Damien Alford’s 58-yard touchdown headlines Syracuse’s return to explosive plays
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It had been developing all evening. A “horrendous” stretch of over 53 minutes led SU to a 2nd-and-5 play at its own 42-yard line. The ensuing play, a dynamic pass from Garrett Shrader and a tremendous showcase of Damien Alford’s speed, was well blocked, perfectly executed and “raised” the intensity of a defensive unit that was sputtering out.
Most importantly, it lifted Syracuse into the driver’s seat against a 3-8 Boston College team that started Emmett Morehead for just the fourth time in his collegiate career. The pass — and SU’s ensuing 14 unanswered points — ensured a winning season for just the second time under head coach Dino Babers.
It took just a simple juke move from Alford, and a ball that Babers said was up in the air for too long, to complete the touchdown. Alford outran another safety and Isaiah Farris, gliding into the end zone to put the Orange on top 18-17.
“He ran a great route and influenced that guy,” Babers said. “He stepped around and stepped on his toes. What a pro.”
Throughout the majority of Syracuse’s five-game losing streak, it was missing big plays, those chunk-yardage opportunities that afforded it chances to bury teams or overcome a deficit. The Orange had them in the first six wins: a 55-yard pass against Louisville, 47 yards against UConn and 46 yards against Purdue.
Then, Shrader didn’t completed a pass over 40 yards for his next five games. But last week against Wake Forest, Syracuse saw flashes of that big-play offense that it showcased early on. Throughout the second half of SU’s (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) 32-23 win over Boston College (3-9, 2-6 ACC), it utilized long plays to galvanize a comeback win.
Babers said that Boston College’s linebackers do a good job running downhill, which in part led to Syracuse allowing seven sacks. But that tendency to blitz instead of sit back in zone coverage opens up opportunities for opposing passing games to dump passes over the top.
Shrader said the Eagles threw some different looks at SU than it was expecting, which led to the slow start throughout the first three quarters. But once it adjusted, it was “very effective,” Babers said.
Those signs of adjustment came early. On Syracuse’s first play of the second half, Devaughn Cooper went in motion from the left side and was wide open in the flat for a pass from Shrader, his feet planted in his own end zone. Oronde Gadsden II had cut across the middle to pull away a linebacker from Cooper’s direction, throwing a soft block before watching Cooper dart up the sideline for a 23-yard gain.
“That’s a big part of it, in terms of our offense, what we really want to be at our best,” Shrader said.
Shrader bluntly stated that Syracuse’s offense was horrendous in the first quarter. Three points, numerous costly penalties and poor red zone efficiency led to a seven-point halftime deficit. The feelings of the two-game stretch without a touchdown crept back.
But once Shrader and SU “got out of our own way,” the offense got back to clicking. It didn’t always need to be flashy plays that resulted in big gains. The consensus from Shrader, Gadsden and Cooper was getting back to the basics in practice.
That meant establishing a run game and not abandoning it, even if it meant Sean Tucker wasn’t always breaking off long plays. He ended the game with 21 attempts, 125 yards and two touchdowns. It meant Shrader spread the ball around, targeting eight different receivers for the second straight week and finding LeQuint Allen when he could.
“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.”
Getting back to the basics opened up opportunities to break off huge passing plays and dynamic runs. All seven players who caught a pass brought one in for at least 24 yards, while Tucker’s longest rush was for 39 yards. Shrader finished with just six incompletions and an average completion of 13.6 yards.
Syracuse manipulated Boston College’s linebackers and secondary all game. Even when the offense wasn’t clicking, Syracuse was still rattling off passes that led to first downs on third and long plays and blocking huge holes for Tucker to operate in. So when Tucker grabbed his 21st rushing attempt and cut back, it was no surprise that the running back took off for yet another big play.
The offensive line was moving in tandem as a wall of blockers sectioned off the left side of the field for Tucker to maneuver around in. Tucker cut back, hit the seam and took off. All two BC defensive backs could do was haplessly dive at his feet.
Tucker wasn’t having it. To celebrate the 1,000-yard milestone he earned earlier in the game and cap off a 29-yard explosive run, he jumped through their measly tackle attempts and barreled through for seven more yards into the end zone.
“(Boston College linebackers) do a nice job of forcing things, but they’re vulnerable in certain pass places when they do stuff like that,” Babers said.
