All-around blocking catalyzes Syracuse offense in 59-0 win over Wagner
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Syracuse lined up from Wagner’s 22 in the middle of the second quarter. The score was already 28-0 and the game was out of reach for the Seahawks, but the Orange ran a flat route to the right with Devaughn Cooper, who Garrett Shrader immediately threw to. Cooper, with no defender around him, jogged into the endzone through a gap created by Oronde Gadsden II and Damien Alford as Syracuse added its fifth touchdown on five possessions.
Blocking minimized any impact the Wagner (0-4, 0-1 Northeast) defense could’ve had as Syracuse (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) won 59-0. Overall, the performance at the first and second-level blocking catalyzed the SU offense and Tucker, who now ranks seventh all-time in career rushing yards. Though they played a much weaker and struggling Seahawk team, the Orange connected in all aspects of the offense. Tucker racked up 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In the passing game, quarterback Garrett Shrader finished 17-of-17 for 238 yards, partly because of the limited pressure from Wagner and organized pockets by the offensive line.
“I think the biggest thing is just taking a little bit of a different approach to our game-playing and the way that we’re doing things,” Shrader said of adjustments to the offensive line. “I thought we executed well today and we were able to create some bigger holes for (Tucker) to run through.”
Tucker’s longest run of the night came as a result of a massive hole created by the offensive line. On a simple handoff, a huge gap in the middle opened up and Tucker sprinted off to the end zone, getting a second-level block from Gadsden.
Often, Tucker elected to bounce outside on his runs, rather than run up the middle. Second-level blocks from receivers allowed Tucker to pick up extra yards. On one play, Tucker rushed outside left down the sideline towards and into the end zone. He would’ve had four touchdowns, but an illegal block in the back penalty brought the ball back to the 18-yard line, where Shrader connected with Umari Hatcher a few plays later for a touchdown.
Once Syracuse pulled most of its starters, second-string running back LeQuint Allen benefited from the offensive line, too. He burst for a 90-yard run before tiring and getting tackled six yards away from the end zone. Hatcher sprinted behind Allen to block any chasers, which allowed the back to get an extra 10-15 yards. One just four carries, Allen rushed for 112 yards.
Like Allen, Shrader seemingly unlimited time in the pocket as he rarely scrambled because of a collapsing pocket. Shrader waited patiently, looking through his progressions and finding an open receiver during the first half. He found Gadsden who lined up on the play on the right side and then ran a crossing route over the middle.
Similarly, the pair connected again on the same route, just on a different drive. A few plays before Cooper’s touchdown, Gadsden corralled in the pass and headed down the left sideline into Wagner territory. He delivered a nasty stiff arm to Wagner’s Roberto Auguste and ran for extra yardage, finishing off a 32-yard completion.
Syracuse commonly had several option plays for Tucker and Shrader, some including run-pass options. The offensive line secured the edge against Wagner. On SU’s first touchdown of the game, Shrader faked the handoff to Tucker, before running to the right outside the tackle box and into the end zone.
“During practice this week, I (saw the offensive line) working harder, trying to get those runs down and assignments down,” Tucker said. “They opened up bigger holes for me today.”
Though Syracuse performed perfectly in the air, it kept feeding the ball to Tucker, especially on its sixth drive of the game. The Orange strictly kept all plays on the drive on the ground, continuously handing the ball to Tucker, who capped the drive with a short run on the right side, breaking a tackle in the process. And on another play in that sequence, Tucker ran down the middle courtesy of a huge hole from the line, dragging defenders for a 21-yard gain.
Tucker left the game in the third quarter after getting injured, but said postgame that he just got “banged up” a little bit. Eventually, Syracuse decided to pull the majority of its starters.
“(The offensive line) is tired of hearing people talk about it,” Babers said about offensive line struggles. “They just wanted me to not talk to them about it. I was really happy with the results of it.”