Orange grades: Coaching miscues, pass rush thrives in loss to Pitt
Syracuse's coaching staff made an unforgivable mistake in the second quarter while its pass rush had its best day of the season against Pitt. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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Syracuse’s 2025 season took another dramatic turn Saturday night as it flipped to its third quarterback of the season. The Orange dropped their third-straight game to fall under the .500 mark overall and 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Here are position-group grades for Syracuse’s 30-13 loss to Pitt:
Quarterback: C-
Syracuse starter Rickie Collins described it best postgame: it’s hard to win. Collins recovered from an opening play interception to go 9-for-12. Though he fell into a rut to finish the second half with his second interception, resulting in his benching for two drives.
Collins was effective on the ground with a team-high 37 rushing yards but failed to make explosive plays through the air. He went just 1-for-7 on passes over 20 yards. When freshman Luke Carney entered, he didn’t find a groove either.
Without Steve Angeli, the quarterback position is a clear disadvantage for the Orange the rest of the season. It’s the exact opposite of SU’s 2024 campaign, where Kyle McCord was the best quarterback in every game and even outdueled the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick. Two full weeks to prepare for this contest still wasn’t enough for Collins, resulting in another horrid grade.
Running back: D+
When your bruising running back records just 21 rushing yards on 14 attempts, that’s a sign of a bad day at the office. Yasin Willis tallied just 1.5 yards per carry with a long of six yards. Will Nixon’s five attempts resulted in only nine yards.
Nixon and Willis combined for just three first-down rushes the entire game, while Nixon added two catches for eight yards. The Orange received the bulk of their explosive plays through the legs of both Collins and Carney, a clear recipe for disaster.
Willis has shown signs of stardom throughout the season with multiple hurdles and big-time plays. If SU has any chance at reaching a Bowl game this year, Willis will simply have to become a superstar.
Receiver/Tight End: B-
With Syracuse’s passing game continuing to falter under Collins, its receiving corps has limited its production drastically. With Justus Ross-Simmons slightly banged up, the Orange did relatively well given the circumstances.
Ross-Simmons played two snaps the entire day, still recovering from an ankle injury. Darrell Gill Jr. played nearly every snap and found the endzone while pulling in four receptions for 34 yards. Emanuel Ross used his frame for a strong catch in the corner of the endzone, and Johntay Cook II caught seven passes for 66 yards.
Collins attempted to connect multiple times deep down the field to Gill, but the duo couldn’t connect. If just a few of the attempts succeeded, who knows how the outcome of the contest could’ve differed?
Offensive line: B-
SU’s offensive line was given a fatal blow when starting center Austin Collins went down on the first play of the game. The most experienced man on the front was in street clothes and using crutches in the second half, thrusting Josh Miller into the role for the entire game.
With the injury, Syracuse showed zero ability to get any push in the running game. Collins and Carney were kept clean most of the time, though the Panthers were without their top two linebackers, Rasheem Biles and Kyle Louis, for most of the game.
The guys up front weren’t the reason the Orange lost the game. Though with more push in the running game, there’d be less pressure on the quarterbacks to thrive.
Defensive line: A
What a turnaround for this unit. Syracuse entered its seventh game of the year with an ACC-worst eight sacks on the season. It then produced a seven-sack day with 18 total hurries.
Kevin Jobity Jr. has emerged as SU’s clear top pass-rushing option following the departure of Fadil Diggs to the NFL. Jobity recorded a sack against UConn but went silent until Syracuse’s matchup with Pitt. He broke out for a career-high three sacks to solidify the unit.
Chase Simmons and Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff combined for a sack, while David Reese also got active off the edge. The defensive line playing to this level didn’t result in a win Saturday but could help down the line against UNC and BC.
Linebackers: B+
The play of Gary Bryant III and Antoine Deslauriers has been somewhat underrated all season. The true freshman has got some praise, and for good reason. He recorded a team-high eight tackles and one for loss versus Pitt. Bryant was right behind him with six tackles.
The two were also integral in stopping the run. Desmond Reid and Ja’Kyrian Turner combined for only 80 net rushing yards as SU’s linebacker duo filled the gaps. They could’ve done a better job slowing quarterback Mason Heintschel, who split a seam for a 36-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.
With the sack barrage, linebacker Jamie Tremble also contributed with one of his own. This defense found an identity against Pitt despite the 17-point loss. The linebackers seem to be at the core of it.
Secondary: B
SU’s secondary has been one of its strongest suits all season and with an advanced pass rush, the secondary only improves. Davien Kerr tallied an interception across the middle of the field, and Syracuse didn’t allow any big plays. Heintschel didn’t even record a touchdown pass after combining for six against Boston College and then-No. 25 Florida State.
On the outside, Chris Peal was targeted just once. Demetres Samuel Jr. was targeted five times and allowed only two receptions. Safety Devin Grant even got in on the sack party. This unit didn’t do anything crazy, but it is playing solid enough right now to contribute to future victories.
Special teams: B
Once again, Jadyn Oh was able to perfectly execute an onside kick. He slammed a kick off the helmet of a Panthers special teamer, and Cornell Perry swooped in for the recovery. SU’s offense didn’t capitalize on the play.
Syracuse’s fatal flaw on special teams was allowing a punt return touchdown to end the second half. While the unit shouldn’t have even been in that situation to begin with, the touchdown changed the momentum of the contest entering halftime.
Coaching: C-
Second-year head coach Fran Brown said it himself. The decision-making to end the second half was one of his worst displays since taking over as Syracuse’s head coach. The Orange used just 12 seconds while the Panthers never had to stop the clock. The punt return for a touchdown was the football Gods laughing down on Brown for getting SU in the situation.
The defensive improvements are a large credit to Elijah Robinson and his staff. Though the horrifying situational football mixed with Brown’s decisions at quarterback turned into a poor display from the coaching staff, which dropped to 0-2 against arch-rival Pitt.
Inserting Carney for a spark is fair, but not when it’s obvious there’s an unwillingness to let him take any shots. In that case, Collins might as well have been stuck with from wire to wire.
