Here is a scouting report on No. 18-ranked Syracuse, who host No. 15-ranked NC State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ACC Network.
Five Syracuse players to watch
Junior quarterback Garrett Shrader
The former Charlotte (N.C.) Christian product attended Mississippi State for two years and then transferred to Syracuse. The 6-4, 228-pounder has gone 90-of-127 passing for 1,224 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception, and has rushed 62 times for 219 yards and five scores. He has thrown for over 236 yards in four of five games, and has rushed for over 80 yards in two contests.
Sophomore running back Sean Tucker
The 5-10, 210-pounder has topped 100 yards in three of five games, and is coming off getting 23 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns in the 59-0 win over Wagner last week. He has 110 carries for 546 yards and five touchdowns, and he’s a key threat in the passing game with 19 receptions for 184 yards and a score. Tucker has 2,668 career rushing yards and 21 scores the last three years.
Junior linebacker Mikel Jones
The 6-foot-1, 224-pound Jones leads Syracuse with 35 tackles, plus four tackles for loss and two sacks this season. The tackling machine has 249 career tackles, 6.5 sacks and four interceptions over the last four years. Jones had. Season-high 11 tackles against Purdue.
Redshirt sophomore cornerback Garrett Williams
The Harrisburg (N.C.) Hickory Ridge High product is second on the squad with 30 tackles, one sack, two interceptions and a forced fumble this season. The 6-0, 189-pounder had 146 career tackles, two sacks, 22 passes defended and four interceptions the last three years. Williams had 10 stops in the win over Purdue.
Redshirt junior defensive tackle Caleb Okechukwu
The 6-4, 268-pounder is the heartbeat of the defensive line. He has nine tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and four quarterback hurries. He came up with a big pick-six against Purdue. Okechukwu had 46 career tackles and 5.5 sacks his last three years.
What to watch for from Syracuse
1. Quality defense. Syracuse hasn’t played a murderer’s row of offenses this season in going 5-0, but lead the ACC in allowing 14.0 points per game and 271.6 total yards allowed.
The Orange do a good job of closing fast and not missing many tackles. Purdue was able to gash them with 424 passing yards, with wide receiver Charlie Jones and tight end Payne Durham doing the majority of the damage.
Conversely, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham was limited to 152 passing yards and two interceptions in a 31-7 loss at Syracuse. Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 138 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 22-20 loss at the Orange.
2. Is quarterback Garrett Shrader improved: The last time NC State faced Shrader, he went 8-of-20 passing for 63 yards and one interception, and ran 17 times for 70 yards and a score in the Wolfpack’s 41-17 win Nov. 20, 2021.
Shrader is completing 70.9 percent of his passes and statistically looks good. If Purdue is the best team that Syracuse has defeated, he struggled in that contest, but proved to be clutch at the end to pull out the 32-29 win. Shrader still takes off to run too often, and isn’t always comfortable in the pocket. That is evidenced by rushing at least 13 carries in four of five games.
Until Syracuse plays harder opponents like NC State, the jury is still out on how much Shrader has improved this season.
3. Quality kicker. Senior kicker Andre Szmyt won the Lou Groza Award in 2018 his freshman year, when he went 30-of-34 on field goals with a long of 54 yards.
Szmyt has made 75-of-90 field goals in his Syracuse career and 181-of-185 on extra points. He has made five field goals of at least 50 yards. His lone miss this season, he hooked it a bit against Purdue.
Szmyt and NC State senior kicker Christopher Dunn are two of the top kickers in the country, and the game could come down to them.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. Can NC State pass the ball well? NC State backup quarterback Jack Chambers will likely be inserted in the starting lineup after starter Devin Leary got injured against Florida State.
Chambers came in with 4:59 left in the third quarter, but didn’t complete a pass. Instead, he used his legs and the poise of being 25 years old to manage NC State to three field goals and a 19-17 win.
Chambers threw for 2,510 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year at Charleston Southern. There likely isn’t an experience he hasn’t gone through since 2018. He won’t be asked to win the game Saturday, but likely to not lose the contest.
2. Defense will shut down Syracuse: NC State played nearly a masterpiece on defense during the second half in holding Florida State scoreless.
NC State could also do the same against the Orange. Syracuse has scored at least 31 points in four of five games, but that seems a big stretch to achieve against NC State’s physical 3-3-5 scheme.
The key will be slow down running back Sean Tucker, and make quarterback Garrett Shrader beat them. Odds are good that the Orange will also try to sneak Tucker downfield at least twice Saturday in the passing game. Tucker rushed 16 times for 18 yards against NC State in 2020, but had a 55-yard score last year to help him finish with 13 carries for 105 yards and a score.
3. Big men lead the way. NC State will have to establish a strong running game, which would be bolstered if sophomore running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye is healthy. He had exited the Florida State win with an injury.
NC State will need a steady dose of Jordan Houston, Delbert Mimms III and a healthy Sumo-Karngbaye, which will make it easier for Chambers to keep the ball on bootlegs or read-options.
A good running game will also help where down the front seven of Syracuse, which doesn't have a starter that weighs over 268 pounds on defense.
Three numbers of note
1 Syracuse has only failed in the red zone one time this season. The Orange are 23-of-24 inside the 20-yard line, with the lone they have failed was against Wagner, with the offense running out the clock.
7 Seconds left in the game when Syracuse wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II caught a 25-yard touchdown for an improbable 32-29 comeback win over Purdue.
15 Games where running back Sean Tucker has rushed for over 100 yards in his Syracuse career. He achieved it 16 times in 26 career games.
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