The next day: Lack of discipline could hurt Syracuse in its upcoming bowl game

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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — It’s become somewhat of a familiar sight in college football — a visiting team beats a rival and a player ends up with a flag in his hands. The goal is usually to plant it on the home team’s turf. Midfield is typically the spot. 

Baker Mayfield famously did it at Ohio State in 2017. NC State upset No. 18 North Carolina Friday, and did it. When No. 2 Michigan beat No. 3 Ohio State Saturday afternoon, there was a blue flag with a gold “M” at Ohio Stadium’s 50-yard line.

And Saturday night, after trailing for most of the game and pulling out a 32-23 win over 3-9 Boston College, Syracuse tried to become the latest team to stick its logo at midfield. Devaughn Cooper said someone handed him the white flag with a big orange “S”, and he wanted to celebrate the win postgame by waving it.

What happened next — Boston College players seeing the flag and running toward SU’s sideline; pushing, shoving, even apparent punches thrown by both Donovan Ezeiruaku and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson; police officers and coaches trying to separate the two sides; D’Marcus Adams running around with the flag and trying to stick it in the turf until Dino Babers took it away — provided an appropriate ending to a chippy game where one Syracuse player was ejected for throwing multiple punches, and trash talk was plenty evident. 

“They just didn’t like us having the flag, I guess,” Cooper said postgame. “That wasn’t our intention, we didn’t mean for that to happen.”

Cooper said Syracuse wasn’t trying to start a fight. But they still did. And the Orange’s lack of discipline wasn’t just a one-time, postgame incident Saturday night. It affected them all game, nearly leading to a sixth straight loss. Syracuse recorded 14 penalties for 91 yards, including multiple personal fouls that cost it points or led to Boston College points. SU did win behind 26 fourth-quarter points, but the penalties, a recurring theme all season, nearly prevented that. The Orange — already hurting for depth — could have several key players suspended in their bowl game as a result of the postgame madness.

“There were some things that were just rivalry-type things that the players have to understand that this game is different,” Babers said. “And we need to do a better job of adjusting to them.”

When asked about Cruz’s ejection, Babers said something “absolutely” prompted that. Ezeiruaku, the same player who punched Kevon Darton in the postgame scuffle and got knocked by Del Rio-Wilson, was in Cruz’s face. The offensive lineman responded with right and left punches, leading to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed Syracuse out of field goal range late in the first half. Regardless of what Ezeiruaku did, Cruz still shouldn’t have reacted that way, Babers said. 

Moments earlier, Garrett Shrader had hit Oronde Gadsden II in the back of the end zone for an apparent touchdown that could’ve tied the game after the extra point, but Kalan Ellis was called for holding. It was one of multiple penalties on Ellis, and Carlos Vettorello had two false starts in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Justin Barron was flagged for unnecessary roughness while on the other side of the field, completely removed from the play. The penalty gave BC a 1st-and-10 at the 12-yard line, and Pat Garwo III used two runs to give the Eagles a 17-6 lead the Orange had to come back from.

The game was aggressive and emotional, Cooper said. Linebacker Anwar Sparrow said there was plenty of trash talking. Ja’Had Carter and Dino Tomlin exchanged words along the Boston College sideline after a first-down reception in the third quarter. Following a fumble recovery late in the first half, Sparrow was called for unsportsmanlike conduct while celebrating.

“It was a lot of bickering, but it was a rivalry game,” Sparrow said. “That’s what comes with a rivalry game. A lot of bickering, talking, stuff like that. We handled it pretty well I think, though.”

Babers said there was a heckler in the stands saying “really mean things” to him. While looking for the fan after the game, Babers asked a police officer, Pierre, where he went. Pierre responded that the fan left. “I’m sure it was traffic issues,” Babers quipped sarcastically. When walking into his postgame press conference, Babers was uncharacteristically joined by two police officers, Pierre among them. The head coach shook the officer’s hand after he finished speaking.

Shrader and Gadsden both said they were trying to stay away from the postgame scuffle, while Sparrow said he tries to break those things up. Babers said he didn’t know about a flag being planted, and once he figured out what was happening, he handled it “like a dad would.” After taking the flag from Adams, Babers handed it to Dakota Davis to take into the locker room while the coach tried to get his players to do the same.

“We’re not gonna be doing that stuff,” Babers said of planting flags. “I think the flag ended up in the right person’s hand. You saw what happened to the flag after the right person had it.”

Whether Babers’ players can show more discipline in their final game of the season remains to be seen. Whether or not they’ll be missing players due to suspension is also up in the air. The Orange escaped Alumni Stadium with a seventh win, even with all the penalties and punches. But escaping late-December with an eighth will certainly require more discipline than what was displayed Saturday.

Quote of the night: Garrett Shrader on Damien Alford’s 58-yard touchdown 

“That touchdown was the big moment. The defense was excited and they were able to go out and get a stop and then we were gonna go score again. But I think that was the moment where we knew we had it.”

Syracuse trailed 17-12 in the fourth quarter when Shrader lofted the ball down the sideline to a streaking Alford, who had defensive back Isaiah Farris beat by two yards. The throw was perfect, and even with late safety help, Alford easily scored to give the Orange their first lead of the game. SU’s defense forced a fumble on Boston College’s next drive, and Syracuse would go on to score two more times.

Stat to know: 26

SU’s 26 fourth-quarter points — its most in a quarter since posting 28 in the second quarter against Wagner on Oct. 1 — helped it overcome a double-digit deficit and have the game sealed up with a few minutes left. The Orange didn’t quite match the 35 points they put up against Wake Forest last weekend, but their offense has made strides since back-to-back subpar performances against Pitt and Florida State, where they totaled only 12 points between the two losses. A combination of strong runs by Tucker, option keepers by Shrader, completions to Gadsden and Cooper over the middle and big plays from Alford helped make it happen.

Game ball: Garrett Shrader

The quarterback recorded his third-most efficient passing performance of the season, completing 21-of-27 passes (77.8%) for 285 yards and two touchdowns. It was Shrader’s highest completion percentage since he connected with receivers on all 17 of his throws against Wagner. Shrader now ranks 23rd nationally in passing efficiency and 41st in quarterback rating.

After missing six quarters against Notre Dame and Pitt with an unspecified injury, Shrader has slowly returned to form. He had 15 rush attempts that gained 53 yards, though poor offensive line play led to him taking six sacks and losing yardage. He ended up with 20 net yards. Shrader said he started to find a rhythm in the first half after SU’s first two lackluster drives both resulted in turnovers.

“We were moving the ball well after that first little period,” Shrader said. “We were able to get going.”

Three final points

Secondary receiving options finally break through  

Ever since Gadsden emerged as Syracuse’s top wide receiver, Babers and Shrader have made clear they’re hoping for a clear No. 2 to break out behind Gadsden. For almost the whole season, though, that never materialized. Gadsden has over 500 more receiving yards than the next-best player on SU’s roster. 

But Saturday saw Cooper haul in seven passes for 80 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown that started the Orange’s comeback, and Alford had four receptions for 83 yards, led by the 58-yard touchdown. Sharder hit Gadsden and Cooper on attempts over the middle, and that, along with Tucker’s rushing success, allowed them to lure BC’s linebackers in on a play action shot that resulted in Alford’s score.

Cooper, a seventh-year senior, won’t be returning next season, but Alford will, hopefully giving SU’s passing attack some extra juice next season assuming Shrader and Gadsden also return.

“Usually people go around asking questions, ‘who’s gonna be the receiver number two?’” Gadsden said. “It was good to see some other people step up.”

Special teams play again not so special

At the start of the season, it looked like first-year special teams coordinator Bob Ligashesky had orchestrated a dramatic turnaround of Syracuse’s unit, which consistently struggled in 2021. Andre Szmyt got off to a strong start, but after missing three of his last five field goals, the senior’s 75% success rate is the second-lowest of his five-year career. Szmyt’s miss from 40 yards was low and wide the whole way, and his attempt from 47 barely snuck in. 

The punting game had another miscue against the Eagles, too, with Max Von Marburg getting his first punt of the game blocked, leading to a BC touchdown after it got the ball at Syracuse’s 15-yard line. Von Marburg won the starting job over James Williams, last year’s starter, and played well for the first half of the season before showing some struggles, particularly against Notre Dame, when Babers replaced him with Williams. Von Marburg averaged only 33.3 yards per punt against Wake Forest, and hasn’t had a boot of at least 50 yards since the Pitt game. 

More LeQuint Allen, and more wildcat looks 

Babers was asked a few weeks ago why Syracuse hadn’t been using more of freshman LeQuint Allen — or any other backup — to supplement Tucker. The coach’s answer was that Tucker is “special”, and has to be utilized as such. Against Wake Forest, though, Allen saw more snaps than usual, registering a 41-yard touchdown, and that continued against Boston College.

Allen had just two carries for 13 yards, but the Orange utilized him more than usual, incorporating a couple different wildcat looks, including one where Tucker and Allen stood in shotgun, Tucker received the snap and had the option of keeping it himself or pitching to the freshman. Syracuse also ran a play where Tucker took the direct snap, and could pitch to Shrader or keep it. On one play in the first quarter, Tucker opted to keep it, and ran right for 10 yards.

Tucker has the option of declaring for the NFL Draft after the season, and could even opt out of SU’s bowl game, meaning Allen could see a lot more time the next few times the Orange take the field.

Next up: TBD 

Syracuse will find out its bowl destination next Sunday, the day after conference championships are played. Given SU’s 7-5 record, its place in the ACC standings and the role geography plays in bowl selections, the Orange will likely end up in the Pinstripe Bowl or the Fenway Bowl. Syracuse has played in the Pinstripe Bowl twice (2010 and 2012), and the Fenway Bowl is still waiting to host its inaugural game after pandemic issues forced its cancellation in 2020 and 2021. This season is the first time SU has been bowl eligible since 2018, when it finished 10-3 and beat West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl.