Smith: Syracuse’s November woes persist because of lack of depth, discipline

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Garrett Shrader’s kneel at the end of Syracuse’s win over Boston College Saturday snapped a streak. And it wasn’t a pretty one.

The last time the Orange won a November football game was in 2019, when Trill Williams stripped the ball and returned it 94 yards for a game-sealing touchdown in SU’s 39-30 win over Wake Forest.

There were 1,092 days between that win and Saturday. In between, Syracuse lost nine straight games in college football’s most important month. But it was nothing new for head coach Dino Babers. He didn’t win a game in November at Syracuse until 2018. Needing just an extra win or two to secure bowl eligibility in 2016, 2017 and 2021, SU fell flat in the final stretch. And this year’s five-game losing streak included three losses in November. Babers’ post-Halloween record at SU is just 6-20.

This is a pattern, and there are patterns within it, which all lead to some serious concerns about whether Babers can make his program match his motto: “Consistently good, not occasionally great.” Not just for the bowl game, but in 2023 and beyond.

It isn’t hard to find the culprits of SU’s November woes. Syracuse quarterbacks have been incredibly injury-prone over recent years, and the offense hasn’t adjusted accordingly. The defense has frequently imploded late and SU has been one of the most penalized teams nationally, ranking dead last in total infractions (105) this year.

“The first thing you think about is an opponent. The second thing you think about is your health,” Babers said last Monday when asked about his poor November record. “It comes down to how much depth you have on football teams…We got to find a way to win. But if you’re asking me the question, those are the answers.”

Babers deserves credit for leading Syracuse to its best start in 35 years this season, and earning bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018. He brought excitement to a program that’s been lacking a spark for two decades. After beating NC State, Babers’ job seemed as secure as ever.

But after losing five-straight games, Babers was suddenly being asked if he deserved a contract extension after this season. SU’s success this November makes it tough to argue in favor of an extension.

This November was full of questionable coaching decisions, an injured quarterback, a deteriorating defense, lots of penalties and double-digit losses. Babers didn’t give Sean Tucker the ball enough at Pitt, didn’t go for a 2-point conversion against Wake Forest and admitted that his coaching staff didn’t prepare Syracuse enough to beat Florida State.

Shrader’s injury changed the entire offense. Syracuse drastically altered its game plan ahead of Notre Dame since Shrader couldn’t run, and it couldn’t get anything going when he returned against Florida State. Without Shrader’s running ability, Tucker couldn’t find space, and neither could his receivers.

Babers has dealt with an injured quarterback in every season of his tenure. Eric Dungey missed the last three games in both 2016 and 2017 with injuries, and the Orange went winless in November both years. Dungey stayed mostly healthy in 2018, missing only three quarters against Notre Dame. The Orange went 3-1 that November. Tommy DeVito missed games in 2019 and 2020 with injuries. And last season, Shrader dealt with a lingering elbow injury.

A healthy quarterback has made a big difference in Syracuse’s success under Babers. That’s why it wasn’t a good idea for Shrader to run 21 times against Clemson while Tucker ran it just five times. It took weeks for Shrader to recover. That falls on Babers.

Babers has pointed several times to injuries as a reason for this year’s skid, but the team needs to be able to adjust. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who filled in for Shrader against Notre Dame and Pitt, didn’t look equipped to lead the offense despite possessing a more-than-capable skillset.

The offense went stale, and there weren’t many changes until LeQuint Allen got more snaps against Wake Forest. More wildcat looks against BC also provided more variety than just read options between Shrader and Tucker. Oronde Gadsden II admitted after the Virginia game that opposing defenses figured out the new offense. Still, little changed.

Syracuse also lost more than its quarterback this season. Key defensive starters went down, and the defense fell out of its No. 1 spot in the ACC midway through the season. While the number of season-ending injuries was uncommon, every team deals with them in some form. Pitt was missing Israel Abanikanda, one of the nation’s best running backs, against Syracuse, but still ran the ball successfully and controlled the clock.

“Everybody has the same issue,” Babers said before the Florida State game. “Nobody’s going to play the violin for us up here. We’ve got to figure out a way to win with the guys that we have there on the football field.”

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In the first eight games, SU allowed only 18.4 points per game. In the last four, all in November, that number jumped to 31.5. This was nothing new for the Orange — in five of Babers’ seven years, the defense has given up at least 10 more points per game in November than in the first two months of the season. Last year, there was a 15-point increase. And a 23-point one in 2017, when Syracuse allowed at least 42 points in its last three games. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward got fired in November 2019 after Boston College posted 58 points and 496 rushing yards, a single-game record for an SU opponent.

Fixing the injury problem is likely harder than solving the penalty one. For the fifth time in Babers’ tenure, SU ranks 100th or worse nationally in penalties per game. The 8.8 penalties per game this season is the worst in the nation, after rankings of 104th in 2019 and 118th in 2016. Tucker and Shrader have reiterated the impact penalties have had on the offense as holding calls routinely brought back big plays, even touchdowns. The lack of discipline nearly cost Syracuse its win over Boston College.

“The biggest issue was the holding penalties,” Tucker said after the FSU loss. “That was just holding us back all game.”

Avoiding penalties wouldn’t have helped SU much against FSU in the 38-3 loss. And that was the only latest blowout November loss under Babers. There was the 54-0 smacking at Clemson in 2016, and allowed a program-record 71 points and the back-to-back 30+ point losses in Louisville in 2020 and 2021.

Syracuse, and most Power Five teams, traditionally play easier opponents early in the season, with tougher conference matchups scheduled for the final weeks. But regardless of who is on the schedule next November, something needs to change. A 7-23 November record isn’t OK, especially given the talent Babers has accumulated through seven seasons.

To ensure next November is different, Babers has to protect his quarterback, build up defensive depth through recruiting and the transfer portal, and preach discipline and proper technique to reduce costly penalties. The latter is the most practical. Shrader is a game-changing quarterback, and Tony White knows how to coach a good defense. Babers must teach his players to not hold, line up in illegal formations and commit foolish personal fouls. It’s inexcusable that the penalties keep adding up seven years into his tenure.

Syracuse has a decent team this year, and will return to a bowl game — a big step for the program. There are no day-to-day and week-to-week off-field issues, and that’s important. But they have not changed the results on the field, and that matters, too. Babers had another lousy November in a tenure littered with them. It makes you wonder: When will it stop?

Connor Smith is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at csmith49@syr.edu or on Twitter @csmith17_.