Five Takeaways: Syracuse 22 Virginia 20
In This Story:
Syracuse topped Virginia 22-20 Friday night. Here are five takeaways from the victory.
1. 4-0 is 4-0
It was not pretty, it was not easy, but Syracuse found a way to win and is 4-0 for just the fourth time in the last 60 years. Two of those times have come under Dino Babers. The last time Syracuse started 5-0 was 1987, and with Wagner on the schedule next, that is exactly what the Orange has given itself the opportunity to do. There are a lot of things to clean up after that game. Penalties, play calling creativity, more diverse running plays than Tucker right up the middle, turnovers, etc. But I do not think the last two games are ones Syracuse wins last year or the year before.
2. Szmyt Happens
Syracuse needed every single one of Andre Szmyt's five field goals to win on Saturday. Szmyt looked confident, accurate and every bit of the 2018 version that won the Lou Groza Award. That is extremely important to be able to rely on Szmyt again. The given the way he has started the season, making nine of his first 10 attempts, he can absolutely be relied upon at this point. In three games, he has equaled his field goals made from each of the last two seasons. Impressive.
3. Sean Tucker
Tucker did not have a great game, but he made some critical plays on the last drive. He had a nice catch out of the backfield, and a couple of runs to get Syracuse into position to kick the winning field goal. I think Syracuse has to be a little more creative with running attempts to get him going. Running him up the middle against a stacked box is not going to work most of the time. Where were the tosses and option looks we saw in previous weeks? Even stretch runs to get him on the perimeter and in space would be nice to see. More involvement in the passing game as we saw previously as well. I expect he will have a big week against Wagner and perhaps that gets him rolling for the back end of the schedule.
4. Turnovers & Injuries
As previously mentioned, there are sloppy things to clean up. First and foremost is the turnovers. You are not going to win many games turning it over four times. In the first three games, Syracuse had zero total turnovers. So perhaps this was just just an exception and not the rule. The other concern is injuries as they are starting to pile up defensively. Stefon Thompson is already gone for the year. His replacement, Derek McDonald, did not play against Virginia. During the game, Ja'Had Carter, Alijah Clark and Terry Lockett both went down with injury. The Lockett injury looked the most concerning. Syracuse has to hope they are not because the defense is playing at a high level. Being forced to replace multiple starters could impact that.
5. Moving Forward
Syracuse is in a position few thought they would be entering the season. They are on the cusp of being 5-0 going into a bye. Yes there are things that need to be corrected. No it was not always pretty. But it is still a nice accomplishment to start the season and puts Syracuse in a very good position entering the final seven games. The schedule gets more difficult, but there are still several winnable games ahead. Let's see how it plays out.
Bonus
How good is Oronde Gadsden? He is the clear top target in the passing game at this point and teams are having a problem figuring how to defend him. He is too big for many defensive backs and too fast for linebackers. Gadsden is also an exceptional route runner and has fantastic hands. I thought Syracuse went away from him too much in the second half against Virginia, but he has had a tremendous start to the season.
SUPPORT ALL SYRACUSE
SUBSCRIBE TO ALLSYRACUSE.COM NOW TO GET ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INSIDER CONTENT
JOIN THE ALL SYRACUSE FORUMS FOR FREE AND DISCUSS THE ORANGE WITH OTHER FANS AND OUR STAFF
