The Orange had an up-and-down opening to their 2025 season, losing 45-26 to Tennessee on the national stage. There were some positives that pleasantly surprised fans: running back Yasin Willis slotted into the Lequint Allen Jr role well by scoring three touchdowns, Johntay Cook II had a strong debut game with six catches and a touchdown, and Steve Angeli threw for 274 yards against an elite Tennessee secondary group. However, their flaws were exposed against a top-tier Volunteers program that seized dominance early in the game and never looked back.
In-Game Adjustments
Following Saturday’s loss, Head Coach Fran Brown said the team was unprepared: “They were the better team. He (Josh Heupel) was a better coach than I was. He had his team more prepared than I had our team.” Syracuse failed to adjust against the mismatches that Tennessee identified. To begin the game, they picked on 17-year-old freshman cornerback Demetres Samuel Jr to earn a pass interference call on third and long, and later burnt him over the top for a 75-yard touchdown. It seemed whenever the Orange had a “Fix”, a new problem arose. Once the offence got rolling, a 14-point second quarter, the defence failed to get critical stops and keep momentum. Tennessee routinely picked on certain lineups on the offensive and defensive line; Star Thomas’ 7.7 yards-per-carry was devastating to an Orange team who was in catch-up mode the entire game after falling into a quick 10-0 hole.
Assert Physical Dominance
Syracuse should do to UConn what Tennessee did to Syracuse last weekend: dominate in the trenches and win by being better athletes. After last week’s rough showing from the line, Saturday’s dome-opening contest is a major test for the current line group with an ACC stretch looming. Brown has indicated that the Orange could work with an eight to nine man rotation on the offensive line; the UConn game could help make decisions about the depth chart. However, physical dominance extends farther than the big men up front. Fans have been looking to unlock Smauel’s 2-way athletic potential. Freshman linebacker Antoine Deslauriers could play a factor after debuting against the Vols. Syracuse, through their recruiting and transfer portal acquisitions, has a talent advantage in this matchup. As Orange fans remember from multiple instances in the 2024 season, talent does always translate to success.
Syracuse cannot let “Winnable” games such as the home matchup against the Huskies get away from them. They were dealt a tough hand in their ACC schedule, and have to defend the dome in order to maintain program momentum. UConn, a 9-win team from 2024 who returns key starters, doesn’t present the typical non-conference cupcake game. Syracuse will have to be sharp to take down their former Big East foes.
