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Syracuse football: first down offense vs Wagner

Can you say stats-booster?

NCAA Football: Wagner at Syracuse Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

We didn’t expect the Syracuse Orange to struggle with Wagner but I’m not sure we thought it would be this easy.

Syracuse moved the ball at will against the over-matched Seahawks and as the guys mentioned on this week’s podcast, the scripted pass plays seemed to get some confidence throwing sideline routes.

What’s interesting is that as we talked about with the running plays going to the left, in this game Garrett Shrader was 5-5 throwing to the left and didn’t attempt a pass to the right. Were the Orange trying to bring better balance to the offense, working out an issue the coaches noticed in the first four games, or are they trying to throw off future opponents? Something to watch for in next weekend’s game.

First down offense vs Wagner

Run or Pass- 1H Yards Run or Pass- 2H Yards
Run or Pass- 1H Yards Run or Pass- 2H Yards
Run (Tucker) 4 Run (Tucker) 5
Run (Tucker) 4 Pass (Gadsden) 12
Pass (Cooper) 20 Pass (Cooper) 15
Run (Tucker) 7 Pass (Queeley) 12
Pass (Tucker) 9 Run (Allen) 8 TD
Run (Shrader) 6 Run (Allen) 90
Pass (Jackson) 18 Run (Del Rio-Wilson) 0
Pass (Alford) 17 Run (Del Rio-Wilson) 11
Pass (Cooper) 7 Pass (Hayes) 5
Run (Tucker) 4 TD Run (Price) 18
Run (Tucker) 5 Kneel -1
Run (Tucker) 23
Run (Tucker) 2
Pass (Gadsden) 32
Run (Tucker) 21
Run (Tucker) 10
Pass (Cooper) 22 TD
Run (Tucker) 7
Run (Tucker) 12
Run (Tucker) 1
Run (Tucker) 9
1st Half Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 15 115 7.7
Pass 6 125 20.8
Total 21 240 11.4
2nd Half Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 7 131 19.6
Pass 4 44 11
Total 11 175 15.9
Game Total Plays Yards Avg yards per play
Run 22 256 11.6
Pass 10 169 16.9
Total 32 425 13.3

If you take away LeQuint Allen’s 90-yard scamper, the Orange still averaged nearly 8 yards per carry on first-down runs. Syracuse isn’t going to be this efficient the rest of the way but if the offense can continue to be balanced, they will be much harder to defend.