Detailed. Accountable. Relentless. Touch.
Those are the words Fran Brown’s program lives by and while some of you would debate this, I think that even in the last four games that Syracuse has held up to those standards….the first one though has been lacking and it’s killing the Orange.
Syracuse was blown out as most expected, but football games are often like a Choose Your Adventure book where actions led to varying results, so the Orange could have possibly authored a different story in Atlanta. The
defense made an early statement as Chris Peal caused a Georgia Tech fumble that the Orange recovered. On the first play, Syracuse ran some jet sweep action that opened the middle for Yasin Willis to bring it down to the 1…and that’s where the Orange chose the wrong path…
A Dan Villari false start was followed by a one-yard run by Willis, a sack, a false start by Johntay Cook and then a run by Will Nixon on 3rd and goal from the 14. Instead of an early 7-0 lead and some positive feelings, the Orange were only up 3 and Georgia Tech was able to regroup.
Down 10-3, Syacuse got two first downs and were out near midfield when they gave up a sack and committed a holding. Jack Stonehouse’s punt barely broke the goal line and Jalil Martin was flagged for a personal foul. Instead of pining the Yellow Jackets at the 1, they had the ball at the 35 and promptly marched downfield to go up two scores.
The Orange didn’t fold and got the ball into GT territory but a 2nd and 2 turned into a turnover on downs when three straight runs failed to convert a 1st down. Of course the good team took advantage and once again got points and effectively ended the game at halftime.
When we talked about the win at Clemson, we talked about winning the turnover battle and converting opportunities. Syracuse had players make plays, coaches make the right calls and they did a good job with the details. That was the story in so many close wins last season when players like Allen, Wax, Diggs and McCord made plays in the big moments. We aren’t seeing that these last four weeks and a number are Rickie Collins’ responsibility, he’s not alone.
The Orange aren’t loaded with the type of talent that can routinely overcome mistakes based on out-classing their opponents. They need to be better at the little things. It’s the same kind of problems Syracuse fans are used to seeing- penalties, turnovers, and then watching an overwhelmed defense collapse.
With four games to go, this season might be “over” but there’s a lot of lessons for a young team to learn down the stretch. We’re going to see more and more reserves get opportunities down the stretch. Will we see them get the little things right? It’s a short turnaround as North Carolina comes to town, but it’s a chance for Syracuse to line up against another struggling program and try to turn the page and change the outcome of not only the 2025 season, but also set up the next chapter of Orange Football.
