The Syracuse Orange (3-3, 1-2) limp into the bye week with a lot of questions on the offensive side of the ball. Despite being gifted a golden opportunity by SMU to open the game, the Syracuse offense
failed on two plays from the 1 yard line and didn’t get into the end zone until it was too late. The Mustangs (3-2, 1-0) ran away in the first half and cruised to an easy win.
Rickie Collins didn’t get the help Fran Brown wanted and once again Collins failed to convince anyone that he was the man to lead this team to a bowl game in 2025. Maybe the bye week will help, but it was the same issue for Collins- staring down his initial read and failing to deliver passes on target.
The loss shouldn’t fall on Collins alone. Despite committing to the run on the first drive, Syracuse couldn’t move the ball on the ground. Yasin Willis and Will Nixon combined for 51 yards on 22 carries as the Orange just couldn’t convert early on short yardage. This was a game that Syracuse lost because of poor offense, and the highs of the Clemson win have been washed away in the last two weeks.
After failing on that goal to go situation, the defense held but Collins throw a bad interception and SMU got on the board with a field goal. The offense failed to help the defense stay off the field and SMU rolled off 24 straight before a Trip Woody field goal put the Orange on the board before halftime.
Syracuse could have made it a game, but three red-zone trips resulted in just those 3 points. Play calling was not creative, protection wasn’t great and Collins simply missed open receivers….a true recipe for disaster.
After the Mustangs scored right away in the second half, the Orange defense held them the rest of the way- creating a turnover and a safety, but it was too little, too late in Dallas.
Kevin Jennings led SMU with four touchdown passes as he was 29 for 35 for 285 yards on the afternoon. Collins finished off the day going 22-45 for 279 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown. Johntay Cook had 7 receptions for 82 yards and a score.
Syracuse will have a week off before welcoming Pitt to the JMA Dome on October 18th. Will we see a quarterback change? It wouldn’t be a surprise if a few current starters find themselves with the 2nd unit when we get back from the bye week.
