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LeQuint Allen Jr. finished the first half of Saturday’s win over Army with just four rushes for 16 yards. Garrett Shrader, SU’s only other rusher, had two carries for seven yards. The Orange’s lead back didn’t get a carry during their first drive and had just one rush over four yards until his 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

It was indicative of Syracuse’s slow first half, marred by incomplete passes and unsuccessful quick drives. Army slowed the game to its speed, and the Orange responded by garnering just six total rushes. But in the second half, head coach Dino Babers said he felt like — even down a possession — SU was right where he felt it needed to be. They stuck to their ground game and opened up holes.

Allen Jr. ended with his second game with more than 100 yards on the ground while scoring a rushing touchdown in the fourth straight game.

“He’s got the ability to be a 200-yard performer,” Babers said after the win. “He’s just that talented.”

Here is what wasn’t working for Syracuse in the first half, and what ultimately led to Allen Jr.’s big day:

One twitchy lineman, and Army stays disciplined

This is a simple blitz that Army applies to Syracuse on its first play of the second quarter. With four down linemen and three linebackers over top, the Black Knights read the play from the start. But key in on Austin Hill, the defensive end lined up opposite right tackle Mark Petry. The senior is undersized compared to Syracuse’s offensive line unit and had to find a way to Allen Jr. any way he could. In what almost looks like a Rocky Long 3-3-5 pre-snap motion attempt, Hill inched his way toward the B gap as Trebor Pena crossed the formation in motion.

He times his movement perfectly with the snap and bolts toward Allen Jr., blowing up the play. Anticipating Hill to come over, center J’Onre Reed uses a cut block to try to take him out of the equation. But Hill scoots around the lineman and is in position to make contact with Allen Jr. before he reaches the line of scrimmage.

The two linebackers blitzed, with one heading to the weak side to cover an attempt at a reverse. The strong side linebacker punches the gap to help out the four defensive linemen smothering Allen Jr.

Even the outside runs get stuffed

Syracuse’s first rush of the third quarter netted no gain. The run was part of a stretch where Allen Jr. had eight straight rushes of four or fewer yards. Once again, Army had four down linemen. But with four receivers lined up for the Orange, the Black Knights only had two linebackers over the top, with one heading outside right to cover Dan Villari.

Offensive coordinator Jason Beck dialed up a sweep for Allen Jr. to run off the right tackle. The left tackle pulled to the second level and the rest of the line moved in tandem to the right side. But defensive lineman Kyle Lewis blew up the play after shoving Reed out of his way and zeroing in on Allen Jr. to tackle him for no gain.

Having one linebacker blitz meant the Orange’s line was going one-on-one. But having the left tackle pull off his man disrupted the set.

Linebacker Leon Lowin — who was supposed to be Enrique Cruz’s man — blew up Chris Bleich and took SU’s left tackle out of the play. Villari’s blocking down field was poor, allowing another linebacker to stuff the play up. Lewis capped off the successful play by beating his man and getting to Allen Jr. in time to slow him down and allow the rest of the defense to get to the rusher.

Finally some success on the ground

This play provided a much-needed jolt into Syracuse’s offense, leading to 26 unanswered points and a fourth straight win. Army once again blitzed, and Villari setting up on the left side as an extra blocker brought a third linebacker into the fold. But this was a strong showing of the offensive line to open up the biggest hole Allen Jr. had seen all day. Reed burst out of his stance and shoved the nose tackle back easily, allowing Reed to push off and block an incoming linebacker.

Jakob Bradford came in from his right and continued to push the nose tackle to ensure he couldn’t recover. Villari then flew in from his position behind the left tackle to set a block on Lewin, who was eying Allen Jr. throughout the entire play.

The block, combined with Petry overpowering the defensive lineman, flung open the hole on the right side and allowed Allen Jr. to waltz through unscathed for the 13-yard rushing touchdown.

Cherry on top

Allen Jr. had been acting as a decoy for the Orange throughout the third quarter. Even with his 13-yard touchdown run on the previous drive, Shrader was still opening up holes over the top with play action sets and run-pass options. After two-straight 11-yard completions, Syracuse went back to the ground and dialed up a sweep to Allen Jr. Had it not been for a shoestring tackle by defensive back Casey Larkin, Allen would have scored his second touchdown of the day.

Bleich pulled to his left to double team defensive lineman Nathaniel Smith and completely shove Army’s men out of the way on the left side. Reed moved with the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Darius Richardson to his left, putting him on skates as well to ensure that Allen Jr. had blockers. Once Allen Jr. saw the hole open up the middle, he easily cut back and took off for a massive gain.

Army was fooled by the power run to the left side, and linebacker Quindrelin Hammonds was also taken out of the play when he bit on Allen Jr.’s initial path toward the outside of his blockers.

Published on September 25, 2023 at 8:13 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt