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Head coach Dino Babers used to call Damien Alford “Bambi.” The 6-foot-6 wide receiver is one of the biggest targets Garrett Shrader has ever had, but he’d fall down instantly after contact and struggled to make plays across the middle of the field. At times, SU’s speedy outside threat would get locked up outside the hashes and — as recently as Syracuse’s win over Western Michigan — become a non-factor. Separating himself from a crowded pack of unproven receivers meant Alford needed to be a reliable threat.

Without Oronde Gadsden II, Shrader has feasted on other matchups with Donovan Brown, Umari Hatcher and Alford. It’s worked, with each receiver having their breakout performance to show they can contribute. Saturday was Alford’s turn, and it proved that for the Orange to be a successful passing team, he needs to be a major part of the offensive equation.

Shrader missed Alford on a sideline fade in Syracuse’s final possession of the first half. The throw sailed too far outside Alford’s catch radius, and though he got his hands on it, he ran out of room to toe tap. But after its first drive of the third quarter was stuffed by Army, Shrader finally put everything together. He connected with Alford on the first pass, a 31-yard connection that sent SU’s bench into a frenzy. Shrader left the throw a tad short, forcing Alford to reach out over the head of Cameron Jones and snatch the ball over the 5-foot-9 defender.

Two plays later, Shrader went back to him on a go-route down the near sideline. He calmly lofted the ball up and allowed Alford to reach out and grab it again to complete the 19-yard gain. With Army’s defense sagged off in anticipation for another throw, LeQuint Allen Jr. darted up the middle, easily breaking through two tacklers at the line before walking into the end zone untouched to tie the game at 10-10.

“(Alford’s) a big target. Whenever we had the one-on-ones, just throw it up, leave it a little outside for him. He’s easy to throw to,” Shrader said.

At times last year, Syracuse struggled when it solely focused on a Sean Tucker–based rushing attack. Aside from Gadsden, the Orange couldn’t find a reliable receiver for Shrader to connect with. Though the Orange are 4-0 and welcome a struggling Clemson team to the JMA Wireless Dome next weekend, the first half showed that they could fall into a similar trap, and suffer a similar fate, as last season.

Alford being a key target, one that has now been working with Shrader since 2021, makes Syracuse’s offense more deadly. If he can take the mantle from Gadsden as being SU’s big, versatile target, Alford has the potential to blossom into one of the top receiving threats in the Atlantic Coast Conference. According to Pro Football Focus, Alford lined up in the slot on 11 snaps and was outside as an X or Y receiver 21 times. Through the first three games of the season, Alford lined up for 10 snaps as the slot man and 94 times on the outside.

The ability of offensive coordinator Jason Beck to mix Alford through the receiver positions keeps the veneer of a versatile SU offense intact. At times, including on Saturday, the Orange’s offense under Beck and former offensive coordinator Robert Anae has gone stale. On Saturday, both Hatcher and Allen Jr. said the offense started slow, but improved in the second half. Without Isaiah Jones or Gadsden for the foreseeable future, someone has to step up as the gadget man to puzzle defenses. Alford showed on Saturday that he has the ability to be that man.

“I’m excited for him. It was a breakout game,” Babers said.

Shrader said after the game that he tells the receivers someone should have 100 receiving yards every week; it’s just a matter of who that is. He harps specifically on his slot receivers to work windows and get open in short-yardage situations across the middle of the field. But the Orange have had undersized players during Shrader’s time lining up in the slot, and their lack of tight end production makes the offense boom or bust at certain points.

Lining up Alford inside the box or cutting him across the middle, in effect making him a more versatile target, helps him become that 100-yard receiver more consistently. He had a career day, hauling in 135 yards on nine receptions and was the most-targeted receiver. He’s grown into his frame and has the skill and rapport with Shrader to feast anywhere on the field. Shrader and Alford proved that on Saturday.

Babers used to call Alford “Bambi.” Now, they call him “moose.” Try to hit a moose with your car, Babers said.

“We gotta throw the ball to Dame. We throw the ball to Dame, he’s going to have a game like that every time,” Hatcher said.

The game was won when…

Allen Jr. burst through the line of scrimmage, shedding two tacklers on a 13-yard touchdown rush to tie the game 10-10. Bringing the game to a tie midway through the third quarter felt like a win for Syracuse. In a move he doesn’t do often, Babers opted to defer possession until the second half. With the way service academies play, Babers said, he feels better with the ball coming out of halftime.

The plan paid off on a four-play drive that tied the game. Once the Orange moved back to even, Babers felt confident that a more up-tempo offense could close out the win. He said he knew coming in that the defense was going to have to be on the field for longer than they’d ever had to in the past. Evening the score kick-started a run of 26 unanswered points that allowed SU to correct the possession numbers.

Quote of the night: Marlowe Wax on shutting the run down

“You can’t get too complicated with a team like that.”

After Army put together an opening drive that lasted 9:25, Syracuse’s defense made one adjustment: stop the run. Though the Black Knights are in the midst of installing a gun option offense that leads to them passing more frequently, they still ran the ball 46 times split between 10 players.

But in the second half, Army consistently got stuffed at the line of scrimmage. Once they fell behind, quarterback Bryson Daily had to pass the most he’s had to in his collegiate career. He finished 9-for-21 for 145 yards, a touchdown in garbage time and two interceptions.

Stat to know: 27.3%

Syracuse struggled to convert on third downs, specifically in the first half on Saturday, finishing the game just 3-for-11 on third-down conversions. Babers said that the adjustments came when the Orange started to gain a better feel for what Army was doing on third down, but that there were some miscommunications that led to SU’s struggles. This season, Syracuse has converted 50.9% of its third-down plays, good enough for 19th in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Before Syracuse turned had four-play touchdown drive in the third quarter, it ended drives with two incompletions, a sack and an Allen Jr. run that didn’t reach the first-down marker.

Game ball: Garrett Shrader

Syracuse doesn’t come back and complete its fourth win of the season without a stellar performance from Shrader. He accounted for 295 total yards and went 21-for-26 passing, following up a Purdue game that saw him gain a career-high 195 rushing yards. In his third season with the Orange, Shrader has been accurate and decisive, missing few throws in nonconference play.

Amidst an evolving offense that has lost two receivers and integrated two new offensive linemen so far, Shrader has provided Syracuse with stability that’s allowed it to blow through its first four opponents. His pocket presence has matured, and he’s improvised when the pocket collapses, finding open receivers that he’s built up a strong rapport with.

Three final points:

Isaiah Jones likely out for a while

Despite Babers saying on Monday that Jones’ decreased snaps weren’t due to injury, Jones was inactive on Saturday. After the game, Babers said that Jones would be out “for a while” and that he couldn’t give a timetable for his return. Jones missed ten games last season after separating his shoulder on a pass play against Purdue and has garnered 157 yards and two touchdowns this season.

The absence throws another early-season wrench into a receiving core that is already without Gadsden. Jones looked to be the breakout receiver behind Gadsden through the first three games but came up ginger after a hit against Purdue last weekend.

Turnovers continue

Though both of Syracuse’s turnovers came when it held a solid lead, its defense forced two interceptions and a fumble that was ultimately recovered by Army. The Orange have a +5 turnover margin this season, a product of a veteran defense manned by a seasoned coach in Rocky Long. Pro Football Focus gave Syracuse a 71.2 score, the worst of its season and worst since its 38-3 loss against Florida State last season.

But heading into the hardest part of their schedule, the Orange continued to show against the Black Knights that they can consistently apply pressure and force errant throws from opposing quarterbacks. The strong defensive start has kept Syracuse in every game this season, even when the offense stalls out, and has done so while being taxed on the field.

Allen Jr.’s patience pays off

Allen Jr. ended Saturday with his second game of the season totaling over 100 rushing yards, despite consistently getting stuffed in the first half. He said that despite the early struggles, Beck, who moved upstairs this season to get a better view of the defense, talked with him at halftime. He wanted to go back to the well of plays they worked on in practice. Eventually, the holes up the middle opened up, and Allen Jr. scored a touchdown for the fourth straight game. He also finished with three receptions for 23 yards.

Next up: Clemson

The Tigers come in with a five-game winning streak against Syracuse, their last loss coming in 2017. But Clemson is entering the Dome with a 2-2 record after a Week 1 loss to then-unranked Duke and an overtime defeat to No. 4 Florida State. The Tigers don’t have any starters that came via the portal and are led by second-year quarterback Cade Klubnik. A win for the Orange would mark the second straight season with a win in their first game against an ACC team, which hasn’t happened since they joined the conference in 2013.

Published on September 24, 2023 at 3:57 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt