Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

ATLANTA — Syracuse football’s players and coaches entered Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday to some cheers from the traveling SU faithful, but mostly to vehement boos and chants of “S-E-C” bellowed by throngs of avid Tennessee supporters.

Second-year head coach Fran Brown’s squad wasn’t in the safe confines of the JMA Wireless Dome any longer; the Orange were in prime Southeastern Conference country.

No conference in college athletics boasts more pride than the SEC. Some call it arrogance, but others say the SEC bias is well deserved. Of the 11 winners of the College Football Playoff, six came from the SEC.

Since his hire in November 2023, Brown’s mission has revolved around elevating Syracuse to a pedestal that’s adjacent to the SEC’s level of play. Last season’s 10-3 result proved the Orange are on the road to riches, and Saturday gave the head coach his first attempt at stunning an opponent who resides in college football’s best conference.

However, SU’s season-opening performance highlighted the gap that still exists between it and the sport’s elite. The Orange were mauled in the trenches and couldn’t contain Tennessee’s speedy offense, dropping their first game of 2025.

SU quarterback Steve Angeli showed flashes of potential stardom and running back Yasin Willis tallied three touchdowns, but besides that, the Orange were thoroughly outmatched.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 45-26 loss to No. 24 Tennessee (1-0, 0-0 SEC) Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Aflac Kickoff Game.

Angeli weathers the storm in SU debut

It’s safe to say Angeli doesn’t have the help he once had for three seasons at Notre Dame.

In the transfer quarterback’s Syracuse debut, Angeli spent the majority of his time running for his life and watching Tennessee’s offense dissect SU’s defense. He closed the day with 274 passing yards and a touchdown on 23-of-40 completions, all while everything else around him went awry.

The highlight of Angeli’s day was a fourth-down strike early in the second quarter. With SU already in desperation mode facing a 17-0 deficit, Angeli pumped a seed to wide receiver Johntay Cook on a deep flag route, picking up 29 yards and setting up Willis’ ensuing two-yard rushing touchdown. Angeli’s accuracy was nothing short of pinpoint on the toss, placing the ball just inches above Tennessee linebacker Jeremiah Telander’s helmet.

He remained in a rhythm in the first half, finding Cook for another chunk play to lead the Orange back to the red zone while trailing 24-7 midway through the second. But a third-and-9 sack from Tennessee’s Edwin Spillman, who charged straight at a defenseless Angeli on an all-out blitz, ended Syracuse’s chance at points.

Arguably, the most impressive play of Angeli’s debut came right afterward. The Orange offense lined up to go for it on fourth-and-16 from Tennessee’s 36-yard line, yet Angeli instead pooch-punted the ball, which got downed at the two-yard line. Angeli’s surprising effort put the Volunteers’ offense in a suffocating position, and it promptly went three-and-out.

Angeli’s punting ability was likely a trick SU offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon did not want to see come out of the bag Saturday. But when you lose 39 yards from scrimmage off of sacks, ending drives with punts becomes inevitable.

Trouble in the trenches

Mere days before Saturday’s opener, the entirety of Syracuse’s roster didn’t know who’d start at offensive line against Tennessee. Maybe that was Brown’s strategy to keep Volunteers’ head coach Josh Heupel guessing.

Hours before the game’s noon kickoff time, the Orange’s depth chart was released, featuring Trevion Mack at left tackle, Florida State transfer TJ Ferguson at left guard, Austin Collins playing center, Joe Cruz positioned at right guard and Da’Metrius Weatherspoon at right tackle.

The group lacks continuity. Four of those five linemen are new starters for Syracuse since its last regular-season game on Nov. 30, 2024: SU’s stunning upset home win over Miami.

The reconstructed offensive line’s first showing of the season left a lot to be desired.

Angeli was sacked five times and fumbled the ball twice. Any time the Orange signal-caller dropped back to pass, a legion of creamsicle orange jerseys came barreling toward him. Mack and Weatherspoon let up constant pressure from the outsides. Tennessee dialed up tons of blitzes to rock Angeli, including one on SU’s second drive of the game where Volunteers’ linebacker Arion Carter ran past an oblivious Collins for a 10-yard sack.

To end the first quarter, Angeli stepped up in the pocket and got the ball punched from his grasp by Volunteers defensive lineman Nathan Robinson. Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood picked up the fumble and ran untouched into the end zone for a 22-yard scoop-and-score touchdown.

Midway through the second, Syracuse was primed to put points on the board down 24-7. It held the ball at the Volunteers’ 30-yard line after Angeli calmly steered SU downfield. But the drive stalled once Angeli got sacked by Spillman.

Syracuse’s offensive line never really settled. That reality became clear on the second play of the third quarter, where Jalen McMurray intensely pressured Angeli and batted his pass, forcing a tip-drill interception secured by Telander. Tennessee scored a few plays later.

Syracuse was stifled by Tennessee’s defensive front, as the Volunteers registered five sacks throughout the day. Leonardo Eriman | Photo Editor

1st-game frustrations

The Orange committed a laundry list of silly mistakes that contributed to their doomed performance against the Volunteers.

SU’s opening drive featured a third-and-5 conversion across midfield from Angeli to tight end Dan Villari, though the play got called back for an illegal shift on the offensive line. The ensuing third-and-10 resulted in a completion to Cook that was far too short of the first-down sticks.

Then, in the second quarter, Collins stepped on Angeli’s foot before his aforementioned fumble, causing him to lose balance and allowing Tennessee to secure a scoop-and-score.

But none of Syracuse’s opening-game frustrations were as harmful as its deflating end to the first half.

SU’s defense went back on the field with 1:55 remaining before halftime, trailing 24-14 after Angeli hit Cook for a touchdown on the previous drive. Yet, spurred by a 47-yard rush from running back DeSean Bishop, the Volunteers embarked on a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to end Syracuse’s first half in misery. The Orange constantly missed tackles on the drive, something they must avoid doing against the top programs aligning their 2025 schedule.

Taming Tennessee’s tempo

Tennessee plays fast. Brown mentioned the program’s high-octane offensive scheme during his weekly press conference, emphasizing the Orange needed to be well-conditioned for a possible track meet Saturday.

Of course, after Volunteers wide receiver Mike Matthews hauled in a 13-yard pass over the middle to begin the game, Tennessee instantly went into a no-huddle offense. It committed to a drop-back passing game all afternoon, with Volunteers’ offensive coordinator Joey Halzle dialing up quick looks and plenty of deep shots for Aguilar, his gunslinging transfer quarterback.

Aguilar took advantage of the tempo on the first drive, unleashing a deep ball for wide receiver Chris Brazzell II that SU cornerback Demetres Samuel Jr. got called for a pass interference on.

Though Samuel adjusted well in the aftermath — tallying a pass-breakup and blanketing Brazzell on a third-down incompletion to force a Tennessee field goal — the Orange mostly played catch-up whenever the Volunteers found any sort of rhythm.

Tennessee’s tempo opened up the deep passing game — which it deployed to begin the second quarter. On a second-and-8 from the Volunteers’ 27-yard line, Aguilar floated a moon ball that landed directly in the arms of Braylon Staley for a 73-yard receiving touchdown. Staley blazed past Samuel on the play, an error that exemplifies how behind the 8-ball SU was on Saturday.

Pass rush blues

The Volunteers’ protection took a major hit an hour before kickoff Saturday. Right tackle David Sanders Jr. was ruled out with an injury, giving SU a lucky break as Tennessee would play without its best offensive lineman.

But the Orange’s pass rush could not take advantage.

SU’s front four — which lost leading sack-getter Fadil Diggs (7.5 sacks) to the NFL — doesn’t feature any proven Power Four pass rushers. Everyone came into Saturday’s matchup bearing a question mark. Denis Jaquez Jr. and David Reese primarily manned the edges for Syracuse while Dion Wilson Jr. and George Rooks started on the interior defensive line.

They went the entire first half without registering a sack.

Tennessee’s offensive line was simply too big, too nimble and too experienced for the Orange’s work-in-progress defensive line to contend with. Aguilar received plenty of time to throw on each and every dropback, and had no issue evading tacklers when scrambling outside the pocket.

SU needed to fight fire with fire to respond to the Volunteers’ menacing defensive front on Saturday. Instead, the Orange finished with zero sacks.

Published on August 30, 2025 at 4:12 pm
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews