Offensive Change Spurs Orange Over Pitt
11/12/2023 2:53:00 PM | Football
Limited by injuries at the quarterback position, the Syracuse offensive staff installed a completely new-look offense in the span of five days, rallying the team to victory over Pittsburgh at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
The Orange, which threw for less than 10 yards in the contest, controlled the line of scrimmage and opened up rushing lanes that awarded the team nearly 400 yards on the ground. The creative game plan left Pittsburgh struggling to stop it – even if they knew it was coming.
'Cuse put the ball in the hands of its playmakers – with Garrett Shrader, Dan Villari and LeQuint Allen combining for 58 carries in the game – and the unit punished Pitt down the field all afternoon. The uniqueness of the play-calling broke records and invoked memories of old-school football – fitting for the 100th anniversary of the first football game at Yankee Stadium.
Villari (154), Shrader (105) and Allen (103) each crossed the century mark in the game. It was the first time since 1997 when Donovan McNabb, Kyle McIntosh and Dee Brown did so against Miami that three members of the Orange all reached triple digits.
Villari's 154 yards on the ground is a new Syracuse record for rushing yards by a tight end and the most by a tight end in at least a decade – and probably longer – at the FBS level.
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As a team, the 392 yards on the ground were the most since the 1996 Liberty Bowl when the team rushed for 396 and the 65 rushing attempts were the most in the Dino Babers' era at Syracuse.
"It was an outstanding performance by the football team," said head coach Dino Babers. "We asked them to do something that was drastic and extremely different. You can't pull that off without belief. They put belief in the scheme and it wasn't total belief in the beginning, but I told them a story about when I moved a lot as a child.
"When the family is changing locations and changing jobs, there comes a point where kids crying about their old friends and they don't want to leave and you're like get in the car. We're going to go and we're going leave because we're a family and that's what we do. We don't leave anyone behind. They all got on board and moved in the same direction. Even though we were down at halftime, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's eye. They still believed and it was really nice to give them that. It was good. It was a feel-good feeling. The team is back to 5-5 and we're one game away from a bowl and I hope we as coaches and players find a way to give them an opportunity to do something that hasn't been done in 20 years around here – and that's back-to-back bowl games with the same head football coach and I really want that to happen for them."
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A bowl game appearance is on the line this week as the team travels to Georgia Tech for the final road game of the regular season. 'Cuse and the Yellow Jackets square off at 8 p.m. on ACCN.
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The Orange, which threw for less than 10 yards in the contest, controlled the line of scrimmage and opened up rushing lanes that awarded the team nearly 400 yards on the ground. The creative game plan left Pittsburgh struggling to stop it – even if they knew it was coming.
'Cuse put the ball in the hands of its playmakers – with Garrett Shrader, Dan Villari and LeQuint Allen combining for 58 carries in the game – and the unit punished Pitt down the field all afternoon. The uniqueness of the play-calling broke records and invoked memories of old-school football – fitting for the 100th anniversary of the first football game at Yankee Stadium.
Villari (154), Shrader (105) and Allen (103) each crossed the century mark in the game. It was the first time since 1997 when Donovan McNabb, Kyle McIntosh and Dee Brown did so against Miami that three members of the Orange all reached triple digits.
Villari's 154 yards on the ground is a new Syracuse record for rushing yards by a tight end and the most by a tight end in at least a decade – and probably longer – at the FBS level.
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Homecoming 👑 @Dan2Villari returns downstate in style pic.twitter.com/7zWvf5XVpx
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) November 12, 2023
As a team, the 392 yards on the ground were the most since the 1996 Liberty Bowl when the team rushed for 396 and the 65 rushing attempts were the most in the Dino Babers' era at Syracuse.
"It was an outstanding performance by the football team," said head coach Dino Babers. "We asked them to do something that was drastic and extremely different. You can't pull that off without belief. They put belief in the scheme and it wasn't total belief in the beginning, but I told them a story about when I moved a lot as a child.
"When the family is changing locations and changing jobs, there comes a point where kids crying about their old friends and they don't want to leave and you're like get in the car. We're going to go and we're going leave because we're a family and that's what we do. We don't leave anyone behind. They all got on board and moved in the same direction. Even though we were down at halftime, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's eye. They still believed and it was really nice to give them that. It was good. It was a feel-good feeling. The team is back to 5-5 and we're one game away from a bowl and I hope we as coaches and players find a way to give them an opportunity to do something that hasn't been done in 20 years around here – and that's back-to-back bowl games with the same head football coach and I really want that to happen for them."
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Flipped the script 🙃 pic.twitter.com/MFmyAog7cC
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) November 11, 2023
A bowl game appearance is on the line this week as the team travels to Georgia Tech for the final road game of the regular season. 'Cuse and the Yellow Jackets square off at 8 p.m. on ACCN.
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Players Mentioned
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