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BLACKSBURG, VA. — Syracuse’s offense tried to run the ball against North Carolina and slowed the tempo against Florida State. Against Virginia Tech, it implemented a more spread-heavy offense, starting the game with three passes and a run. None of it worked and SU fell to its fourth consecutive blowout defeat.

The Hokies were supposed to be a team Syracuse could compete with out of the bye week. The Orange sounded confident on Monday and Tuesday. The extra rest had worked, film reviewed in a different way and picked out holes that it was ready to fix. The message was clear: Stop stalling out drives with self-inflicted wounds, and there’d be success, especially against teams that SU does well against.

None of that happened, though. Syracuse went three-and-out on its first four drives. It didn’t get past the 50-yard line until more than 20 minutes into the game. It gained 61 rushing yards and 137 receiving yards. Whether it was a miscue or a mistake, the offensive woes continued.

“It’s starting to be a thing, and I’m not satisfied with that. We have to find a way to stop that,” head coach Dino Babers said.

Consecutive losses to Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State were brushed aside. Babers simply said that the opponent was full of future NFL talent after every loss. He said the second half of the season was going to be “easier.” But in the Orange’s (4-4, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) 38-10 loss to the Hokies (4-4, 3-1), that similar lack of an offensive identity continued. Now, Babers said he and offensive coordinator Jason Beck need to figure out what this offense can do well.

The only time SU’s offense looked productive Thursday night was when it was down 32-3. A crop of Virginia Tech’s starters were out already, moved on to the Hokies’ next game against Louisville. The Orange completed an 80-yard drive that ended with a nifty play action pass over the middle from Garrett Shrader to Dan Villari.

The drive was puzzling. Why was Syracuse able to move the ball so easily down the field? The Orange hadn’t seen a drive that successful since Clemson in Week 5. “We’re the offense where y’all see at 4-0. We just gotta bring it back out,” Damien Alford said after the loss. But what was it to begin with?

Beck doesn’t have an established record of being a play caller. For the last nine seasons, across three schools, Beck’s been Robin to former offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s Batman. It felt through the first four games that there would be little change. Shrader talked about the excitement of going into the second season of a system. Donovan Brown and Umari Hatcher took over for Devaughn Cooper in the slot that Beck typically moved around to confuse opposing secondaries. Isaiah Jones and Alford were the deep threats making spectacular catches. Then the realities of a college football season set in.

“That’s been the biggest thing, fighting an uphill battle. Some guys are a little bit out of position,” Shrader said.

The free and loose style of play that offensive skill position players preached throughout training camp and during the early part of the season began to falter. Multiple players, along with Babers, that the offense had a lot of guys out of position after the loss to Virginia Tech. Shrader said there’s a great deal of “learning them on the fly” throughout the course of a game.

Over the last four weeks, creative and explosive has been traded in for dull, ineffective and complacent. Sprinkle in penalties and miscues and the Orange’s offense has hardly been able to move the ball across midfield. LeQuint Allen Jr. said it’s a matter of each guy on the field doing their “1/11th” so that the entire offense can work as a unit. Syracuse hasn’t done that.

Villari and Shrader both said they trust the scheme but the Orange just haven’t been able to execute. Players are out of position and younger, inexperienced players are being thrust into roles they’re not comfortable with. As the injuries keep stacking up, the Orange have been forced to learn on the fly.

“We’re shuffling guys around. We have to do things out of necessity,” Shrader said. “There’s a learning curve. That’s a struggle as it is.”

Syracuse doesn’t have an offensive identity because nothing over the past four games has worked. Shrader got sacked eight times against the Hokies. Running lanes were plugged up. Receivers stayed clamped down by VT’s secondary.

It felt different this time. This was supposed to be the bounce back game. Instead, the abysmal losing skid is now entering a fifth week. No one’s getting any healthier, and the film is out on what Beck can do with this team during one of the most pivotal stretches in Syracuse’s recent history.

The game was won when…

VT quarterback Kyron Drones flipped the ball to Bhayshul Tuten on a trick play that opened up Da’Quan Felton downfield for a 16-yard touchdown. Already up 3-0, the Hokies were driving and hindering the Orange with outside zone runs and pre snap motion that typically led to read options with Drones keeping the ball. The successful double pass play was Virginia Tech’s second attempt at it.

The Hokies bust out to an insurmountable 30-3 lead at halftime. It exposed SU’s lack of a creative mind offensively on Thursday night.

Quote of the night:

“Just shooting ourselves in the foot. It just kind of ruins momentum.”

Villari walked into a small clubhouse near a table no larger than six feet. He was late but didn’t want to interrupt Shrader’s comment on what he needs to do better to avoid negative plays. He scooted past reporters and wires and slumped down in his folding chair. He was quiet and barely spoke. When he did, asked about what was causing the lack of offense, he spoke candidly.

The Orange had seven penalties for 42 yards, many of which came on the first or second play of the drive. Syracuse frequently found itself in 3rd and long scenarios because of this and Villari was flipping a chair on the sideline in frustration.

Stat to know: 6.0

Syracuse has been able to hamper high-powered offenses by stopping the run game and forcing star quarterbacks to throw. Drones isn’t nearly the caliber of player that Drake Maye or Jordan Travis are, but possess dual-threat ability. That, combined with the Hokies’ continuous success running on the outside of the tackles, led to VT averaging 6.0 yards per carry. Wax said he hadn’t seen VT run that style of offense before and that it was difficult to adjust to.

Tuten finished with 118 rushing yards and a touchdown. And even when Caleb Okechukwu or Kevon Darton caught him or Drones, Tuten sped by the lineman and got to the edge anyway.

Babers said Syracuse lost both of their starting corners during the game but needed to have more support from corners and linebackers to combat the “unique things” Virginia Tech did on the ground.

Game ball: Damien Alford

Alford showed up in a way he hasn’t over the last few games. Following his career-high performance against Army, where he hauled in nine receptions for 135 yards during Week 4, Alford had just three catches for 72 yards in the next two games. Babers said he’d been pressing too much. Meanwhile, the passing game had resorted to dump off throws to Allen Jr. or frequently missed deep balls.

Alford’s ability to work over the middle allowed the Orange to finally have success moving the ball late. On Syracuse’s sole touchdown drive, he began with an 18-yard reception. He also was left open following a motion and strong mesh route over the middle that got another 15 yards. His presence against Virginia Tech provided a small glimmer of hope for a struggling offense that they might have a top receiving option moving forward.

Three final points:

Shrader is still timid to run

Since Shrader’s 195 rushing yard performance against Purdue in Week 3, he’s been a stagnant quarterback. After finishing with -42 rushing yards on Thursday, many of which came on sacks he stepped into, Shrader now has just 121 rushing yards outside of his game against the Boilermakers. With an injury-riddled, inexperienced offensive line, Shrader is getting pressured more and has taken big hits over the last four games.

Babers said Shrader’s fine health-wise, but isn’t sure why he hasn’t looked comfortable in the pocket. Shrader said that he needs to help his offensive line out more by getting the ball out quicker and making faster decisions. Thursday night showed his quick-trigger thinking leads to negative plays and more sacks, hits he can’t continue to take throughout the remaining four games.

Marlowe Wax continues to impress

Wax led the team with 14 total tackles, eight of which were solo. He also had two tackles for loss. He blew through the Hokies offensive line throughout the game and met rushers at the line of scrimmage. Babers puts Wax next to Mikel Jones and Zaire Franklin as one of the best defensive line/linebacker hybrids to ever comes through Syracuse

Virginia Tech’s scheme to bounce the ball outside the tackle box was likely meant to avoid Wax and Okechukwu. Still, Wax provided a necessary plug up the middle for Syracuse, which led to numerous three-and-outs for VT in the second half.

Punt returns flip the field

Babers routinely harps on special teams as the third prong of a complete football team. With the Orange’s offense stalling out more, punter Jack Stonehouse has seen the largest uptick in playing time in his collegiate career. In the first quarter, he took a big hit and had to be helped off the field, unable to put weight on one of his legs.

Virginia Tech returned Stonehouse’s first punt to the 49 yard line and ran just six plays — two incomplete passes and a pass for no gain — before kicking a field goal to go up 3-0. To set up another field goal at the end of the first quarter, Tucker Holloway, who had three returns for 83 yards, found a seam on the left side and took off to Syracuse’s 29 yard line. Peter More, the Hokies main punt return man, finished the game with three returns for 135 yards, an average punt return of 45 yards.

Next up: Boston College

Syracuse has handled the Eagles in their last two matchups. Boston College has rattled off three close wins, two of which came against ACC opponents, after starting 1-3. Like the Orange, BC are vying to return to a bowl game, but it hasn’t achieved a postseason berth since 2021 when the Eagles went 6-6. This season, they’ve seen an uptick in offensive production despite losing first round pick Zay Flowers and average 29.1 points per game.

Boston College allows the second-most points per game in the conference, but a strong rushing attack led by dual-threat UCF transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos should prove difficult for Syracuse. The loss to Virginia Tech makes Boston College a must-win game if the Orange want to finish with a .500 record in the ACC.

Published on October 27, 2023 at 12:35 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt