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LeQuint Allen Jr. finished with 42 rushing yards against Virginia Tech. Garrett Shrader finished with -42. By the end of the night, Syracuse finished with zero rushing yards against a VT side which ranks 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing yards allowed.

The Hokies’ front bullied Syracuse’s offensive line throughout, leaving limited rushing lanes for Allen Jr. His 110-yard performance against FSU was far from replicated. Plus, Shrader was sacked eight times, having little success on designed runs.

Despite head coach Dino Babers’ confidence that less-talented defenses would yield better offensive production, Syracuse’s rushing attack often went backwards Thursday. Those negative plays put the Orange behind the sticks, digging a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

Here’s what led to Syracuse’s (4-4, 0-4 ACC) rushing failures in the 38-10 loss to Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-1 ACC):

Eight sacks deflate the Orange

The first play from scrimmage set a precedent for the game. With nowhere to throw and Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. in his face, Shrader spun out of the pocket and got tripped up. As he fell, Shrader tried to flip it to the boundary, but there was no receiver in the area. On top of the sack, he was hit with intentional grounding, which brought up 2nd-and-21.

Shrader lost a total of 54 yards on sacks, meaning his pure rushing total was three rushes for 12 yards. In the past, Shrader and Babers have acknowledged Shrader’s dual-threat ability as an integral part of the offense. His inability to get the ground game going put the SU offense against the wall, and he couldn’t throw his way out.

This isn’t all on Shrader. The offensive line could not handle the Hokies’ eighth-ranked pass rush in the ACC, according to PFF, which provided no scramble lanes and constant pressure. Of the 20 players graded by PFF, not a single SU blocker had a run blocking grade of 62 or above.

LeQuint hit at the line

Syracuse started the game with four-straight three-and-outs. Most of the time, it began with rushes downed behind the sticks. Penalties also contributed to the long field early on.

The second drive of the game started that way, ending quickly. On 1st-and-15, following a false start, Allen Jr. got the handoff from the shotgun. Offensive guard Chris Bleich got caught up while pulling across the line. Two other blockers also failed to push into the second level as the Hokies’ big men forced them backwards.

Allen Jr. was stuck behind Bleich and tight end Dan Villari, who also failed to clear on the pull. With three defenders either at or behind the line of scrimmage, Allen Jr. attempted a spin move. Keli Lawson shedded Villari’s block and brought Allen Jr. down from behind for a 1-yard loss.

The failures up front persisted throughout this game. SU’s longest rush was just 14 yards, and Allen Jr. averaged just 3.0 yards per carry, following a 1.2-yard average in the first half. Trailing 30-3 at the half, Syracuse totaled -3 rushing yards and only managed to get back to even in the second half.

Read Option gets shut down

The fourth drive of the game, and the first that didn’t end in a three-and-out for SU, was jump-started by a poor read-option decision from Shrader. Once again, a negative rushing play put the Orange behind the sticks.

In the shotgun, Shrader stared down the edge of the line, which was set perfectly by Enrique Cruz Jr. Instead of pulling the ball to run in that direction, he handed it off with his eyes glued to a perfectly-executed block that would prove to be inconsequential. As per usual, Allen Jr. was hit behind the line, and even after fighting through some arm tackles, he couldn’t make anything of the play, which went for another one-yard loss.

Due to a 27-point halftime deficit, SU didn’t have the luxury of running its usual volume of read options to get Shrader into a rhythm. When the Orange did, it rarely led to positive yardage or impact plays. The Hokies’ front gobbled up SU’s linemen to down Allen Jr. near the line of scrimmage repeatedly.

No creativity

The first of very few times where Shrader pulled it down to run, the Hokies were ready for it. Having just picked up its first first down of the game, Shrader brought the Orange up to the line in a spread, shotgun set.

Once Shrader saw Powell-Ryland Jr. push his way into the backfield off the edge, he pulled it down and looked up the middle. After seeing a mass of players, Shrader tried to loop outside, opposite where Allen Jr. went. Shrader got hit hard at the line and only gained a few yards.

The SU rushing offense has very few wrinkles. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck relies on fake handoffs and downhill rushes to wear down the defense. They never got going in Blacksburg though. There was no momentum and poor execution against a defensive line that seemed to surprise Syracuse with their physical prowess.

Shrader has said that SU needs to find its offensive identity. The rush offense already has one, but it’s extremely predictable. The offensive line is physically outmatched, and the lack of creativity makes it obvious where to attack and keep Syracuse behind the sticks.

Published on October 29, 2023 at 11:51 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu