Syracuse used the same offensive cadence throughout 2014

Syracuse was not one for variety when it came to its cadences in 2014.

Offensive coordinator Tim Lester told Syracuse.com that his offense didn’t change up its snap counts in 2014. Not only did did Syracuse use the same snap count throughout entire games, it used the same count throughout the season.

Seriously.

“You can’t just use one. which is what we did,” Lester said during a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday. “We had other ones, but we used one. We have to use them; you’re trained to do that.”

We’ll give you a minute if your initial reaction is shock that a major-college football team didn’t utilize a basic tactic to help keep defenses guessing. By varying cadences, offenses can prevent defenses from jumping the snap count and beating offensive linemen for sacks and tackles for a loss. It’s a tactic employed by teams as early as grade school.

Lester, who became the team’s offensive coordinator during the 2014 season, said the coaching staff wasn’t comfortable with its linemen being able to not false start if it used different snap counts.

Syracuse’s offense struggled in 2014 during a 3-9 season and a lot of different players got time on the offensive line. The Orange were 121st in points per game, 105th in passing yards per game and 93rd in rushing yards per game.

Yeah, there’s a good argument that FBS offensive linemen should be able to handle the demands of different snap counts. And Syracuse won’t be repeating the experiment in 2015. Lester said it’s already practicing different snap counts. Sorry Syracuse opponents, you won’t be able to get the same jumps you did as you timed the snaps in 2014.

Much to the dismay of the defensive staff and players, the offense jumped while practicing snap counts “like 27 times” that first day. The next practice the number of penalties dwindled to 13, then seven, then three, Lester said.