Winning Plays - Boston College

[SWC75]

This season I will once again be charting Syracuse’s games in terms of “winning plays”. I look at the results of each play and decide which team got the minimum they wanted out of the play. Rather than making instinctive judgments, I use a formula:

- On first down, the offensive team wants to get at least a third of the way to a new first down: they will have two more plays before they might have to surrender the ball and if they gain that same amount of yards on each of those two plays, they’ll get the first down. If they don’t make it a third of the way to a new first down, the defense won the play.
- On second down, the offense wants to get at least halfway to a new first down by the same logic.
- On third and fourth down, they want to get the first down.
- Penalties, if added onto a play by the referees, are added on to the results above. If the offense gains 5 yards on first down but there was holding and they lost yardage instead, the defense won the play. If a running back made a 25 yard run on first and ten and the holding was 20 yards downfield, turning it into a 5 yard gain, that’s still a win for the offense. If the defense is penalized and it’s tacked on, again the net result is what is evaluated. The penalties I’ve listed negated the play entirely and are a “loss” for the penalized team and thus a win for their opponent.
- If a penalty was not tacked onto a play, it’s a lost play for the team being penalized. I'll count them separate from the other plays from scrimmage because I don't know if the intended play before the penalty would have been a run or a pass - so I wouldn't know where to put it in the chart below.
- A turnover is, obviously, a win for the team that wound up with the ball.
- On a kick-off a touchback brings the ball out to the 25 yard line. Teams still seem to be trying to kick the ball into the end zone and avoid a runback if they can, so any kick-off that results in the receiving team starting between their goal line and their 25 is a win for the kicking team. Beyond that, the receiving team wins.
- On a punt, a touchback takes the ball out of the 20. So any punt that results in the other team taking over from their goal line to their 20 is a win for the punting team. If the next change in field position is at least 40 yards, the punting team has also won the play.
- A successful place kick is, obviously, a win for the kicking team.
- Any play that results in a touchdown is, obviously, a win for that team that scores it.
- A “victory play” where a team accepts a loss just to let the clock run out, is a win for the offensive team.

I will indicate in parenthesis how many yards there were to go to get a new first down, (if other than 10), unless it was for no gain or negative yardage. If it was a touchdown, (“TD)” a scramble/sack (“S”) a victory play (“V”) or involved a penalty (P). I’ll treat a scramble or a sack as a passing play as the Cuse.com play by play now tells you when it’s either of those two. 1R means first down running plays. 1P means first down passing plays, etc.

I have decided to list the “Big Plays” at the bottom of each team’s summary. A big play is a play from scrimmage of over 20 yards, (or 20+ yards lost), kickoff returns of +25 yards, punt returns of +20, blocked kicks, missed kicks, and takeovers on fumbles, interceptions and downs.

When Syracuse had the ball:

Drive Starts: SU 25, SU 20, SU 35, SU 25, SU 45, SU 12, SU 33, SU 47, SU 41, SU 22, SU 25, SU 25, SU 20 = 375/13 = SU 29 with 925 yards to go, (49 more than Boston College)

KO: BC 25, BC 25, BC 25, BC 33, BC 22, Onsides – No Good
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 2
P: 31 to BC 13, 41 to BC 45, 43 to BC 13, 40 to SU 41
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 0
FG: Good from 25
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 13 Boston College 2

1r: 3, 4, 1, 1, 1, 9, 29, 0, 25, 2, 11, 4TD, -1, 6, 1
Total: Syracuse 7 Boston College 8
1p: 9, -11(s), 30, I, I, 17TD, 12, I, 5, 5, SAFETY(s), 7, 10, 5, 2, 8, I, 29, 11, 13, 16, I, I
Total: Syracuse 14 Boston College 9
First Down Total: Syracuse 21 Boston College 17
2r: FUMBLE, 3(1), 3TD, 2(3)
Total: Syracuse 2 Boston College 2
2p: 18(1), I, I, I, I, 6(9), 14, 9, I, 1(5), I 11(8), 12(11), 15, 4(5), 12TD, 19(2), I, 20(15), I
Total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 9
Second Down Total: Syracuse 12 Boston College 10
3r: 1(7), 1(1)
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 1
3p: I, 38(21), -8(s), 1(3), -8(s), 5(4), 10(6), I, 5
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 9
Third Down Total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 10
4r: None
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 0
4p: I, I, I
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 3
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 3

Total on running plays: Syracuse 10 Boston College 11
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 28 Boston College 30
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 38 Boston College 41

Penalties not tacked on to plays: -10, -5, -5 Syracuse 0 Boston College 3

Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 51 Boston College 46

Big Plays: 38 pass, 30 pass, 29 run, 25 pass, Interception, 29 pass, 20 pass (7)

Comments: We’ve been excellent on 3rd and 4th down all year but in this game we were 4-13.

Kyle McCord actually ran for more yards that LeQuint Allen, although one long run got called back by a dubious holding call.

We had 6 running plays after first down. We didn’t see much 2nd, 3rd or 4th and short.


When Boston College had the ball:

Drive Starts: BC 13, BC 45, SU 42, BC 12, BC 47, BC 25, BC 25, BC 25, BC 25, BC 33, BC 22, BC 38, SU 44 = 424/13 = BC 33 with 876 yards to go, (49 less than Syracuse)

KO: SU 25, SU 25, SU 22, SU 22, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 6
P: 25 to SU 35, 37 to SU 45, 38 to SU 33, 36 to SU 20
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 1
FG: No Good from 29
Total: Syracuse 1 Boston College 0
XP: Good, Good, Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 5
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 4 Boston College 12

1r: 4, 3, 15(p), 0, -3, 5, 1, 14, 7, -1, 2, -1, 41, 5, 4, 3, 3, 6, 13TD
Total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 15
1p: 41, 5, 5, 18TD
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 4
First Down Total: Syracuse 11 Boston College 19
2r: 10(6), 9(7), -2, 3(5), 18(3), 0, 14, 1(11), 14(5), 5(7),0, 9(4), 14, 4(p), 5(6), 6, I, 2, 3(v)
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 10
2p: -6(s), I, 5(11), 11(6)
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 1
Second Down Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 11
3r: 34TD, 5(14), 1(2), 5(2), 3(7), -2v
Total: Syracuse 3 Boston College 3
3p: I, I, 9TD, I, INTERCEPTION, -6(s), 10(7), 6(7)
Total: Syracuse 6 Boston College 2
Third Down Total: Syracuse 9 Boston College 5
4r: 2(1)
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1
4p: None
Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Boston College 1

Total on running plays: Syracuse 20 Boston College 29
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 9 Boston College 6
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 29 Boston College 35

Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, +5 Syracuse 1 Boston College 1

Game total when Boston College had the ball: Syracuse 34 Boston College 49

Big Plays: 41 run, Fumble Recovery, 34 run TD, 41 run, Safety (5)

Overall Game Total: Syracuse 85 Boston College 95

Comments: LeQuint Allen came in having rushed for 622 yards on 130 carries (4.8) for 6TDs. Kyle Robichaux and Jordan McDonald came in having rushed for 330 yards on 72 carries (4.6) for 4TDs. In this game Allen ran for 50 yards on 16 carries (3.1) for 2TDs. Robichaux and McDonald ran for 331 yards on 43 carries (7.7) and 3TDs.

This was (85-95) a -8 game. These are the closest games to that since the beginning of the Dino Babers Era, (2016):
2017 Syracuse 77 Boston College 87 = -10 We lost 14-42
2016 Syracuse 107 Pittsburgh 118 = -11 We lost 61-76
2020 Syracuse 78 Pittsburgh 89 = -11 We lost 10-21
2021 Syracuse 79 Florida State 90 = -11 We lost 30-33
2022 Syracuse 88 Virginia 99 = -11 We won 22-20

Quite a variance of the results of such games, except that we usually lose.

 

[SWC75]

TOTALS FOR THE YEAR

When SYRACUSE had the ball:

Drive Starts: 284/11 = S26/816, 237/9 = S26/663, 361/12 = S30/839, 524/14 = S37/876, 344/11 = S 31/756, 305/9 = S34/595, 322/13 = S25/978, 415/13 = S32/885 TOTAL: 2,782/92 =S30 with 6,408 yards to go (88 less than the opposition).

KO: 7-0 + 5-1 + 4-0 + 6-1 + 6-1 + 4-1 + 3-0 + 5-1 + 4-2 = 44-7
P: 3-0 + 1-1+ 5-1 + 2-0 + 0-3 + 1-0 + 2-1 + 4-1 + 4-0 = 22-7
FG: 1-0 + 1-1 + 1-0 + 0-3 + 1-0 + 1-1 + 1-1 + 1-0 + 1-0 = 8-6
XP: 5-0 + 4-0 + 3-0 + 6-0 + 5-0 + 3-0 + 1-1 + 4-1 + 4-0 = 35-2
Kicking plays total: 16-0 + 11-3 + 13-1+ 14-4 + 12-4 + 9-2 + 7-3 + 14-3 + 13-2 = 109-22

1r: 7-10 + 5-8 + 5-5 + 13-8 + 9-9 + 8-12 + 4-6 + 10-9 + 7-8 = 68-75
1p: 8-6 + 14-7 + 7-11 + 11-11 + 10-9 + 9-4 + 6-21 + 7-7 + 14-9 = 86-85
First Down Total: 15-16 + 19-15 + 12-16 + 24-19 + 19-18 + 17-16 + 10-27 + 17-16 + 21-17 = 154-160
2r: 3-6 + 9-4 + 1-2 + 6-5 + 8-4 + 3-5 + 6-6 + 5-3 + 2-2 = 43-37
2p: 8-5 + 7-6 + 11-5 + 8-12 + 11-13 + 10-7 + 9-11 + 6-7 + 11-9 = 81-75
Second Down Total: 11-11 + 16-10 + 12-7 + 14-17 + 19-17 + 13-12 + 15-17 + 11-10 + 13-11 = 124-112
3r: 1-1 + 2-2 + 0-0 + 1-1 + 2-1 + 2-0 + 2-3 + 4-1 + 1-1 = 15-10
3p: 8-5 + 7-5 + 4-8 + 8-7 + 10-5 + 7-6 + 4-11 + 4-5 + 3-9 = 55-61
Third Down Total: 9-6 + 9-7 + 4-8 + 9-8 + 12-6 + 9-6 + 6-14 + 8-6 + 4-10 = 70-71
4r: 1-0 + 2-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 2-0 + 0-0 + 2-0 + 1-0 + 0-0 = 8-0
4p: 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 1-1 + 0-0 + 2-1 + 5-2 + 0-0 + 0-3 = 8-7
Fourth Down Total: 1-0 + 2-0 + 0-0 + 1-1 + 2-0 + 2-1 + 7-2 + 1-0 + 0-3 = 16-7

Total on running plays: 12-17 + 18-14 + 6-7 + 20-14 + 21-14 + 13-17 + 14-15 + 20-13 + 10-11 = 134-122
Total on passing plays: 24-16 + 28-18 + 22-24 + 28-31 + 31-27 + 28-18 + 24-45 + 17-19 + 28-30 = 230-228
Total on plays from scrimmage: 36-33 + 46-32 + 28-31 + 48-45 + 52-41 + 41-35 + 38-60 + 37-32 + 38-41= 364-350

Penalties not tacked on to plays: 0-1 + 0-2 + 0-4 + 1-2 + 7-5 + 2-3 + 2-6 + 3-4 + 0-3 = 15-30

Game total when SYRACUSE had the ball: 52-34 + 57-37 + 41-36 + 63-51 + 71-50 + 52-40 + 47-69 + 54-39 + 51-46 = 488-402

Big plays: 6 + 8 + 5 + 8 + 6 + 5 + 6 +7 = 51

Comments: You wouldn’t have guessed it but our running game and our passing game both have positive numbers. In fact, our runs are +12, (134-122) and our passes just +2, (230-228). Passes have more potential but also more risk. Also, we aren’t getting big plays on defense and special teams due to lack of pressure. We are now under .500 on third down but still 16-7 on foruth down.


When OPPONENT had the ball:

Drive Starts: 241/11 = O22/859, 279/10 = O28/721, 310/12 = O26/890, 328/14 = O23/1,072, 401/11 = O36/699 183/8 = O23/617, 321/10 = O32/679, 441/14 = O31.5/959 TOTAL= 2,504/90 = O28 with 6,496 yards to go, (88 more than SU ).

KO: 0-6 + 0-5 + 0-5 + 2-1 + 0-7 + 1-3 + 1-7 + 0-6 + 0-6 = 4-46
P: 0-3 + 1-3 + 0-3 + 6-4 + 0-2 + 1-0 + 0-5 + 2-3 + 3-1 = 13-24
FG: 0-3 + 1-0 + 0-4 + 0-0 + 0-2 + 1-1 + 0-2 + 0-1 + 1-0 = 3-13
XP: 0-2 + 0-4 + 0-2 + 0-2 + 0-5 + 0-2 + 0-5 + 0-3 + 0-5 = 0-30
Kicking plays total: 0-14 + 2-12 + 0-14 + 8-7 + 0-16 + 3-6 + 1-19 + 2-13 + 4-12 = 20-113

1r: 8-13 + 6-4 + 8-9 + 11-1 + 7-8 + 9-4 + 4-6 + 11-8 + 11-15 = 75-68
1p: 7-8 + 7-9 + 8-7 + 2-5 + 2-9 + 5-9 + 4-6 + 8-5 + 0-4 = 43-62
First Down Total: 15-21 + 13-13 + 16-16 + 13-6 + 9-17 + 14-13 + 8-12 + 19-13 + 11-19 = 118-130
2r: 1-9 + 4-7 + 5-5 + 1-2 + 5-1 + 1-5 + 3-3 + 4-10 + 6-10 = 30-52
2p: 5-6 + 4-8 + 6-6 + 12-2 + 4-7 + 2-4 + 2-6 + 3-8 + 3-1 = 41-48
Second Down Total: 6-15 + 8-15 + 11-11 + 13-4 + 9-8 + 3-9 + 5-9 + 7-18 + 9-11 = 71-100
3r: 1-2 + 1-4 + 2-1 + 3-1 + 1-0 + 0-0 + 3-0 + 3-4 + 3-3 = 17-15
3p: 5-3 + 5-4 + 6-4 + 9-1 + 3-3 + 4-1 + 3-2 + 3-1 + 6-2 = 44-21
Third Down Total: 6-5 + 6-8 + 8-5 + 12-2 + 4-3 + 4-1 + 6-2 + 6-5 + 9-5 = 61-36
4r: 0-0 + 1-0 + 0-1 + 1-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-1 = 2-2
4p: 0-1 + 0-1 + 0-1 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-1 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-0 = 0-4
Fourth Down Total: 0-1 + 1-1 + 0-2 + 1-0 + 0-0 + 0-1 + 0-0 + 0-0 + 0-1 = 2-6

Total on running plays: 10-24 + 12-15 + 15-16 + 16-4 + 13-9 + 10-9 + 10-9 + 18-22 + 20-29 = 124-137
Total on passing plays: 17-18 + 16-22 + 20-18 + 23-8 + 9-19 + 11-15 + 9-14 + 14-14 + 9-7 = 128-135
Total on plays from scrimmage: 27-42 + 28-37 + 35-34 + 39-12 + 22-28 + 21-24 +19-23 + 32-36 + 29-36 = 252-272

Penalties not tacked on to plays: 1-3 + 3-1 + 1-7 + 2-1+ 1-1 + 3-5 + 1-1 + 4-3 + 1-1 = 17-23

Game total when OPPONENT had the ball: 28-59 + 33-50 + 36-55 + 49-20 + 23-45 + 27-35 + 21-43 + 38-52 + 34-49 = 289-408

Big Plays: 7 + 9 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 9 + 6 = 45

Overall Game Total: 80-93 + 90-87 + 77-91 + 112-71 + 94-95+ 79-75 + 68-112 + 92-91 + 85-95 = 777-810

Comments: We needed to improve to be a truly strong team. Our running game hadn’t really gotten going. We weren’t throwing long. We improved both vs. Virginia Tech. Our defense has sprung some leaks and our kicking game is unreliable but both seem to be getting better. We fell backwards vs. Bosotn College.

Our opponents this year have attempted 13 field goals. They’ve made 12, (thank you, Georgia Tech), but keeping the other team out of the end zone has allowed us to go 6-2 while we struggle through these games.


HISTORICAL WINNING PLAYS – The Fran Brown Era

2024
Syracuse 80 Ohio University 93 = -13
Syracuse 90 Georgia Tech 87 = +3
Syracuse 77 Stanford 91 = -14
Syracuse 112 Holy Cross 71 = +41
Syracuse 94 Nevada-Las Vegas 95 = -1
Syracuse 79 North Carolina State 75 = +4
Syracuse 68 Pittsburgh 112 = -44
Syracuse 92 Virginia Tech 91 = +1
Syracuse 85 Boston College 95 = -10
TOTAL: Syracuse: 777 Opponents 810 = -23 We’ve won 4 of 9 games, (44.4%) per ‘winning plays’ (Dino won 39.8%). We have won 49.0% of the 1,587 plays, (Dino Babers won 48.8%). Their team has achieved their goals on 23 more plays than we have, 2.56 per game.

 

[23Zone]

Well it wasn't the shower