Well, that was fun.
It was a sleepy Saturday afternoon in Syracuse less than 48 hours after Thanksgiving, and the crowd turnout looked and felt like they’d just rolled out of bed to finish off the last of the Turkey Day leftovers. With a bowl game on the line, the first game at the helm for interim head man Nunzio Campanile, and senior day walkouts for program pillars such as Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, and Garrett Shrader, they were greeted to a half-empty stadium and half-hearted cheers from the crowd in their final game in the JMA Wireless Dome. However, it became evident quickly after kickoff that this game would not lack any entertainment value.
Garrett Shrader battled through injury to make the most of his Dome finale, putting up one his best passing performances of the season with 173 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading Syracuse to 35 points. That tied their highest scoring output against a power five opponent this season. Campanile, who spoke in the post-game presser about the struggle of putting together an offensive game plan without knowing how healthy Shrader was up until game time, combined timely throws from Shrader with the Wildcat offense that has been the offensive base for the past three weeks.
LeQuint Allen took Wildcat and traditional running back snaps en route to a career-high 32 carries for 145 yards, blasting through the 1,000-yard marker on the season. He got a ton of help from Mr. Do-Everything Dan Villari, who threw a TD pass to Damien Alford to open the second half scoring and caught one to start the fourth quarter.
Despite never actually trailing in the game, it was a rollercoaster throughout. The first half ended on a missed opportunity after a missed 54-yard field goal by Brady Denaburg was negated by a Wake Forest leaping penalty with 30 seconds left. Shrader threw what looked like a 16-yard touchdown to Damien Alford, but upon review, he was ruled down at the one yard line. On the ensuing play, Shrader threw a pass out the backfield to LeQuint Allen who was chopped down at the one inch line, and the clock ran out before the SU offense was able to spike it and salvage points.
The other gut-churning part of this rollercoaster ride was the unusually porous nature of this Mob defense. Coming into this game as a top 50 defense nationally allowing just a hair over 22 points a game, former backup Michael Kern torched this defense for 31 points and 300 total yards, 261 through the air, and 39 on the ground. He avoided would-be sacks and consistently turned nothing into something for this Wake Forest offense, having by far his best outing of the season after a previous season high of 166 yards against Virginia Tech.
He got his big-play receiver Jahmal Banks involved to open the 3rd quarter, with 4 catches for 51 yards on Wake’s opening second-half drive. Banks finished with 7 catches for 90 yards, but it was Taylor Morin who was the biggest thorn in the Mob’s side, with 140 yards and a big second-half punt return to set up a Wake touchdown.
With everything that’s happened this season and his entire career, Shrader fought through tears in reflecting on his football journey.
“It’s definitely been the road less traveled for me. [In reference to all the injuries Syracuse has had the past two years], it’s always been that story. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way, it wouldn’t be as fun if it were easy. But, I’m just glad we’re able to get a bowl game.”
With guys like Dan Villari hesitant to answer questions about Babers, Shrader was quick to heap praise on his former coach.
“I love Coach Babers," Shrader said. "He’s the reason I’m here, he gave me an opportunity, and I’ll always be grateful for him.”
Shrader’s perspective was refreshing, and so much uncertainty about the future and who will end up leading it, one thing is for certain -- pack your bags and set up the pins, because this team’s going bowling.
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