Syracuse substitutes Rickie Collins in and out, falls to Pitt for 3rd straight loss
Syracuse dropped its third straight game with starting quarterback Rickie Collins on Saturday versus Pitt, as SU was outmatched 30-13. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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Rickie Collins and Syracuse had two full weeks to prepare for Pitt’s ferocious defense. Following a horrid two-game stretch to begin his starting career, he used the time to reset.
Collins took the offense bowling to build its off-field connection. To sure up his mechanics, Collins’ personal quarterback trainer, Wyatt Davis, came to campus for some in-season training.
Yet his first throw of the day looked to be a sign of similar struggles. On a third-and-9 from Syracuse’s own 25-yard line, Collins missed a shot to Johntay Cook II along the left sideline. The ball lofted into the hands of Pitt defensive back Tamon Lynum.
Two hours later, Collins was benched for true freshman Luke Carney. Collins reentered after Carney handled two drives. The quarterback shuffle didn’t matter. Syracuse (3-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) fell to Pitt (5-2, 3-1 ACC) 30-13 Saturday, dropping under the .500 mark and topping its 2024 loss tally.
Collins went 10-for-16 with two interceptions in the first half before Fran Brown made the switch under center. Carney completed 2-of-3 passes and rushed for nine yards until Collins returned. Collins finished the day 16-for-32 with three interceptions as the Orange exited with more questions than answers.
While the boo birds rained down on Collins in the opening minutes, the Panthers’ offense took over. True freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel burst onto the scene two weeks after taking over for Eli Holstein. He led Pitt past Boston College by 41 points before a road upset victory over then-No. 25 Florida State.
Heintschel exposed the Orange from the jump, finding a gargantuan seam in the middle of SU’s defense and taking a draw the distance for a 36-yard score.
With the Panthers leading 7-0 deep in the first quarter following punts from both sides, Heintschel found himself back in his own end. He then made a rookie mistake.
On third-and-21, Heintschel broke the golden rule of quarterbacking — throwing across the middle late. SU defensive back Davien Kerr galloped over to intercept the pass on the run, bringing the ball all the way to Pitt’s 12-yard line. Collins cashed in on the second play of the drive. He fired a pass through the middle of the endzone to Darrell Gill Jr. to tie the game 7-7.
Despite continuous struggles, Collins seemed to have his swagger back. The Orange failed to score a touchdown in his starting debut versus Duke. Against SMU, Collins completed under 50% of his pass attempts. But he emphatically turned to the Syracuse bench to celebrate after hitting Gill, showing zero signs of lost confidence.
Heintschel wasn’t deterred by his mistake either. He drove the Panthers right back down the field inside Syracuse’s five-yard line. The Orange, however, got home with their second sack of the day, this one from Devin Grant, to force a field goal. SU finished with four sacks in the first half after entering the contest with an ACC-worst eight through six games.
Just as Collins seemed to be finding a groove — and Syracuse followed suit — all parties collapsed. Collins was fooled on a cover-two look from the Panthers, tossing a pass into the waiting hands of defensive back Cruce Brookins. Before the play, he seemed to be turning a corner, rebounding from the early interception with a 9-for-12 start.
The final minutes of the first half can be defined only as an all-out abomination of complementary football. As Pitt held three timeouts with 30 seconds left, the Orange went three-and-out. All three plays didn’t require a stoppage of the clock and lasted just 12 seconds.
Rather than punting the ball to a sideline, Jack Stonehouse placed the ball directly at Kenny Johnson, who returned the punt for 66 yards. The Panthers all of a sudden led by double digits entering the half.
Then came the monumental decision. The Orange inserted Carney in place of Collins to start the second half. They then ran the ball three times before punting on a fourth-and-2. Offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon attempted to get the chains moving through Carney’s legs, but to no avail.
Entering the fourth quarter, Syracuse had the same number of sacks as points — seven. Collins reentered for Carney as the Orange attempted a comeback. A pass down the left sideline was tipped into the air, flipping into the hands of Kavir Bains-Marquez for Collins’ third interception.
The Panthers padded their lead to 16 with a field goal, and Collins maneuvered the Orange into the end zone with six minutes to play. He was then stopped short on a two-point conversion try, keeping the deficit at two possessions. Syracuse perfectly executed an onside kick to regain possession but couldn’t make much of the drive, turning the ball over on downs.
Pitt sealed the deal from there with another touchdown score. The bye week didn’t help much, as Collins and the Orange bowled a gutter ball to diminish Syracuse’s hopes of a fourth straight Bowl game further.
