The Orange (5-4, 2-3 ACC) struggled early against the Eagles, trailing 3-0 at half and struggling in the passing game. However, they emerged in the third quarter, finding some big plays from Sean Tucker, Garrett Shrader, and Courtney Jackson. Each player scored a touchdown of over 45 yards in the span of less than five minutes, turning a 6-0 deficit into the final of 21-6 Orange.
It was a bit of a slow start for the Orange, but their emergence in the third quarter was led by none other than Sean Tucker. The freshman running back set a career high with 207 rushing yards on just 26 carries, including multiple runs of over 35 yards.
The Eagles defense is a good one, but Tucker didn’t seem to have too many issues today. According to the star freshman, “we knew they were going to stack the box coming in so it wasn’t going to be easy, but we just had to keep plugging it and just keep going and soon enough you’ll definitely pop one.” Tucker popped multiple runs, including his 51 yard touchdown to open the scoring in the third for the Orange.
Take a breather, @seantucker2020. You earned it. pic.twitter.com/CCrlWiz2m6
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 30, 2021
Outside of Tucker, there wasn’t too much to be excited about for the Orange. Of course Shrader’s big touchdown run was key for Syracuse to capture momentum in the third quarter, but the Mississippi State transfer wasn’t able to get much done in the passing game today. Shrader only completed just five passes on only fourteen passing attempts today.
According to Shrader, part of the issue with the passing game was that they were unable to get into a rhythm early. Shrader said that "We didn't come out ready to play. The defense did a great job getting stops all night. It was just little adjustments, we were only one play away." Luckily for Shrader, SU’s offense was able to find the one play a few times today with their legs and it was enough for SU to pull out the victory.
On the defensive side of the ball, SU’s defensive line showed up ready to play today. The team finished with five sacks, three of which belonged to senior defensive lineman Kingsley Jonathan.
LISTEN: Kingsley Jonathan sacked QB Emmett Morehead for a loss of eight yards to set up a punt on fourth and 40. It's the second time the defensive lineman has had three sacks in a game this season. WAER's @Calchristo1 was behind the mic. https://t.co/sbd85vgSC8
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) October 30, 2021
After the game, Jonathan was praised by head coach Dino Babers, who said “I think the world of Kingsley. He’s just not average.”
Next up, Syracuse gets a much needed week off to get healthy and rest up. According to coach Babers, “We need to get healthy. That is what a bye week is for. The key thing about the bye week, is don’t lose the bye week. We want to get healthier next week.”
The Orange will have two weeks to get healthy before their next matchup in Louisville (4-4, 2-3), as they’ll hit the road with a chance to become eligible for a bowl game for the first time since 2018.