Five Takeaways: Florida State 38 Syracuse 3

Syracuse lost its fourth straight game on Saturday after falling to Florida State 38-3. Here are five takeaways from the game.

1. Shrader

Garrett Shrader started and saw his first action since the first half of the Notre Dame game. He looked no better than the hampered by injury version of himself he was against the Irish. The improvement from Shrader compared to last season has been tremendous. He was more accurate and in more command of the offense. However, since the injury, he has been nowhere near the same player. In fact, Shrader is not even last year's version of himself. If he is not healthy, Shrader cannot be effective as his ability to make plays with his legs is what makes him dynamic. Take that away and the offense cannot move with him at the helm. I do not believe this means Shrader is suddenly a bad player, rather the injury issues takes away his biggest weapon. I understand Carlos Del Rio-Wilson struggled against Pittsburgh, but it may be better to roll with him and let him gain invaluable experience for the remainder of the regular season. It is too bad Justin Lamson is out for the season because it feels like he was poised to be ready to contribute after his strong spring.

2. Run Defense

What everyone expected to happen did. The best run offense in the ACC ran all over a run defense that had given up 700 yards in the previous three games. Florida State accumulated 230 yards and averaged nearly six yards per carry Saturday night. That makes 930 yards in the last four games (232.5 per game). The defensive line was thin to start the season, but multiple injuries to the two-deep have made that even worse. Combine that with an injury to Stefon Thompson, who was very good against the run, and you have the situation Syracuse is in now. That said, the opponents for the next two games may help a bit. Wake Forest averages 128 yards rushing per game, but only 3.3 yards per carry as a team. In fact, Wake has eclipsed four yards per carry just once in the last four games. Boston College averages just 61 yards per game on the ground and only 2.1 yards per carry. The Eagles have not hit 100 yards on the ground in its last four games.

3. Offense

There are two games left in the regular season and Syracuse is sitting at 6-4. Both of those games are on the road. If the Orange wants to be competitive and potentially win at least one of them, the offense has to get going. To me, that starts with play calling. Where is the creativity from the first six games? Where is targeting Sean Tucker in the passing game? We saw a little more of that against Florida State but not nearly to the same level as early in the season. The offense has gotten more vanilla and predictable. Yes Syracuse is down an offensive lineman. Yes the quarterback is hurt. But opposing defenses do not care about that. Syracuse has to figure something out offensively to give itself a chance. It has been brutal offensively the last three and a half games.

4. November Swoon

Syracuse is now 0-2 in November this season. That is following 0-3 last season and 0-4 in 2020. Overall, Syracuse has lost nine straight post October games. The last win was a 39-30 overtime win over Wake Forest in the 2019 season finale. It has been a theme over the last six to seven seasons. A lot of that has to do with injuries, but that also points to depth issues. Either way, Syracuse has to figure out a way to stop the downward trend after Halloween. It is not just the losses, it is the nature of the losses. Syracuse is getting blown out in these games. This season, it was 19-9 against Pittsburgh with the offense non-competitive and a 38-3 blowout against Florida State. Last season, the Orange lost the last three games by an average score of 38-11. The 2020 campaign was better, losing to Boston College by just three and NC State by one touchdown, but there were also blowouts at the hands of Louisville and Notre Dame. Syracuse plays well and is competitive in September and October, and then the opposite after that. Something has to change to correct that.

5. What Now?

After four straight losses, it is fair to be extremely frustrated. Halfway through game seven, it appeared Syracuse was ready to go 7-0, jump into the top 10 and continue a special season. Then the fourth quarter at Clemson happened and it has been downhill since. There is still an opportunity to finish 8-4 or 7-5, but given the way this team has struggled, especially in the last two games, it is understandable if few have confidence in that outcome. From a football perspective, Syracuse has to pick itself up off the mat, lean on that veteran leadership, made adjustments and move forward. It is easier said than done, and the momentum is certainly not pointing that way. It is also fair to point out the brutality of this stretch of the schedule. Everyone knew it going into the season and it has played out that way. It does not mean the 6-0 start was a fluke (four of those teams are bowl eligible). It does mean, however, that losing out to finish 6-6 would be considered a disappointment by some measures. Even with the injuries.

SUPPORT ALL SYRACUSE

SUBSCRIBE TO ALLSYRACUSE.COM NOW TO GET ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INSIDER CONTENT

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE ALL SYRACUSE NEWSLETTER TO GET THE LATEST ORANGE UPDATES SENT TO YOUR INBOX

JOIN THE ALL SYRACUSE FORUMS FOR FREE AND DISCUSS THE ORANGE WITH OTHER FANS AND OUR STAFF