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Charlie Jones rocketed straight down the right sideline four plays after Caleb Okechukwu’s pick-six gave Syracuse a 10-point advantage. Garrett Williams leaned a few feet in front of Jones, anticipating the receiver’s movement when the ball was snapped. 

Jones made a quick move outside, and Williams immediately turned to sprint alongside Purdue’s primary target. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell lofted the ball after a three-step drop and a hitch, and both Jones and Williams shifted their focus to its trajectory. But Williams tripped as Jones cradled the ball, watching Purdue cut Syracuse’s lead to three from the turf. 

“If you really want to be on an island, where people drop off food and you’re all by yourself, there’s no one to help you,” head coach Dino Babers said about Syracuse’s corners. “Sometimes they’re going to win and sometimes they’re going to lose.”

Syracuse (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) scraped by Purdue (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten) in a 32-29 win for its first 3-0 start since 2018. In a game with seven lead changes, the Orange found their air game in the second half, successfully finishing a game-winning drive on a 27-yard Oronde Gadsden II touchdown with seven seconds left to spare. But the Boilermakers stayed close through O’Connell, who recorded 424 passing yards and three touchdowns, and Jones, who finished with 188 receiving yards and one score. 

“He not only did things against us, he’s probably going to be a first or second team All-American,” Babers said of Jones. “That kid is really, really good. What we saw was the first of many battles of our corners versus amazing wideouts.” 

Jones, who originally played at the University of Buffalo before three seasons with Big 10 West rival Iowa, transferred to Purdue prior to the 2022 season. He’s been a key target for O’Connell, with 286 receiving yards and four touchdowns heading into Saturday’s matchup. 

Williams, being Syracuse’s left cornerback, was tasked with guarding Jones, who positioned on the right side of Purdue’s offense, for most of the game. Williams tried to stay “attached” to Jones, but he sometimes was a step ahead, using the separation to make a tight catch in the corner on Purdue’s third drive. 

On a 3rd-and-8 three plays later, O’Connell looked for Jones again. Jones sprinted down the right sideline, cutting back as Williams backpedaled behind him. Both players jumped toward O’Connell’s pass, but Jones snagged it first, falling to the ground to pick up the first down.

O’Connell fled to his right on a third-and-long in the fourth quarter and Jones mirrored his quarterback’s movement by cutting to the sideline. He pushed Williams a little bit, diving the turf to make the grab and move the chains for Purdue. 

“I just need to stop some explosive plays and that starts with me,” Williams said. “We need to keep working on our craft.”

Similar to Syracuse’s offense, Purdue repeatedly sent its receivers, tight ends and running backs motioning across the field before each snap. It did the same on most third downs, keeping the Orange’s defense on their toes for much of the first half.

After converting on a 3rd-and-1 during its opening drive, Purdue faced another 3rd-and-short four plays later. O’Connell signaled for a motion before the snap, faking the handoff to shift the Orange’s focus to the right side of the field. Tight end Payne Durham quickly ran out to his left, turning his right shoulder to face O’Connell, who delivered the ball to him after a few shuffles before Duce Chestnut could make the tackle.

Syracuse made multiple changes during halftime, opting for more of a passing attack while applying more pressure through blitzes and twists on the other side of the ball. Williams said that White told the secondary about those changes, which would be helpful in forcing O’Connell to throw in more traffic. Okechukwu’s pick-six came as a result of the aggressive shift.

The Boilermakers still found soft spots in Syracuse’s zone, continuing to capitalize on the one-on-one matchups as well with SU’s corners. With roughly two minutes left in the game, the Orange all-out blitzed Purdue on 3rd-and-10, leaving Chestnut alone on Deion Burks. 

Burks sprinted straight for 10 yards while Chestnut backpedaled, stopping and turning to receive the pass from O’Connell. Chestnut dove at Burks’ legs, but he couldn’t pull him to the ground. Burks ran inside the 15-yard line, bringing Purdue even closer to the go-ahead score. 

On 2nd-and-8, Durham positioned himself exactly in between Chestnut and Carter. Untouched, Durham ran to the top edge of the end zone and sat before O’Connell delivered the ball. Carter and Chestnut got there eventually, but Chestnut could only put his hands up after the miscommunication. Carter said the unit can always improve on their communication, but Williams added that Purdue’s offense drew up “good plays” to beat the Orange. 

Purdue took a 29-25 lead, one that the Orange extinguished about a minute later. On the drive before, the Boilermakers couldn’t break through the Orange’s secondary and were forced to take a 41-yard field goal, which missed. Jones torched Williams to begin the drive, making a 51-yard grab to place Purdue in the red zone.

On 3rd-and-10, Williams abandoned the press on Jones, placing his cleats near the 15-yard line before the snap. Williams backpedaled then flipped his body, following Jones as he b-lined straight for the back right corner of the end zone. But this time, Williams stayed hip-to-hip with Jones, wagging his finger as the ball hit the ground. 

“Our corners normally win more than they lose, that’s what we need them to do to be successful,” Babers said.

Published on September 17, 2022 at 6:57 pm

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