sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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SU News
A Final Look Back at the Syracuse Victory Over Wake Forest (PS; Murray)
ORANGE FINALLY WAKES UP
Wake Forest turned out to be the perfect cure for what was ailing the Syracuse University football team. The Orange did exactly what it was supposed to do against a bad team and came away with a 30-7 victory on Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Before looking forward to Clemson, use the arrow keys above to take a last look back at the win over the Demon Deacons.
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Wake Forest-Syracuse Reaction (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
This was the most disappointed I have been following any of our losses this season. This includes our contest against ULM in which we generated just 94 yards of total offense. To me, I thought we had a lot of factors going in our favor. We were at home, coming off a bye week, going against a team playing a freshman quarterback and had multiple starters out, and our opponent was coming of three consecutive games against very good opponents. Instead, we lost 30-7. This was the first game in which I did not see week-to-week improvement, which is how I'm grading this season.
Wake Forest finished with just 170 yards of total offense, with more than half (91) coming on a single drive. I fully admit that was our best drive of the season, and was very excited at that point to see our team march right down the field. Wake Forest had 13 drives on the play with our top 5 in terms of yards gained being 91, 25, 16, 15 and 9. That means we only generated 1st downs on 4 of our drives. You simply cannot come anywhere close to being competitive when you are going three an out or turning the ball over more than 67% of the time. We have zero explosive players. And to make matters worse, that 25 yard drive ended in a 51 yard fumble return by Syracuse. It was somewhat fluky that Syracuse tipped it right to a player who was upright, but there was nothing fluky about Tyler Cameron leaving the ball that exposed and 4 Syracuse players being ready to pounce on it. The pick-6 John Wolford threw, even though he got hurt on the play, was also quite poor. His eyes locked onto the receiver, and Robert Welsh read it all the way and returned it for a score.
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John Wolford Interception Breakdown (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
John Wolford's pick-six was a pivotal play in yesterday's contest for a number of reasons. The first is that it obviously gave Syracuse 7 points, and the second is that John Wolford got knocked out of the game on the play. Wake Forest announced last night that John Wolford was asymptomatic for a concussion after the hit, which is excellent news.
Now let's take a look at what went wrong on the play.
I'd like to begin by thanking BSD reader Adam Bridgers for this screen cap and observation. Watching the play live I realized Wolford got blitzed from the left side, but didn't realize the complete lack of blocking and only four-man pass rush that took place on this play.
Prior to the snap Wolford and the offensive line point out the blocking assignments, and there was either a major miscommunication or a very poor read of what the defense was about to do. Running back Dez Wortham, the left circle, shifts his body to provide blitz protection in the right hand side.Meanwhile, left tackle Will Smith is left blocking absolutely no one. I don't know if he thought he was going to block the linebacker who dropped into coverage, or another player, but he clearly did not pick up the defensive end who ultimately knocked Wolford out of the contest. Not only is that poor football, but that's downright dangerous. You cannot allow teams to generate that much pressure with just four pass rushers, and you cannot leave your quarterback, or any player, that exposed. I understand being physically overpowered, but this was nothing more than a mental mistake, and that's unacceptable. Did Wolford look at his receiver the entire way? Yes, but that does not excuse this "protection" scheme. This play completely changed the game.
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What They Said: Reaction to Syracuse-Wake Outcome (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
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Running Back Dezmond Wortham
"We know that it's obvious right now that offense is struggling. You just have to keep coming to work every day and create new points for turnovers. I think today we balanced out the ball a little more, we had good runs, and of course John did well. We have to generate more drives like that, running and catching the ball. Obviously not the points you want to have, having turnovers result in Syracuse touchdowns. We just have to keep on working every day and hope for the best."
"I can't really say. Their defense changed and things. They were squeezing in the end a lot and being fast. We were chopped down on some other runs that should have been bigger. We did a much better job protecting John for the most part, but still we could've worked harder. We still need to keep on working on the little things and I think that will make a big play happen."
"We had a miscommunication on the slide. But, it's not John's fault and I don't think it's my fault either. Next time, we have to be on the same page and be aware that the defense is coming. It's the same look in practice. They brought out some amazing changes and did some things that we haven't seen before."
"It's frustrating. No one wants to lose; it's not on anyone's menu. Especially looking at our offseason and looking at how hard we work, especially during the week and Sundays. We came in with the same record; it was a good game for both. We are just coming off from two loses on the road; we were excited to get back home. But, we didn't finish the job. We have to finish the job."
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Defense Leads Syracuse to Win Over Wake Forest 30-7 (journalnow.com; AP)
Syracuse turned to its defense to snap a four-game winning streak.
The Orange scored two defensive touchdowns, and freshman quarterback AJ Long ran for another TD as the Orange defeated Wake Forest 30-7 on Saturday.
Robert Welsh returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown and Micah Robinson scored on a 51-yard fumble return to give Syracuse its first win since Sept. 13 when they beat Eastern Michigan.
The Orange (3-4, 1-2 ACC) knocked out Wake Forest starting quarterback John Wolford in the second quarter, rendering the Demon Deacons already struggling offense even more ineffective. His replacement Tyler Cameron was benched in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse limited Wake Forest to 68 total yards after Wolford left the game, while outgaining the Demon Deacons 370-170.
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A Final Look Back at the Syracuse Victory Over Wake Forest (PS; Murray)
ORANGE FINALLY WAKES UP
Wake Forest turned out to be the perfect cure for what was ailing the Syracuse University football team. The Orange did exactly what it was supposed to do against a bad team and came away with a 30-7 victory on Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Before looking forward to Clemson, use the arrow keys above to take a last look back at the win over the Demon Deacons.
...
Wake Forest-Syracuse Reaction (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
This was the most disappointed I have been following any of our losses this season. This includes our contest against ULM in which we generated just 94 yards of total offense. To me, I thought we had a lot of factors going in our favor. We were at home, coming off a bye week, going against a team playing a freshman quarterback and had multiple starters out, and our opponent was coming of three consecutive games against very good opponents. Instead, we lost 30-7. This was the first game in which I did not see week-to-week improvement, which is how I'm grading this season.
Wake Forest finished with just 170 yards of total offense, with more than half (91) coming on a single drive. I fully admit that was our best drive of the season, and was very excited at that point to see our team march right down the field. Wake Forest had 13 drives on the play with our top 5 in terms of yards gained being 91, 25, 16, 15 and 9. That means we only generated 1st downs on 4 of our drives. You simply cannot come anywhere close to being competitive when you are going three an out or turning the ball over more than 67% of the time. We have zero explosive players. And to make matters worse, that 25 yard drive ended in a 51 yard fumble return by Syracuse. It was somewhat fluky that Syracuse tipped it right to a player who was upright, but there was nothing fluky about Tyler Cameron leaving the ball that exposed and 4 Syracuse players being ready to pounce on it. The pick-6 John Wolford threw, even though he got hurt on the play, was also quite poor. His eyes locked onto the receiver, and Robert Welsh read it all the way and returned it for a score.
...
John Wolford Interception Breakdown (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
John Wolford's pick-six was a pivotal play in yesterday's contest for a number of reasons. The first is that it obviously gave Syracuse 7 points, and the second is that John Wolford got knocked out of the game on the play. Wake Forest announced last night that John Wolford was asymptomatic for a concussion after the hit, which is excellent news.
Now let's take a look at what went wrong on the play.
I'd like to begin by thanking BSD reader Adam Bridgers for this screen cap and observation. Watching the play live I realized Wolford got blitzed from the left side, but didn't realize the complete lack of blocking and only four-man pass rush that took place on this play.
Prior to the snap Wolford and the offensive line point out the blocking assignments, and there was either a major miscommunication or a very poor read of what the defense was about to do. Running back Dez Wortham, the left circle, shifts his body to provide blitz protection in the right hand side.Meanwhile, left tackle Will Smith is left blocking absolutely no one. I don't know if he thought he was going to block the linebacker who dropped into coverage, or another player, but he clearly did not pick up the defensive end who ultimately knocked Wolford out of the contest. Not only is that poor football, but that's downright dangerous. You cannot allow teams to generate that much pressure with just four pass rushers, and you cannot leave your quarterback, or any player, that exposed. I understand being physically overpowered, but this was nothing more than a mental mistake, and that's unacceptable. Did Wolford look at his receiver the entire way? Yes, but that does not excuse this "protection" scheme. This play completely changed the game.
...
What They Said: Reaction to Syracuse-Wake Outcome (bloggersodear.com; Reinhard)
...
Running Back Dezmond Wortham
"We know that it's obvious right now that offense is struggling. You just have to keep coming to work every day and create new points for turnovers. I think today we balanced out the ball a little more, we had good runs, and of course John did well. We have to generate more drives like that, running and catching the ball. Obviously not the points you want to have, having turnovers result in Syracuse touchdowns. We just have to keep on working every day and hope for the best."
"I can't really say. Their defense changed and things. They were squeezing in the end a lot and being fast. We were chopped down on some other runs that should have been bigger. We did a much better job protecting John for the most part, but still we could've worked harder. We still need to keep on working on the little things and I think that will make a big play happen."
"We had a miscommunication on the slide. But, it's not John's fault and I don't think it's my fault either. Next time, we have to be on the same page and be aware that the defense is coming. It's the same look in practice. They brought out some amazing changes and did some things that we haven't seen before."
"It's frustrating. No one wants to lose; it's not on anyone's menu. Especially looking at our offseason and looking at how hard we work, especially during the week and Sundays. We came in with the same record; it was a good game for both. We are just coming off from two loses on the road; we were excited to get back home. But, we didn't finish the job. We have to finish the job."
...
Defense Leads Syracuse to Win Over Wake Forest 30-7 (journalnow.com; AP)
Syracuse turned to its defense to snap a four-game winning streak.
The Orange scored two defensive touchdowns, and freshman quarterback AJ Long ran for another TD as the Orange defeated Wake Forest 30-7 on Saturday.
Robert Welsh returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown and Micah Robinson scored on a 51-yard fumble return to give Syracuse its first win since Sept. 13 when they beat Eastern Michigan.
The Orange (3-4, 1-2 ACC) knocked out Wake Forest starting quarterback John Wolford in the second quarter, rendering the Demon Deacons already struggling offense even more ineffective. His replacement Tyler Cameron was benched in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse limited Wake Forest to 68 total yards after Wolford left the game, while outgaining the Demon Deacons 370-170.
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