Syracuse football: first down offense vs Georgia Tech

I’m going to skip a long intro on this one. Scroll down a bit and look at what Syracuse did on first downs in a game that they lost 41-16…

In a game where the Orange had four 1st down plays over 30 yards and averaged nearly 9 yards, they were blown out in Atlanta. Obviously the numbers don’t tell the whole story, but there were some positives that Syracuse can look to build upon. The unfortunate part is that when they weren’t hitting big plays, they weren’t consistent.

Syracuse had 10 drives in the

game and four of them ended without gaining a first down. The biggest issue was the inconsistency on offense and some missed opportunities for Rickie Collins. Yes, it was his best performance of the season, but there were chances that he left on the field and it stalled the momentum in key spots.

One example came in the first quarter. It was a 3-3 game and Syracuse started their third possession. Collins had Darrell Gill open in the flat but his pass led Gill out of bounds. A stuffed run and incomplete pass gave the ball back to Georgia Tech and they drove down the field to score and take control. It was the second straight three and out for the Orange, and it was a time when they just needed a couple of first downs to give the defense a break. The ball to Gill should have been a first down and maybe more, and it’s the type of play the struggling offense needed.

Unfortunately that’s been the bigger issue for Collins than the turnovers- it’s the missed “layups” that the coaches have given him. The plays that McCord and Angeli made more often not and the ones that Collins seems to hit in the second half when it’s already too late.

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SR and XR by Down

Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech • Oct 25, 2025

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It’s not all on Collins. The Orange committed two first-down penalties on the afternoon- both when they were in the red zone. While it’s good that Syracuse found some big plays in this one, they need to be more consistent throughout the game and avoid the mistakes that have plagued them in this losing streak.