Winning Plays: Georgia Tech

[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 20 yard run on first and ten and the holding was 15 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 tam 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.

Note: I us the play by play from Cuse.com which did not design ate scrambles for the North Carolina or Pittsburgh games so those plays were recorded here as runs since I couldn’t tell if they were planned QB runs or not. (ESPN didn’t note scrambles, either)

When SYRACUSE had the ball:

KO: GT 25, GT 18, GT 21, GT 25, GT 25, GT 25, GT 18
Total: Syracuse: 7 Georgia Tech: 0
P: 33 to GT 27, 47 to GT 18, 44 to GT 21, 48 to 35, 48 to 8, 47 to GT 33, 40 to GT 31, 37 to GT 48
Total: Syracuse: 6 Georgia Tech: 2
FG: Good from 47, No Good from 53
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 1
XP: Good, Good, Blocked, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse: 4 Georgia Tech: 1
Kicking plays total: Syracuse: 18 Georgia Tech: 4

1r: -1, 4, 0, 1, 6, 3, -10p, 6, 1, 4, 7, 3, 0, 4, 1
Total: Syracuse: 6 Georgia Tech: 9
1p: 10, I, 13, 6, 1, 12, I, 36, I, 43TD, 5
Total: Syracuse: 7 Georgia Tech: 4
First Down Total: Syracuse: 13 Georgia Tech: 13
2r: 0, 6(11), 4(6), 3(4), 1(4), 7, -4, 0, 2, 1(9), 1(6), -7
Total: Syracuse: 4 Georgia Tech: 8
2p: I, I, 1s(4), Interception, 46TD, 0, I, 15(3)
Total: Syracuse: 2 Georgia Tech: 6
Second Down Total: Syracuse: 6 Georgia Tech: 14
3r: 38TD, 4(1), 5(3), 7(8), 4(5), 0
Total: Syracuse: 3 Georgia Tech: 3
3p: -1, 18, I, 10s(9), -7s, 19s(20), I, I, 3(5), I
Total: Syracuse: 2 Georgia Tech: 8
Third Down Total: Syracuse: 5 Georgia Tech: 11
4r: 0, 2(1), 5(25)
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 2
4p: none
Total: Syracuse: 0 Georgia Tech: 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 2

Total on running plays: Syracuse: 14 Georgia Tech: 22
Total on passing plays: Syracuse: 11 Georgia Tech: 18
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse: 25 Georgia Tech: 40

Penalties not tacked on to plays: +5, -5, -5, +10, -15 Syracuse: 2 Georgia Tech: 3

Game total when SYRACUSE had the ball: Syracuse: 45 Georgia Tech: 47


When GEORGIA TECH had the ball:

KO: SU 26, GT 47, SU 28, SU 35
Total: Syracuse: 4 Georgia Tech: 0
P: 40 to SU 31, 63 to SU 17, 44 to SU 24, 64 to SU 4, 42 to SU 21, 53 to SU 10, 26 to SU 29
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 6
FG: Blocked
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 0
XP: Try for 2 – No Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 2
Kicking plays total: Syracuse: 7 Georgia Tech: 8

1r: 0, 13, 8, 3, 2, 8, 11, 2, 16, 30, 7(15), 2(3), 4, 4, 5, 4, 0, 1, 0, 7, 3, -3, 4, -7, 3TD, 0, 1, 2, 4
Total: Syracuse: 13 Georgia Tech: 15
1p: 6, 23(15), 4, I, I, I, 10, 11, I, 11, I, 0
Total: Syracuse: 6 Georgia Tech: 6
First Down Total: Syracuse: 19 Georgia Tech: 21
2r: -5, 3, 7, 1(7), 3(7), 4(8), 1TD, 4(8), 5, 3(5), 0, 18, 8, 27(6), 2, 4
Total: Syracuse: 5 Georgia Tech: 1
2p: Interception, Interception, I, I, 16s, 29(33), 10, 40(17), I, 7(9), 2, 4(8)
Total: Syracuse: 6 Georgia Tech: 6
Second Down Total: Syracuse: 11 Georgia Tech: 17
3r: 7(15), 6(3), 5(3), 5(4), 24, 5, 5(2), -2
Total: Syracuse: 3 Georgia Tech: 5
3p: I, I, I, Interception, I, 2, Interception (TD), I, I
Total: Syracuse: 9 Georgia Tech: 0
Third Down Total: Syracuse: 12 Georgia Tech: 5
4r: 4(4)
Total: Syracuse: 0 Georgia Tech: 1
4p: 24TD, -8s
Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 1
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse: 1 Georgia Tech: 2

Total on running plays: Syracuse: 21 Georgia Tech: 32
Total on passing plays: Syracuse: 22 Georgia Tech: 13
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse: 43 Georgia Tech: 45

Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5, +15, +15, -5, -5, -5, -15, -10, -5, -5, -5, -5, -4
Syracuse: 13 Georgia Tech: 2

Game total when GEORGIA TECH had the ball: Syracuse: 63 Georgia Tech: 55

Overall game total: Syracuse: 108 Georgia Tech: 102


Comments: Scoring 37 points after getting only 16 in the first two games was fun but ‘losing’ 40 of 65 offensive plays was not. I was surprised that we won 63 of 118 plays when Tech had the ball but I shouldn’t have been: 15 penalties will do that to a team. But we still nearly matched them defensively, 43-45, despite all those runs that broke through the middle and all the first downs they got.

I thought Tech would have more winning plays due to all the first downs they got but we wound up ahead, 108-102. The penalties helped but so did a big edge in the kicking game, despite a couple of rare misses by Andre Szmyt. All four of the kickoffs that we received were returned past our 25. None of the 7 kickoff we made were returned past the 25.

We ran the ball 15 times on first down and got 29 yards out of it. GT ran the ball on first down 14 times in each half. They got 110 yards in the first, 33 in the second. Our defense had an amazing record against third down passes: 9-0. Tech had 6 incompletions, threw two interceptions, one a Pick 6 and completed a 2 yard pass with 10 yards to go.

Syracuse had an incredible SIX possession start in Tech territory and that doesn’t count the Pick 6. Tech never had a possession start in our territory. Our average starting position was our own 38 yard line with a total of 1,058 yards to go, 9both teams had 17 possessions, aside form the Pick 6). Tech’s average starting position was their 26, with 1,260 yards to go, a hidden offense of 202 yards for Syracuse.

The most similar games since 2016:
2016 Boston College 93-84 = +9 which we won 28-20
2017 Middle Tennessee 104-98 +6 which we lost 23-30
2017 Central Michigan 107-100 +7 which we won 41-17
2019 Wake Forest 118-111 = +7 which we won 39-30

 

[SWC75]

TOTALS FOR THE YEAR

When SYRACUSE had the ball:

KO: 1-1, 1-1 , 7-0 = 9-2
P: 5-4, 4-2, 6-2 = 15-8
FG: 2-1, 1-0 , 1-1 = 4-2
XP: 0-0, 1-0 , 4-1 = 5-1
Kicking plays total: 8-6, 7-3, 18-4 =33-13

1r: 4-10, 5-7, 6-9 = 16-26
1p: 6-10, 2-6, 7-4 = 15-20
First Down Total: 10-20, 7-13, 13-14 = 30-47
2r: 3-5, 8-5, 4-8 = 15-18
2p: 5-11, 0-7, 2-6 = 7-24
Second Down Total: 8-16, 8-12, 6-14 = 22-42
3r: 2-3, 0-4, 3-3 = 5-10
3p: 2-11, 2-8, 2-8 = 6-27
Third Down Total: 4-14, 2-12, 8-11 = 14-37
4r: 0-1, 0-0, 1-2 = 1-3
4p: 0-0, 0-1, 0-0 = 0-1
Fourth Down Total: 0-1, 0-1, 1-2 = 1-4

Total on running plays: 9-19, 13-16, 14-22 = 36-57
Total on passing plays: 13-32, 4-22, 11-18 = 28-72
Total on plays from scrimmage: 22-51, 17-38, 25-40 = 64-129

Penalties not tacked on to plays: 2-3, 2-1, 2-3 = 6-7

Game total when SYRACUSE had the ball: 32-60, 26-42, 45-47 = 103-149


When OPPONENT had the ball:

KO: 0-5, 0-4, 4-0 = 4-9
P: 0-4, 3-1, 1-6 = 4-11
FG: 1-1, 2-0, 1-0 = 4-1
XP: 0-4, 0-3, 1-2 = 1-9
Kicking plays total: 1-14, 5-8, 7-8 = 13-30

1r: 8-11, 10-11, 13-15 = 31-37
1p: 4-13, 9-4, 6-6 = 19-23
First Down Total: 12-24, 19-15, 19-21 = 50-60
2r: 8-3, 6-8, 5-11 = 19-22
2p: 8-3, 8-6, 6-6 = 22-15
Second Down Total: 16-6, 14-14, 11-17 = 41-37
3r: 2-1, 2-3, 3-5 = 7-9
3p: 5-4, 8-3, 9-0 = 22-7
Third Down Total: 7-5, 10-6, 12-5 = 29-16
4r: 0-0, 0-0, 0-1 = 0-1
4p: 0-1, 0-1, 1-1 = 1-3
Fourth Down Total: 0-1, 0-1, 1-2 = 1-4

Total on running plays: 18-15, 18-22, 21-32 = 57-69
Total on passing plays: 17-21, 25-14, 22-13 = 64-48
Total on plays from scrimmage: 35-36, 43-36, 43-45 = 121-117

Penalties not tacked on to plays: 2-4, 5-8, 13-2 = 20-14

Game total when OPPONENT had the ball: 37-54, 52-47, 63-55 = 152-156

Overall game total: 69-114, 78-89, 108-102 = 255-305

Comments: We’ve got the defense and we’ve got the kicking game. if we can get the offense going, this could be a pretty good team.

HISTORICAL WINNING PLAYS (Babers Era – game totals only)

2016
Syracuse 101 Colgate 74 = +27
Syracuse 99 Louisville 132 = -33
Syracuse 95 South Florida 116 = -21
Syracuse 91 Connecticut 99 = -8
Syracuse 98 Notre Dame 111 = -13
Syracuse 72 Wake Forest 101 = -29
Syracuse 103 Virginia Tech 104 = -1
Syracuse 93 Boston College 84 = +9
Syracuse 74 Clemson 120 = -46
Syracuse 71 North Carolina State 103 = -32
Syracuse 71 Florida State 120 = -49
Syracuse 107 Pittsburgh 118 = -11
TOTAL: Syracuse 1075 Opponent 1282 = -207 We 'won' 2 of 12 games.

2017
Syracuse 132 Central Connecticut 65 = +67
Syracuse 104 Middle Tennessee 98 = +6
Syracuse 107 Central Michigan 100 = +7
Syracuse 80 Louisiana State 103 = -23
Syracuse 93 North Carolina State 112 = -19
Syracuse 97 Pittsburgh 96 = +1
Syracuse 95 Clemson 97= -2
Syracuse 86 Miami 119 = -33
Syracuse 90 Florida State 108 = -18
Syracuse 120 Wake Forest 125 = -5
Syracuse 96 Louisville 100 = -4
Syracuse 77 Boston College 87 = -10
TOTAL: Syracuse 1177 Opponents 1210 = -33 We ‘won’ 4 of12 games

2018
Syracuse 109 Western Michigan 96 = +13
Syracuse 139 Wagner 65 = +74
Syracuse 113 Florida State 77 = +36
Syracuse 109 Connecticut 83 = +26
Syracuse 86 Clemson 102= -16
Syracuse 99 Pittsburgh 97 = +2
Syracuse 113 North Carolina 115 = -2
Syracuse 113 North Carolina State 96 = +17
Syracuse 117 Wake Forest 107 = +10
Syracuse 124 Louisville 83 = +41
Syracuse 86 Notre Dame 99 = -13
Syracuse 110 Boston College 96 = +14
Syracuse 116 West Virginia 79 +37
TOTAL: Syracuse 1434 Opponents 1195 = +239 We ‘won’ 10 of 13 games

2019
Syracuse 104 Liberty 84 = +20
Syracuse 82 Maryland 112 = -30
Syracuse 77 Clemson 113 = -36
Syracuse 113 Western Michigan 99 =+14
Syracuse 110 Holy Cross 67 = +43
Syracuse 78 North Carolina State 100 = -22
Syracuse 92 Pittsburgh 114 = -22
Syracuse 96 Florida State 115 = -19
Syracuse 76 Boston College 119 = -43
Syracuse 107 Duke 78 = +29
Syracuse 85 Louisville 104 = -19
Syracuse 118 Wake Forest 111 = +7
TOTAL: Syracuse 1138 Opponents 1216 = -78 We ‘won’ 5 of 12 games

2020
Syracuse 69 North Carolina 114 = -45
Syracuse 78 Pittsburgh 89 = -11
Syracuse 108 Georgia Tech 102 = +6
TOTAL: Syracuse 255 Opponents 305 = -50 We’ve won 1 of 3 games

Totals since 2016: Syracuse has won 5,079 plays, (49.4%) and 22 games, (42.3%). The opposition has won 5,208 plays and 30 games. They’ve obtained their goals on 129 more plays than we have in 52 games, an average of 2.5 plays a game.