It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Syracuse cruised to their second win of the year over UAlbany. The Orange have never lost to an FCS opponent, and it quickly became clear that they weren’t going to start now. SU slapped 45 points in the first half, which matches the Dome record set in 1998 against Miami, and was repeated in 2018 against Wagner. The record books were pried open by two players, but it started on the ground.
Sean Tucker Might Need a New Number
Number 34 was chasing the 44’s all day. Sean Tucker racked up five touchdowns and 253 all-purpose yards. The most surprising and impressive part of his performance is that one of those touchdowns and 121 of those yards came as a receiver, which isn’t typically where he shines. Tucker likely would have comfortably reset the program running back record for touchdowns if he hadn’t been pulled early in the third quarter. So, for now, Jim Brown’s 1956 performance against Colgate with six scores remains untouched.
Andre Szmyt on Top of the Charts
It’s no secret that Andre Szmyt is special. Syracuse fans learned that in 2018 when he won the Lou Groza Award for Kicker of the Year as a redshirt freshman. Szmyt passed Cole Murphy for most field goals made in program history with 60. The Orange didn’t need Szmyt too many times today, but he had plenty of extra point reps. Regardless, SU has a living legend on their roster heading into the meat of their schedule.
Quarterbacks Still Even?
Head Coach Dino Babers voiced his frustration of the QB race. He was pleading for either Tommy DeVito or Garrett Shrader to win the job, rather than force him to choose. Both showed some flashes and played pretty similarly today. DeVito started the game, completed six of nine passes with an interception, 147 yards, and a 73 yard touchdown. Shrader threw a 72 yard touchdown, completed 11 of 15 pass attempts for 190 yards. The Mississippi State transfer added 42 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Shrader played more, so his stats will look more impressive, but it didn’t seem like there was any true separation in the race. Then again, how much separation could there be against an FCS team?
Roscoe Dominates
Alright, even though the Orange were favored by 23 points this was an impressive performance. The stats are going to be inflated just as a result of the competition. But this might have been a coming out party for Cody Roscoe. The sixth year senior had three sacks, which ties him for seventh most in a single game in program history. He was all over the field and showed a strong understanding of the system. The extra year under White is really paying off for the McNeese State transfer.
Penalties are Still a Problem
After committing eight penalties for 55 yards against Rutgers, Syracuse was flagged 16 times for 164 yards. These are the mistakes that will cost the Orange games against ACC competition. Syracuse had a few big plays called back for holding. There were also plenty of times Babers wanted to go up-tempo and the offensive line was called for a false start. The penalties are stunting the Orange’s growth. If they can’t play a clean game then the offense will be a shell of what it could be.
