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Anything worse would have spelled trouble for Syracuse. But Saturday night’s result — the largest margin of victory since it beat Colgate 71-0 in 1959 — trumped the highest of expectations for the first iteration of Jason Beck’s offense and a team without All-American running back Sean Tucker.

The offense clicked after one slow opening possession. The defense tormented Colgate and quarterback Michael Brescia. Syracuse clocked its in-state rival as it was expected to do. Despite a slew of sloppy first-quarter penalties, the Orange (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened up a 23-point lead, in a matter of seven minutes and 18 seconds. SU’s program-record 677 total yards, combined with a defense which allowed just seven first downs, culminated in an encouraging 65-0 win over the Raiders (0-1, 0-0 Patriot League).

Colgate passed the 50-yard line just once toward the end of the fourth quarter. Syracuse stifled any attempt at forward progress and held Brescia to the fewest passing yards (29) of his collegiate career when throwing at least 10 passes.

Once the early layers of rust faded off, Shrader found gaping holes in coverage to show his elbow was fully recovered following offseason surgery. Marlowe Wax led a tantalizing defensive effort keyed by pre-snap movement and timely blitzing. Umari Hatcher totaled a game-high 105 receiving yards, leading six different players who caught touchdown passes. Syracuse ended exactly where it wanted to: healthy and 1-0.

“These games are spooky,” Babers said. “Colgate came out of the gate strong.”

Chapter one of head coach Dino Babers’ eighth season, headlined by new coordinators and four new position coaches, was designed to ease the Orange into the 2023 season. It ended with the most points in the Babers era. Colgate entered Saturday’s matchup without a win against Syracuse since 1950.

Oronde Gadsden II’s campaign to become Syracuse’s 19th All-American selection, and LeQuint Allen’s first regular season showcase from underneath the shadow of Tucker, began against a Football Championship Series opponent that allowed 30.45 points per game last season.

Though it started slow, Syracuse’s third drive, galvanized by four-straight runs from Allen, resulted in a 7-0 lead with 7:18 remaining in the first quarter. Five of Shrader’s first six targets were to Gadsden. When Syracuse got the ball back after an explosive 39-yard return from D’Marcus Adams, it went hurry-up.

“It was nice to see a lot of different guys get in. It was the first game,” Shrader said. “There’s a lot of stuff we need to clean up.”

Three straight first-down passes marked a seamless 42 second drive that resulted in another touchdown. Gadsden overpowered his defenders on 10-yard routes across the middle, and Damien Alford outran his corner on a fade route. Shrader, who said on Tuesday that his arm “feels way better than I thought it’d be,” finished 18-for-24 with 257 yards and four touchdowns.

To begin the second quarter, Shrader underthrew Isaiah Jones on a sideline go route before scrambling out of a collapsed pocket to find Jones for a 44-yard touchdown. Shrader’s first three touchdowns all went to different receivers and his legs got Syracuse’s offense out of trouble at least once a drive.

For a room trying to find weapons behind Gadsden and Alford, the blowout allowed the Orange to flex their depth. Babers said some of those lower on the depth chart performed well enough to possibly get moved up.

“It was a good first game, show what we got,” Hatcher said. “We all can do something in that room. You all were seeing a little bit of it today. Everybody in that room got talent.”

Hatcher said he was surprised at how much press man defense Colgate used. Syracuse receiver’s coach Michael Johnson said he worked with the unit this week to pick out when the Raiders pressed more but the Orange still noted early that they were playing closer than expected.

Hatcher looked at Shrader and beckoned for the ball. On the sidelines after the first few drives, he told Shrader to look out for him. Hatcher said he liked the physical aspect of beating out a press man coverage, which led to Hatcher’s four-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter to give Syracuse a 44-0 lead. He got off his quick slant route by slamming into his man, making a quick move inside and opening space between him and the defender.

“Throughout the game they were playing a lot of man,” Hatcher said. “We said ‘let’s do it. Man game.’”

Early on, Syracuse had issues with its offensive line holding the noticeably undersized Raiders. Chris Bleich, in his sixth collegiate season of football, lined up at left guard as the Orange’s only returning starter on the offensive line. Junior college transfer J’Onre Reed won the starting center job over Josh Ilaoa at center and Kentucky transfer David Wohlabaugh earned the right tackle spot. Jakob Bradford started in place of Joe More, seen prior to kickoff with a boot on. With Enrique Cruz Jr. promoted to starting left tackle, in replacement of second round draft pick Matthew Bergeron, Shrader spent the past offseason working behind a line with massive overhaul.

The first half featured Shrader’s pocket frequently collapsing. Babers was concerned about some of the seven penalties throughout the game, specifically the second false start on sixth-year lineman Bleich and an offsides that someone got called on while standing over the ball.

“I’m not happy about that,” Babers said. “It’s either coach-correct or it’s player-correct, but we’re going to get it corrected.”

Babers said at halftime that he wanted to see his players settle down more in the second half. Syracuse put the ball on the ground three times and turned the ball over twice, once on an errant throw to the end zone picked off by Colgate’s Justin Lawrence.

Some mistakes lent themselves to first-day inexperience, the first chance at live-action play where Syracuse typically struggles turning in a clean sheet. The Orange committed 18 penalties for 107 penalty yards in last year’s opening week win over Louisville.

By the time backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson checked in with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter, the Orange held a 44-0 lead. Syracuse had gained 18 more first downs than Colgate on a 6-for-8 third-down efficiency and totalled 371 more yards than the Raiders. Del Rio-Wilson marched right down the field and capped off a seven-play, 77-yard drive with a five-yard bullet pass to Jones.

When the public address announcer at the JMA Wireless Dome signaled the end of the third quarter, one fan’s actions summed up the game. Donning a bright blue headband, equipped with blue and orange streaks painted across his face, he visibly mouthed “wow.” The most yards in program history, the largest win since 1959, 7.61 yards per play and ten different receivers were all accomplished in a historic opening day for Syracuse.

“A win is a win,” Babers said. “I am satisfied that the guys played hard overall even though there were periods when we didn’t play as hard as I would have liked.”

Published on September 2, 2023 at 8:11 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt