I’ve got to do things that is going to help us and allow us to win football games,” Babers said.
“The team that we were playing this week, we really felt there was certain things we could take advantage of with Garrett Shrader’s legs,” Babers said. “Garrett will start off because we won the game next week, but we need everybody in our locker room to be able to go through the schedule that we are going through.
“We can’t guarantee that we’re going to be able to do what we did tonight against some other opponents that are on our schedule. We have to have the flexibility to move in and out of offenses and do it in different ways.”
The question is how long can Babers can keep this up and shape shift the Orange offense into what it needs to be for that week’s opponent.
It’s a good thing that in the midst of an offensive transition, the Orange defense couldn’t be painting a clearer picture of what it has become.
The Sunny Side
Orange Crush
Someone forgot to tell the Syracuse defense that Friday night was supposed to be the Malik Willis Show at the Carrier Dome.
Tony White’s 3-3-5 attack stole the spotlight before more than 30 NFL scouts in attendance at the Dome with a bruising performance on the potential first-round pick and the Flames’ offense.
Syracuse sacked Willis six times on Friday night and flustered him into other broken plays with SU linebacker Mikel Jones spying him like a heat-seeking missile. Jones led the Orange with eight tackles and collected a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
“Mikel Jones, he’s the guy,” Babers said. “You know, he’s the guy. He’s the key to everything and he’s definitely our quarterback on defense with no equal. He’s the guy.”
The Orange defense provided a critical stand in the fourth quarter when Liberty coach Hugh Freeze decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 instead of kicking a field goal. Kingsley Jonathan held up Willis and gave SU the ball back after the Flames drove the length of the field.
“I feel like the whole defense did a good job of watching film this week and knowing what to expect,” Jones said. “We just stuck to our roots. We knew what kind of defense we are. We knew we shouldn’t have let them get that far. Once we saw they were going for it on fourth down, we knew we couldn’t let them in. We did too much early in the game to let them in the end zone.”
Don’t get it wrong here. Willis gave the scouts what they came to see on Friday, making some brilliant throws and leading the Flames back into the game.
He just couldn’t fully crack the code on the Orange defense.
With Liberty driving with 3:35 remaining, Cody Roscoe and Marlowe Wax popped Willis and jarred the ball loose. Jones hopped on it and gave Syracuse the last possession it would need to bleed the clock and give kicker Andre Szmyt the chance to boot the winning 35-yard field goal with one second remaining.
“I thought they were amazing,” Babers said of his defense. “Especially with the fourth down stop. That was big. They could have kicked a field goal right there and they went for it and wow. Wow. Our guys continuously found a way to get him down for the most part, but he (Willis) really is something. I’ve never seen this many NFL scouts at a game before. So thank you, Mr. Willis.”
Friday’s win also had to be a particularly gratifying performance for the Orange defense with the memory of Liberty’s 368 rushing yards a season ago at the Dome hanging in the air.
Babers and the Orange certainly didn’t forget how Liberty celebrated its win last year by playing Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” in the locker room.
The Orange had its own message to send after the game using the same song.
Ground and Pound
Sean Tucker’s star shined a little brighter under the Friday Night Lights as the Orange running back rushed for 168 yards on 32 carries, including a 27-yard touchdown.
Tucker became the first Syracuse ball-carrier with 30 attempts since Dontae Strickland had 30 against USF in 2016.
Tucker can grind out tough yards, burst through holes for big gains and catch passes out of the backfield when needed.
Babers gets it. Just feed Tucker the ball and let good things happen.
“There’s one thing when you’re on this football team and Sean Tucker is running the ball the way he is, our number one job is to find ways to make sure he gets the ball,” Babers said. “I think it’s pretty evident that we’ve got coaches and players and everybody working to try to find ways to make sure he doesn’t just disappear in a football game.
Shrader Surprise
Garrett Shrader was called into duty at the last-minute for the Orange and delivered a win as the starting quarterback.
Shrader’s best advertised asset was in the ground game, and he showed that off several times on Friday night, including on a sharp 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Shrader faked a pitch, then charged toward the end zone in breaking a tackle along the path.
Shrader also bulled his way into the end zone on a 1-yard score in the first quarter.
Shrader ended the game with 53 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. He provided Syracuse with some tough first-down runs down the stretch when Tucker wasn’t doing the same.
His aerial attack leaves a lot to be desired (more on that below) but the change of pace Shrader provided for the Orange offense was needed to beat the Flames.
Flags Not Flying
Babers said he had a lot of his famous “kumbaya” meetings with the Orange after an alarming rate of penalties this season, including an eye-popping 16 flags for 163 yards against Albany.
Whatever Babers said must have provided a temporary elixir as Syracuse committed just five penalties for 37 yards against Liberty.
That slower pace has to continue for the Orange as it enters ACC play.
The Dark Side
Passing Problems
Shrader was just 6-for-15 for 77 yards in the air against Liberty.
He misfired on a deep pass to open the game to a streaking Damien Alford. He underthrew the ball on several other attempts. Shrader is decent enough in the screen game and can connect on sideline throws, but he’s a run-first quarterback whose passing game still leaves a lot to be desired.
Shrader also has a center exchange issue with Airon Servais, an odd chemistry issue considering the two are roommates. Several snaps went high or off target for Shrader, sending those plays to an early death.
Syracuse’s ground-and-pound approach worked against Liberty. It can’t expect to win consistently in ACC play with a quarterback throwing at that low rate.
Shrader doesn’t seem up to the task yet to deliver on that front. It’s why we likely haven’t seen the last of Tommy DeVito on the field.
“I will definitely say we need to throw the ball better,” Babers said. “In dealing with quarterbacks and dealing with offenses and dealing with football teams, you have to have certain standards and the standards can’t change. You can’t settle for things. We need to be able to throw the ball better than how we threw the ball.”
Stat of the Day
Servais started his 52nd consecutive game, which continues to build on a new Syracuse record he sets with each new start.
Tweet of the Game
Contact Brent Axe: Email | Twitter
In starting Garrett Shrader, Dino Babers sends a message: Expect this year to be different
Hugh Freeze after Syracuse’s top-notch defense stifles Malik Willis in 4th quarter: ‘I hurt for him’
Best and worst from Syracuse football’s 24-21 win over Liberty
Flames Extinguished: Syracuse wins a nail-biter over Liberty (Brent Axe’s Quick Hits)
Syracuse football box score vs. Liberty
Dino Babers makes a season-defining decision at quarterback, and Syracuse outslugs Liberty, 24-21
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