Blacksburg, Va. — Garrett Shrader’s veteran status within college football shone through Thursday.
Not due to his play on the field but rather the clichés and coach speak he used postgame when addressing the team’s 38-10 loss at Virginia Tech.
“Tough day at the office, but we still got plenty of football left ahead of us,” Shrader said.
But it hasn’t just been a tough day at the office for Syracuse football. It’s been a tough month, and now every member of the team needs to be put on performance review, according to the boss.
Despite Shrader repeating the sentiment multiple times, there is not that much football left in the season. There are just four remaining regular-season games — two at home, one at a neutral site and one on the road.
The loss against the Hokies means the Orange cannot finish any better than .500 in ACC play this season.
Now, coach Dino Babers has said everything about the program will be examined.
Any offensive personnel changes coming?
“Everything is open,” he said.
How much is the game planning to blame for the string of losses?
“Everything is under review after a game like this,” Babers said.
Asked why the Virginia Tech game was not the easy return to the offense of the first four games Babers had predicted after the Florida State loss, he said the Hokies were a good team. He briefly mentioned penalties and aggression.
But then he concluded: “I don’t have an answer for you on that.”
Linebacker Marlowe Wax and tight end Dan Villari appeared the visibly downtrodden meeting with reporters Thursday night.
They were arguably the teams’ best performers in the contest. Wax finished with a team-leading 14 tackles and two sacks; Villari scored Syracuse’s only touchdown and had four catches for 38 yards.
Wax described the team’s headspace as “angry” and “frustrated,” both emotions that became evident as early as the first quarter, when ESPN reported on the broadcast offensive linemen were upset and Villari had kicked a chair.
“I think just shooting ourselves in the foot. Penalties,” Villari said about what the most frustrating part of the four-game losing stretch has been. “One guy making a great play, another guy not making a great play. It just kind of ruins momentum.”
Asked what he felt was the source of frustration, Babers negated it was directed between players or toward the coaching staff.
“I don’t think our family is like that,” Babers said. “I think it’s all tied in to what’s going on in the game, and guys wanting to have success. Winning is important.”
Both Shrader and Villari said most of the issues Syracuse is facing comes down to any one player not executing properly on any given play.
One play, Shrader may pull the ball when he shouldn’t. On another, a lineman may miss a block. A defender could miss a tackle.
Shrader took responsibility for his part on the issue, but he’s done so in the past and little has changed. He absorbed eight sacks, bringing the team’s rushing total to net zero after LeQuint Allen managed just 42 yards on the ground.
It was the third-straight game Shrader has finished with fewer than 150 passing yards, and his fourth throwing for fewer than 200.
Babers agreed with a reporter’s assessment Shrader has looked “uncomfortable” through the past four games. Babers said he did not know why but intimated it wasn’t injury-related.
One specific change Babers was asked if he was considering making was bringing offensive coordinator Jason Beck back down to the field, where he coached from last year, instead of the coaches’ box.
Babers said he had not thought about that. Shrader said he didn’t feel it would make a difference, that the team’s communication was good.
But something — anything — needs to change for this offense, and this team as a whole after a fourth-straight loss.
The full-team film session did not work. The rest of the bye week did not seem to help.
Babers can say that “everything is under review,” but without any tangible changes it’s an empty platitude.
Transparency, too, about what’s changing and why could be the only way to abate a fan base that cranked the heat on Babers and his staff mid-game.
“The main thing is that when you talk to people, you need to tell ‘em the truth,” Babers said.
He was talking about motivating the team and whether the message changes after each loss.
“That’s the main thing because then they’ll listen to you,” Babers said. “They won’t just hear what you’re saying, they’ll actually listen to what you’re saying.”
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