New coaching tandem has Syracuse riding high into Clemson showdown
Syracuse football coach Dino Babers had not been on the same staff with Robert Anae before this season but admired his work from afar, particularly during the past few years at Virginia, where Anae oversaw an offense that set several program records.
Babers and Anae also shared many mutual connections given their backgrounds in the Western Athletic Conference. Babers, for instance, served as a graduate assistant at Hawaii, his alma mater, in 1984 two years before Anae, a former player at BYU, accepted the same position.
So with the Orange seeking a new offensive coordinator this past offseason and Anae conveniently available, Babers wasted little time completing a partnership that has contributed considerably to 14th-ranked Syracuse (6-0, 3-0 ACC) matching its best start since 1987. Next up is a showdown with No. 5 Clemson (7-0, 5-0) in Death Valley on Saturdday, with the winner securing the inside track for the Atlantic Division title and a berth in the ACC championship game. It’s the first matchup in Memorial Stadium history in which both teams are unbeaten this late in the season.
“Like a grandpa. I really like it,” Babers said of Anae’s demeanor. “I’ve never seen a guy be so eloquent with his words and yet maybe telling you that you’re not really good at your job, but doing it in such a nice way that you’re not mad, and then you want to come back and work for him, and that’s what I mean by the grandpa thing. He has a certain way with them, which really excites me.” Behind Anae’s revamped offense, the Orange is ranked fourth out of 14 schools in the conference in scoring ( 36 points per game) and sixth in passing (244.3 yards per game) this season. It finished 10th and last, respectively, last year, in part leading to the dismissal of former offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, who also coached quarterbacks.
Jason Beck took over as quarterbacks coach, the same position he held at Virginia from 2016 through 2021 while working with Anae. Both left the Cavas on the heels of the sudden resignation of former Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall.
The biggest individual beneficiary of Babers’ coaching reorganization has been quarterback Garrett Shrader, a junior transfer from Mississippi State.
Shrader has thrown for 1,434 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions on 106-for-152 passing (69.7 percent). He ranks second in the ACC in completion percentage, third in efficiency (171.2) and fourth in yards per game (239.0).
Shrader is coming off 16 of 25 completions for 210 yards and two touchdowns and 16 carries for 81 yards during a 24-9 win against then-No. 15 North Carolina State last weekend, triggering a portion of the sold-out crowd at JMA Wireless Dome to storm the field.
One game earlier he set a single-game school record by completing all 17 of his pass attempts during a 59-0 victory against Wagner. He’s the only player in the country to have done so this year with 10 or more attempts.
“We always aim to start fast, and we expect to score,” said Shrader, who directed the Orange to a touchdown on the game’s opening possession against the Wolfpack courtesy of a 12-yard scoring throw to wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II. “That’s why we always take the ball. What we need to work on is just keeping that momentum for the second and third drive and going down and scoring 21 points in the first quarter.”