Quick Hits: Syracuse sees bright future in LeQuint Allen

allen
Dec 29, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen speaks to the media following Syracuse's loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Bierman/The Juice Online.

Syracuse lost to Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl, 28-20. Here are some quick hits from the game:

  • How much did field position determine the outcome of the Pinstripe Bowl? The Gophers’ longest drives of the day covered 62 yards, both ending in touchdowns. Their longest drive other than that was 25 yards, also ending in a touchdown (after a 72-yard kickoff return). Syracuse had nine drives that covered at least 30 yards and the shortest of their last six possessions was 49 yards long.

  • While they never struck for a game-changing play, the Syracuse pass game was effective downfield, as seven of Garrett Shrader’s 32 completions accounted for over half of his 330 yards through the air. DeVaughn Cooper (31, 28, and 21 yards) had three of the grabs while Damien Alford (29 and 25 yards) and Oronde Gadsden II (18 and 16 yards) were responsible for the other long receptions for the Orange.
  • LeQuint Allen also showed a knack for breaking off the big play, logging carries of 29 and 20 yards in the run game.
  • While the SU pass attack was productive, the season-long theme of little mistakes that need to be cleaned up still continued. Shrader had a couple stretches where he was a little scattershot, missing open receivers with errant tosses, including overshooting Allen downfield on what would have been a long touchdown and underthrowing another pass on a free play after an offsides flag against Minnesota that was intercepted.
  • While the Orange frequently had issues stopping strong ground attacks, particularly in the second half of the season, they performed very well against the Gophers, who were 11th in the nation in rushing yards per game this season. SU allowed just 91 yards on 31 rushing plays for an average of 2.9 yards per carry.
  • The SU offense kept up its record of success in the red zone this season. Coming into the game, Syracuse had scored 39 times on 45 red zone trips, including 27 touchdowns, then added three more scores in as many trips in the bowl game, including two touchdowns.
  • While the SU offense was very effective in the second half, rolling up nearly 300 yards of offense, they were neither eating up chunks of yards on a regular basis nor converting on long drives to save time. Their three longest drives of the half ate up over 15 minutes off the clock, but required 36 plays to generate six points, as they resulted in two field goals and a turnover on downs with under six minutes to play.
  • It is not exciting to talk about, but there will absolutely be a punting contest at Syracuse this offseason. James Williams averaged 38.4 yards per punt in 2021, then lost the job to Max von Marburg this season, who averaged 39.8 yards per kick. Jack Stonehouse, the transfer from Missouri who just committed to the Orange after averaging 42.3 yards per punt this year, will add to the mix. Hopefully, one of the three asserts himself and wins the job, especially in light of how much field position had to do with the result of this bowl game.

» Related: Here’s everything that happened on Syracuse’s 2022 Early Signing Day

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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.