Film Review: How Syracuse wove timely passing into a run-heavy offense

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One of the best quotes amid a postgame press conference full of emotion and one-liners came from interim head coach Nunzio Campanile. When asked about when Syracuse knew if quarterback Garrett Shrader, who’s upper body injury caused an offensive overhaul during the last three games of the season, Campanile responded with a joke.

“We knew at about 2:07,” Campanile said.

He later said offensive coordinator Jason Beck installed an “escape hatch” in case Shrader couldn’t throw. Shrader was limited in practice and hadn’t thrown much, nor did he throw passes during the pregame warmups. The question of Shrader’s availability had been overshadowed by the firing of former head coach Dino Babers. But once he got off a quick 35-yard touchdown pass to Damien Alford to cap off SU’s first drive, Syracuse knew Shrader could throw.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Orange played off of their wildcat, run-heavy offense with a healthy dose of passing, ultimately leading to a 35-31 win over Wake Forest.

Holy cow he can throw

Proceeding Shrader’s first downfield pass in three weeks, Syracuse worked its way down the field with wildcat runs and jumbo set plays that it featured against Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech. LeQuint Allen Jr. worked in a couple fake passes to Shrader and Alford on swing routes, signaling a possibility for passing, but he ultimately took the ball on his own up the middle for a healthy gain. The biggest advantage of SU’s opening drive was that it stayed in front of the sticks.

Then, Beck finally opened up the playbook. With two receivers spread out left and two bunched together on the right side, Shrader took the snap and dropped back. WF had four down linemen and blitzed its two linebackers into the box in order to stop the run. Shrader’s ensuing pass showed Syracuse that the run-heavy offense it had put on tape could be used as an advantage to draw in the Demon Deacons’ defenders.

Alford made a quick move on his defender, shoving him off his route five yards downfield before cutting in. Shrader began a play action fake handoff to Allen Jr., further drawing in Wake Forest’s secondary. It likely took a little bit longer for Alford to get to where Shrader needed him to be because he was under heavy pressure when he completed the short throw. But once the fluttering pass found Alford, the receiver sped away from his defender and gave the Orange a 7-0 lead.

Taking advantage of overzealous defenders

The benefit of having a former-quarterback-turned-tight-end in Dan Villari is that SU has two quarterbacks they can use for downfield passes. After the win, Villari said they knew Wake Forest would eventually play Cover 0 and load the box to counteract the run. “I knew it was coming all week,” Villari said.

The first opportunity to attack the Demon Deacons’ zeal to stop the run came for Villari on Syracuse’s first drive of the second half. When they got to the line, Villari said Beck made the check to have Alford run on a go route past the secondary.

Villari waited for Alford to have one step on the safety downfield and throw a perfect ball in stride. Alford made another great move, this time cutting in toward the middle before planting his right foot and turning to the end zone. “I just let it fly. That was so fun,” Villari said.

Villari threw 21 passes over Syracuse’s last three games in the new-look offense, meaning that stacking the box and preparing for a Villari keeper was Wake Forest’s plan. Once he dropped back, the three WF defenders that turned back in coverage were already out of position.

Hey Dan, I can throw it deep too

As Saturday’s game progressed, Shrader felt more and more comfortable throwing the ball downfield. Syracuse’s scheme allowed him to ease his way back into throwing deep like it was a ramp-up practice. The impressively confident approach to the game allowed the offense to hum as well as it has since it entered Atlantic Coast Conference play. This pass late in the third quarter culminated weeks of rest for Shrader.

Though the throw was wobbly, it still found Alford for a 34-yard gain. At this point in the game, Wake Forest wasn’t crowding the box like it had earlier. But the Orange still dressed each play with pre-snap motion to draw off defenders. With Allen Jr. in the backfield, Villari came in motion, setting up what looked to be a strongside jet sweep. If that was the play, Syracuse had Alford and Isaiah Jones set up with downfield blocking, while Allen Jr. picked up the outside linebacker out of the backfield.

Instead, Shrader faked the handoff to Villari and keyed in on Alford. As the play developed, Allen Jr. sped past two defenders and likely was wide-open for a touchdown. But the play was always set up for Alford. WF’s Evan Slocum stayed where he was to guard Villari on a wheel route, which opened up Alford. Shrader’s pass was short, but Alford adjusted well, turned around and made the catch for the chunk play.

Cherry on top

With the Orange driving to the 12-yard line, Wake Forest felt comfortable once again stacking the box. If the offensive line hasn’t gotten enough credit for the offense over the last three weeks, this play perfectly encapsulates a much improved Syracuse unit. Though it was a play action, left tackle Joe Cruz pulled to pick up the edge rusher as Mark Petry and Chris Bleich double-teamed one of the Demon Deacons’ nose tackles. The blocking allowed the play to develop and gave Shrader plenty of time to find open man.

A run in this situation would have been stuffed at the line of scrimmage. There were too many defenders at the point of attack for Allen Jr. to create enough space for a good gain. So, here’s where Shrader’s passing came perfectly into play.

Shrader knew he couldn’t put much on many throws he tried Saturday. But with Villari being much taller than the safety he ended up on, Shrader needed to loft it up for the tight end to grab. Shrader actually took a few steps up in the pocket like he was going to run, further drawing off linebackers Aiden Hall and Jacob Roberts. They jumped up and nearly batted down the pass, yet the split-second adjustment they made to stop Shrader’s potential run gave him just enough space to toss the touchdown pass to Villari.