Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482392
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 29, 2022 35 GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE 1. Transformed Passing Offense No passing offense has made a larger year-over-year jump than Syracuse's. Last year, the Orange ranked 111th in passing efficiency and yards per at- tempt. They were 118th in completion percentage (54.4), 118th in pass at- tempts per game (23.9) and threw just 10 touchdown passes (tied for 120th). This season, some of those national rankings have increased by 100. Syra- cuse now fields one of the country's best passing offenses one year after it had one of the worst. Entering play Oct. 22, it ranked 11th in pass efficiency (168.19), 12th in yards per attempt (9.3) and 16th in completion rate (69.9 percent). The volume remains low — 26.3 attempts per game ranked 111th through six games — but the efficiency has pivoted 180 degrees from 2021. Perhaps most impressively, the transformation has happened with the same quarterback. Junior Garrett Shrader was more of a run threat last sea- son than a passer. He completed just 52.6 percent of his throws and averaged 6.2 yards per attempt. Now in his second season as the Orange's starter, he has thrown for 1,434 yards with 12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in six games. His completion rate has jumped 17 percentage points, and he has thrown for just 11 fewer yards than all of last season. The difference has been the hire of offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, who in those same jobs at Virginia last sea- son oversaw an offense that ranked fifth in yards per play. Without them, the Cavaliers' passing offense has plummeted to 2021 Syracuse-like lows despite returning starter Brennan Armstrong. The weakest point of the Syracuse passing offense is the offensive line, which entered its Week 8 game against Clemson ranked 87th in sack rate (6.9 percent). 2. Elite Running Back Syracuse's 2021 offense was one of the FBS' most ground-reliant attacks, and for good reason. Sophomore running back Sean Tucker ended the season with 1,496 rushing yards, which ranked sixth nationally and set the program record for a single season. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry and was one of 11 players to average at least 20 attempts per game. Holding Syracuse's single-season rushing record is no small feat. This is a program counts NFL Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Floyd Little and Larry Csonka among its former running backs, as well as 1961 Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis. Tucker is not quite on the same pace this year but is still on track to cruise past 1,000 yards again. He has rushed for 644 yards on 5.19 yards per carry, with 6 touchdowns, in six games. He is a threat in the passing attack, too, with 23 catches this year and a career average of 11.1 yards per reception. 3. Limiting Big Plays Syracuse's defense produced its best finish in total defense in a decade last season. Third-year coordinator Tony White's unit has fortified itself even more in 2022. The Orange allowed just 11 plays of 20 or more yards through their first six games, which tied for the fewest nationally. They were tied for fourth in plays of 10-plus yards allowed (55) and tied for eighth in 30-plus-yard plays allowed (7) entering Oct. 22. They were one of 23 FBS teams not to allow a 60-yard play through Week 7. Unsurprisingly, the Orange ranked ninth in yards per play allowed (4.6) as of Oct. 15. They're doing it without a superstar. No Syracuse defensive player ranks in the top 100 nationally in tackles or passes defended. Sacks leader Caleb Okechukwu is tied for 71st nationally in that category, with 3.5. — Patrick Engel Junior quarterback Garrett Shrader has taken a big leap in his second season as the starter. His pass completion rate is 70 percent, up from 53 percent a year ago. PHOTO COURTESY SYRACUSE ATHLETICS Three Things To Know About Syracuse ing attribute is cause for caution for Notre Dame. The Irish have struggled containing mobile quarterbacks, and Shrader loves to use his legs. Through six games, Shrader ran 78 times for 300 yards and 5 touchdowns. That's follow- ing up a 2021 season in which he ran 173 times for 781 yards and 14 scores. Shrader has also connected on 105 of 151 throws (69.5 percent) for 1,427 yards with 12 touchdowns and 3 intercep- tions in his first six starts of 2022. He's not known as a lethal passer, but he can catch a defense sleeping and hurt the opposition with his arm. He's a redshirt junior, but he's in just his second full season as a starter. He's getting better each game. He has got quite a running mate, too. Syracuse redshirt sophomore Sean Tucker was one of 17 FBS running backs averaging at least 100 yards rushing per game through Week 7. He had 644 yards on 124 carries (5.2 yards per carry) with 6 touchdowns. He also boasted 23 re- ceptions for 198 yards and 1 score. "We got a long way to go," Shrader said. "We're still finding ourselves as an offense and as a team. But we're really excited about what we've done. It's a testament to us." "We're just getting started," Jones added. ✦