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: S35, S20, S25, S35, S28, S25, S20, S14, S25, P27, S32, S15, S1 = 348/13 = S27 with 952 yards to go
KO: P29, P25, P25, P25, S31
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 2
P: 23 to S45, 42 to P28, 35 to P30, 50 to P40, 30 to P35, 39 to P32, 34 to P40
Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 5
FG: Good from 23, Good from 48, No Good from 46, Good from 49
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 1
XP: None
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 8
1r: 0, 8, 4, -1v, 3, 4, -1, 0
Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 4
1p: 7, 17(15), I, 7(8), I, 31, I, I, 4(5), 45, O, Safety
Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 10
2r: 0, 2(3), 4, 9(28), 0, 0, 6
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 4
2p: 5, I, -3(5), I, I, -7(s), I, I
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 7
Second Down Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 11
3r: 3(1), -4, 7, 2(6), 15
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 2
3p: -8(s), 12(6), I, I, I, -2(s), I, I, -6(s)
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 8
Third Down Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 10
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 10
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 21
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 18 Pittsburgh 31
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, +15, +5, -10, +15, +5 Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 3
Game total when SYRACUSE had the ball: Syracuse 31 Pittsburgh 42
Big Plays: 35 KOR, Interception, 31 pass, Interception, 45 pass
When PITTSBURGH had the ball:
Drive Starts: S45, P29, P28, P25, P30, P25, P40, P35, P32, P28, P40, P25, S31 = 461/13 = P35 with 839 yards to go
KO: S35, S25, S25, S25
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 3
P: 9 to S35, 40 to S28, 32 to S20, 2yds to P27, 32 to S32, 46 to S15, 48 to S1
Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 3
FG: Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 1
XP: Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 2
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 9
1r:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
1p:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
First Down Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
2r:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
2p:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
Second Down Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
3r: 4(1), 8(4), 5(2), -2, 3(20, 1(3), 2(3)
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 4
3p: 6(5), Interception, 5(5), 4, 6(8), 23(6), -12(s), I
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 17 Pittsburgh 30
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 14
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 27 Pittsburgh 44
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5 Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 0
Game total when PITTSBURGH had the ball: Syracuse 35 Pittsburgh 53
Big Plays: 28 KOR, 20 pass, 20 pass, 29 run, 20 PR, 23 pass, Safety
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 66 Pittsburgh 105
Comments: We lost this game by going 8-21 in passing plays, including 2-15 on second and third down while Pittsburgh was 13-2 on second down runs. Everything else was about even but we had nothing to offset those two deficits.
The punting was horrible for both teams in this game. The kicking team came out better in only 5 of 14 punts. Pitt gained 9 yards on their first punt due to a touchback and a penalty and 2 yards on the play where their punter lined it into his own blockers. Someone suggested that Bob Ligashesky may be over-rated as a special teams coach. We were 95-15 on kicking plays in our first 7 games, which is fantastic, (the opposition was 50-28). But in the last two games we are 15-16 while out opposition is 26-8, so Bob has some work to do.
66-105 = -39. Here are the closest games to that in the Babers Era:
2019 Syracuse 77 Clemson 113 = -36 We lost 6-41
2019 Syracuse 76 Boston College 119 = -43 We lost 27-58
2020 Syracuse 79 Duke 114 = -35 We lost 24-38
2020 Syracuse 72 Clemson 112 = -40 We lost 21-47
2021 Syracuse 64 Rutgers 101 = -37 We lost 7-17
2021 Syracuse 56 Louisville 91 = -35 We lost 3-41
- 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: S35, S20, S25, S35, S28, S25, S20, S14, S25, P27, S32, S15, S1 = 348/13 = S27 with 952 yards to go
KO: P29, P25, P25, P25, S31
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 2
P: 23 to S45, 42 to P28, 35 to P30, 50 to P40, 30 to P35, 39 to P32, 34 to P40
Total: Syracuse 2 Pittsburgh 5
FG: Good from 23, Good from 48, No Good from 46, Good from 49
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 1
XP: None
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 8
1r: 0, 8, 4, -1v, 3, 4, -1, 0
Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 4
1p: 7, 17(15), I, 7(8), I, 31, I, I, 4(5), 45, O, Safety
Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 6
First Down Total: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 10
2r: 0, 2(3), 4, 9(28), 0, 0, 6
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 4
2p: 5, I, -3(5), I, I, -7(s), I, I
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 7
Second Down Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 11
3r: 3(1), -4, 7, 2(6), 15
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 2
3p: -8(s), 12(6), I, I, I, -2(s), I, I, -6(s)
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 8
Third Down Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 10
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 10
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 8 Pittsburgh 21
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 18 Pittsburgh 31
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, +15, +5, -10, +15, +5 Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 3
Game total when SYRACUSE had the ball: Syracuse 31 Pittsburgh 42
Big Plays: 35 KOR, Interception, 31 pass, Interception, 45 pass
When PITTSBURGH had the ball:
Drive Starts: S45, P29, P28, P25, P30, P25, P40, P35, P32, P28, P40, P25, S31 = 461/13 = P35 with 839 yards to go
KO: S35, S25, S25, S25
Total: Syracuse 1 Pittsburgh 3
P: 9 to S35, 40 to S28, 32 to S20, 2yds to P27, 32 to S32, 46 to S15, 48 to S1
Total: Syracuse 4 Pittsburgh 3
FG: Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 1
XP: Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 2
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 5 Pittsburgh 9
1r:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
1p:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
First Down Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
2r:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
2p:
Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
Second Down Total: Syracuse Pittsburgh
3r: 4(1), 8(4), 5(2), -2, 3(20, 1(3), 2(3)
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 4
3p: 6(5), Interception, 5(5), 4, 6(8), 23(6), -12(s), I
Total: Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 5
Third Down Total: Syracuse 6 Pittsburgh 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Pittsburgh 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 17 Pittsburgh 30
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 10 Pittsburgh 14
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 27 Pittsburgh 44
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -5, -5, -5 Syracuse 3 Pittsburgh 0
Game total when PITTSBURGH had the ball: Syracuse 35 Pittsburgh 53
Big Plays: 28 KOR, 20 pass, 20 pass, 29 run, 20 PR, 23 pass, Safety
Overall Game Total: Syracuse 66 Pittsburgh 105
Comments: We lost this game by going 8-21 in passing plays, including 2-15 on second and third down while Pittsburgh was 13-2 on second down runs. Everything else was about even but we had nothing to offset those two deficits.
The punting was horrible for both teams in this game. The kicking team came out better in only 5 of 14 punts. Pitt gained 9 yards on their first punt due to a touchback and a penalty and 2 yards on the play where their punter lined it into his own blockers. Someone suggested that Bob Ligashesky may be over-rated as a special teams coach. We were 95-15 on kicking plays in our first 7 games, which is fantastic, (the opposition was 50-28). But in the last two games we are 15-16 while out opposition is 26-8, so Bob has some work to do.
66-105 = -39. Here are the closest games to that in the Babers Era:
2019 Syracuse 77 Clemson 113 = -36 We lost 6-41
2019 Syracuse 76 Boston College 119 = -43 We lost 27-58
2020 Syracuse 79 Duke 114 = -35 We lost 24-38
2020 Syracuse 72 Clemson 112 = -40 We lost 21-47
2021 Syracuse 64 Rutgers 101 = -37 We lost 7-17
2021 Syracuse 56 Louisville 91 = -35 We lost 3-41