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Dino Babers calls the adjustment to a run-based offense that relies heavily on the legs of running back Sean Tucker and quarterback Garrett Shrader “chess not checkers.” 

“It’s a chess game where you’re just playing with your strongest pieces, and as your pieces change, your game should change,” Babers said on Oct. 18 after the Clemson loss. 

And a significant part of that shift has been the read-option offense, which Syracuse has turned to since Shrader became the starter against Liberty and continued to rely on in its win over Boston College on Saturday.

The read option involves Shrader reading the defense and electing whether to hand the ball off to Tucker, or keep it himself and run. If the two go in opposite directions, it’s a difficult situation for the defense to cover, ideally.

On SU’s first touchdown run, Shrader’s eyes were on the unblocked BC defensive end when the quarterback decided to give Tucker the ball. Tucker broke loose for a 51-yard score, igniting a previously stagnant offensive outing. 

“If he gets going, good luck catching him,” said Dan Harper, Tucker’s position coach at Calvert Hall College (Maryland) High School. “And if you don’t know if he’s getting the ball or not, that makes it a huge problem.” 

Then on the next series, the two did the opposite. Shrader watched the defensive end quickly advance in the backfield to blow up Tucker, who was running from left to right. So Shrader pulled the ball back, kept it himself and sprinted for a 48-yard touchdown run.

“It’s not just a Sean thing — he just draws a lot of attention, but even Garrett, you got to wonder is he going to keep it, is he going to dump it? We don’t know what’s going on,” Harper said on Oct. 12.

Babers said that the read option has been part of his offense since he arrived at SU, including with Tommy DeVito. The scheme isn’t even a focal point of Syracuse’s practices “because we’re pretty good at it,” Shrader said.

But regardless, the read option has developed into one of the most successful parts of the Orange’s identity this season. They use it repeatedly to fuel the most efficient rushing attack in the conference. Shrader ranks fifth in the nation in rushing touchdowns (13), and Tucker leads the nation in rushing yards (1,267). All but two of SU’s 26 rushing touchdowns have come from the duo, and the only exceptions were during the season opener at Ohio.

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Defenses have to honor Tucker’s potential to take any given carry for a touchdown, Harper said, comparing the situation to a talented defensive lineman who draws double-teams from the offensive linemen. So if defenses key on Tucker, SU can send him left, for example. That’ll lead linebackers “cheating left” in pursuit of Tucker, his father, Steve Tucker, said. That opens spaces for Shrader to run instead.

“We’ve seen situations where the quarterback could literally just walk in the end zone, because (of) the dominance of what (Sean’s) done,” Steve said on Oct.11. “That’s the whole benefit of an option offense — you can’t go after everything.”

For Shrader and Tucker, a duo that’s only been playing together in-game for about a month, the natural chemistry has been instant. Tucker said they didn’t start practicing the read option regularly until Shrader won the starting job in late September, though his dad said he always encouraged Tucker to work evenly with the No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks.

The mesh-point — or exchange between the quarterback and running back — is very “delicate,” Babers said. Shrader and Tucker need to understand the other’s body language to figure out whether Shrader wants Tucker to take the handoff by “clapping down on that ball” or if the quarterback “wants that ball to just go straight across the belly button, and for them to operate something out the backdoor,” Babers said.

Essentially, the exchange has to be clean. And despite limited time working together, it has been. Neither has lost a fumble this year, and neither has bobbled or botched the quarterback-running back exchange.

In high school, Tucker frequently ran the read option. It was the predominant formation for Calvert Hall, Steve said, though Tucker typically lined up adjacent to the quarterback. SU used the same formation with DeVito at quarterback but often places Tucker behind Shrader in a “pistol offense” now. 

Tucker has made a name for himself this season and is on pace to shatter Syracuse’s single-season rushing record with three games remaining. As he continues to accumulate accolades and continues to grow in popularity, that’ll key more defenses to shut him down. And as a result, that’ll open up even more space for the other member of SU’s duo, Shrader. 

“It’s just too much for 11 guys,” Steve said. “It adds that extra level that’s going to open up the defense more.” 

The game was won when….

Courtney Jackson’s punt return for a touchdown came after Syracuse scored seven points on back-to-back drives to open the third quarter. Jackson, the SU receiver who was filling in for the absent Trebor Pena, cut to his left on the punt return and took it 64 yards to the house. 

“Wow, I mean, what a momentum swing,” Babers said postgame.

Jackson’s special teams play put SU up 21-6 in the third quarter, a scoreline that the Orange’s defense held for the remainder of the game. And for the first time in five weeks, Syracuse played in a game that wasn’t decided by a game-winning play in the final moments.

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Quote of the night: Dino Babers on false starts

When asked about SU’s four false start penalties, all of which occurred in the first half, Babers said it was because Boston College was making “move calls” at the line of scrimmage and shifting its defensive line. SU hadn’t seen that on film during the week, so the Orange didn’t prepare for it, Babers said. 

Leaning forward as he spoke into the microphone in front of him, Babers explained to the media. 

“We didn’t see it, we didn’t practice it and right when our quarterback is about to— move!” Babers said, pausing briefly before shouting the final word into the microphone. The reporters in the room were startled, and Babers laughed. “You jumped. That’s 5 yards.”

Game ball: Sean Tucker

Tucker deserves a game ball every week, so normally the idea is to choose someone else. But a career-high 207 yards rushing, including the touchdown run that ignited SU’s offense, means that the star running back earned this award fair and square. With three games left, he’s on pace to shatter Syracuse’s single-season rushing record.

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Next up: Bye week

Syracuse needs to use its bye week to get healthy, Babers said. He joked that having a bye week in November felt like the fourth- or fifth-latest bye week in history.

Saturday, SU was without fullback Chris Elmore, offensive lineman Carlos Vettorello, returner Trebor Pena and cornerback Adrian Cole. Cornerback Garrett Williams and lineman Chris Bleich both returned from injuries against BC, but for many other SU starters, it’s been nine straight weeks without rest, five of which included down-to-the-wire games.

“We had a bye week at the right time, it feels like, and we’re banged up but we’re going to get back healthy, and everything that we hope to accomplish in this season is right in front of us,” Shrader said.

Published on October 31, 2021 at 6:49 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16