One would probably assume that after losing a competitive football game, you would want to rest and decompress.
That was not what Syracuse starting quarterback Rickie Collins was thinking when he called Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown.
The Orange had just lost 38-3 to Duke at the JMA Wireless Dome. It was Collins’ first start after Steve Angeli’s season-ending Achilles injury. And Collins wanted to sit down and watch film.
“I feel like the leader of the offense should get to the root of the problem
as quickly as possible,” said Collins.
So that’s what Collins and Brown did. Brown said he was at Syracuse’s new football facility until 12:00 am the night of the game, watching film with Collins.
“I had him teaching me the whole time,” said Brown.
Brown had Collins going through every play. He had him discuss and diagnose his decisions. Brown asked Collins to show him various things, from what the quarterback was thinking, to his footwork on certain plays.
Brown said that he and Collins got closer from that film session. Brown continues to preach that his starting quarterback is his second in command. Now that Collins has that job, Brown emphasized that he and his new starting quarterback have each other’s back.
Brown also continued to emphasize that he thought Collins did a good job, especially considering that game was his first start in college football. He attributed a lot of the blame to himself, the coaches and players around Collins. When reviewing the film on Saturday, Brown said that he didn’t think Collins struggled.
“I just like that he was poised,” said Brown. “He wasn’t afraid in the pocket.”
There’s enough evidence to back up Brown’s points. Collins threw for 229 yards on 24-37 passing with one interception. Despite not throwing a touchdown, Collins still earned a 69.0 grade from Pro Football Focus, which is an above average grade. Duke quarterback Darien Mensah only graded marginally higher with a 73.3 grade from Pro Football Focus.
But Collins knows there is more in the tank for the Syracuse offense. The Orange scored at least 26 points in each of their first four games of the season. It was only the first time Syracuse failed to score a touchdown under offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon. The disappointment from Collins at Syracuse’s failure to score was clear.
“The offense that we have, we should be able to average 40 points a game, easily,” said Collins.
Syracuse does have a chance to flex its offensive muscles in its next game against SMU. The Mustangs have allowed 48 and 35 points respectively to the two Power Four opponents on their non-conference schedule in Baylor and TCU. It’ll be Collins’ first start on the road.
And if needed, Syracuse has a bye week after the SMU game. That’ll give Collins and Brown plenty of time to review the film and prepare for the rest of the season.
