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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With almost three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the game tied at 30-30, Syracuse was in search of the lead, which they hadn’t yet found that evening.

Mississippi State transfer Garrett Shrader, in his second start for the Orange, dropped back to pass on second down. But the pocket collapsed and Shrader had to escape. Despite having over 130 rushing yards at that point, he could only get three feet past the line of scrimmage. The Orange were left with a third-and-7, with one more chance to continue the drive before having to leave the game in the hands of their defense.

Shrader didn’t audible as the packed Doak Campbell Stadium chanted against him. He simply sat back in the shotgun, catching the snap. Anthony Queeley, who replaced an absent Taj Harris, started to streak down the right sideline, looking back at his quarterback.

Shrader heaved the ball to Queeley, who he had connected with on a previous touchdown. But Queeley got tripped up with a Florida State cornerback and fell to the turf.

Queeley said there was a pass interference on the play. Still, he could only look up at the scoreboard as the Orange failed to get the go-ahead score.

“There’s a bitter feeling in that locker room right now,” Shrader said. “We definitely made a step forward offensively. But obviously, it wasn’t enough.”

After Syracuse had won last week with a last-second walk-off field goal against Liberty, the same play determined the final score against Florida State in its 33-30 loss. Despite 150 passing yards and 137 rushing yards from the Orange’s newest starter, their defense was unable to stop Jordan Travis from his own 113-yard rushing performance. Shrader finished with three rushing touchdowns, tied with the all-time Syracuse record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single game.

Shrader was thrust into the starting position last week after head coach Dino Babers said his dual-threat abilities would help against Liberty’s defense. Postgame, Babers said that Shrader played good, but he had to “check the tape” before making any more observations. But early on against FSU, the Orange weren’t able to hit on any plays.

“Early on we got stumped. We weren’t really opening up the offense,” Shrader said.

Florida State’s defense entered the game allowing only 3.04 yards per rushing attempt, and at the forefront of its unit was Jermaine Johnson, who has the second most sacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision (5.5). Sean Tucker, who came into the game as the nation’s leader in scrimmage yards (177.8 yards/game), was stuffed early in the game, unable to break out to either sideline for big gains.

On Syracuse’s first drive, Shrader looked to run on second down after the pocket had collapsed in front of him. But Shrader was only able to get to the line of scrimmage, where he was taken down by Robert Cooper.

With a third-and-long, Shrader dropped back to pass, but all of his receivers were covered. He took off, seeing an opening down the center of the field. But again he was met by Cooper at the line of scrimmage, sending Ian Hawkins out to punt.

Shrader said that Florida State was able to prevent the Orange’s “base stuff,” which they had relied on for their three wins earlier this season. But one aspect which started to open up was the rushing attack, especially because of the return of fullback Chris Elmore.

Elmore was unavailable for the opening games of Syracuse’s season until FSU, when he was reactivated on the roster. Although he’s listed at fullback and a tight end, Elmore had played offensive lineman last season, and he called himself an “extra offensive lineman” in the rushing game.

“Having me back was a big thing, just going into practice and knowing that I was going to play,” Elmore said. “We know we can hit big especially with a guy like Garrett that can use his feet pretty well.”

Elmore said he wishes he could take back the entire first quarter, as he was getting back into the rhythm of being on the field again. During that time Syracuse failed on a fourth-down attempt because Elmore was unable to get a block in time to make a hole for Tucker.

But in the second quarter, Elmore fell into a rhythm, anchoring whichever side of the line he was on. Midway through the period, he froze Johnson at the line, allowing Shrader to roll out down the right sideline and away from the nation’s sack leader.

Instead of continuing his course, Shrader cut back up the middle, freezing another defender in his tracks. Shrader beelined down the right hash, using his speed to outrun the rest of Florida State’s defense as he ran into the end zone.

With a one-two punch of play action passes and designed quarterback runs, the Orange were able to get into the red zone for the first time on their next drive. On play action passes, Shrader was able to hit the crossing route each time, moving the chains deeper and deeper into FSU territory.

Shrader said that this was something that was strategic as the rushing attack forced Florida State’s safeties to play higher on most drives — allowing play action plays to open and receivers to get open even deeper than before.

“In the first quarter our base stuff and they kind of shut us down,” Shrader said. “But when we spread things out and let other people touch the ball, you saw what the offense has the potential to be.”

After Shrader had thrown or handed the ball off to Tucker on three straight plays, Florida State expected the same play again. At the 21-yard line, Shrader faked a handoff to Tucker, causing Florida State’s entire defense to shift towards the running back. But Shrader kept it himself, going down to the 5-yard line. Shrader kept it again on the next play, staying patient in his position before blockers were set to lead him into the end zone.

In the second half, Florida State answered first, capitalizing on a short field goal due to a shanked punt by Hawkins. Following a fumble off of a screen pass, Florida State receiver Andrew Parchment picked the ball up and ran into the end zone to extend its lead to 23-13.

Syracuse was exactly three feet away from making its matchup against Florida State a one-possession game. With one yard and one play left in its drive, Syracuse put the ball in the hands of its newest dual threat starter. Shrader already had 75 rushing yards against the Seminoles, and he got the ball in the shotgun.

Shrader faked a handoff to running back Tucker, sending some Florida State defenders the other way. The quarterback charged down the left side of the field as Elmore tried to create a hole for Shrader.

As more and more bodies collapsed on Shrader, he kept his legs moving, trying to get the ball to the end zone. He reached his arms past the end zone, but the play was called dead before his final thrust. After the replay was reviewed, the referees stuck with the call, leaving SU empty-handed.

But the Orange were able to get a ball back following a short drive from the Seminoles. Shrader didn’t waste time thinking about his failure on the last drive, using his legs again on second down.

Under center, Shrader faked a hand off as he ran backwards to Tucker, completely faking out Florida State’s defense. Shrader turned around and started running down the right side of the field, untouched as he crossed the line of scrimmage. He cut back inside to the center of the field with one more defender in front of him, leaping over Jarrian Jones onto the turf. Shrader made up for the previous drive two plays later, sneaking the ball in from the one-yard line.

But as the Seminoles lead was cut down to three, Florida State maintained its own rushing attack. After Travis rolled out and used his legs to pick up a first down, Treshaun Ward went up the gut for 65 yards. Jashaun Corbin walked into the end zone from the two-yard line and in four plays, the Seminoles extended their lead to 10.

Still, Syracuse’s offense responded with a combination of play action plays on the next drive. Queeley, who stepped into the main receiver role with starting receiver Harris out, was able to get open on multiple crossing routes on these plays. On the first play of the drive, Queeley was able to get separation from Florida State’s defensive backs for a 24-yard gain.

Once SU got closer to the red zone at the 26-yard line, it returned to the same play with Queeley crossing to the left side of the field. Again, he was able to get open, catching the ball at the 10-yard line before beating two defenders to the end zone.

“I did my job. We practice all week for one focus, and that’s to win, and whoever’s not here, we all just have to step up as a unit and get the job done,” Queeley said.

In the fourth quarter, Shrader continued to look for Queeley and other receivers like Courtney Jackson throughout the rest of the game. The Orange were able to work to a third-and-goal at the 9-yard line, and Shrader dropped back for another pass.

But like multiple occasions during the game, the pocket collapsed. As Shrader rolled to the right, FSU Kalen DeLoach came charging at the quarterback, forcing him to throw earlier than he wanted. He went to his main target — Queeley — at the back of the end zone, but it was too crowded.

Syracuse was forced to settle for a field goal, tying the game instead of taking the lead. That would prove to be costly as the Orange couldn’t move the chains on their next drive, leaving too much time on the clock for Travis and Florida State’s offense.

“We can definitely get better from today, and we’re a lot more explosive than what we showed,” Shrader said. “We hate losing — that’s the biggest thing.”

Published on October 2, 2021 at 7:45 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu