Syracuse committed to the run on a 1st-half 2-minute drill. It still didn’t work.
When trailing by two scores against Miami, SU ran the ball seven times during a two-minute drill to end the first half, but it didn't work. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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MIAMI — With every Syracuse loss, you can bank on head coach Fran Brown saying the Orange “need” to give Yasin Willis the ball more. He knows it’s the only way for SU to get past its subpar quarterback play over the past six games. Yet, in a situation where Syracuse offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon never calls run plays, he decided to pound the ground.
The Orange got into their two-minute drill offense to end the first half against No. 18 Miami Saturday, trailing 14-0 after Rickie Collins tossed a pick-six. Nixon has said he doesn’t like to run the ball when facing a colossal deficit. But Nixon dialed up seven carries for Willis during the two-minute drill.
SU had quick gains of two, three, four and nine yards to wear the Hurricanes’ defense down. A bruising 22-yard carry put Syracuse over midfield. A 13-yarder brought the Orange into the red zone; Willis totaled 53 yards on his first six touches of the drive. It was arguably the best SU’s rushing offense has looked all season.
Then came the fourth touch. Willis fumbled in the red zone. Miami recovered. The Orange could’ve settled for a field goal, but chose to run another play.
Though it failed in the end, Nixon’s commitment to the run game stood out in Syracuse’s (3-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) 38-10 road loss to No. 18 Miami (7-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) Saturday. The Orange totaled 43 carries and rushed for 161 yards. Yet in the two-minute drill, Nixon showed a willingness to call repeated run plays while SU was down big — the first time he’s done that all season.
And it almost worked. It didn’t seem like Syracuse would sniff the red zone after its first five drives went: punt, punt, punt, punt, pick-six. Willis, though, lugged the Orange’s offense to generate a possible scoring opportunity. While he wishes he didn’t cough the ball up, SU finally showcased its ability to dominate the ground game on that drive.
“We’re going to pound the rock, and I just feel like we were ready this game to do it,” senior running back Will Nixon, Jeff Nixon’s son, said after Saturday’s game. “That was the mentality: just pound the rock and do our thing.”
Maybe Nixon called a string of run plays because he knew Brown was fairly upset with him after the drive prior, when Collins threw a pick-six to Miami nickel corner Keionte Scott. Brown said postgame he wanted Syracuse to run the ball on the first play of the drive — on which SU trailed 7-0 just before the two-minute mark of the second quarter. He reasoned that he wanted to see if Willis could crack a big gain because he didn’t want the Orange to carelessly pass and turn it over.
Well, Brown’s worst fears played out in real time. He said falling behind 14-0 was very avoidable.
“I think there’s a few calls from the coaching staff that shouldn’t have been called,” Brown said.
It’s rare to see Brown gripe about a colleague. However, he might’ve pushed the right buttons with Nixon. Syracuse’s second-year offensive playcaller made it a priority to keep the ball on the ground despite time running out amid a two-minute drill.
Will said it’s no secret the Orange haven’t run the ball well this year, but he felt this week of practice was the most progress they’ve made in that department. He thinks Syracuse’s offensive line is coming together despite injuries — Will praised Joe Cruz’s performance sliding from right guard to center Saturday — and said guys like Da’Metrius Weatherspoon, Byron Washington and Kam Pringle have been doing a better job of holding their ground in ACC play.
It all came together for most of the final drive of the first half. The highlight of the day for Syracuse’s running game came on a 22-yard scamper by Willis, where SU’s line won every assignment and Willis shot through the A gap without a hint of indecisiveness.
“That was refreshing,” Will said of Willis’ late first-half performance. “It was more emphasis that us (running) backs have to get the offense started and help everybody else get out of the slump.”
But, if Will says the running backs start SU’s offense, then why did it take until Week 11 for Nixon to heavily commit to the run?
It seemed that with an inexperienced redshirt sophomore under center in Collins — who took over after Syracuse’s day-one starter, Steve Angeli, tore his Achilles — the Orange would run the ball incessantly. Yet, they haven’t had a 100-yard rusher the whole season.
Over a month ago, when Willis only had 11 carries (eight in the first half) in Collins’ first start, a 38-3 loss to Duke, Nixon said it comes down to the scoreboard.
“It’s situational football,” Nixon said on Sept. 30. “As far as carrying the ball, you like to be in a close game or be winning.”
At this point, it’s clear Nixon is willing to try anything to get the offense going. Will said he knows his father is adamant about establishing a foundation through the run game. But, unfortunately for Will, he said he hopes the Orange can accomplish that next year because this year’s his last season of eligibility. And Syracuse only has two more chances to rewrite its running game wrongs.
