SU football embarrassed under the lights at Virginia Tech

It was Syracuse for whom the bell tolled in what felt like a season-defining game at Virginia Tech. The Hokies embarrassed the Orange to the tune of a 38-10 scoreline that flattered the visitors under the Thursday night lights at Lane Stadium.

After a favorable early-season stretch and a three-game gauntlet, it felt about right for the Orange to enter Thursday with a 4-3 record. Coming off three consecutive heavy losses, Syracuse needed to right the ship.

Instead, it turned into a calamity.

The national audience and the importance of the game might make this the flattest Syracuse performance in head coach Dino Babers‘ era. And it came off a bye week.

The Hokies outgained the Orange 515-138 in total yards and outrushed the visitors 302-0.

The home team repeatedly landed body blows against the Orange defense, with running backs Bhayshul Tuten and Malachi Thomas both averaging close to seven yards per carry and combining to rack up 205 yards on the ground.

The SU offense was anemic—to put it kindly—failing to gain a first down until the second quarter. Any time senior quarterback Garrett Shrader dropped back to pass, he was instantly under duress from a defensive front that bullied the Orange offensive line. 

Shrader took eight sacks, which led to his negative 42 rushing yards. He completed 12 of his 18 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown.

Sophomore running back LeQuint Allen also seemed like he had to fight for every inch past the line of scrimmage after handoffs. Allen ran for 42 yards on 14 carries to offset Shrader’s losses.

The first Orange drive of the game—an intentional grounding penalty followed by a holding penalty that resulted in an ugly three-and-out—set the tone for the night.

At the end of the first half, Syracuse had just 62 yards of total offense, negative three rushing yards and three points—with Babers electing to kick on a fourth-and-medium with his team down 23-0.

The Hokies, also off a bye week, were everything their opponent was not. Fueled on by an enthusiastic crowd, Virginia Tech was bold on offense, taking deep shots, running reverses and executing trick plays.

The hosts went up 10-0 nine minutes into the game when Malachi Thomas turned what looked like a toss play into a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Da’Quan Felton.

In the second quarter, Felton once again found himself on the receiving end of a touchdown pass, this time a 62-yard deep strike from quarterback Kyron Drones. It capped a six-play, 93-yard drive that made it 23-0 with 7:13 left in the first half.

With the rushing attack humming, Drones was not asked to do much but still finished with 194 passing yards and a touchdown.

After SU’s decision to kick a field goal, the Hokies twisted the knife with another long touchdown drive, finished off by a three-yard dash from Tuten that made it 30-3 going into the half.

With the loss, Babers is now just 2-6 after bye weeks.

Syracuse’s record sits at the bottom of the ACC, still looking for a win in conference play after four matches. Babers will need to record two wins over the final four games to secure bowl eligibility for a second straight season.

The Orange will return to the JMA Wireless Dome for the first time since Sept. 30 to face Boston College next Friday. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.