Head coach Scott Shafer and the Orange are moving forward to focus on Northwestern.
Photo by: Charles Wainwright
Shafer's Take: Positives to Build On
9/2/2013 6:00:00 PM | Football
SU Game Notes vs. Northwestern | 2013 Football Blog | Purchase 2013 Tickets
With the game film of Syracuse's 23-17 loss to Penn State dissected and evaluated, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer is looking at the positives and correcting the errors in preparation for his second game as the Orange leader. The squad will play at Northwestern on Saturday, September 7 (6:00 pm ET, Big Ten Network).
"The first two weeks of the season are always when you make your biggest improvements," Shafer said. "The thing I looked at coming out of this game is that we didn't win enough of the 'six-inch wars'. I knew it was going to be a fourth quarter game and in those you have to win the war of six inches. What I mean by that is, offensively we had five drops and in two or three inches we could make those catches and turn them into big plays and the chains keep moving. Defensively we had nine missed tackles, which from the outside looking in isn't bad. We always talk about 10 missed tackles for under 50 yards is a pretty good day. But if we make two or three, if we lay out and that six inches makes a guy fall down, it changes the outcome of the game. During the game you don't realize how big that is on any one particular play."
Shafer is looking forward to the challenge of winning those six-inch wars at Northwestern this weekend and going against the Wildcats offensive coordinator Mick McCall, a former MAC conference foe.
"Their quarterback, Trevor Siemian, is a good football player," Shafer said. "He has great touch and really good vision on the field. Mick McCall, their offensive coordinator, always does a really good job. We used to coach against eachother all the way back in the MAC when I was a younger coach and he was a younger coach so we will have a great challenge in front of us going against that offense.
"We could have beat Northwestern last year. We had a handful of plays here and there that hurt us we have to do a really good job in our kicking game to contain a really good return man. We can't give them hidden yardage in the kicking game and we have to improve on things both on offense and on defense."
After Syracuse's game at Northwestern, the Orange opens the home portion of the 2013 schedule against Wagner on September 14 in the Carrier Dome. All Syracuse fans are invited to participate in 'Take a Kid to the Game Day', an opportunity for a free youth ticket for every adult ticket purchased. The game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Season ticket holders are also eligible for free youth tickets. Call 1-888-DOMETIX for assistance in obtaining youth tickets.
Season and single-game tickets can be purchased online, in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.
For complete coverage of Syracuse and Syracuse football, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Orange & Syracuse Football) and Twitter (@Cuse & @CuseFootball). Check out exclusive videos on Orange All-Access and behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram (syracuseathletics).
With the game film of Syracuse's 23-17 loss to Penn State dissected and evaluated, Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer is looking at the positives and correcting the errors in preparation for his second game as the Orange leader. The squad will play at Northwestern on Saturday, September 7 (6:00 pm ET, Big Ten Network).
"The first two weeks of the season are always when you make your biggest improvements," Shafer said. "The thing I looked at coming out of this game is that we didn't win enough of the 'six-inch wars'. I knew it was going to be a fourth quarter game and in those you have to win the war of six inches. What I mean by that is, offensively we had five drops and in two or three inches we could make those catches and turn them into big plays and the chains keep moving. Defensively we had nine missed tackles, which from the outside looking in isn't bad. We always talk about 10 missed tackles for under 50 yards is a pretty good day. But if we make two or three, if we lay out and that six inches makes a guy fall down, it changes the outcome of the game. During the game you don't realize how big that is on any one particular play."
Shafer is looking forward to the challenge of winning those six-inch wars at Northwestern this weekend and going against the Wildcats offensive coordinator Mick McCall, a former MAC conference foe.
"Their quarterback, Trevor Siemian, is a good football player," Shafer said. "He has great touch and really good vision on the field. Mick McCall, their offensive coordinator, always does a really good job. We used to coach against eachother all the way back in the MAC when I was a younger coach and he was a younger coach so we will have a great challenge in front of us going against that offense.
"We could have beat Northwestern last year. We had a handful of plays here and there that hurt us we have to do a really good job in our kicking game to contain a really good return man. We can't give them hidden yardage in the kicking game and we have to improve on things both on offense and on defense."
After Syracuse's game at Northwestern, the Orange opens the home portion of the 2013 schedule against Wagner on September 14 in the Carrier Dome. All Syracuse fans are invited to participate in 'Take a Kid to the Game Day', an opportunity for a free youth ticket for every adult ticket purchased. The game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Season ticket holders are also eligible for free youth tickets. Call 1-888-DOMETIX for assistance in obtaining youth tickets.
Season and single-game tickets can be purchased online, in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.
For complete coverage of Syracuse and Syracuse football, follow us on Facebook (Syracuse Orange & Syracuse Football) and Twitter (@Cuse & @CuseFootball). Check out exclusive videos on Orange All-Access and behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram (syracuseathletics).
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