Five games into the 2019 season, it’s hard to gauge Syracuse (3-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast). The Orange crushed Liberty, Western Michigan and Holy Cross but lost to Maryland and No. 1 Clemson by a combined score of 104-29.

With an idle weekend ahead, now is a good time to examine one play from each of SU’s games this season to see what’s gone right, what’s gone wrong and what will need to be better going forward.

Liberty: Early offensive line struggles

The math on this play is good for Syracuse: Six blockers to stop a four-man rush. The resulting sack is therefore all the more disappointing.

Pre-snap, the Flames show a three-man front and bring the linebacker flashing blitz on the right edge. All four rushers are picked up one-on-one, leaving right guard Dakota Davis and running back Moe Neal free to pick up double teams.

Instead, Davis gets caught deciding between helping fellow lineman Carlos Vettorello to his right or Sam Heckel to his left. Neal, on Davis’ side of the line to pass protect, can’t get near a rusher and does his best to bail out quarterback Tommy DeVito by flashing for a route. It wasn’t enough.

Heckel gets bull rushed into DeVito for a sack with two free blockers to help. The line has since improved, but it was a rocky start that was expected during fall camp.

Maryland: DeVito intercepted, again

Until DeVito throws the ball to the other team, this is one of his best-looking plays to date. He dodged a free rusher and left the pocket, scanning downfield for his options as he evaded rushers.

As he runs to the sideline, DeVito fired down the sideline where wide receiver Nykeim Johnson doesn’t stop his route and runs out of bounds. His defender, Maryland’s Jordan Mosley, stays in bounds and intercepts the pass.

After the game, head coach Dino Babers noted the interception was not merely DeVito making a bad decision and that there’s more that goes into any given play than can be seen from the field. It was mainly a miscommunication between DeVito and his wideout.

Still, watching the play, it’s hard to imagine DeVito couldn’t have picked up five or more yards by running.

Clemson: Isaiah Simmons blows up naked bootleg

Syracuse had already come up empty on one red zone chance against the Tigers. SU, starting a drive from the Clemson three, had picked up one-yard on two straight Jarveon Howard handoffs to the left out of the I-formation. The Orange had two more chances for a needed touchdown.

On third and goal, DeVito fakes the handoff and clutches the ball close to his body, trying to spin to the weak side.

Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, the superstar safety-linebacker hybrid, reads the look and partially collapses to Howard. Quickly, he aborts his move inside and swings out to DeVito who tried to slip his grasp, but Simmons caught him. On fourth and goal, DeVito got swallowed up by the Clemson line trying to scramble.

As Kirk Herbstreit noted on the broadcast, if SU calls the naked bootleg a play earlier, like second and goal, DeVito might walk in. It was SU’s last good chance to score points all game and like so many moments before, it failed.

Western Michigan: Designed run for DeVito

DeVito was tentative to take off and run in his first three starts — he said he wants to look more to pass when escaping the pocket. But against the Broncos, SU gave a look it knew could spring DeVito for long designed runs.

On the second play from scrimmage, DeVito and Neal start the play looking like a speed option. But as Neal flares out left, Devito fakes the pitch and cuts back across the formation.

From this point, you can see the run is designed for DeVito, mostly because of where the offensive line is. He’s got a convoy of blockers and the fake pitch was enough to move the linebackers far enough out of the way for him to easily scamper for 60 yards.

After the game, Babers said he was comfortable with this look because he liked DeVito in a footrace to the edge with the WMU linebackers. He didn’t like the matchup a week prior, when DeVito would’ve been trying to outrun Simmons.

DeVito scored a rushing touchdown later in the game, undesigned, when he noticed a hole in the defense pre-snap and took off immediately once he had the ball. It won’t be a look SU relies on — DeVito as a runner — but one it’s now proven it has.

Holy Cross: Aaron Hackett’s third touchdown in five quarters

Syracuse’s tight ends have accounted for four receiving touchdowns in five games this season. In 2018, they had five in total. Leading that increasing production is Aaron Hackett, who had two receiving touchdowns against Western Michigan and another against Holy Cross.

This play worked because SU hurried the ball down the field at its fastest rate of the year. And even with two touchdowns the week prior, defensive attention on the left of the formation stayed on Taj Harris and Trishton Jackson.

The two wideouts run routes to the middle of the field at varying depths while Hackett leaks to the flat about three yards down field. The receivers bring their defenders inside with them — Jackson almost runs a rub-route, designed to strip away Hackett’s defender, leaving the tight end wide open.

With the safety on the left hash, all Hackett needed to do was walk into the end zone, something he’s getting used to.

Published on October 3, 2019 at 12:38 am

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham