Orange grades: O-line suffers again, receivers thrive in Week 2 win over UConn
Syracuse’s receivers and tight ends flourished in crunch time while its defensive line failed to produce much of a pass rush in Week 2. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse was on the doorstep of a monumental loss and an 0-2 start. With their backs against the wall, the Orange stormed back from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to capture an overtime victory.
Here are position-group grades for Syracuse’s win over UConn in its home opener:
Quarterback: B-
With six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Steve Angeli was on the cusp of a failing grade. Throughout the middle quarters, Angeli was extremely off his game and showed zero rhythm to catalyze the Orange’s offense. But just as Angeli flipped a switch, so did SU.
Despite severe inconsistencies, Angeli excelled when it mattered most with an absurd 12 completions on his final 13 attempts. Even before his rough patch, Angeli started the game 10-for-13. He also kept UConn’s linebackers honest with a few rushes.
Call me a hard grader, if you want. Yes, I know Angeli passed for 417 yards. His Pro Football Focus score even jumped from a 58.7 to an 81.2. But Angeli receives a worse score than Week 1 in my eyes due to a lack of reliability against a weaker opponent.
Running back: B
Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said after their loss to Tennessee that he felt the Orange needed to get running back Yasin Willis the ball more. Willis recorded 23 carries for 91 yards and three touchdowns against the Volunteers. Weirdly enough, Willis only tallied 11 carries versus UConn.
The rushing game became nearly nonexistent throughout the duration of Syracuse’s struggles. SU passed 53 times while calling only 20 true rushing plays to its running backs. Will Nixon tallied nine attempts for 30 yards. He also had six receptions.
While not being too involved all game, the Orange relied on their running backs in crunch time. Their go-ahead score drive late in regulation featured three strong rushes in the red zone, including a touchdown by Willis. This was an average performance with little opportunity, garnering a B.
Receiver/Tight End: A
Part of Angeli’s ability to stay afloat even in his darkest hour was the star power of his targets. While Darrell Gill Jr. had no targets in the first half against Tennessee, he had two catches on the first drive alone Saturday. Tight end Dan Villari also flourished from start to finish with seven receptions and 104 yards.
But what really made this unit stand out was the excellence of Justus Ross-Simmons. He emerged as Angeli’s go-to target down the stretch with two seismic scores. PFF scored Angeli’s passer rating while targeting Ross-Simmons at 137.0, meaning his value was undeniably astonishing.
Though they didn’t secure the same marquee plays as other receivers, even Jaylan Hornsby and Tyshawn Russell were involved with three and four receptions, respectively. The only fault in this unit was Johntay Cook, who only notched 27 receiving yards. Anytime Cook isn’t a focal point, it feels like a missed opportunity. That’s why the unit just misses out on a perfect score.
Offensive line: D
I’ll give the offensive line the benefit of the doubt. Week 1 starting left tackle Trevion Mack was on the sideline against UConn with a boot on his right foot and an assisted scooter. Naquil Betrand told The Daily Orange postgame that he didn’t know he’d be starting until Thursday.
So cut the unit some slack. But after the first two weeks of the season, even Stevie Wonder can see the Orange have serious issues up front. Betrand substituted some drives with Josh Miller, but it was an overall systematic failure.
Facing a Southeastern Conference defensive line and allowing five sacks is one thing. But being pushed around by UConn is another. Angeli took some serious hits Saturday. Some were his fault, as he misidentified fronts multiple times and held on to the ball longer than needed. His pocket presence forces this offensive line to work overtime. And it’ll need to clean up its act before it’s too late. Just like last week, SU sticks with a D on the o-line.
Defensive line: C
This unit showed improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. That’s the goal of a football team, right? The Orange were able to record a sack from Kevin Jobity Jr. — their first and only of the season. They also mitigated the running game to an extent. But the ceiling for Syracuse’s defensive line continues to lower.
Denis Jaquez Jr. and Dion “Tank” Wilson both battled injuries at certain points of the game but held their own. Jaquez recorded two tackles for loss and three total. His rushing defense grade was also impressive at 76.5. Wilson marked a TFL and a 72.1 tackling grade per PFF.
A lack of pass rush continues to stain this unit and will likely lower its impact as the year goes on. Jobity had a great day on the interior, but outside of him, the Orange struggled to get after the quarterback.
Linebackers: B+
Freshman Antoine Deslauriers is the reason this unit gets one of the highest grades from the week. His four total tackles aren’t totally eye-popping. But his performance in the closing minutes helped seal the victory.
On third-and-3 in overtime, Deslauriers kept his eyes up on a play action and batted down a pass from Joe Fagnano. The following play with the game on the line, the freshman dropped into coverage and deflected a pass intended for the end zone. His 84.7 PFF grade was the best of any player on SU’s roster.
Outside of Deslauriers, Gary Bryant III became a consistent run stuffer as he tallied seven total tackles. David Reese brought some pressure from his hybrid position. One surprising note was James Heard playing 14 total snaps and Jamie Tremble playing zero. Brown proclaimed Tremble as the starting SAM linebacker entering the week.
Secondary: B-
The secondary didn’t do anything special against the Huskies. But it did its job despite arguably missing its best player. Safety Devin Grant was replaced by a mixture of Cornell Perry and Braheem Long Jr.
The unit didn’t start so hot as UConn used a double pass to fool Chris Peal and Long for an easy score to begin the contest. Outside of the first touchdown, the secondary didn’t really give up much for most of the game. It impressed with its tackling as Peal and Perry each recorded tackles for loss while Duce Chestnut led the team in total tackles for the second consecutive game. Demetres Samuel Jr. also recorded six tackles and limited his opponents.
Overall, it somewhat faltered down the stretch as Fagnano keyed on top target Skyler Bell. The receiver caught three passes in the final 23 seconds of regulation to reach field goal range and send the game to overtime. For me, this unit is missing a key play. It needs to force an interception against Colgate.
Special teams: B
This unit wasn’t game-changing, but it also didn’t catastrophically collapse. A missed 48-yard field goal was the only true blemish on its resume, but Tripp Woody knocked in two other field goals comfortably.
Jack Stonehouse again was a star with 53.2 yards per punt, with one marking at 62 yards and three of his five over 50. There were a few small mistakes, like a delay of game on a punt and needing to take a timeout to avoid a delay of game on a field goal attempt. But the unit came to play with its tackling as Zyian Moultrie-Goddard made a devastating hit in coverage, and Jaquez punished punter Connor Stutz after a fumbled snap.
This unit is doing the little things right, a vast improvement from a year ago. One area for further growth is kick returns, where Malachi James is a weapon just waiting to break loose.
Coaching: B
Just like Angeli, if football were a three-quarter contest, the coaching staff could have arguably failed. The Orange seemed frequently outmatched compared to Jim L. Mora and his staff. It was small plays that made the difference.
SU was aggressive on two short-field tries and came up short rather than putting up three points. Confidence in the offense is admirable, but the play calling was questionable, as evidenced by a fourth-and-2 on the opening drive that ended in a sneak by Villari.
Brown rallied the troops, and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon adjusted to a tempo offense to regain a rhythm for Angeli. While Syracuse’s offensive line and Angeli falter, Nixon’s creativity continues to blossom and opens up the attack in crucial moments. Defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson also adjusted to slow the running game down and hold a high-powered offense to just 20 points.
It wasn’t perfect. At times, it was ugly. But a win is a win, and Brown avoided the first losing streak of his tenure.
