Once again a Syracuse Orange football season hinges on the backup quarterback. It’s a scenario we’ve seen far too often the last 20 years, but this doesn’t mean the 2025 season is automatically headed
into the dumpster.
First, the Orange have Jeff Nixon calling plays and over the first 16 games of his Syracuse tenure, he’s shown an ability to maximize the players he has on the field. Nixon’s running the Baylor offense we thought we’d see under Dino Babers. The goal is to spread the defense and attack the middle until you get one on one shots on the outside.
We know that Syracuse has the wide receivers on the outside who can beat man coverage. They’ve got Johntay Cook and Dan Villari who can win in the middle of the field, and if defenses want to play their safeties deep, Yasin Willis can do damage against a six-man box.
Rickie Collins has a strong pedigree and while his first two appearances have been uneven, everyone who saw the fall camp battle felt that he showed a strong deep arm and really challenged Steve Angeli. Collins will get his practice reps with the first team. He’s going to have Nixon spend the week installing a plan tailored to him, not Angeli. This doesn’t mean a radically different offense, but we’ll probably see more shots down the field on go routes and some plays to get Collins outside the pocket where he can use his mobility.
A lot of fans will probably expect an increased focus on the running game, and we saw Syracuse do that on Saturday, but the Orange aren’t going to go back to an old-school wishbone backfield. This offense wants to attack defenses from multiple approaches and it wouldn’t be a shock if Collins is throwing 40+ passes next Saturday against Duke, if that’s what Manny Diaz wants to give the Orange.
It’s clear that other players will need to step up the rest of the way to help Collins. The offensive line needs to continue to gel and move the line on running plays. The receivers will need to secure those throws like Ross-Simmons did in the play above, Nixon’s going to have to keep working his magic with play calls and if the defense can keep winning the turnover battle, then Syracuse can keep this momentum rolling.
