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BLACKSBURG, VA. – Pre-snap motion and well-executed fakes baffled Syracuse’s run defense. After a three game stretch filled with top ACC opponents, Virginia Tech gashed the Orange defense worse than any of them for a season-high 318 rushing yards.

The Hokies set the orange up to expect outside runs repeatedly, before pulling it down inside to catch SU off-guard. Quarterback Kyron Drones was key for Virginia Tech with his biggest rushing play coming at the beginning of the second quarter.

Jaylin Lane started by motioning left, as he did often on Thursday. Drones faked the jet sweep and sped through the gaping hole in the middle of SU’s defense, juking a tackler as he took off into the secondary. Jason Simmons Jr. tackled him at the SU 16, but the ensuing field goal made it 13-0 Virginia Tech, and that lead only grew.

“That was something new,” said Marlowe Wax of the Hokies’ outside rush attack. “Virginia Tech didn’t usually do that [run outside] at all. That was something they did for us. I feel like we adjusted to it pretty well, but at the end of the day, too many rushing yards happened today.”

Virginia Tech (4-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) entered the contest 12th in the ACC in rush yards per game, but a new rushing scheme dominated Syracuse (4-4, 0-4 ACC) in a 38-10 blowout. In both halves, the Hokies surpassed their average rushing yards per game this season (140.3), including 166 in the first. Once the Hokies’ initial approach met little resistance, they kept on pushing, resulting in their best rushing game of the season in the blowout win.

Syracuse’s shortcomings were evident from the jump. On running back Bhayshul Tuten’s first carry of the game, he broke a 15-yard run down the sideline. The Hokies entered field goal range after just two plays from scrimmage. Meanwhile, Syracuse didn’t even reach VT’s side of the field until the second quarter.

Tuten had five runs of at least 10 yards, including three in the first quarter to help the Hokies to an early 13-0 lead. Despite not rushing for over 15 yards once, the North Carolina A&T transfer wore Syracuse down with his physicality. Most of his runs went outside and came from the shotgun. None went for negative yardage.

But, when the SU defense tried to anticipate those runs, Drones would either pull it and sprint up the middle, or Tuten found the cutback lane.

The ground-and-pound approach yielded points on all of the Hokies’ first six drives, featuring three touchdowns and three field goals. Only one of their seven first half drives resulted without points, and it ended with three inconsequential seconds left in the half.

This unexpected scheme left the Orange front seven frozen in the first half, as they failed to set the edge repeatedly. That put extra pressure on the secondary to make plays, specifically cornerbacks because of the outside emphasis. SU lost multiple members of the secondary to injuries, hindering its playmaking ability.

“We just have to rally. We have to get more support,” said head coach Dino Babers. “We had corner support and we had them doing it really well, and then we lost both corners. That’s not an excuse, but I think they did a nice job. We played a lot of guys today.”

SU cornerback Jayden Bellamy was taken to the hospital after suffering an early injury, but Babers confirmed that his x-rays came back negative, and he’ll be returning to Syracuse with the team. On top of that, rover Justin Barron and safety Alijah Clark also exited briefly in the first half, but returned later in the game. As those losses piled up, SU’s run stuffing declined accordingly.

After the half, defensive end Leon Lowry said the run defense adjusted their expectations and started to set the edge better. Yet, they still allowed 152 rush yards on 5.6 yards per carry.

That’s when the Hokies sent in fresh legs, Malachi Thomas, finished with 87 yards on 6.7 yards per carry in the game. Drones, meanwhile, was strong on read-options throughout, making smart decisions and hitting the right holes. Apart from two sacks, the Hokies’ offense only had one negative play the entire game.

“The biggest thing is, you keep him in the pocket with what you do with your line stunts and your linebackers,” Babers said of Drones. “But that’s a big old cat, and there were a couple times where we hit him and we didn’t bring him down.”

This isn’t a new phenomenon. The Orange have allowed 190+ rushing yards in three-straight games. In turn, the offense has failed to control momentum in each of those games, scoring 10 or fewer points in each.

The Orange defense, specifically the front seven, struggled mightily from the very first possession, and never figured it out. The 27-point halftime lead was insurmountable with SU’s offense flailing, and no amount of defensive adjustments would have changed that.

“In the first half, we just didn’t execute well enough,” Lowry said. “We had to set the edge, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.”

Published on October 27, 2023 at 1:39 am

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu