Rickie Collins’ slump continues in Syracuse football’s loss to No. 18 Miami
Rickie Collins registered a season-low 85 passing yards in Syracuse's 38-10 loss to Miami, extending SU's losing streak to six games. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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MIAMI — When Rickie Collins struggled in the past, he did what we all do. The 20-year-old turned to his mom, girlfriend and high school coaches for support.
His coaches at Woodlawn High School, mostly former LSU star quarterback Marcus Randall, feed Collins with advice. They send him clips of his days ruling Louisiana high school football. They remind him that he’s “Rickie mother-f*cking Collins.”
But how many setbacks can a 20-year-old take? After Saturday, Collins will likely turn to his loved ones again. However, another loss, with another game-changing interception, feeds a repetitive cycle. At this point, only Collins can grasp what the last year of his life has looked like.
“Can’t do nothing but pray about it,” Collins said postgame. “Because I can try to talk to as many people as I want, but truly, no one is in my position and understands what’s going on.”
Collins was exiled a week ago following a four-game skid. The LSU transfer was then inserted back into the lineup Saturday. But the changes didn’t change a thing. In Collins’ return under center, Syracuse (3-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 18 Miami (7-2, 3-2 ACC) 38-10, eliminating it from Bowl contention for the first time since 2021.
The quarterback posted a season-low 85 passing yards in SU’s sixth-straight loss. He was 12-for-25 and the Orange only reached the endzone in the final minute, when Collins was replaced by Joe Filardi. An interception near the end of the first half flipped a close game into a blowout. And once again, Collins was on the wrong side of the winning equation.
“We lost,” Collins said bluntly. “So obviously, I’m gonna say, as a competitor, I didn’t play good.”
Just a few feet to Collins’ left, in a tight visitors’ press conference set up under Hard Rock Stadium, a quote is printed on the wall. The words from Miami Dolphins’ Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino read, “It’s real nice and exciting for me to break the records, but it’s more exciting for me to be on a winning team.”
En route to his 1984 Most Valuable Player honors, Marino broke the NFL’s single-season records for passing yards (5,084) and touchdowns (48). Yet unlike many of his fellow Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Marino never won a Super Bowl.
Collins isn’t breaking records. Nor is he on a winning team. He’s far from both. The quarterback’s stint at Syracuse can only be described as a rollercoaster full of emotional lowlights and little on-field highlights.
Rickie Collins leads the Orange in a huddle. Against Miami, Collins’ struggles led to SU’s sixth-straight loss. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
He worked through spring training camp as the starter, beating out unthreatening depth. After missing the spring game due to a thumb injury, the sudden transfer of wide receiver Trebor Peña introduced questions on whether Collins would be able to produce at a high level. The Orange then brought in Steve Angeli from Notre Dame for a fall-camp competition.
Collins lost the spot and Angeli took over. Fast-forward a month into the season, and Collins became the starter after a season-ending injury to Angeli. A four-game losing streak ensued and Collins was benched for Filardi. A week later, Fran Brown and SU’s staff turned back to Collins. Imagine dealing with that.
When Collins lost his starting gig to Filardi ahead of the UNC matchup, Brown called him into his office and told him he was “moving on.” Collins remembers Brown saying he felt the move was best for the team.
Following another disastrous quarterback performance, this time from Filardi, Brown looked at his coaching staff and decided it was time for a change. He admitted the staff didn’t adjust enough to Collins’ skillset, keeping their “NFL system” in place. Collins said postgame Saturday he felt offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon did a good job getting the offense into an early rhythm. But that “rhythm” produced just 38 first-half passing yards.
Brown also reassessed his quarterback room and decided it was time for a change, this time reversing to Collins. Collins, Filardi and Luke Carney split reps throughout the week, but Collins was told in the “backend” of the week he would be the starter once again. Brown said postgame he felt it would give the Orange the best opportunity to compete.
At first, SU did compete. Despite the low yardage totals in the first half, the Orange were knotted at 0-0 with the Hurricanes for the first 28 minutes. Syracuse established the run, and Collins didn’t turn the ball over. But after the Hurricanes scored their first offensive touchdown, the larger storm came.
On a third-and-8 from Syracuse’s 25-yard line, Collins dropped back and fell under pressure. As the pocket collapsed, he threw a ball near Darrell Gill Jr. in double coverage, perfectly into the hands of Miami’s Keionte Scott. The defensive back evaded a tackler and doubled the Hurricanes’ lead before the half. The Orange would never recover.
Collins came out with five-straight completions after the interception. He marched SU down the field to begin the second half, where it posted a field goal. But Collins ended his day with a second interception off a tipped pass later in the third quarter.
“(He) was sometimes good, sometimes bad,” Brown said of Collins. “It was a mixture. It was up and down.”
Days before his latest loss, Collins looked at the recent adversity with a positive spin.
“None of the great players that we see today, we wouldn’t see those guys if they didn’t go through whatever the case their story may have been,” Collins said Tuesday. “Everyone’s journey is different, and mine is different from the next guy.”
But how many great players have gone through a stretch like this and bounced back?
Gill was part of the offensive explosion under Kyle McCord that propelled the Orange to 10 wins a year ago. With Angeli under center, he emerged into a top target with two games over 80 yards. Since Collins entered the fold, Gill’s numbers have significantly plateaued. He’s had just one game over 40 yards, and finished with two receptions for 18 yards in Miami. Gill knows with an inexperienced quarterback, he must be more detailed. That idea has only grown among SU’s receivers since the firing of Myles White and Josh Gattis’ entry into the room.
Gill also sees Collins as a friend. As a 20-year-old kid attempting to live out his dream. As the man in the arena, whose face is “marred by dust and sweat and blood,” as Theodore Roosevelt once described it. Saturday, Collins’ return to action, acted as another punch to the core.
“It’s tough on him,” Gill said of Collins postgame. “I tell him to just keep his head up. It’s not ideal. Nobody wants to be in that position.”
