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Two of the best ground attacks in the nation squared off in Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. SU, the No. 10 rushing offense in the nation, welcomed Army, the No. 9 rushing offense, into the JMA Wireless Dome.

In Syracuse’s 35-20 win over Purdue last Saturday, it accumulated 271 rushing yards and five scores. Quarterback Garrett Shrader led the way with a career-high 195 yards and four touchdowns while LeQuint Allen Jr. added 80 yards and a score.

This week, it was a slow start for the Orange, but Shrader finished strong to lead them to a 13-point victory over the Black Knights. The ground game didn’t disappoint, as the two teams totaled over 280 combined rushing yards and three scores.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 29-16 win over Army (2-2, Independent):

Damien Alford’s statement game

Alford recorded his career-high in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (106) in less than three quarters against Army. Without Oronde Gadsden II and Isaiah Jones this week, Alford got the majority of their vacated targets and took full advantage.

Alford’s largest play came during SU’s final drive of the first half. After struggling mightily up to that point, Shrader laid one up for Alford, streaking up the seam, and he came down with it for a 23-yard gain. He also secured a back-shoulder toe tap and made the most of multiple screen passes against soft zone defense.

His role didn’t change, but Alford has never shown this kind of production for Syracuse. He finished the day with nine receptions for 135 yards.

Army’s pre-snap deception

Before almost every play, Army utilized a snap count, pre-snap motion or both. This offense, along with most service academies, runs a triple-option, a read-based rushing offense. By putting people in motion and faking the snap, teams get a sense of what coverage and pressure their opponent is bringing.

Quarterback Bryson Daily’s reliance on those pre-snap reads was evident from the game’s first drive. Early in the drive, he motioned an outside receiver into the backfield, but rather than coming through, he turned back into the flat after the snap. Bryson ran that way on the bootleg and hit a wide-open Noah Short for the first down on an out route.

Bringing the running back in tells the offense if it’s man or zone coverage. Sending him back out to the same spot puts pressure on both sides, because the left flat was responsible for guarding both routes, and they’re already a step behind. Later in the drive, they did the same concept but handed it to the receiver on the jet sweep, who picked up six yards.

Later that drive, on 1st-and-goal, Army put a receiver in motion for a third time. But rather than snapping it as he came through the backfield, Daily’s hard count made Kevon Darton leap through the line early and SU got a false start penalty that helped the Black Knights score quickly after.

Shrader adjusts

Until the final minute of the first half, Shrader’s longest completion was 13 yards. The Orange had just one more pass attempt than the Black Knights, who ran the ball 86 percent of the time last season. And when they did throw the ball, it came out in a hurry.

There were only four first-half passes where Shrader looked to throw it downfield. One was a sack, the other was an interception. He overthrew an open Umari Hatcher on the sideline and then missed a 23-yard completion to Alford, who had to climb the ladder to make the catch up the seam.

Apart from that, most of Shrader’s throws had a target depth within five yards. He hit multiple receivers on digs and hitches, but also almost threw a pick-six intended for Hatcher on the team’s first drive. The offensive line didn’t give Shrader much time to make downfield reads, but his usual scrambling prowess was not evident in that first half, leading to a slow start for the Orange.

Shrader finished the first half 6-of-10 for 59 yards, one interception and a sack. But in the second, he only had one incompletion. He continued taking what the defense gave him with short throws, not forcing the ball into tight windows. The performance wasn’t pristine, but Shrader turned it around.

Clutch playmaking

Army went 3-for-3 on fourth down attempts against Syracuse in the first half, some of which came in its own territory. It also went 5-for-11 on third down, while the Orange failed to convert a third down on three tries and were stopped on 4th-and-1 in enemy territory.

Jakobi Buchanan picked up all three 4th-and-shorts on runs up the gut. While the Orange’s outside zone rushing attack gave Allen opportunities to bounce it outside, the Black Knights put their head down and ran straight into the teeth of the defense.

In the second half, however, Syracuse started to convert, and the tide immediately flipped. It went 2-for-3 on third downs and held Army to 0-for-3. Those clutch situations dictated the game.

Published on September 23, 2023 at 3:34 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu