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 takeovers on fumbles, interceptions and downs.
When Syracuse had the ball:
Drive Starts: SU 25, SU 25, SU 24, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 41, SU 10, SU 20, SU 25, SU 25 = 295/12 = SU25 with 905 yards to go
KO: VT25, VT25, VT25
Total: Syracuse 3 Virginia Tech 0
P: 37 to VT 49, 42 to VT 31, -2 to SU 31, 54 to SU 25, 49 to VT 9, 66 to VT 15(p), 34 to VT 46, 40 to VT 35, 48 to VT 27
Total: Syracuse 6 Virginia Tech 3
FG: Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 0
XP: Good
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 11 Virginia Tech 3
1r: -1, 4, -1, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 14, 9, -1
Total: Syracuse 4 Virginia Tech 8
1p: -11(s), 22, -5(s), 18, 15, I, -5(s), -12(s)
Total: Syracuse 3 Virginia Tech 5
First Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 13
2r: 3(7), 4(8), 6(1), 2(22)
Total: Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 2
2p: I, 8(16), I, I, 19(p), 15, I, 13(11), 6TD, -5(s)
Total: Syracuse 5 Virginia Tech 5
Second Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 7
3r: 7(28)
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 1
3p: I, 3(6), -3(s), -9(s), 7(14), -4(s), 10(20), 10(20)
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 8
Third Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 6 Virginia Tech 11
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 8 Virginia Tech 18
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 14 Virginia Tech 29
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -7, -5, -5, -5 Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 4
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 25 Virginia Tech 36
Big Plays: 22 yard pass, 21 yd punt return (2)
When Virginia Tech had the ball:
Drive Starts: VT49, VT32, SU29, VT25, VT7, VT 25, VT15, VT25, VT46, VT25, VT35, VT27 = 382/12 = SU32 with 818 yards to go, (87 less than SU)
KO: SU 25, SU 25, SU 24, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 8
P: 37 to SU 41, 42 to SU 10, 35 to SU 20
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 2
FG: Good from 43, Good from 32, Good from 39, Good from 24, Good from 31
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 5
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 3
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 18
1r: 11, 5, 9, 10, 1, 38, 0, 6, 1, 4, 7, 10, 15, 8, 8, 7, 12, 30, 5, -1, 3, 1, 1
Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 16
1p: I, I, I, I, 16TD, 1, I, 62TD, -7(p), I, I, 26, 0
Total: Syracuse 10 Virginia Tech 3
First Down Total: Syracuse 17 Virginia Tech 19
2r: 5, 10, 8, 0, 5(1), 0, 14(4), 4(9), 3TD, 2(17), 4, 5, 4(2), 2(2), 1(3), 3, 6(5)
Total: Syracuse 8 Virginia Tech 13
2p: 2, I, 7(20), I, 41(6)
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 4
Second Down Total: Syracuse 9 Virginia Tech 17
3r: 15(5), 3(8), 6(5), 2(15), 8(2), 4, 4(1), 11(9)
Total: Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 6
3p: 12(2), I, 5(9), -3(s), 11(10), 4(6), -6(s), 1(7)
Total: Syracuse 5 Virginia Tech 3
Third Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 17 Virginia Tech 35
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 16 Virginia Tech 10
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 33 Virginia Tech 45
Penalties not tacked on to plays: +5, -10, +15, -5 Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 2
Game total when Virginia Tech had the ball: Syracuse 36 Virginia Tech 65
Big Plays: 55yd punt return, 38yd run, 62 yd TD pass, 26 yd pass, 41yd pass, 30 yd run (6)
Overall game total: Syracuse 61 Virginia Tech 101
Comments: First down runs: We had 40 yards on 12 carries. They had 191 yards on 23 carries. Ball game.
Also ball game: We attempted 8 third down passes with a total of 95 yards to go and gained 14 yards, thanks to three sacks and an incompletion. We didn’t gain one first down.
We got clobbered on first down runs but were quite good on first down passes: 10-3. Unfortunately, the three failures went for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Jack Stonehouse had an amazing day punting, overcoming what looked like it might be a season-ending injury to average 50.4 yards per kick on 7 punts. But we didn’t have an amazing day covering his punts as Trucker Holloway averaged 20.4 yards a return.
In our losing streak the opposition has kicked the ball 73 times and gotten what they wanted out of it 70 times. We are 36-10.
It’s amazing to think that Tech scored only three touchdowns on us. The rest was five field goals and a safety. Of course they were nice enough to keep it on the ground in the second half even if we couldn’t cover their wideouts. Of course, they rushed for 318 yards while being ‘nice’.
This was a 61-101 game (-40). Here are the most similar games 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 70 North Carolina 114 = -44 We lost 6-31
2020 Syracuse 72 Clemson 112 = -40 We lost 21-47
2021 Syracuse 64 Rutgers 101 = -37 We lost 7-17
2022 Syracuse 59 Florida State 100 = -41 We lost 3-38
- 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 25, SU 24, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 41, SU 10, SU 20, SU 25, SU 25 = 295/12 = SU25 with 905 yards to go
KO: VT25, VT25, VT25
Total: Syracuse 3 Virginia Tech 0
P: 37 to VT 49, 42 to VT 31, -2 to SU 31, 54 to SU 25, 49 to VT 9, 66 to VT 15(p), 34 to VT 46, 40 to VT 35, 48 to VT 27
Total: Syracuse 6 Virginia Tech 3
FG: Good from 43
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 0
XP: Good
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 0
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 11 Virginia Tech 3
1r: -1, 4, -1, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 14, 9, -1
Total: Syracuse 4 Virginia Tech 8
1p: -11(s), 22, -5(s), 18, 15, I, -5(s), -12(s)
Total: Syracuse 3 Virginia Tech 5
First Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 13
2r: 3(7), 4(8), 6(1), 2(22)
Total: Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 2
2p: I, 8(16), I, I, 19(p), 15, I, 13(11), 6TD, -5(s)
Total: Syracuse 5 Virginia Tech 5
Second Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 7
3r: 7(28)
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 1
3p: I, 3(6), -3(s), -9(s), 7(14), -4(s), 10(20), 10(20)
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 8
Third Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 6 Virginia Tech 11
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 8 Virginia Tech 18
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 14 Virginia Tech 29
Penalties not tacked on to plays: -7, -5, -5, -5 Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 4
Game total when Syracuse had the ball: Syracuse 25 Virginia Tech 36
Big Plays: 22 yard pass, 21 yd punt return (2)
When Virginia Tech had the ball:
Drive Starts: VT49, VT32, SU29, VT25, VT7, VT 25, VT15, VT25, VT46, VT25, VT35, VT27 = 382/12 = SU32 with 818 yards to go, (87 less than SU)
KO: SU 25, SU 25, SU 24, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25, SU 25
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 8
P: 37 to SU 41, 42 to SU 10, 35 to SU 20
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 2
FG: Good from 43, Good from 32, Good from 39, Good from 24, Good from 31
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 5
XP: Good, Good, Good
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 3
Kicking plays total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 18
1r: 11, 5, 9, 10, 1, 38, 0, 6, 1, 4, 7, 10, 15, 8, 8, 7, 12, 30, 5, -1, 3, 1, 1
Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 16
1p: I, I, I, I, 16TD, 1, I, 62TD, -7(p), I, I, 26, 0
Total: Syracuse 10 Virginia Tech 3
First Down Total: Syracuse 17 Virginia Tech 19
2r: 5, 10, 8, 0, 5(1), 0, 14(4), 4(9), 3TD, 2(17), 4, 5, 4(2), 2(2), 1(3), 3, 6(5)
Total: Syracuse 8 Virginia Tech 13
2p: 2, I, 7(20), I, 41(6)
Total: Syracuse 1 Virginia Tech 4
Second Down Total: Syracuse 9 Virginia Tech 17
3r: 15(5), 3(8), 6(5), 2(15), 8(2), 4, 4(1), 11(9)
Total: Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 6
3p: 12(2), I, 5(9), -3(s), 11(10), 4(6), -6(s), 1(7)
Total: Syracuse 5 Virginia Tech 3
Third Down Total: Syracuse 7 Virginia Tech 9
4r: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
4p: none
Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Fourth Down Total: Syracuse 0 Virginia Tech 0
Total on running plays: Syracuse 17 Virginia Tech 35
Total on passing plays: Syracuse 16 Virginia Tech 10
Total on plays from scrimmage: Syracuse 33 Virginia Tech 45
Penalties not tacked on to plays: +5, -10, +15, -5 Syracuse 2 Virginia Tech 2
Game total when Virginia Tech had the ball: Syracuse 36 Virginia Tech 65
Big Plays: 55yd punt return, 38yd run, 62 yd TD pass, 26 yd pass, 41yd pass, 30 yd run (6)
Overall game total: Syracuse 61 Virginia Tech 101
Comments: First down runs: We had 40 yards on 12 carries. They had 191 yards on 23 carries. Ball game.
Also ball game: We attempted 8 third down passes with a total of 95 yards to go and gained 14 yards, thanks to three sacks and an incompletion. We didn’t gain one first down.
We got clobbered on first down runs but were quite good on first down passes: 10-3. Unfortunately, the three failures went for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Jack Stonehouse had an amazing day punting, overcoming what looked like it might be a season-ending injury to average 50.4 yards per kick on 7 punts. But we didn’t have an amazing day covering his punts as Trucker Holloway averaged 20.4 yards a return.
In our losing streak the opposition has kicked the ball 73 times and gotten what they wanted out of it 70 times. We are 36-10.
It’s amazing to think that Tech scored only three touchdowns on us. The rest was five field goals and a safety. Of course they were nice enough to keep it on the ground in the second half even if we couldn’t cover their wideouts. Of course, they rushed for 318 yards while being ‘nice’.
This was a 61-101 game (-40). Here are the most similar games 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 70 North Carolina 114 = -44 We lost 6-31
2020 Syracuse 72 Clemson 112 = -40 We lost 21-47
2021 Syracuse 64 Rutgers 101 = -37 We lost 7-17
2022 Syracuse 59 Florida State 100 = -41 We lost 3-38