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Over a month ago, Syracuse reached one of the highest points in program history. Coming off its first-ever win over Clemson in Death Valley, SU sat at 3-1. Despite Steve Angeli tearing his Achilles, there was still optimism surrounding the program. All of that has been thrown out the window.

Four straight losses have completely flipped the Orange’s season. First came a blowout to Duke, then comfortable defeats against SMU and Pitt. Syracuse’s latest blow — a 41-16 loss to then-No. 7 Georgia Tech — was expected, but continued its non-competitive stretch.

SU’s four losses have been by a combined 90 points. Sitting toward the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Syracuse’s season is a wash. What once was a potential dark horse to win the ACC is now a conference bottom-feeder. Fran Brown may use the final four games to integrate some of Syracuse’s younger players, as they become a bigger part of the program’s future.

Here are four observations from Syracuse’s (3-5, 1-4 ACC) season with four games remaining:

Collins struggles as a starter

Rickie Collins’ play since taking over for Angeli has been subpar. The signal caller is tied with SMU’s Kevin Jennings for an ACC-worst eight interceptions despite starting just four games. SU’s offense went from averaging 38.25 points and 472.8 yards with Angeli to 12.5 and 324. Collins’ Pro Football Focus passing grade is an abysmal 46.9, with his highest single-game grade (61.8) against Duke. Angeli’s lowest (57.5) was in SU’s season-opener versus then-No. 24 Tennessee.

Collins entered into a tough situation. He tossed just seven passes and never started a game at LSU before coming to SU. When Angeli went down against Clemson, Collins had no grace period. That still doesn’t excuse his poor performances.

Opposing quarterbacks haven’t had any trouble against Syracuse. Duke’s Darien Mensah recorded 268 passing yards with just six incompletions. Jennings finished with a career-high four touchdown passes for SMU. Georgia Tech’s Haynes King totaled nearly 400 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns Saturday.

Meanwhile, Collins had just 33 passing yards in the first half in Atlanta. He finished with 224, most of which came with Syracuse down three-plus possessions. The positive? Collins didn’t throw an interception for the first time all year (he did fumble in the second half). Still, Collins’ play is far from quality.

Brown doesn’t have much of a choice but to stick with his quarterback. SU’s backups, Luke Carney, Jakhari Williams and Rich Belin are all freshmen. They’d likely also struggle if called upon. Carney did make a cameo for the first three drives of the second half — none of which led to points — against Pittsburgh before Collins returned. Despite his struggles, Brown has stuck by his quarterback.

“He’s maturing. He’s learning how to deal with adversity. He’s understanding things don’t go your way all the time,” Brown said Monday. “Guys can see him not running from adversity. So I think that’s helping them a lot.”

It’s hard to put all the blame on Collins for Syracuse’s horrid run. However, teams will go as far as their quarterback takes them. Just look at Kyle McCord last season and SU’s trajectory with Angeli. So far, Collins isn’t living up to that standard, and, as a result, the Orange are suffering.

Bowl Game unlikely

Syracuse’s chances of making a bowl game are slim. Its recent skid is to blame, but also the daunting schedule ahead. The Orange still have trips to No. 10 Miami and No. 12 Notre Dame, both of whom are vying for College Football Playoff berths.

Winnable games are on the horizon with North Carolina and Boston College — teams who haven’t defeated a Power Four opponent all season — coming to the JMA Wireless Dome. Still, winning those games, which isn’t a guarantee considering SU’s performance the past month, puts SU at five wins, one short of the six-game threshold needed for bowl qualification. The Orange would need to pull off an upset in South Bend or South Beach to clinch their fourth-straight bowl appearance.

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SU’s situation paints a very different picture than it did 12 months ago. By Week 10 last season, Syracuse clinched its first bowl appearance under Brown. Its comeback win over Virginia Tech on Nov. 2 showed previous November shortcomings under Dino Babers were a thing of the past.

“It’s always been about the history here, right?” Brown said after beating VT. “When I got here, something that made it a good deal was because I understood who Syracuse was. (With) the last coach, they didn’t always win a lot toward the second part of the year. What I wanted to do was show them that’s not who they are. It wasn’t about what (Babers) did on the field, it was about what we were doing as men off the field.”

The Orange were 4-1 across the final month of the regular season. Despite a setback against Boston College, they finished the year without back-to-back defeats.

Though Brown has lauded his team for staying the course during its poor stretch, it hasn’t yielded results. For now, Syracuse has an uphill battle to extend its season one game.

Running game, where art thou?

The best way to take pressure off a struggling quarterback is to establish a solid rushing attack. Yet, Syracuse’s ground game has left much to be desired. The Orange are averaging 3.4 yards per carry this season, the fourth-worst mark in the ACC.

However, last week’s game could be a turning point. Syracuse ran the ball 34 times for 157 yards, its highest mark versus a Power Four team. Starting running back Yasin Willis averaged 7.6 yards per rush, while Collins carried the ball a season-high 14 times, most of which came on scrambles.

Georgia Tech entered the game allowing 155.3 rushing yards per game, and the Orange did a good job exploiting that weakness. Outside of SU’s win over Colgate, the performance was its highest run block grade (60.2) since the season-opener.

During that game, Willis earned 23 rushes and scored three touchdowns. Brown labeled Willis as “SU’s best offensive player” postgame and said they need to get him the ball more. Since then, the sophomore hasn’t registered more than 18 carries or reached 100 yards.

Willis could be key down the stretch. He has the makings of a workhorse back, but hasn’t necessarily displayed that this season. If Syracuse wants to turn its offensive fortunes around, establishing the run must be a central focus.

Red zone failures lead to slow starts

Syracuse’s first lead since its win over Clemson came after Tripp Woody’s opening-drive field goal against Georgia Tech. That shows how poorly SU has started the last four games. During that stretch, it was outscored 85-16 during the first half.

The Orange had chances to take the lead in nearly every game but failed to capitalize. Against Duke, Willis’ 35-yard run — in which he hurdled over Caleb Weaver — put Syracuse in the red zone. But, its drive stalled, and it settled for a field goal.

Facing SMU the following week, Syracuse had a second-and-goal from the three-yard line on its opening drive. Three straight runs from Willis and Collins couldn’t result in a touchdown, leading to a turnover on downs.

After forcing a fumble on Georgia Tech’s first possession Saturday, Willis’ 41-yard run set Syracuse up at the one. From there, SU went: false start, Willis one-yard run, Collins sack, offsides, Nixon five-yard rush. Woody’s field goal put the Orange up 3-0 before GT scored 20 unanswered points.

Plays like these are killing Syracuse. Nobody’s saying the Orange would’ve won those games, but when you start fast, it’s a building block.

“We can’t kill our momentum,” Collins said of SU’s opening drive against GT. “I feel that if we stop that, we can have better chances to build off drives like that score and start faster.”

Published on October 28, 2025 at 11:23 pm
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