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. He took the offense bowling to build its off-field connection. To shore 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 signal 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.
Hours later, Collins was in a similar state to his previous two starts. He stood stoically postgame at the five-yard line with his head held high, singing SU’s alma mater to an empty student section. Across the field behind him, a raucous crowd of Panther fans greeted their team with “Let’s Go Pitt” chants. It was the end of another dreadful night for the redshirt sophomore.
Collins was benched for true freshman Luke Carney to begin the second half. He reentered after Carney handled three drives, though 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 head coach 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 at their most prominent position.
“He’s in a developmental point right now, so we got to keep getting better,” Brown said of Collins. “It’s like he’s training on the job. In all reality, he’s training on the job right now.”
The Orange began the second half trailing 17-7 when Brown made the monumental switch. Carney, a freshman, played just one college snap entering the game, scoring a rushing touchdown against Colgate. In his first drive versus the Panthers, Syracuse ran the ball three times before punting on a fourth-and-2. Offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon attempted to move the chains through Carney’s legs, but to no avail.
Brown wanted a spark. The second-year head coach said he had no direct message to Collins at halftime, instead telling the team it needed to get points on the scoreboard. He admitted that the quarterback position is extremely young for the Orange following Steve Angeli’s season-ending injury. Collins had virtually no playing experience before transferring to Syracuse.
“That was the reason that we went and got Steve,” Brown said. “Because (Rickie) wasn’t ready yet. (Rickie) has to jump in a little bit earlier than he should jump in.”
Collins said he switched his mindset to helping Carney succeed. He quickly reentered for Carney as the Orange attempted a late comeback. Yet 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 under 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.
Boos rained down on Collins from the beginning, following the opening interception. Yet, when asked postgame how he deals with the noise, the quarterback quipped he didn’t even hear it. The Orange failed to score a touchdown in his starting debut versus Duke. Against SMU, Collins completed under 50% of his pass attempts.
“It’s hard to win. You got to prepare,” Collins said. “Kyle (McCord) last year made it look pretty easy. Steve made it look pretty easy the first couple games. But it’s very hard to win.”
Syracuse fell behind 7-0 early after Pitt true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel rumbled in for a 36-yard score. On a third-and-21 the following drive, Heintschel threw across the middle late for a rookie mistake. SU defensive back Davien Kerr galloped over to intercept the pass, 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 end zone to Darrell Gill Jr. to tie the game 7-7.
Despite continuous struggles, Collins seemed to have his swagger back. He emphatically turned to Syracuse’s bench to celebrate after hitting Gill, showing zero signs of lost confidence.
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.
“That was really bad coaching,” Brown said. “That’s probably one of the worst things that I’ve done since I’ve been a football coach here.”
After the preposterous play calling, rather than booting the ball to a sideline, punter Jack Stonehouse placed the ball directly at Kenny Johnson, who returned the punt for 66 yards to the house. The Panthers all of a sudden led by double digits entering the half.
Syracuse never recovered.
A season in disarray continues to spiral. With five games remaining and three road games against teams in the AP Poll top 25, the Orange would need a marquee upset to clinch their fourth consecutive Bowl game. Brown didn’t commit to Collins starting going forward. He claimed Collins is the guy “at the moment,” but SU will practice and see who is its best option.
“No one believes in us right now,” Collins said bluntly. “Only the people in our building do.”
As Syracuse safety Devin Grant answered the final question of the press conference a few minutes past midnight Sunday morning, Collins stared off in a daze on the other side of the podium. The 20-year-old worked his entire life for an opportunity to be a college football starter. As the first chance of his career crumbles before him, so does Syracuse’s season.
