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After being on the wrong side of a three-point difference for the last three games, Syracuse finally came out on top with a five-point win against Virginia Tech. Like its win against Liberty, the Orange won in walk-off fashion with quarterback Garrett Shrader leading the game-winning drive. 

Shrader finished with 174 rushing yards and 236 passing yards, aided on the attack by Sean Tucker, who had 112 yards on the ground. Tucker recorded his sixth straight game with over 100 rushing yards, the longest streak in Syracuse history. 

Here are three takeaways from SU’s matchup against Virginia Tech:

Bearded Bustler Garrett Shrader 

Earlier this week, quarterback Tommy DeVito announced he was entering the transfer portal after losing the starting job to Shrader. In his first game as SU’s clear leading man, Shrader continued his success from previous games, using his legs early against the Hokies.

Shrader got most of his positive gains from the read option, a play that head coach Dino Babers has leaned on this season with the talent of Shrader’s rushing ability. In the first half, Shrader took turns handing the ball off to Tucker or keeping it.

Shrader started to pass the ball more as well, following a game against Clemson when the Orange threw a season-high 37 times. Shrader started to use the play action, finding Sharod Johnson for 38 yards on one throw. Shrader even passed on a fourth-and-2 in the second half to Devaughn Cooper, keeping the Orange’s go-ahead drive alive. 

At the end of the first half, with only 55 seconds left on the clock, Shrader took to the field trying to erase a three-point VT lead. Shrader had scored Syracuse’s last touchdown on the read option with Cooper Lutz after Tucker went out for a few plays following a tough hit to his left hip.

But instead of running, the quarterback passed on first down, finding Courtney Jackson cutting into the middle of the field for 18 yards. He found Jackson again for 12 more yards. On the third play of the drive, he utilized his legs for a 23-yard gain. But at the 1-yard line, Shrader couldn’t cash in on a QB keeper, and Andre Szmyt missed the field goal heading into halftime. 

In the second half, Shrader carried his earlier success using a mixture of the pass and run to help SU get its first lead of the game. While he ran in between the hashes in the first half, Shrader started to run out of the pocket, scoring on a 21-yard run as Anthony Queeley set up a block down the right sideline. 

After the Hokies scored, Shrader went out again with the same goal as the last drive — give SU its lead back. But he missed Cooper on second down to set up third-and-long. Despite being 7 yards from a first down, Shrader kept the ball and went down the right sideline, rummaging through two defenders and a horse-collar tackle to move the chains. Ensuing 21- and 3-yard runs led to another touchdown, leaving the game in the hands of Syracuse’s defense.

Shrader used his arm talent on SU’s next drive following a defensive mishap from the Orange. He lofted the ball to the right corner of the end zone, finding Jackson for Syracuse’s first passing touchdown in the red zone of the season. 

On SU’s last drive, Shrader converted on another fourth down with legs, setting up a first down. Virginia Tech sent a blitz at Shrader, but Damien Alford streaked down the left hash for a deep pass. Shrader found Alford as he was blasted to the ground by Jordan Williams, giving the Orange a five-point lead.

Special teams miscues 

Over Syracuse’s last four games, Szmyt has missed a PAT or field goal in each matchup. Against Clemson last week, Szmyt missed a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation after a holding error left the laces facing him before his attempt. 

Babers said that Szmyt’s struggles have not been an issue, noting that he’s been SU’s main kicker for the last four seasons.

“He’s been consistently good, not occasionally great,” Babers said. “You’re talking about four years. Not one year.”

The Orange are without a special teams coordinator as well, and with two minutes left in the first half, Virginia Tech took advantage of SU’s lackluster unit. The Hokies completely broke through Syracuse’s PAT blocking setup from all sides, storming Szmyt and hitting his attempt to the ground. Dorian Strong picked the ball up and took it all the way to the end zone to turn what would’ve been a tie game into a three-point lead for the Hokies. 

Syracuse fought back, getting all the way down to the 1-yard line with less than 20 seconds left in the half. But after two timeouts and two failed scoring attempts, Babers sent out Szmyt for a 19-yard attempt. He hit the right upright, ending a 74-yard drive with a missed field goal. 

In the second half, Syracuse took a 20-19 lead on its first drive. After Virginia Tech failed to score on its first drive, the Orange went back for a punt return. But SU was called for holding following a short return from Trebor Pena, sending it back 10 yards. The Orange weren’t able to make up for that yardage and punted a few plays later. 

Replacing injuries

Heading into the game, Syracuse was missing one key player on both sides of the ball, both out for unknown reasons. On defense, the Orange were without cornerback Garrett Williams, replacing him with redshirt freshman Adrian Cole. Chris Bleich was absent on SU’s offensive line, with true freshman Kalan Ellis in his spot at left guard. 

“(Ellis) has been doing a really good job for the age that he’s at,” center Airon Servais said. “He’s really been taking it in stride. He hasn’t needed a ton of help; for the most part he knows what his assignments are.”

On Syracuse’s first drive, Ellis and the rest of Syracuse’s offensive line opened up holes for Tucker and Shrader, who rushed on eight of the nine plays throughout the series. At the 28-yard line, Tucker used a clear hole created by the Orange’s men up front to go down the right of the field into the end zone. 

But Cole wasn’t as successful as Ellis early in the game. On Virginia Tech’s second drive, the Hokies established the rushing attack like the Orange, before quarterback Braxton Burmeister aired the ball out on the first play of the second quarter. 

Cole lost sight of the Hokies’ Tayvion Robinson on first down. The receiver ran a corner route, getting on the outside of Cole near the sideline. Cole threw his right hand up in the air, but he missed the ball by a few inches, allowing Robinson to make the catch. On the ensuing play, Virginia Tech went at Cole again, rushing the ball with Burmeister to get a few yards away from the end zone.

In the second half, Ellis and Syracuse’s offensive line started to make more time for Shrader in the passing game. Shrader completed a pass to Queeley before using his legs to give Syracuse a 20-19 lead in the third quarter.  

Published on October 23, 2021 at 4:29 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu