UPDATED: Oct. 11, 2017 at 6:53 p.m.

In his five and a half years as a college football head coach, Dino Babers said he’s learned one thing about whether to go for it on fourth down: Trust your gut. This year, he’s done that more than any other coach in the country.

“Based off of who you are playing and where it is in the game,” Babers said Wednesday morning, “I like to go with my gut intuition.”

Halfway through the season, Syracuse (3-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) has gone for it on fourth down a total of 21 times, more than any other FBS team in the country. SU has converted 13 of those attempts, a 61.9 percent conversion rate that ranks 47th in the country. SU’s next opponent, the defending national champion No. 2 Clemson Tigers (6-0, 4-0), rank tied-fourth in the country with an 87.5 percent fourth-down conversion rate (7-for-8). Should SU fall behind the Tigers, success on fourth-down conversions could be one way the Orange fight back in the game.

Over the last two and a half seasons, Syracuse has been a strong team on fourth downs, converting on 63 percent of chances a year ago (15th in the country) and 73 percent of chances in 2015 (eighth). In SU’s past two games, the Orange has gone 3-for-5 on fourth down. At then-No. 25 Louisiana State University, SU went 2-for-3. The Orange has attempted at least one fourth-down conversion every game this year.

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Coaches traditionally punt or kick on fourth downs, though the modern college game has pushed some teams away from that. It’s a pass-happy league with a growing number of spread offenses that can zip up and down the field, easily gaining back the field position a punt may have afforded.

There are many variables that influence the decision to go for it, including the fact that field goals are not automatic. A missed field goal can provide the opposition not only quality field position but momentum.

“Sometimes you can tell how important the momentum is,” Babers said, “and keeping the momentum sometimes you realize, hey, this may not be a good time to do it because you may be giving momentum back to them and it could snowball on you from there.”

Syracuse has one of the best punters in college football in redshirt sophomore Sterling Hofrichter, whose 45.1 yards-per-punt average ranks 14th. He’s landed 12 punts inside the 20-yard line. Even with him in Babers’ repertoire, Babers has leaned on the aggressive side more often than not.

Down 16 at LSU on Sept. 23, Syracuse went for it on fourth down from the LSU 41. Senior slot receiver Ervin Philips ran for eight yards. Three plays later junior quarterback Eric Dungey ran it in for six points.

In a 33-25 loss at North Carolina State on Sept. 30, Syracuse would have had a fourth-and-short opportunity. It didn’t happen because of a flag that pushed back SU 15 yards, forcing the Orange to settle for a Hofrichter field goal. If Syracuse center Aaron Servais hadn’t been called for a shove, Babers said he would have gone for it. A touchdown and extra point would have brought SU to within five of the Wolfpack.

“Si,” Babers answered, in Spanish, when asked if he would have gone for it.

On fourth down, Syracuse doesn’t just look for short runs or passes. Earlier against NC State, a Dungey-Ishmael connection on fourth down sparked a 13-0 Syracuse run to crawl back in the game. On fourth and two from the NC State 43, Dungey hit Ishmael with a 38-yard pass down field. Three plays later, Dungey ran it into the endzone for a score.

Last Saturday, Syracuse took an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a successful fourth-down conversion at the Pittsburgh 38-yard line. Dungey picked up two yards on a run to convert. Two plays later, he tossed a 35-yard touchdown to senior receiver Steve Ishmael to extend SU’s lead in a three-point victory that bumped SU to 3-3 ahead of the toughest part of its schedule.

Additional notes from Wednesday’s ACC teleconferences:

• Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney: “We’ve got our hands full with a much improved and very well-coached Syracuse team.”
• Babers when describing Clemson’s defense, which ranks eighth in the country: “Their front four is O-M-G.”
• Babers on how to penetrate that defense: “I-D-K. You look at it, there’s no holes. There’s no weaknesses.”

This post has been updated with appropriate style.

Published on October 11, 2017 at 2:11 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21