Syracuse head coach, Scott Shafer, has thrown his support behind Drew Allen despite the new quarterback’s underwhelming debut in the narrow defeat to Penn State in the season’s opening game.
But, while the season may not have started as the Orange faithful would have liked, the sports betting still appears to suggest Syracuse will be a major force this season.
After his arrival from Oklahoma in the summer, Allen took the nod over sophomore Terrel Hunt and played the full game in his first appearance at the MetLife Stadium. While Allen didn’t have the best of performances in a 23-17 loss — throwing two interceptions and a modest 16 for 37 for 189 yards — the new Syracuse coach was impressed with how his quarterback had handled the occasion.
“It was his first start in a long time. It wasn’t since his high school days that he had the opportunity to play in the flow of a game. He really hasn’t played a lot of football in the last four years. I thought he did some good things early. Later, we put him in some difficult situations.
“But I did like his composure. He never really got flustered. He kept competing, and the communication was excellent on the sideline,” admitted Shafer.
The 6-foot-5, 226-pound Allen is a graduate transfer from Oklahoma with one year of eligibility remaining. During his two seasons as a back-up quarterback with the Sooners, Allen was 18 for 30 for 160 yards. But the powerful Texan was quickly snapped up by Syracuse right before preseason training and appears to be Shafer’s first choice quarterback.
But with his first appearance with his new team-mates under his belt, Allen will be looking to get himself fully settled into his new surroundings and give those who bet online something to think about.
