Observations from SU’s win over Wake Forest: Passing game returns, defense struggles

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Syracuse’s chances of earning bowl eligibility for the second straight season came down to Saturday against a 4-7 Wake Forest team. Helmed by someone other than Dino Babers for the first time since 2015, a win also ensured that the Orange wouldn’t finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

SU hasn’t been in a shootout-style game since its 2021 40-37 overtime loss to Wake Forest, and with Garrett Shrader seemingly back on a pitch count, much like he was in training camp, it found itself in one Saturday afternoon. Shrader could throw throughout the game for the first time since Virginia Tech, but the defense ended up allowing 382 total yards to the worst offense in the ACC.

In the end, a defensive stand in the red zone that took the clock down to two minutes in the fourth quarter sealed it. Isaiah Johnson’s defensive pass interference nearly led to a Demon Deacons comeback. Then, Jason Simmons Jr. picked off Michael Kern at the goal line to solidify a win and a bowl appearence.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (6-6, 2-6 ACC) 35-31 win against Wake Forest (4-8, 1-7 ACC):

Syracuse has a passing game again

Shrader has clearly not thrown the ball during the last few weeks due to an injury SU Athletics said he suffered against Virginia Tech. The upper body injury led offensive coordinator Jason Beck to overhaul the offense prior to the Pittsburgh game, shifting almost entirely to a wildcat, run-option approach. But to cap off Syracuse’s opening drive Saturday, Shrader dropped back to pass on a run-pass option play.

The gap up the middle was completely clogged, and Shrader made the snap decision to fling a short-armed pass over the middle to Damien Alford. Alford took off and sped away from his defender, leading to SU’s longest passing touchdown since the loss to Virginia Tech. It started as a surprising completion, but turned into one of 15 passes from Shrader.

It allowed Syracuse, most of the time, to get out of third-and-long situations that it struggled to convert in last week’s loss. While the previous two games featured virtually no passing, the Orange sprinkled in the right dosage Saturday to pull off their best offensive performance in four weeks.

On a second down play in SU’s opening drive of the second half, Dan Villari dropped back and surveyed the field. Alford had sped past his man on a go-route, and caught a 47-yard pass in stride for a touchdown to put the Orange up 21-10.

Worst offense in ACC slices up porous defense

The Demon Deacons entered averaging 19.3 points per game, the fewest in the ACC. Kern, who formerly backed up Sam Hartman for four seasons, had a completion percentage of 57.4%. Through three starts, he had a touchdown and an interception with Wake Forest having virtually no run game. Yet, after two incompletions on the opening drive, the Demon Deacons waltzed right down the field against Syracuse.

Keyed by a slow-developing run-pass option concept that allowed WF’s receivers to create space downfield, it marched down the field using chunk pass plays. On its second possession of the game, it took the offense four plays, spanning 1:39 minutes, to tie the game up after a 75-yard drive. SU’s defense allowed long plays, first to a wide-open Taylor Morin for a 48-yard reception, then to Wesley Grimes two steps ahead of his defender in the end zone.

After the Orange adjusted to the scheme, holding Wake Forest to a field goal in the second quarter, WF stormed back in the second half to once again slice through SU’s secondary. Kern threw up a dangerous lob pass under duress on a third-and-1, but no defender was in the area. Jahmal Banks sped over and grabbed it on Syracuse’s 24-yard line.

Wake Forest’s first drive of the fourth quarter went similarly. It took just two plays, a 59-yard pass and an 18-yard pass, for the Demon Deacons to respond to an SU touchdown. The two-point conversion, a scrambling pass across the field from Kern, made it a 28-25 game.

How’d the new guy in charge do?

Nunzio Campanile is no stranger to the role of interim head coach. He took over for Chris Ash when Rutgers fired him four games into the 2019 season, leading the Scarlet Knights to a 1-7 record. He was also a head coach at Bergen Catholic (NJ) High School for seven years, leading one of the top schools in New Jersey to a state championship in 2017. So when Syracuse fired Babers Sunday following a 31-22 loss to Georgia Tech, Director of Athletics John Wildhack said he felt like Campanile’s prior experience and connection to New Jersey made him a prime candidate for interim head coach.

Babers was routinely criticized for his time management. Campanile first faced this challenge with less than 30 seconds left in the second quarter when Syracuse got into the red zone. He’d already burned two timeouts because the Orange weren’t set in time on two separate plays, including an eventual field goal attempt earlier in the drive. After a Shrader touchdown pass to Alford was overturned and placed at the 1-yard line, SU had 14 seconds to punch it in.

The quick out route to LeQuint Allen Jr. at the goal line got stood up by Wake Forest, and Syracuse couldn’t gather in time to spike the ball before the clock expired. The Orange did win the coin toss, elected to defer — something Babers typically did — and scored on their opening drive of the second half. Campanile had all of his timeouts at the end of the game and kept his team intact after a Shrader interception and the Demon Deacons late-game comeback.

Welcome back Damien Alford

Alford quickly got thrust into Syracuse’s No. 1 receiver role when Oronde Gadsden II announced he was out for the year prior to SU’s Week 3 matchup against Purdue. The tall, outside receiver who typically ran go-routes on the edges suddenly became a highly-targeted receiver. The Orange stopped passing over the middle of the field, and Alford’s production slipped. Babers said that it was due to him “pressing too much,” adding that once Alford calmed down on the field, he’d see his production increase.

The new-look offense threw yet another wrench into Alford’s boom-or-bust season. He went two games without recording a reception, then caught one pass for 12 yards against Georgia Tech. But with Shrader throwing more, Alford went right back to being a high-usage receiver. Alford paced the entire game and was Shrader and Villari’s top target. His first touchdown showcased how fast Alford could be, as he caught a quick pass from Shrader on a slant route tightly covered by Rushaun Tongue and sped away.

So did his second touchdown, that one from Villari. Alford ran a simple go-route on the numbers near Syracuse’s sideline, beating his defender and leading Villari to just loft up a pass and let Alford do the rest. Alford finished with four receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns.