What looked like a promising first few plays of the ballgame, turned into catastrophe for Syracuse. The Orange fell to the Duke Blue Devils 34-13.
SU quarterback Rickie Collins started his first game in Orange after Steve Angeli was sidelined for the season with a torn Achilles during the third quarter of the Clemson game.
Collins started strong, connecting on tight throws, but then threw an interception in SU’s first drive.
This was the start of a bad day for the Orange offense.
In the first half, Syracuse totaled just 158 yards of offense and Collins threw for less than 100 yards. The Orange didn’t help themselves with an interception and a fumble in the first half, along with three punts.
Collins looked beat with a lack of confidence after the first drive. There was no life for SU for much of the game. The picture of the bench for most of the game was pretty shrugged and uneventful.
It seems like the heart of this team went away after the absence of Angeli.
Syracuse was on the rise after defeating Clemson on the road, and then it fell flat against Duke. And give the Blue Devils credit, they were consistent throughout and beating Syracuse in all facets of the game.
Collins finished with just 229 passing yards on the day, completing 24 of 37 throws. The transfer from LSU also threw an interception on SU’s first drive.
Orange running back Yasin Willis rushed for 63 yards on 11 carries, meanwhile Will Nixon had 25 yards on seven attempts.
SU receiver Johntay Cook led the Orange with 84 yards on eight catches, with 19 yards being his longest of the day.
So, where do the Orange go from here?
They’ll have to regroup and get ready for SMU next Saturday in Dallas.
