Syracuse football visits Georgia Tech this weekend with bowl eligibility on the line for both squads. The Orange have dealt with plenty of adversity to get to this moment including a five-game losing streak and injuries to two quarterbacks. Last week, SU overcame those challenges by using a wildcat offense. The saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here.
In the win over Pittsburgh, Syracuse picked up 392 rushing yards as a team. That included 154 yards from tight end Dan Villari, 105 yards from quarterback Garrett Shrader, and 103 yards from running back LeQuint Allen. Keep in mind, the Orange achieved that type of efficiency with just a few days of practice time. With another week of practice, the Syracuse football wildcat offense could get even better.
The main reason SU should employ the wildcat offense again is the weakness of Georgia Tech’s run defense. The Yellow Jackets allow 224 yards on the ground per game. Not only is that the worst mark in the ACC, it ranks 129th out of 130 teams in the nation. If Syracuse could run all over a mediocre Pitt defense, imagine what it could do to GT?
It’s unclear whether or not Orange head coach Dino Babers will keep using this system. In his weekly press conference on Monday, he said the only reason that the offense would return to a traditional style of offense would be if some key players got healthier. That likely means one of the two quarterbacks, Garrett Shrader or Carlos Del Rio-WIlson.
Those two QBs have been less than impressive for most of the season. In the last four games Shrader has started under center, he’s averaged 134 passing yards and less than one touchdown per game. In CDRW’s only start, he threw four interceptions.
Even if either of its quarterbacks are healthy, the Syracuse football wildcat offense is a better option against Georgia Tech.
