The Next Day: Garrett Shrader is still searching for next step to boost Syracuse’s offense

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — It’s not just on Garrett Shrader. Head coach Dino Babers said he didn’t want anyone to pin the last two performances on one person, even though Shrader’s production has slipped from his impressive start.

Shrader’s decision making had been crisp throughout the first four games of the season. But the opposing coverage has gotten tighter, the players faster and more dynamic.

Going up against Clemson and No. 14 North Carolina in back-to-back weeks, Shrader has been less effective. Against the Tigers, Shrader completed just 51.7% of his passes and rushed for just 24 yards. In Chapel Hill, Shrader went 15-for-21 with an interception and 28 rushing yards. He was unable to take over in the first half and sputtered out in the second during the Orange’s worst loss of the season.

After Drake Maye and North Carolina executed a quick, 77-yard drive to create a commanding 37-7 UNC advantage, Shrader handed off to Juwan Price. Then, he completed a short swing pass to Dan Villari. The two plays didn’t go far, setting up a 3rd and 5. Syracuse had finally put together a competent offensive plan, totaling 116 yards in the third quarter. But it didn’t matter and Shrader knew it.

The Orange would get the first down. Shrader found Umari Hatcher on the left hash across the first down marker. Searching for Hatcher again to prolong the drive, his next throw was low and off the mark. North Carolina’s Alijah Huzzie dove forward, past Hatcher’s extended reach. The ball never touched the ground and Huzzie came up with the interception. Once again, another SU drive ended without any points.

“I thought I played fine for the most part,” Shrader said. “We just have to get back to the drawing board and figure out who we are as an offense and our identity.”

Shrader has grown exponentially since transferring to Syracuse in 2021. He primed himself this offseason for a record-breaking year, fixing his elbow with a surgery in the spring. He returned with more experience and more weapons. Through four games, he’s looked as good as any quarterback Syracuse has had in recent years.

But Clemson’s suffocating defense put a chink in Shrader’s armor. After North Carolina, Shrader showed that — at this point in the season — he’s unable to take over an offense and win with it.

During the week leading up to Saturday’s game against the Tar Heels, Syracuse installed a game plan hinged on running the ball early and often. But after the opening two drives, SU had just 16 rushing yards. The Orange needed to pivot. Shrader is a massive part of Syracuse’s run game. But when he is unable to use his legs and improvise when the pocket collapses, drives are halted and three-and-outs persist.

Shrader said he missed some run-pass options, especially later in the game when UNC started to pull away. At the end of Syracuse’s first drive of the second quarter, the pocket collapsed on a delayed blitz to disrupt Shrader. He scrambled to his right but cut back left as Mark Petry’s man sped past him. Shrader tried to sprint up the gut as a last resort but let the ball dangle loose. The Tar Heel defense knocked it away, forcing a fumble and a punt.

Hatcher said he felt good about where the team was. Syracuse was beat by one of the top teams in the country led by a projected top 10 pick at quarterback. But the Orange produced a sloppy game marred by mistakes, just like they had done against Clemson. UNC entered with the 10th-ranked defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse had a chance; it just didn’t execute.

“We were just not running, so that kind of went south quick,” Shrader said. “I thought the plan was fine. It was just how we were executing.”

Shrader said Syracuse’s offense needs to look in the mirror. It needs to find who really wants to play. He singled out Hatcher and Donovan Brown as a couple of players who wanted the ball. But facing better competition, Shrader needs as many weapons as possible to pick off wins. SU has already lost Oronde Gadsden II, Isaiah Jones and Trebor Pena, forcing it to operate behind an offensive line victim to two injuries and four new starters.

But Shrader’s shown he has the ability to take over games. Notably, he set a career-high 195 rushing yards against Purdue in a 35-20 win on Sept. 16. But 21 points across Syracuse’s two most important games isn’t going to cut it. Shrader has to step up as a playmaker moving forward if the Orange want a chance at building on its 7-5 record from last year.

“There’s more people. There’s been more heat. The pocket’s been collapsing. The DBs are closer to the receivers,” Babers said.

The game was won when…

Five-foot-10 Aman Greenwood, who played just 21 snaps against North Carolina, was matched up against the 6-foot-5 Nesbit on the right sideline. Greenwood got burned on a stutter-step creating separation. Maye stepped up in the pocket and dropped an pass in stride over Nesbit’s shoulder.

The connection resulted in a 23-yard touchdown, lifting North Carolina to a 17-0 lead.

Quote of the night: Dino Babers on the call

“I want it in the record that I challenged that that didn’t make the 42 yard line.”

After the controversial first down call off a run from UNC punter Ben Kiernan, Babers called a timeout. The referees told Babers that they’d reviewed the play, but Babers insisted on challenging the spot of the ball. Babers said that he wanted the referees to know that they were wrong.

Though the ruling on the field stood, Babers felt the replay was too fast, stripping Syracuse of a challenge and timeout in the first half.

Stat to know: 442

Maye threw for 442 yards, the most allowed by Syracuse’s defense since 2018 against NC State. He torched a defensive backs unit that been mostly reliable but struggled against Clemson. Maye, a projected top three pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has already thrown for 1,629 yards and eight touchdowns through five games. Against the Orange, he put together a passing clinic, highlighted by a 77-yard pass in the third quarter that gave the Tar Heels a 37-7 lead.

Game ball: Jayden Bellamy

Bellamy has worked his way up the depth chart and into sizable playing time behind Jeremiah Wilson. Tasked with helping take down a deep receiving group that added Devontez Walker two days before the game, Bellamy finished with a game-high 10 solo tackles, garnering 12 total.

Bellamy made an immediate impact lining up opposite receiver J.J. Jones. As the Tar Heels marched down the field on the game’s opening possession, Bellamy battled Jones from the snap. Pinning him against the sideline early, Bellamy forced an incomplete pass from Maye, forcing UNC to kick a field goal.

Three final points:

Penalties continue

Syracuse needed to play a clean game to have a chance in Chapel Hill. After allowing four first downs to Clemson on penalties in Week 5, the Orange had to stop committing unforced errors. But after a mostly spotless first quarter, Syracuse totaled seven penalties for 53 total yards in the remaining three frames. Offensive lineman Chris Bleich’s tripping call stalled out an SU drive in the first quarter. The mistake set up Kobe Paysour’s 77-yard bobbled catch touchdown reception as Kevon Darton jumped offsides.

Dennis Jaquez Jr. out for the season

After the loss, Babers broke tradition by telling reporters that Jaquez Jr. would be out for the rest of the season. In weeks prior, Babers has waited until his weekly media availability the following Monday, or for his radio show Thursday nights, to announce players going down for the season.

Jaquez Jr. went down during the fourth quarter with what appeared to be an upper body injury. Jaquez is the first defensive player SU has lost for the season but the fourth starter to miss time after Gadsden, Jones and Pena.

Umari Hatcher, Donovan Brown continue to impress

One of the lone bright spots in Syracuse’s worst offensive performance of the season was Hatcher. He ended with six receptions on seven targets for a team-high 85 yards.

Hatcher’s day was highlighted by a 34-yard reception in the third quarter — Syracuse’s longest offensive play of the afternoon — where he jockeyed around his defender for position on a jump ball Shrader threw short. Hatcher, who now has 310 receiving yards through five games this season, was targeted more than any other receiver by Shrader on Saturday.

Next up: No. 5 Florida State

Syracuse follows back-to-back losses by hitting the road again to take on No. 5 Florida State. The Orange have beaten the Seminoles just twice in its 14-game all-time series. FSU moved to 5-0 on Saturday following a 39-17 win over Virginia Tech that included a 22-point first quarter. Though Florida State had to utilize overtime against Clemson and escaped with a two-point win over Boston College, it looks like one of the best teams in the country thus far.