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Syracuse returned home to face Boston College after pulling out a last-minute, 41-36 victory against Virginia Tech last week. The Orange entered Saturday at 4-4, just two wins away from earning bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018. 

In the Carrier Dome, SU entered halftime scoreless and trailing by three points, but it scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 15-point lead that it didn’t relinquish. Sean Tucker and Garrett Shrader continued to run the ball well, and they each finished with a touchdown in the win. Tucker ended with a career-high 209 yards, averaging exactly eight yards per rush. SU’s defense responded after giving up 36 points last week, and it held the Eagles to six points and 251 total yards. 

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s 21-6 win against Boston College:

A tale of two rushing halves 

The Eagles allowed an average of 230 rushing yards during their last three games — all losses — and had to face the ACC’s leading rusher, Tucker, on Saturday. Tucker had recorded at least 100 rushing yards in all but one game this season, and ran for 112 yards and a touchdown against Virginia Tech. The freshman running back has earned easy yards running up the middle and on sweep or off tackle runs moving to the outside. 

Shrader also found success running the ball against the Hokies, and his three touchdowns helped SU pull out a win. But against BC, the option keepers that have normally earned big pickups this season disappeared. In the first half, Syracuse ran for just 68 yards and was held scoreless. 

Tucker lost yards, or gained nothing, on several rushing plays in the first half, but he was able to break free for a 37-yard run in the second quarter. Tucker ran through a big hole on the right side and stiff-armed Jason Maitre in the face before being tackled in Boston College territory. 

Syracuse had an easier time running the ball to begin the second half. On the first possession after halftime, Shrader didn’t throw the ball once, but instead, he scrambled for first downs and kept the ball on option reads. He also handed off to Tucker for a 51-yard touchdown run that put the Orange up 7-6 midway through the third quarter. 

Then on the next possession, Shrader kept the ball from Tucker on an option read at the last second and ran right toward the sideline and past the Eagles’ defenders for a 48-yard touchdown run. Syracuse finished with almost 300 rushing yards in the game, running the ball through the Eagles’ defense to pick up its fifth win of the season. 

Shrader struggles again throwing the ball

Since head coach Dino Babers opted to start Shrader over Tommy DeVito before the Liberty game, the Orange’s offense has been dominated by Tucker and Shrader running the ball. Since becoming the starter, Shrader has only recorded a completion percentage of over 50% twice. His last two games against Clemson and Virginia Tech had been his worst based on completion percentage. 

That trend continued on Saturday. In the first half, Shrader went 4-for-13 for only 50 passing yards — a 30.8% completion percentage. The Mississippi State transfer missed several easy targets, including one in the first quarter where he missed tight end Luke Benson, who was wide-open in the middle of the field, by several yards on a third down throw. Without Tucker finding holes running the ball, there were few open targets for Shrader to hit, and even when there were open receivers, he missed them or the balls were dropped.

Then toward the end of the second quarter, SU was backed up inside its own 10-yard line. Shrader looked for Damien Alford over the middle, but his throw was too high and nearly intercepted. Syracuse had to punt three plays later after Boston College pressured Shrader while the he was inside his own end zone. Shrader threw the ball to the turf, drawing boos from the Dome’s crowd.

The Orange had as many false start penalties (four) as completions in the first half, and they finished with just 118 yards of offense. Boston College frequently shuffled its defensive lineman before snaps, forcing SU’s lineman to jump or miss blocking assignments. With Syracuse driving inside the Eagles’ five-yard line on its second possession of the game, Chris Bleich didn’t even touch Marcus Valdez, who popped Shrader and forced a fumble that was scooped up by Vinny DePalma for a turnover. 

But in the second half, Babers moved away from throwing the ball, and Shrader only recorded one completion for 15 yards in the half. Instead, the quarterback scrambled for yardage, made decisions on option run plays or gave straight handoffs to Tucker. The results showed, as the Orange scored 21 points in the second half as opposed to the zero they posted in the first. 

Defense shuts down BC offense

Boston College entered Saturday ranked near the bottom of the ACC in points and yards per game. The Eagles didn’t find much of anything offensively throughout the game beyond two Connor Lytton field goals. 

BC quarterback Dennis Grosel has been inconsistent throughout the season, and it was unclear whether or not he would start on Saturday. But while head coach Jeff Hafley went with Grosel, the graduate student missed several easy throws and only threw for 93 yards and no touchdowns. Hafley replaced Grosel with freshman Emmett Morehead in the first half, but Morehead didn’t fare much better.

Syracuse didn’t bring many blitzes, but still got to the quarterback, finishing with four sacks. Cody Roscoe and Kingsley Jonathan, in particular, made their way into the backfield several times. Late in the second quarter, Moorehead sat in the pocket for too long on first down and was met by both defensive lineman for a loss of 10 yards. 

Then at the start of the fourth quarter, Boston College faced a 3rd and 32 in SU territory. The Orange only blitzed three defensive lineman, but Jonathan powered his way around the edge and hit Moorehead from behind, forcing a 4th-and-40 and a punt.

Published on October 30, 2021 at 7:01 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @csmith17_