Syracuse (3-5, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) was torched by No. 17 Florida State’s (7-1, 5-1) Travis Rudolph in the Seminoles’ 45-21 thrashing of the Orange. The sophomore wide receiver’s 191 yards on five receptions — three of which went for touchdowns — played a key role in the contest.

Here’s a breakdown of Rudolph’s three scores.

75-yard touchdown

Time: 8:23 left in first quarter

Down and distance: First-and-10 from Florida State 25-yard line

 

Rudolph (red rectangle) lines up to quarterback Sean Maguire’s right. While the other receiver (orange rectangle) and tight end (blue rectangle) will run intermediate out routes, Rudolph is scheduled to stretch the field with a deep post. Cornerback Corey Winfield (purple circle) is on him at first and safeties Antwan Cordy (green circle) and Rodney Williams (yellow circle) are supposed to provide assistance downfield.

 

Maguire (black rectangle) unloads the pass as he absorbs a big hit from a Syracuse lineman. Two Florida State receivers (orange and blue rectangles) cut toward the left sideline. Meanwhile, Rudolph (red rectangle) darts down the middle of the field. With expected safety help, Winfield (purple circle) falls behind Rudolph. But Rudolph blows past Cordy (green circle) and Williams (yellow circle) who aren’t as deep as they should be.

Cordell Hudson (light blue circle) came to help from the opposite cornerback position, and Rudolph put on nifty moves to score the touchdown. His juke-stiff arm combo got play on national media outlets, but it was the space he had behind the safeties to begin with that set up the entire play.

45-yard touchdown

Time: 2:43 left in first quarter

Down and distance: First-and-10 from Syracuse 45-yard line

 

Rudolph (red rectangle) runs a deep post over the top of the Syracuse safeties. Hudson (yellow circle) doesn’t jam Rudolph, who runs right by him. Then, safety Chauncey Scissum (orange circle) doesn’t get in position either as Rudolph beats the coverage downfield.

 

The second safety on the play (green circle) slides up to help coverage with the two other receivers (light blue and purple rectangles) running shorter crossing patterns over the middle of the field. That leaves Rudolph tons of space (white box) to use his speed and beat Hudson (yellow circle) and Scissum (orange circle).

 

19-yard touchdown

Time: 7:13 left in third quarter

Down and distance: Third-and-6 from Syracuse 19-yard line

 

Rudolph (red rectangle) runs a go route to the corner of the end zone. The receiver right next to him (yellow rectangle) runs a curl route about 6 yards downfield. Three Syracuse linebackers (light blue circles) show blitz but then drop into coverage as SU only rushes the four down linemen. Cornerback Juwan Dowels (orange circle) drops into zone and lets Rudolph go past him when he leaves his zone.

 

Rudolph (red rectangle) finds the soft spot in the Syracuse defense after blowing past Dowels (orange circle) and getting behind the linebackers (light blue circles). Safety Kielan Whitner (green circle) slides toward the sideline, but is too late to break up the pass as Rudolph hauls in his third touchdown of the day.

Published on November 1, 2015 at 4:02 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds