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Let’s provide a positive spin on this current Syracuse football team, shall we?

Nothing is going in the right direction for the Orange. They’ve dropped four consecutive games. Their chances of making a bowl game are slim to none. Basketball season is suddenly starting a lot earlier than it did last year in central New York.

If SU has any shot at turning its miserable season around, it’s by continuing to generate explosive plays. Last Saturday against then-No. 7 Georgia Tech, despite losing a 41-16 blowout, the Orange’s offense tallied four plays of 30 yards or more — its most in a single game since Rickie Collins took over as the starting quarterback after Steve Angeli tore his Achilles.

The big plays helped Syracuse remain somewhat competitive through the early portion of the third quarter. Alas, the Orange will need significantly more chunk plays than that if they want to shock No. 12 Notre Dame or No. 10 Miami on the road in November. But the glimpses they showed against GT are at least a step in the right direction.

Excluding a 35-yard completion to tight end Dan Villari late in the third quarter, when the game was essentially over as SU trailed by 24, here are the big plays Syracuse (3-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) put on tape in its lopsided defeat at Georgia Tech (8-0, 5-0 ACC):

1st quarter, 14:08 — Willis starts off with a bang

Second-year head coach Fran Brown had his team ready for battle when the first whistle blew last Saturday. Syracuse seemed ready to deliver an upset after the game’s opening drive — when cornerback Chris Peal punched the ball from GT receiver Isiah Canion’s hands and SU edge David Reese recovered the fumble. Two plays in, the Orange were taking over from the Yellow Jackets’ 42-yard line.

Syracuse’s rapid collapse was even more shocking when you consider what happened one play later: a 41-yard rush by Yasin Willis.

Here, on a first-and-10, Collins lined up in the shotgun with Syracuse sporting a trips formation to the right and wide receiver Darrell Gill Jr. aligned alone near the left sideline. Willis motioned to Collins’ left, and just before Collins received the snap, he signaled receiver Johntay Cook to move from the right to left side. SU disguised the play to appear like a jet sweep to Cook, but the receiver ran downfield to block as Collins handed it off to Willis up the middle.

Syracuse’s offensive line did a good job on this play, as it’s done all season. The left side of the line created a massive hole in the B gap for Willis to run through, and the right side of the line clogged up GT’s defensive front and prevented any shoestring tackles from the back end. All Willis had to do was burst through the B gap and sprint downhill. Georgia Tech defensive back Zachary Tobe brought Willis down at the one-yard line, but the damage was done — Willis had tallied his longest rush of the year.

Offensive line coach Dale Williams should replay this snap on tape every single day of practice. The Orange were physical and technically sound on this play, a rare brand of football from them.

Yet after all that, the Orange failed to score a touchdown on their first drive. They kicked a field goal, then proceeded to concede 20 unanswered points to the Yellow Jackets.

3rd quarter, 15:00 — Cook gains 41 to open 2nd half

Here’s another type of play offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon could look into dialing up more often: Just throw it up to Cook and hope he’ll make a play. Cook, a transfer wideout from Texas, is Syracuse’s most explosive offensive weapon. But SU’s vertical passing game in the post-Angeli era has been muted. It’s not a bad idea to give Cook a few 50/50 ball opportunities per game, because it’s fairly likely he’ll make at least one spectacular catch.

With the Orange down 20-3 to open the second half, Nixon put his offense in the shotgun on this first-and-10 snap. It lined up in 12 personnel, with two tight ends flanked to the left of the offensive line, while receivers Cook and Gill lined up on the right.

Cook matched up against Georgia Tech cornerback Rodney Shelley near the sideline (on the bottom of your screen). But with the Yellow Jackets breaking into a zone defense once Collins took the snap, Shelley completely lost focus of Cook — who ran a go route right by him as Shelley stood confused in the middle of the field. Cook streaked toward midfield while desperately waving his right hand, calling for Collins to chuck him a deep ball.

The problem was that Collins didn’t see Cook until late in his progressions. He scanned the field from left to right, and Cook was his final read. However, Syracuse’s offensive line gave Collins a clean pocket here, giving him time to deliver an upright throw down the right sideline. Collins’ throw was pretty short, though, and by the time the receiver adjusted to the ball’s flight, Shelley had already caught back up to him.

But Cook did what he does best, keeping his body under control and tracking the ball into his chest before securing it and falling to the turf for a 41-yard grab. Even though Collins took a while to find him, Cook showed he can be a quarterback’s best friend by making highlight-reel catches like that.

3rd quarter, 14:15 — Back-to-back strikes from Collins

The very next play after Collins hit Cook, the redshirt sophomore signal-caller got Syracuse in the end zone for the first time all day. Back-to-back big strikes of 41 and 34 yards from Collins put the Orange within 10 points of the Yellow Jackets, trailing 20-10 — the closest they got to GT during the second half.

Where on the previous play, Collins made the risky but advisable throw, he made the simple first-read throw here and let his receiver do the dirty work.

The Orange, on a first-and-10 from the Yellow Jackets’ 34-yard line, were in the shotgun with Gill alone on the left side and Cook alone on the right. GT sported a zone defense and stacked seven players in the box pre-snap. Syracuse ran a play-action, with Collins faking an inside handoff to Willis, and the quarterback immediately looked to his right for Gill.

Gill created wide separation against Tobe after running a quick slant through Georgia Tech’s soft zone defense. He caught Collins’ pass beyond the first-down sticks, then made a quick cut upfield toward the end zone. Tobe was in an awful position, more than five yards behind Gill without any angle to make a downfield tackle on him. However, Yellow Jackets’ safety Omar Daniels lurked in the middle of the field and looked to deliver a big hit on Gill.

But Daniels missed. Gill sidestepped to his right and Daniels whiffed while trying to wrap him down by his knees. Gill galloped across the goal line untouched for a 34-yard touchdown, completing a two-play scoring drive for the Orange.

If only it were always that easy.

Published on October 27, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Contact Cooper: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews