Quick Hits: Final quarter offsets Syracuse football’s earlier stumbles

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Sep 17, 2022; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader speaks to the media following SU's 32-29 win against the Purdue Boilermakers at JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brad Bierman-The Juice Online.

Syracuse defeated Purdue, 32-29, pulling out a win in the final seven seconds of the game. Here are some quick hits from the win:

  • Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell had a gaudy stat line (39-for-55 for 424 yards and three touchdowns), but the Orange defense did a solid job slowing him down in the middle of the game. O’Connell completed 16-of-17 passes to start the contest, but SU held him to just 8-of-18 for 51 yards from late in the second quarter into the fourth, enabling them to keep the game close.
  • Garrett Shrader posted a stat line that would fit in with his 2021 game log. Shrader completed just 13-of-29 passes for 181 yards while picking up 83 yards on 17 carries. His three fourth quarter touchdown passes and five first downs picked up on the ground more than offset that inefficient aerial effort.

  • LeQuint Allen threw his first pass for Syracuse, just overshooting Shrader on a trick play that had a very good chance of turning into a touchdown. Allen took a handoff on a reverse, but his pass floated just beyond Shrader, who had a large amount of open turf in front of him.
  • The Boilermakers were very effective at removing Sean Tucker as an option for the Orange offense in the game. Tucker finished with 42 yards on 18 carries and a pair of receptions for 23 yards. While the bottom line is that the Orange won, Purdue’s defensive scheme to take away one of SU’s biggest threats is one that future opponents will undoubtedly copy.
  • The Syracuse rushing attack almost completely disappeared in the second half. After posting 99 yards on 18 first half carries, the Orange had 26 yards on 17 rushes after intermission.
  • All told, Purdue finished with 138 yards in penalties, the overwhelming majority coming in the final quarter.
  • One unexpected name pops out on the defensive stat sheet for SU. Kevon Darton had eight tackles in the game, including one for loss, nearly outpacing his personal best in a full season, as he had nine stops in 2021.

WHAT’S NEXT

Friday night, Syracuse (3-0, 1-0 ACC) will host Virginia under the lights in a conference matchup. The Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0) got a 26-yard field goal from Brendan Farrell as the clock ran out on Saturday to pull out a 16-14 home win over Old Dominion, who defeated Virginia Tech earlier this season. ODU had scored with 1:01 left to take the lead.

Cavs’ quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who threw for nearly 4,500 yards with 31 touchdowns and ten interceptions last season under the guidance of current Orange offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck, has completed 52.9 percent of his passes this season for 710 yards with two scores and three picks.

Kickoff is set for 7:00pm Eastern and the game will be televised by ESPN.

» Related: Former Syracuse LB ‘very optimistic’ following SU’s hot start

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About Jim Stechschulte 894 Articles
A 1996 graduate of Syracuse University, Jim has reported on Syracuse sports for the Syracuse University Alumni Club of Southern California on nearly a decade. He has also written a fantasy basketball column published by NBA.com. He currently resides in Syracuse.