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Coming off a narrow 22-20 win over Virginia, Syracuse continued its four-game homestand against Wagner, the lone Football Championship Series opponent on its schedule. 

SU quickly jumped to a 7-0 lead on its opening possession, capping off a 55-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run from Garrett Shrader. After Wagner’s opening drive stalled, Sean Tucker responded with a 61-yard touchdown run to put SU up 14-0.

The dominance continued from there as the Orange scored 35 more points in the first half alone, leading to the second half being shortened by 10 minutes in the eventual 59-0 victory. Behind Shrader’s 17-of-17 passing, Syracuse is 5-0 for the first time since 1987. 

Here are some observations from SU’s blowout win over the Seahawks: 

Shrader efficient, connects with variety of wide receivers

In the opening 15 minutes, Syracuse scored on all three of its drives, getting two touchdown runs from Tucker and another from Shrader. In the air, Shrader racked up 107 yards with a 199.9 QBR in the first quarter.

To start, Shrader got the Orange into Seahawk territory, connecting with Courtney Jackson on a 16-yard curl route on the left side to advance the ball to the 35. A few plays later, the pair connected again on the left side for a gain of 20. He also threw an 8-yard pass to Devaughn Cooper before scoring on the one-yard touchdown run after a fake to Tucker.

On the first drive of the second quarter, Shrader found Oronde Gadsden II over the middle for 14 yards to get to the Wagner 31. On another drive, Shrader waited patiently in the pocket for Gadsden to cross the field. Receiving the ball in stride, Gadsden ran down the sideline, delivering a stiff arm to Roberto Auguste to get a gain of 32 yards.

Through the first five drives, seven different Orange receivers had receptions with three receivers racking up over 40 yards. Umari Hatcher scored SU’s fourth touchdown of the game with a catch in the back corner of the end zone. Cooper added the fifth touchdown receiving a short dump-off pass with plenty of holes and space to go untouched to the end zone.

Blocking games gives Tucker, receivers open holes

On Tucker’s 61-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, he found a massive hole. But it wasn’t just the offensive line that gave Tucker space. A block from Gadsden allowed Tucker to get past the final line of Seahawk defenders and coast to the end zone. On a 31-yard touchdown run that got called back for a penalty, second-level blocking gave Tucker an easy pathway to the end zone.

Cooper capped off SU’s fifth drive with a screen pass reception by Shrader for a touchdown. But blocking from Damien Alford and Gadsden created an open role in the next level, where Cooper jogged in untouched for the 22-yard touchdown.

On a pass to Gadsden for a crossing route, Shrader had plenty of time in the pocket, looking at all his options, before settling with Gadsden.

Tucker elected to bounce outside the tackle box frequently, getting around the edge and picking up several yards on each carry. On 23 carries, Tucker rushed for 232 yards, averaging just about 10 yards per attempt. He left the game, however, after getting injured on a short run in the third quarter.

Aggressive defense limits Wagner passing game

With Wagner first-string quarterback Nick Kargman dealing with a broken rib, sophomore Ryan Kraft was under center for the Seahawks.

Throughout the game, Kraft and the Seahawk offense struggled to get past midfield. On Wagner’s second drive, Syracuse forced a three and out. On first down, the Seahawks called just their second pass play. But after the pocket collapsed because of the Orange’s pressure, Kraft scrambled, resulting in Caleb Okechukwu and Anwar Sparrow combining on the tackle for loss. Then on third down, Okechukwu chased Kraft out of the pocket, electing to throw the ball away.

The Seahawks utilized a run-heavy offense against Syracuse, partly because its defense limited any aerial threats. Kraft threw for 19 yards on 2-of-6 passing and one interception. After Kraft and wide receiver Jallah Zeze miscommunicated on the route, Duce Chestnut jumped the pass and took it back for a pick-six to put SU up 42-0. 

Defensive end Steve Linton also picked up two sacks in the first half. Kraft waited too long in the pocket and was met with Linton in his face as well as two other SU defenders in case Linton couldn’t secure the tackle. On another play, Linton went unblocked and sacked Kraft within three seconds of the snap. 

Second-string offense sees time

With the game already well beyond reach, Syracuse played most of its second-string offense for the final portion of the game, including quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and running back LeQuint Allen. 

After Tucker went down in the third quarter, Allen played briefly with the first team. He capped off a long drive with an 8-yard touchdown carry. To close out the third quarter, Allen had a 90-yard gain, before being chased down by a Seahawk defensive back. He finished with 112 yards on four carries while Juwaun Price had a few carries of his own.

Published on October 1, 2022 at 8:12 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini