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Syracuse’s first down offense vs. Virginia Tech

Cue up Vanessa Williams because ‘Cuse saved the best for last

By Kevin M Wall
Clemson v Syracuse Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

Even in victory on Saturday the Syracuse Orange offense followed a similar script. The Orange have been able to jump out early behind the running game but as the opponent adjusts they’ve struggled to keep moving the ball in the third quarter.

Sean Tucker has his most rushing attempts in the first quarter. He’s been most effective when he finds Chris Elmore and follows his blocking and gets to the next level. With a number of injuries on the offensive line it’s Elmore who might be the most important to have out on the field this week. The early attention to Tucker opened up some plays late in the half for Garrett Shrader and he delivered until the Orange got down to the goal line before the half and well we aren’t going to revisit that.

First Down Offense vs Virginia Tech

Run or Pass- 1H Yards Run or Pass- 2H Yards
Run or Pass- 1H Yards Run or Pass- 2H Yards
Run (Tucker) 2 Run (Shrader) 3
Run (Tucker) 6 Run (Tucker) 0
Run (Tucker) 2 Pass (Queeley) 17
Run (Tucker) 7 Run (Shrader) 5
Run (Tucker) -1 Run (Tucker) 1
Run (Shrader) 2 Pass (Incomplete) 0
Pass (Cooper) 7 Run (Tucker) 3
Pass (Tucker) 1 Pass (Incomplete) 0
Run (Shrader) 9 Run (Shrader) 0
Run (Shrader) 9 TD Run (Shrader) 5
Pass (Jackson) 18 Pass (Incomplete) 0
Pass (Jackson) 12 Run (Shrader) 3 TD
Run (Shrader) 23 Run (Tucker) 0
Pass (Incomplete) 0 Run (Shrader) -3
Pass (Incomplete) 0 Pass (Jackson) 9
Run (Jackson) 12
Run (Tucker) -2
Pass (Incomplete) 0
Pass (Tucker) 13
Pass (Alford) 45 TD
1st Half Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 9 59 6.55
Pass 6 38 6.33
Total 15 97 6.47
2nd Half Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 12 27 2.25
Pass 8 84 10.5
Total 20 111 5.55
Game Total Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 21 86 4.1
Pass 14 122 8.71
Total 35 208

Once again the second half is causing problems for the Orange offense. It looked good to start the 3rd quarter but on 13 out of 20 first-down plays in the half Syracuse gained 3 yards or less (one was a Shrader touchdown run). A positive sign is that the Orange delivered when it mattered most including the game-winning TD on this first-down pass

With a reeling Boston College defense up next can the Syracuse offense put in a full game and avoid the last-minute anxiety of the past month? If we’ve learned anything about this Orange team expect a lot of Sean Tucker early on Saturday afternoon.

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