Jason Beck coaches from sideline, increases communication but not points in SU’s loss to BC

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As Carlos Del Rio-Wilson had one drive, one chance to prevent Syracuse from losing its fifth straight game, offensive coordinator Jason Beck was in an unfamiliar position. He stood on the sidelines.

For most of Syracuse’s 17-10 loss to Boston College — the team’s fifth straight defeat — Beck roamed the sidelines, called plays, chatted with his offensive players and remained as stoic as head coach Dino Babers typically is.

If SU (4-5, 0-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) was looking for more than 10 points against a BC team (6-3, 3-2 ACC) that had the fourth-worst scoring defense in the ACC, then Beck’s switch to the sideline made no difference. Syracuse, forced to go to its backup quarterback after Garrett Shrader was ruled out less than an hour before kickoff, had 209 yards on the ground, benefitting from increased communication. Beck came down from the booth to talk with Del Rio-Wilson throughout the game after the backup was thrown into the starting position.

But the passing offense was nearly non-existent. The performance of Beck’s offense led to more questions than answers.

During the 2022 season, Beck’s first season with SU as its quarterback’s coach, he stood on the sidelines, consistently chatting with Shrader.

Syracuse’s starting quarterback didn’t practice all week, though, and Babers said he wasn’t sure of Shrader’s status until Thursday. An SU spokesman confirmed to The D.O. that Shrader was out due to an injury suffered during last week’s 38-10 loss to Virginia Tech. Babers added that Del Rio-Wilson took all of the No. 1 reps during a week where the team practiced with its starting offensive players going against its starting defensive players.

With Del Rio-Wilson gearing up for the start against Boston College, Babers said it was Beck’s decision to coach from the sideline.

“With Carlos…I thought it would be better for (Beck) to be down,” Babers said. “And that was Jason’s decision.”

How much of a difference did it make for Carlos in any aspects of the game?

“(You) would probably have to ask Carlos,” Babers said.

Del Rio-Wilson wasn’t made available by SU Athletics during postgame, but he’s had nearly two seasons of experience with Beck and had spoken highly of him before. Back in fall camp, Del Rio-Wilson said everything felt “sped up” in his second season with the coach compared to the first one.

Throughout camp, he got to practice throwing to many of the top targets on the team like Damien Alford, Umari Hatcher, Isaiah Jones and the then-healthy Oronde Gadsden II and Trebor Pena.

“I would say (Beck’s) a great coach just because he works with all these guys. He knows that things take time with football,” Del Rio-Wilson said on Aug. 16. “So him knowing that and understanding that, he definitely works once you do get it. He definitely picks up the tempo.”

The Orange tasked Beck to get the much-maligned offense back on track after a four-game losing streak where they only scored four touchdowns. And against the Eagles, SU consistently used a hurry-up offense, picking up the tempo more and more.

With the rushing game, Beck being on the sidelines worked out. LeQuint Allen Jr. finished with 142 yards on the ground and provided a desperately needed spark. Del Rio-Wilson was also efficient in the run game, totaling 67 yards.

On the opening drive, Beck immediately showed his preference to run the ball, with Allen Jr. taking a direct snap before Del Rio-Wilson made three rushes for 10 yards. Two drives later, Allen Jr. had three rushes for 38 yards, including one burst of speed where he got to the edge and received a block from Del Rio-Wilson to put the Orange in BC territory.

Three plays later, Del Rio-Wilson faked a handoff for a quarterback draw. He ran straight up the middle and virtually untouched for a touchdown to put Syracuse up 7-3 in the first quarter.

During the third and fourth quarters, with the Orange trailing by three points, Allen Jr. used another big gain as Beck watched from the sideline. On a first-and-10 from SU’s 24-yard line, Allen Jr. hit the hole up the left side off a block from center J’Onre Reed and outran all but one of four BC defenders for a gain of 58 yards. As Allen Jr. ran upfield, so did Beck. The drive eventually ended with a Brady Denaburg field goal from 36 yards and even during the break between quarters, when Syracuse players and coaches throw up 4s, Beck was looking at his play sheet.

While there wasn’t anything Beck really said to Allen Jr., who said he just stayed focused throughout the whole game, the running back found a benefit in having his offensive coordinator with him.

“I was able to talk to him more, he was able to talk to the guys more,” Allen Jr. said. “… It was just better communications in stuff like the plays and drives.”

Beck also chatted with offensive linemen on the sidelines along with offensive line coach Steve Farmer. But despite the enhanced communication, Beck’s quarterback threw four interceptions and the offense squandered various drives. Whether it be through back-to-back false starts, or just weak throws from Del-Rio Wilson, the offense repeatedly faltered.

Back on SU’s first drive, Del Rio-Wilson threw an interception where the opposing cornerback, C.J. Clinkscales, easily read the play action. His pass was wobbly and didn’t come close to his intended receiver, Jones. In the second quarter, Del Rio-Wilson chucked the ball deep for Donovan Brown in the right end zone. But the ball was short and was picked off by Elijah Jones.

When the Orange were within the red zone again in the third quarter, Del Rio-Wilson had a completion turn into an interception. Hatcher secured a pass off a slant, but Jones nabbed the ball away again.

On Del Rio-Wilson’s final pass of the game, one deflected into the hands of free safety Cole Batson, Beck went and talked with Shrader on the sideline as Syracuse lost for the fifth straight time.