Observations from SU’s loss to No. 9 ND: horrid start, continued QB changes
After Joe Filardi initially struggled against Notre Dame, Luke Carney briefly entered the game for Syracuse at quarterback. The change didn't do much to prevent its 70-7 loss. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Syracuse Football Performance Center lobby has displayed the same highlight reel for over two months. Devin Grant makes a tackle for loss. Johntay Cook II celebrates a first down. Darrell Gill Jr. snags a touchdown in the corner of the endzone.
SU’s triumphant win over Clemson was 63 days ago. Since then, the season has spiraled into what second-year head coach Fran Brown describes as “kind of a down year.”
“I can’t stand losing. I hate losing, but sometimes you gotta lose to be able to move ahead.”
If the Orange wanted to snap a six-game losing streak, Saturday certainly wasn’t their chance. Syracuse entered historic Notre Dame Stadium and made history. In what could’ve been a homecoming for Steve Angeli, SU was destroyed.
The Orange allowed 35 points in the first quarter and fell behind as much as 70. The Fighting Irish emptied their bench in the second half and took one more step toward a second-consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (3-8, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) 70-7 loss to No. 9 Notre Dame (9-2, Independent):
Horrid start
The Orange knew they were in for their most difficult task yet. However, they probably didn’t expect to start as poorly as they did. Following a two-yard loss to start the game, Joe Filardi dropped back and delivered a strike to Notre Dame’s secondary for a pick-six.
Following a three-and-out, Jack Stonehouse punted from the endzone. His punt was blocked, and returned in the air for a touchdown. Syracuse converted a first down on a Dan Villari quarterback sneak. A few plays later, Filardi found the opposition once again. The 46-yard return ballooned ND’s lead to 21-0, all before the Fighting Irish’s offense touched the field.
Fran Brown comforted Filardi on the sideline and inserted freshman Luke Carney into the game. Carney couldn’t get much going, and when the Fighting Irish finally received the ball, it tallied two touchdowns on five plays.
Even when the Orange were decimated against opponents like Duke, Georgia Tech and Miami, they stuck around in the opening frame to make it somewhat competitive. Against ND, it was never close. Notre Dame made history in South Bend, scoring its most first quarter points since 1973 and taking a 42-0 lead on the first play of the second frame.
The running Irish
The Orange had their hands full with the lethal running back duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. While Love is a Heisman Trophy candidate, Price has also excelled with 589 yards and seven touchdowns this season. The two caused trouble all day against SU’s defense, which entered Sunday allowing 163.3 rushing yards per game.
ND’s offense didn’t touch the field until under eight minutes remained in the first quarter. There was still plenty of time for Love to make his impact felt, breezing past Duce Chestnut and Co. for a 45-yard score. It was just Notre Dame’s second offensive snap. The Orange promptly punted the ball again, and Price took one the distance. His run went for 58 yards, and put the Fighting Irish up 35-0 with minutes to play in the first quarter.
With ND up big, it turned to Love in the running game to burn some clock. Yet, the clock didn’t dwindle down much, as Love tore through Syracuse’s defense at a ballistic rate. A second touchdown midway through the second quarter put the Fighting Irish up 49-0, and moved his yards per carry to 14.7 on seven attempts.
Price and Love seemed to alternate the rest of the way, as Aneyas Williams also mixed in. Love continued his Heisman campaign, finishing with 171 yards on eight attempts by adding a 68-yard touchdown in the second half.
Never-ending QB story
Saturday was set to be a reunion for SU quarterback Steve Angeli. He spent his first three college seasons as a backup with the Fighting Irish, and transferred to the Orange after losing the spring camp battle. Saturday, Angeli spoke pregame with plenty of his former teammates. And when Syracuse took the field, it was Angeli on the sidelines once again, with Filardi making his second career start.
Filardi earned the start after throwing a touchdown in the final minutes of SU’s loss to Miami. His first start, in Syracuse’s defeat to North Carolina on Halloween, went poorly, as he completed just four passes. Against the Fighting Irish, Filardi began with more horror. ND safety Jalen Stroman returned Filardi’s first throw of the day for a 44-yard pick-six.
Filardi threw another pick-six, and Brown put Carney into the game. Carney attempted two passes and ran once for six yards. Filardi reentered, but nothing changed. Obviously.
Angeli stood stoically on the sidelines with his arms crossed, watching his former team decimate his current one. Rickie Collins stood a few yards away on the sidelines, waiting for his turn. Carney’s appearance means if the freshman enters the season finale against Boston College, he’ll burn his redshirt. Filardi finished the game with 83 passing yards and three interceptions while being sacked five times. The game marked SU’s seventh in a row scoring under 20 points.
Young flashes
Syracuse was expected to empty out its cupboard of young talent in its final two games. With an injury to Yasin Willis this week, the Orange leaned into their future core even more. Did they learn something from losing by 63 points? Probably not. But the experience of playing in a packed Notre Dame Stadium could be crucial for the future.
In the passing game, Darius “Boobie” Johnson tallied two catches for eight yards, while Darien Williams totaled two for twenty. Both are expected to be part of SU’s future as it adds Calvin Russell to the mix in 2026. In the running game, Tylik Hill had six carries for 25 yards and Jaden Hart logged three carries in his return to his home state. Defensively, underclassmen like Chris Peal, Kaylib Singleton and Davien Kerr, among others, added tackles.
Brown wants to build the Orange into a national powerhouse. With Angeli’s injury, their chances of doing so in 2025 erased before his eyes.
If he wants to reestablish SU’s national presence, opportunities like Saturday — on NBC, against a blue blood of college football and one of the most iconic brands in sports — need to be taken advantage of. Instead, it turned Syracuse once again into a laughing stock, no matter how many underclassmen touched the field.
