With the Orange heading to the bye week on a six-game losing streak, it’s hard to find a lot of silver linings in the program. That being said, we can still look at takeaways from the 38-10 loss at Hard
Rock Stadium on Saturday.
Time for a Script Doctor
Not only is the Syracuse offense struggling, they haven’t scored a first-half touchdown since the Pitt game. That’s three games where they can’t come up with a series of plays they can execute. With a week off, it’s time to focus on a section of the playbook to find some success early on. Players like Johntay Cook and Darrell Gill need to get some early touches to get them involved and help this team build a little confidence.
Crisis of confidence
The inexperience of this roster (and maybe lack of leadership) is most evident when the first break goes against the Orange. Unlike last year, this team can’t bounce back and instead the snowball catches fire. In every game you can find turning points where Syracuse failed to make a play that could have given them a bit of momentum. It’s not just the quarterback play, it’s the penalties inside the red zone, the missed tackles flipping the field for opponents and the failure to capitalize on chances has players and coaches making more mistakes.
After Miami went up 14-0, the Orange responded by running the ball with Yasin Willis in the two-minute drill and got into Hurricanes territory. They had a chance to get points on the board and get the ball to start the second half. Instead we got this:
- Johntay Cook dropped a pass inside the 10.
- After Syracuse got to 1st and goal from the 5, David Clement committed a false start
- With the Orange content to run the ball and make sure they got 3, Willis fumbled.
- The second half drive stalled at the Miami 15 and Syracuse got a field goal
The two best offensive drives on the day ended with 3 points and from there Miami scored 17 straight and the game was over.
Another Person’s Treasure
It’s a garbage time touchdown, but not for Joseph Filardi and Elijah Washington-Baker who connected on the first career scores for each. Washington-Baker appears set to assume the starting tight end job next year with Dan Villari graduating and Jamie Tremble moving to linebacker. That final drive also featured some strong runs from Tyliek Hill and a couple of nice receptions from Daunte Bacheyie. As the Orange look to rebound in 2026, it’s going to need these players, and others, to be ready to be bigger contributors. One drive in a blowout might not mean much today but in the next couple of years we could look back at it as being a glimpse at a brighter future.
