Observations from Wake Forest vs. SU: Slow mesh frustrates, new offensive line

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Saturday night was an opportunity to right the wrongs of the last four games, a time to change the tides on a season quickly turning against Syracuse and remind the Atlantic Coast Conference that the Orange were better than their record showed.

Though Garrett Shrader returned and said he was healthier than he’d been in a while, he fell apart in the second half. Sean Tucker started looking like his best again, but SU trended away from utilizing him and even opted for LeQuint Allen.

Though SU (6-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) sat just three points behind Wake Forest (7-4, 3-4 ACC) at halftime, an abysmal second half led it to its fifth-straight loss. The Orange didn’t score in the third quarter, and Shrader threw a pick-6 to begin the fourth. Meanwhile, Sam Hartman and the Demon Deacons’ slow mesh offense exploited an embattled Syracuse secondary en route to a 45-35 win.

Here are some observations from the loss:

Slow mesh frustrates the Orange

Over the last few years, Wake Forest’s offense has meticulously built an RPO system known as the “slow mesh.” The Demon Deacons’ average run-pass option lasts about 2.5 seconds instead of the usual one second, which led to Wake Forest dominating the Orange. Instead of quickly reading the defense, Hartman began the handoff, then read the defense while holding the ball against running back Justice Ellison’s chest.

The mesh offense led to the second level of SU’s defense getting eaten up. Throughout the third quarter, Wake Forest’s run game stagnated as SU chose to cheat up toward the line, but in the process, Hartman ate up the secondary, preying on one-on-one opportunities with his receivers.

The first half showcased that the Demon Deacons could run the ball, especially behind a slow RPO approach that allowed an astute offensive line time to manipulate a smaller SU defensive line. Syracuse threw different looks at the offensive line, which worked, specifically when Caleb Okechukwu flung through his defender, readjusted behind Hartman and brought him down for a sack late in the third quarter.

But a calculated approach to dismantling the Syracuse defensive line while simultaneously confusing a talented secondary led to Wake Forest throwing up 45 points.

A brand new offensive line

Ahead of the game, Syracuse’s travel roster fuled out left tackle Matthew Bergeron and left guard Kalan Ellis. A team spokesperson said that the pair were dealing with undisclosed injuries. A third starting lineman, Chris Bleich, traveled with the team but was ruled out prior to kickoff. That led to a brand new offensive line trotting out to face Wake Forest, with just Dakota Davis (left guard) and Carlos Vettorello (right tackle) entering as starters.

There were moments that showed the mixup, like in the second quarter when Jasheen Davis swung around from the right side and easily blew through a double team of Jakob Bradford and Vettorello. Davis ultimately sacked Shrader, leading to a 42-yard field goal attempt from Andre Szmyt.

On Syracuse’s opening drive of the second half, another mishap halted what looked to be a promising drive. Tucker had cut back a counter run and bolted for the first down to help charge the SU offense.

But two plays later, LeQuint Allen lined up in shotgun for a wildcat play. Backup center Josh Ilaoa snapped the ball to Allen, who wasn’t expecting the ball and was instead signaling for Tucker to go in motion. The ball trickled back inside the 10-yard line and ended up downing the Orange 23 yards back. SU eventually had to punt.

The scoreless third quarter

Syracuse ended the first half down by just three points, well within striking distance even after Hartman tossed his fourth touchdown of the game. But SU threw up a goose egg in the third quarter, its two possessions ending in a three-and-out and an intentional grounding by Shrader.

Shrader’s feet started to move quickly as his pocket collapsed in the fourth quarter. When his throw was interrupted by his elbow hitting an offensive lineman, the ball fluttering behind its intended target, a comeback looked like a fallacy. When Brendon Harris pointed to the fans as he galavanted into the endzone to complete the pick-six, it became impossible.

Sandwiched in between what would end up being 14-point quarters, the third frame stood out as a painful outlier for Syracuse, who after an eight-yard touchdown run from Shrader, sat just 10 points behind the Demon Deacons.

The Orange came out after the pick-six and scored two quick touchdowns. First it was a pass to Allen in the flat that he took along the sideline for a 41-yard touchdown. Then it was the run, and SU’s bench once again came to life. But that scoreless third quarter placed the Orange so far behind that nothing it did in the final 15 minutes could erase it.

Syracuse safeties struggle

The secondary has held its own throughout the season, garnering eight interceptions and holding opposing quarterbacks to down passing numbers. This continued despite the loss of Garrett Williams throughout the last few games. But from the start at Truist Field, it was clear that Wake Forest’s plan of attack was to fire as much as possible at Isaiah Johnson. While the Orange have had an extremely hard time against the rush recently, Hartman already had 227 passing yards and three touchdowns in the first half, finishing the game with 331 yards and four touchdowns.  

Though Hartman entered the game with 29 total touchdowns and 2,788 total yards, he has also thrown 10 interceptions. There were plenty of opportunities for “the mob” to showcase its talents against Hartman, but there was a thin margin of error in which the unit could operate within before Hartman took off and torched Syracuse for a second straight year. SU showed flashes of what it could be at its best — Marlowe Wax batting a pass or Jason Simmons jumping a route — Hartman’s poise and experience outlasted a relatively young unit. 

Back to the basics

Syracuse jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a 75-yard drive that showcased a conversion from 3rd-and-13 and six first downs. It was the drive that head coach Dino Babers was talking about on Monday — the Orange got back to the basics. Out of the gate, Garrett Shrader put Dan Villari in motion to confuse the Wake Forest linebackers. A good push from Bradford and Vettorello opened up a sizable hole on the right side for Tucker to gain 13 yards and a first down. Then following two blown runs, Shrader attacked the second level of the routes on the left side to connect with Oronde Gadsden for a first down.

Shrader finished the first drive going 4-for-6 for 50 yards, while Tucker had five rush attempts — including a final run from the wildcat that ended with a touchdown — for 25 yards. Syracuse’s offense looked like it did at the beginning of the season, ending the first half with 21 points. Receivers from the outside would go in motion, opening up receivers across the middle and giving options for Shrader. He finished the game throwing to seven different receivers.

On Syracuse’s fourth drive of the game, Shrader started out the drive by rolling out to his left and scrambling for a 10-yard gain. Tucker followed it up with a 12-yard rush of his own before a Gadsden catch set up a 2nd-and-2 from the Wake Forest 45-yard line. Then Shrader wound up and saw Damien Alford with a step on defensive back Gavin Holmes.

Alford brought in the ball despite contact and set up Syracuse at the 2-yard line with a 43-yard catch. Tucker easily grabbed the ensuing handoff and capped off the quick drive by bouncing the run out to the right, outrunning two Demon Deacons and putting the Orange up 14-10.