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His Hawaiian shirt and tranquil presence were absent from the sideline Saturday, but former head coach Dino Babers made an impact against Wake Forest. Babers was fired a week ago after nearly eight years of coaching Syracuse football. Still, he called multiple players this week to check in, including quarterback Garrett Shrader.

Many players were surprised by the firing, as they found out indirectly. Interim head coach Nunzio Campanile didn’t hide from the news or try to push it aside. Campanile said he knows how deep player-coach relationships can be, and he wanted to approach the situation head-on.

“I totally encouraged them to address it, to communicate with it, talk to assistant coaches about it, but at the same time, they did an excellent job of staying focused on this game,” Campanile said. “There are some special guys in that locker room.”

Campanile didn’t pretend like Babers’ dismissal wasn’t a factor, and that resonated with his players. One of the first things he did upon being named interim head coach was make SU feel comfortable talking about the coaching change and its implications. That enabled the players to think exclusively about football, and resulted in Syracuse’s (6-6, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) best offensive performance against an ACC opponent this year, winning 35-31 over Wake Forest (4-8, 1-7 ACC) to clinch bowl eligibility.

Dan Villari said Campanile didn’t change much in terms of practice but was sensitive to the players’ personal relationships with Babers. Villari added that his tight end coach took the challenge in stride and led the team admirably. Thus, a cohesive and focused week of practice under Campanile in his second stint as an interim head coach gave Syracuse some extra juice.

“I told the kids, everyone in the room, nobody would be here without (Babers), including myself,” Campanile said. “You have to deal with that and you have to work your way through that… I don’t think there’s a person in the world who doesn’t think coach Babers is a great guy and everybody in the program was thinking about him all week.”

Players praised Babers postgame, and Justin Barron posted a message on social media ending in “that one was for you.” The players that bought into Babers’ “Ohana” and wanted to get the win in his honor.

Shrader, one of SU’s longest-tenured starters, fought through injury to play in what could have been his last collegiate game. Shrader went off for 173 passing yards and four total touchdowns, tying his season-high on just 15 passing attempts. After the game, his emotions came to the forefront, sitting in full pads in a room full of reporters.

“I definitely have a lot of different voices in my ear just in terms of what I should do regarding my career,” Shrader said. “But there’s too many guys on this team who work too hard, but I’m grateful for them, I want to send these guys off the right way.”

Shrader could have sat out and prepared for the NFL Draft. But he and Babers were the heart of Syracuse football in 2023, and Shrader wasn’t going to let his teammates fight for a bowl game without either of them.

As he held back tears and answered questions about the relationship with his teammates, Shrader exemplified how the culture Babers created stuck with Syracuse. The Orange didn’t let Babers’ “Ohana” fracture, sparking SU to a victory.

“I’m grateful for coach Babers and him providing me an opportunity,” Shrader said. “Nobody in this facility would be here without him. I’ll sing his praises, he’s the favorite coach I’ve played for. I understand the business side of it, but he and his family have been awesome to me.”

The game was won when…

Jason Simmons Jr. came up with a goal line interception on fourth down to seal the game. As WF quarterback Michael Kern escaped the pocket moving backward, his receivers scrambled back toward him. His throw on the run fell short and Simmons dove on top of it. After the stop, Syracuse got a first down to run the clock out.

Quote of the night: “We knew at about 2:07”

Shrader wasn’t cleared to play until moments before kickoff, and he said the game plan was “built around” his absence. But, the sixth-year journeyman wasn’t going to miss what was potentially his last collegiate game.

“We knew at about 2:07 to be honest,” Campanile said when he knew of Shrader’s status. “He warmed up relatively well, but there were so many things he hadn’t done in practice and it was like he was going to ramp it up on game day and see how that goes…He’s a really gutsy kid and that was a really special performance.”

Stat to know: 4 passing touchdowns

Syracuse’s four passing touchdowns were its most since Week 1 against Colgate — Shrader and Villari needed just 17 attempts to do it. SU hadn’t thrown for over 200 yards in ACC play entering Saturday, and although Shrader didn’t hit that mark himself, he and Villari combined for 224 yards and four scores. Despite running the ball nearly 78% of the time, all five scores came from Villari and Shrader.

Game ball: Garrett Shrader

Shrader played through pain to help Syracuse reach a second-straight bowl game for the first time in a decade. Campanile, Villari, LeQuint Allen Jr. and Marlowe Wax all gushed about his toughness postgame.

“He basically did everything he possibly could for us today,” Campanile said of Shrader. “I couldn’t rate his performance high enough for what I know that he’s going through. That was off the charts. I said to him, the level of sacrifice and love he has for his teammates is really clear because of what he went out and did today.”

Three final points:

LeQuint Allen hits 1,000

Allen Jr.’s fourth-straight 100-yard game put the sophomore running back over 1,000 yards in his first season as a starter. Allen Jr. has been a tough runner all season, but especially in physical matchups featuring wildcat snaps and heavy rushes. He shouldered a massive workload over the final four weeks with 116 touches. When asked about the accomplishment, he highlighted the offensive line’s success in the run-first system.

Defensive struggles continue

Wake Forest was the worst offense in the ACC entering the final regular season matchup. The Demon Deacons hadn’t surpassed 30 points against an ACC opponent prior to Saturday, but SU consistently let up big plays. Kern threw for 261 yards and three scores. Though, Syracuse’s defense came up with the game-winning stop when it mattered most, courtesy of Simmons Jr.

Damien Alford shows out

Alford exploded against Wake Forest with four catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He also secured a career-best 527 receiving yards on the season. Alford made some difficult catches on wobbling throws by an injured Shrader. He went up and over for contested catches, including one that he scooped just above the turf and walked in for a 47-yard touchdown from Villari.

Next up: Bowl Game

Having scraped its way to a 6-6 record, Syracuse will await a bowl game assignment on Dec. 3. The possible destinations include Boston, MA, for the Fenway Bowl or Birmingham, AL, for the Birmingham Bowl, among others.

Published on November 26, 2023 at 3:11 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu