SWC75
Bored Historian
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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 turnovers on fumbles, interceptions and downs.
When Syracuse had the ball:
Drive Starts: S25, S25, S15,S32, S25, S4, S20, 50, S25, S25, S19, S25 = 290/12 = S24 with 910 yards to go
KO: C25, C36, C25, C25
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 1
P: 39 to C47, 37 to S41, 45 to S11, 23 to C20, 40 to C39, 42 to C18, 29 to S49(p)
Total: Syracuse 4 Clemson 3
FG: none (Andre Szmyt’s miss was negated by Coach Baber’s time out.)
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 4
1r: 11, 6, 6, 3, 1, 8, -2v, 3, 23, -3, 15, 3 -3
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
1p: 18, 25, 12TD, 3, I, 13, 5, I, 5, -9(s), 10, 3, Interception
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 14 Clemson 12
2r: 25(4), 3(2), 12(7), 1, 6(7)
Total: Syracuse 4 Clemson 1
2p: +13(p), 2(4), -2, 17(7), -6(s), 12, -5, 10(13), 1950, 2(13), 22(19), I
Total: Syracuse 6 Clemson 6
Second Down Total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 7
3r: 11(7), 2(13), 7TD, 4(11)
Total: Syracuse 2 Clemson 2
3p: 3(6), -1(s), I, I, I, -4(s), 19(7)
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 6
Third Down Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 8
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
4p: I
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 1
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 13 Clemson 9
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 14 Clemson 19
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 27 Clemson 28
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5, -10, -5, -10, -5 Syracuse 0 Clemson 7
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 37 Clemson 39
Big Plays: 25 on a pass, Interception, Fumble returned for a TD, stopped 4th down run, 25 on a run, Fumble recovered, 23 on a pass, Interception, Intercepted two point conversion attempt, 22 on a pass
When Clemson had the ball:
Drive Starts: C29, C25, C47, C36, C25, C25, S41, C11, C20, C39, C18, S49, C15 = 400/13 = C31 with 900 yards to go.
KO: S25, S25, S25, S25, S25, S25
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 6
P: 54 to S4, 43 to S19
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 2
FG: Good for 44, Good from 44
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 2
XP: Good, try- No Good, (intercepted but that counts only as a failed try) Try- Good
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 12
1r: 4, 9, 0, 4(15), 3, 2, 8, 7, Fumble returned for a TD, 9, 5, 5, 4, Fumble, 4, 9, 7, 1, 5, 11, 50TD, 4, 2, 3, 5, -1V
Total: Syracuse 9 Clemson 16
1p: 41, 6, I, I, I, 10, 0, 12, 19, 8, I, 0, I
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 16 Clemson 22
2r: 10(6), 9(4), 1TD, -1(p), 14(7), 7, 10(2), 0, 3(3), 3(1), 4(5), 2(5), 13(10), 3(2), 11(6), 2, 3, 2(3), 7, 1(3), 10(6), 4(8), 4(7), 2(5)
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 18
2p: 8, I, -11(s), 18(1), -11(s)
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 2
Second Down Total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 20
3r: 1(3), 2(1), 1(3), 2(1), 25(p), 17(3p) 1(2)
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 4
3p: 4(2), Interception, 12, 5(21), I, Interception, 1(3)
Total: Syracuse 5 Clemson 2
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Clemson 6
4r: 5(2), 1(2), 1TD
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
Total on running plays: Syracuse 20 Clemson 40
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 15 Clemson 10
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 35 Clemson 50
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5, -5, +15 Syracuse 4 Clemson 1
Game total when Clemson had the ball: Syracuse 40 Clemson 63
Big Plays: 4th down incomplete pass, 41-yard pass, 50 yard TD run, Interception
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 77 Clemson 102
Comments: We had only four second down running plays, partially because we got first downs on first down 8 times and partially because when we didn’t it tended to be second and long. Our terrible performance on third down passes (1/6), enabled Clemson to dominate the second half. We got boat raced on first and second down runs: 16-34, which is why there were 50 first and second down runs, which is why we got off just 54 plays.
In the end, we lost on two 44 yard field goals! ☹
In the remarkably similar 2018 game, SU won 86 plays to 102 for Clemson. In this game it was 77-102 – and I don’t think this Clemson team was as good as that one.
So this was a -25 play game. Here are the closest games to that in the Dino Babers Era:
2017 Syracuse 80 Louisiana State 103 = -23 We lost 26-35
2019 Syracuse 78 North Carolina State 100 = -22 We lost 10-16
2020 Syracuse 76 Wake Forest 99 = -23 We lost 14-38
2020 Syracuse 68 Boston College 96 = -28 We lost 13-16
2021 Syracuse 65 North Carolina State 88 = -23 We lost 17-41
2021 Syracuse 67 Pittsburgh 95 = -28 We lost 14-31
- 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 turnovers on fumbles, interceptions and downs.
When Syracuse had the ball:
Drive Starts: S25, S25, S15,S32, S25, S4, S20, 50, S25, S25, S19, S25 = 290/12 = S24 with 910 yards to go
KO: C25, C36, C25, C25
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 1
P: 39 to C47, 37 to S41, 45 to S11, 23 to C20, 40 to C39, 42 to C18, 29 to S49(p)
Total: Syracuse 4 Clemson 3
FG: none (Andre Szmyt’s miss was negated by Coach Baber’s time out.)
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 4
1r: 11, 6, 6, 3, 1, 8, -2v, 3, 23, -3, 15, 3 -3
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
1p: 18, 25, 12TD, 3, I, 13, 5, I, 5, -9(s), 10, 3, Interception
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 14 Clemson 12
2r: 25(4), 3(2), 12(7), 1, 6(7)
Total: Syracuse 4 Clemson 1
2p: +13(p), 2(4), -2, 17(7), -6(s), 12, -5, 10(13), 1950, 2(13), 22(19), I
Total: Syracuse 6 Clemson 6
Second Down Total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 7
3r: 11(7), 2(13), 7TD, 4(11)
Total: Syracuse 2 Clemson 2
3p: 3(6), -1(s), I, I, I, -4(s), 19(7)
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 6
Third Down Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 8
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
4p: I
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 1
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 1
Total on running plays: Syracuse 13 Clemson 9
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 14 Clemson 19
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 27 Clemson 28
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5, -10, -5, -10, -5 Syracuse 0 Clemson 7
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 37 Clemson 39
Big Plays: 25 on a pass, Interception, Fumble returned for a TD, stopped 4th down run, 25 on a run, Fumble recovered, 23 on a pass, Interception, Intercepted two point conversion attempt, 22 on a pass
When Clemson had the ball:
Drive Starts: C29, C25, C47, C36, C25, C25, S41, C11, C20, C39, C18, S49, C15 = 400/13 = C31 with 900 yards to go.
KO: S25, S25, S25, S25, S25, S25
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 6
P: 54 to S4, 43 to S19
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 2
FG: Good for 44, Good from 44
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 2
XP: Good, try- No Good, (intercepted but that counts only as a failed try) Try- Good
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 12
1r: 4, 9, 0, 4(15), 3, 2, 8, 7, Fumble returned for a TD, 9, 5, 5, 4, Fumble, 4, 9, 7, 1, 5, 11, 50TD, 4, 2, 3, 5, -1V
Total: Syracuse 9 Clemson 16
1p: 41, 6, I, I, I, 10, 0, 12, 19, 8, I, 0, I
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 16 Clemson 22
2r: 10(6), 9(4), 1TD, -1(p), 14(7), 7, 10(2), 0, 3(3), 3(1), 4(5), 2(5), 13(10), 3(2), 11(6), 2, 3, 2(3), 7, 1(3), 10(6), 4(8), 4(7), 2(5)
Total: Syracuse 7 Clemson 18
2p: 8, I, -11(s), 18(1), -11(s)
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 2
Second Down Total: Syracuse 10 Clemson 20
3r: 1(3), 2(1), 1(3), 2(1), 25(p), 17(3p) 1(2)
Total: Syracuse 3 Clemson 4
3p: 4(2), Interception, 12, 5(21), I, Interception, 1(3)
Total: Syracuse 5 Clemson 2
Third Down Total: Syracuse 8 Clemson 6
4r: 5(2), 1(2), 1TD
Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Clemson 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 1 Clemson 2
Total on running plays: Syracuse 20 Clemson 40
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 15 Clemson 10
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 35 Clemson 50
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5, -5, +15 Syracuse 4 Clemson 1
Game total when Clemson had the ball: Syracuse 40 Clemson 63
Big Plays: 4th down incomplete pass, 41-yard pass, 50 yard TD run, Interception
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 77 Clemson 102
Comments: We had only four second down running plays, partially because we got first downs on first down 8 times and partially because when we didn’t it tended to be second and long. Our terrible performance on third down passes (1/6), enabled Clemson to dominate the second half. We got boat raced on first and second down runs: 16-34, which is why there were 50 first and second down runs, which is why we got off just 54 plays.
In the end, we lost on two 44 yard field goals! ☹
In the remarkably similar 2018 game, SU won 86 plays to 102 for Clemson. In this game it was 77-102 – and I don’t think this Clemson team was as good as that one.
So this was a -25 play game. Here are the closest games to that in the Dino Babers Era:
2017 Syracuse 80 Louisiana State 103 = -23 We lost 26-35
2019 Syracuse 78 North Carolina State 100 = -22 We lost 10-16
2020 Syracuse 76 Wake Forest 99 = -23 We lost 14-38
2020 Syracuse 68 Boston College 96 = -28 We lost 13-16
2021 Syracuse 65 North Carolina State 88 = -23 We lost 17-41
2021 Syracuse 67 Pittsburgh 95 = -28 We lost 14-31