Syracuse withers in key conference matchup against Virginia Tech, loses 38-10

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BLACKSBURG, V.A — Garrett Shrader tossed the ball toward the front of the end zone instead of taking a sack and a safety. He was pressured by VT’s Cole Nelson and Antwaun Powell-Ryland. It was 1st and 15 after Enrique Cruz got called for being an ineligible man downfield. Shrader’s four receivers were in tight coverage and he danced a few steps backwards to avoid a sack.

Then Powell-Ryland leapt, forcing Shrader to quickly fling a pass downfield to avoid the sack. But Nelson got to him first. The ball flew behind Shrader and toward the back left pylon. Safety. Syracuse was down 32-3 just under two minutes into the second half.

Thursday night in Blacksburg, Virginia, was teed up to be a competitive game between two teams trying to find their footing coming out of bye weeks. That’s how Babers positioned it on Monday. Syracuse was as healthy as it’d been since July, he said, and wasn’t playing top 10 draft picks anymore. Instead, the offense flopped and VT quarterback Kyron Drones enjoyed a career day in SU’s (4-4, 0-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 38-10 loss to Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-1 ACC).

The gauntlet was supposed to be over. Three straight games against the top of the ACC proved to be so challenging for Syracuse that Shrader said its offense needed to find an identity. Three straight losses caused Babers to say the Orange’s depth has been “bought away” and raised more questions about bowl eligibility following a 4-0 start.

After getting outscored 112-24 against Clemson, then-No. 14 North Carolina and No. 4 Florida State, Syracuse entered the bye week. “The bye is kind of a closing of the first chapter. We’re going to open the second chapter,” Babers said on Monday.

That first chapter was marred with injuries, big wins and mystifying losses. During the week off, SU got away from football. Damien Alford went to Canada while Shrader hung deer cameras back home.

Despite Shrader being the healthiest since before his offseason shoulder surgery, Virginia Tech marred the beginning of Syracuse’s second chapter.

The Hokies don’t boast the same NFL-prospective talent that Babers pointed to as reason why the Orange’s offense stalled out three-straight weeks. But the second half of SU’s 2023 season read the same. Miscues and disrupted pockets hindered Syracuse out of the gate. Another slow start led to a 30-3 hole by halftime.

Shrader had to scramble on the first play from scrimmage and tried to flip the ball to the Orange’s sideline and avoid the sack. He got called for intentional grounding. SU netted -11 yards on its first drive. Jakob Bradford moved early to begin the Orange’s second drive and the 1st and 15 led to another three-and-out.

The bleeding didn’t stop. Virginia Tech’s Tucker Holloway found a massive seam on the far side of the field and took off to Syracuse’s 29-yard line on a punt return in the first quarter. He met Jack Stonehouse at full speed after easily getting around Kevon Darton. Stonehouse went down and had to be helped off the field by two trainers. One of his legs hung limp. The frustration mounted. Dan Villari knocked a chair over on the Orange’s sideline. Offensive linemen slammed their helmets on the ground.

Syracuse had an opportunity to cut the deficit to 16 points halfway through the second quarter. Umari Hatcher caught a quick pass from Shrader for a 15-yard gain but was leveled by Mose Phillips III on a hit that was deemed targeting. The Orange were within the VT 40-yard line, one first down away from getting into the red zone for the first time Thursday night. Then a run from LeQuint Allen Jr. got stuffed, Shrader missed Allen Jr. on a wheel route and Cruz moved got called for a false start. Donovan Brown caught a receiver screen and worked up field for a few yards to draw up a 4th and 10. The Orange had to kick a field goal.

The 43-yard conversion from Brady Denaburg cut the score to 23-3, and with SU still down three possessions, Drones connected with Jaylin Lane on a 41-yard reception to set up the Hokies at the 10 yard line. Two plays later, Bhayshul Tuten bulldozed his way through Syracuse’s defensive line for a three-yard touchdown rush.

The frustration subsided and a blanket of dull energy permeated through Syracuse’s sideline. Flashbacks of the last three weeks arose, but this time, the Orange faltered against a team they were capable of beating.

Syracuse was supposed to come out of the bye week prepared for the stretch run. Its final five opponents were at the bottom of the conference, each with tremendous questions about the viability of their success.

“I’d be very surprised if the offense does not go back to exactly the way it looked previously,” Babers said after Syracuse’s 41-3 loss to No. 4 Florida State. “That’s what I’m anticipating.”

Babers looked surprised standing on the sideline as the Orange took until their first drive in the second quarter to convert a first down. Three players later, the drive stalled out following another sack.

Syracuse trotted right down the field after a second straight VT three-and-out. A nine-play, 80-yard drive ensued, featuring dynamic first down runs for Allen Jr. and chunk pass plays from Shrader to Alford. There were no flags on the Orange. They hummed for the first time since Syracuse played Clemson, and yet, it proved fruitless.

It was a sign that Syracuse had the ability to move the ball, but nothing more.

There was no close conference battle on the road against a quality ACC team, no showcase of what defensive coordinator Rocky Long’s defense was capable of and no sign that the offense had found an identity over the last two weeks.

There was just a motionless Syracuse bench, the loner at a party, karaoke-filled Lane Stadium. Hatcher pulled a white towel over his head and stood at the 40 yard line. The defense sat shoulder to shoulder, occupying any open space on SU’s bench.

In a key game for the Orange, a crucially-important bellwether for where SU was this year — Babers’ eighth year at the helm — Syracuse wilted, again.