MIAMI GARDENS, FL — The Syracuse Orange (3-7, 1-6) are leaving Hard Rock Stadium with another loss added to their record and an offense that remains stagnant after falling 38-10 versus the No. 18 Miami
Hurricanes (7-2, 3-2).
Syracuse held the ’Canes scoreless for over a quarter and half, but the Orange’s offense was shut out in the first half, then had just one field goal in all but the game’s final 20 seconds. Rickie Collins returned as the starting quarterback for the Orange, finishing 12/26 for 85 yards and two interceptions. Joseph Filardi took over under center for the Orange’s final drive and finished 3/3 for 39 yards and a touchdown pass to Elijah Washington-Baker.
Syracuse had 285 yards of total offense, including 161 on the ground with Yasin Willis (13 carries for 63 yards), Will Nixon (seven carries for 61 yards) and Tylik Hill (eight carries for 44 yards) leading the way.
For Miami, Carson Beck finished 18/24 for 247 yards and a TD. Keelan Marion led The U in receiving with 116 yards, while nine other players caught at least one pass. The Hurricanes also had a 3-0 advantage in turnovers compared to the Orange.
Neither team turned their first possession into points, and the score stayed at zero the entire first quarter. Beck completed a 10-yard pass to Joshisa Trader for a first down on Miami’s first drive, but a combined sack by Gary Bryant and Davien Kerr backed the ‘Canes up too much and eventually led to a punt. As for Syracuse, the offense earned two first downs after a 9-yard run by Nixon and a screen play set up for Dan Villari. Miami’s defense stopped the Orange right before midfield, but the drive did lead to Jack Stonehouse executing a perfect punt that landed at Miami’s two-yard line.
The ‘Canes remained pinned deep in their territory, but slowly but surely started to drive. In a pivotal moment, Chris Peal in one-on-one coverage intercepted a pass off of Beck. However, it was negated due to a defensive holding by Peal. Miami’s 10-play, 37-yard drive chewed up over six minutes of game time but stalled after another sack thanks to pressure by David Reese, then Anwar Sparrow cleaning up on the play. Syracuse went three and out on its next drive, with Miami getting the ball back to start the second quarter.
After forcing another Miami punt, the Orange’s third drive of the game was its most promising up to this point. Facing a long third down, Collins scrambled for 11 yards to get a first down, then connected with Villari and Darien Williams on short-yardage throws for another. That would push ‘Cuse into Miami territory for the first time all game, but the Hurricanes’ pash rush pushed the Orange back and once again forced another punt.
After a game of nothing but kicking the ball away, Miami got out of its lull and the Orange quickly fell behind two touchdowns in around three minutes of game time.
With just over five left until halftime at its own 10, a 25-yard catch by Keelan Marion got the ‘Canes some extra cushion. Several plays later, Beck found Daylyn Upshaw on a screen pass, who went over 40 yards down the field. Then, at the Syracuse 14-yard line, the ‘Canes executed a trick play which saw Beck hand the ball over to Malachi Toney, who then threw it back to the opposite side of the field to Beck, who ran it into the end zone for the first score on either side.
Then, disaster struck for Syracuse’s offense. Facing a third down and eight, Collins threw it right into the hands of Miami defender Keionte Scott, who ran it all the way for a score. Just like that, the Orange trailed 14-0.
The offense for Syracuse did produce its best stretch of the entire first half with under two minutes to go. A 22-yard run by Willis began what was a 10-play, 61-yard drive for the Orange. It also included another pair of chunk runs by Willis and two catches for 17 yards from Cook.
Then, on first and goal at the Miami 10-yard line, the ’Canes defense stepped up again after ripping the ball away from Willis and recovering the fumble, and the Orange would stay at zero points heading into the second half.
Syracuse snapped the scoreless run on its first possession of the third quarter. Nixon began the drive with a 23-yard run, followed by nine-yard gains from he and Darius Johnson. A 12-yard catch by Darrell Gill got the Orange close to the red zone, but the Orange would settle for three and cut their deficit down to 11 (14-3).
However, it would only take Miami just over a minute to find the end zone again. A face mask penalty called against Reese got the ‘Canes an extra 15 yards, then Beck found Marion over the middle through two Orange defenders for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Syracuse would punt on its next drive, and from there, Miami really blew the door open.
The Hurricanes went on another long drive (nine plays, 83 yards and nearly five minutes of game time), with Toney taking advantage of the Orange in space. A 19-yard run to the end zone for Girard Pringle Jr. led to ‘Cuse now training 28-3 late in the third quarter. Collins would then throw his second interception of the day after the ball bounced off the receiver and into the hands of Jakobe Thomas. The Hurricanes would put three more points on the board heading into the fourth quarter.
The Orange would to Miami territory late thanks to a 15-run by Nixon and a pair of carries by Hill, but a sack on Collins ended that nine-play drive by ‘Cuse. Miami got into the end zone one more time after Beck flipped a pass to lineman Francis Mauigoa, putting the Orange in a 35-point. Filardi would take over for Collins on Syracuse’s final drive. ‘Cuse went eight plays for 75 yards with Filardi finding Washington-Baker for a late touchdown with seconds left to cut the margin of defeat slightly.
The Orange are off next weekend, then will head off to South Bend for a road matchup against the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
