Syracuse came into today’s contest against the Huskies as 0-1, needing to bounce back quickly against UConn following a 45-26 loss against Tennessee in the Aflac Kickoff Game. UConn provided a hefty challenge for the Orange, with their skill-position returners from 2024 gaining over 350 yards of offense. However, a late surge from the Syracuse offense put the Orange in a position to tie and then eventually win the game in overtime.
- Steve Angeli has played well through two weeks
After the NFL departure of Kyle McCord, the ACC’s single-season passing yard leader, the Orange came into this offseason with some question marks surrounding the quarterback position. Angeli, a redshirt junior, came as a spring transfer from Notre Dame as the Irish quarterback depth chart came to fruition. Head Coach Fran Brown noted that the summer battle between Angeli and Rickie Collins Jr seemed to have elevated both player’s ability. After a 274 yard performance in week 1, his work with his arm and legs became the impetus for third down conversions. The game shook out as an offensive slugfest for both sides, and the inconsistency cannot be put on one single player. Angeli has been a quality ACC-level starter; fans thinking he was going to replicate McCord’s season are simply setting their expectations too high. He came through in the end, orchestrating a perfect 2-minute drill. Angeli ended with a mammoth number of over 400 yards passing.
- Lineplay issues, yet again
Last Saturday’s matchup against Tennessee was undoubtedly going to present a physicality issue: the SEC team had the stronger talent and better athletes on the field. However, UConn should’ve been a matchup where the Orange asserted physical dominance on both the offensive and defensive line. UConn mustered up multiple high-level pressures, racked up sacks, and even forced Angeli to fumble on one of Syracuse’s 4th-down attempts. There was serious positive momentum around the restructured offensive line: Terrance Ferguson and Zach Rice were headline transfer acquisitions. Syracuse has one more non-conference game upcoming (Colgate) before ACC play; they must figure out the trenches fast before a conference slate that includes ranked opponents SMU, Clemson, Miami, and Notre Dame.
- Syracuse has to be sharper
Another fumble, clear miscommunications during key junctures, and overall incohesiveness from Syracuse today. Many fan accounts have replied saying that SU lost their “Mojo” from last season; while it is a deeper explanation than just positive feelings, Syracuse was unable to play as the better and more dominant team today against a UConn team that was widely marked up as a win. The new pieces may have individually played well, especially Georgia corner Chris Peal leading the team in tackles, but they haven’t meshed together as a unit. Many drives throughout the game felt like “One step forward, two steps back”.
- The Orange missed Devin Grant Jr today
Syracuse’s secondary allowed small gains to blossom into chunk plays; they greatly missed a regular-starter in Grant at safety today, who left the Tennessee game early with an injury. Grant has the physical “Pop” to patrol against the pass and close in against running backs: the Huskie’s numerous 10+ yard run gains showed a gap where Grant would usually file in. Defense is already going to be a struggle for the Orange in 2025 between the upcoming schedule and graduated starters, they cannot afford to catch the injury bug any more.
Syracuse returns to the JMA Dome next Saturday to take on a central New York foe in Colgate. The Orange will have one final non-conference game before heading to play #8 ranked Clemson to kick off the ACC slate. Syracuse moves to 1-1, but a sloppy win at that. Their fourth quarter heroics covered up the blemishes from earlier in the contest, but ACC opponents will not be as forgiving.
