A lot of talk after the loss to California focused on the pressure faced by Steve Angeli. According to PFF, the Golden Bears defense blitzed on 26 of Angeli’s 54 dropbacks and the blitz was incredibly effective.
When Cal didn’t blitz, Angeli completed 13-26 for 216 yards and made some big plays down the field. When the defense brought a blitz, Angeli was 11-23 for 91 yards. It was an inaccurate afternoon for Angeli overall, but once Cal decided to sell out and send pressure, the Orange offense struggled
to make them pay as much as they should have.
Angeli was under pressure on 17 dropbacks and only managed to complete 3-13 for 33 yards and 2 interceptions. A lot of people talked about screens and quick passes in those situations, but Angeli went 16-22 on throws either behind the line of scrimmage or under 10 yards. What didn’t stop Cal from sending pressure is that those 16 completions led to a total of 125 yards and just 5 first downs.
None of the Orange were making defenders miss. We can talk about a lot of things, but if you want to stop defensive coordinators from sending pressure, then you’d better make them pay with the quick throws.
The primary slot receivers for Syracuse are Tyshawn Russell, Darius Johnson and Darien Williams. Against Cal, those three players combined for 6 receptions (3 each from Johnson and Williams) for 48 yards, but only 18 of those yards came after the catch. Williams had a big play to set up a touchdown in the 2nd half but the Orange need more from the trio. These are the guys you want to get the ball in space and on Saturday they weren’t able to take short passes and turn them into explosive plays.
If you can’t take short passes and get yardage, then you’re left trying to get the ball downfield on slower developing routes against pressure. Without an effective running game or the threat of players taking short passes and making them chunk plays, the defense can be more aggressive in their approach.
On Saturday, Angeli was 3-12 on throws between 10 and 20 yards and he matched his completions with 3 interceptions. Bad reads, forced throws, and a lack of separation from receivers takes away the plays that would be allowing the Orange to push the tempo and keep the defense on their heels.
If the slot receivers can’t get it done, then the tight ends and running backs need to be more visible. Outside of Dante Bacheyie those groups have not shown anything explosive in the passing game through two weeks. Waiting for Calvin Russell to fix this issue in 2026 isn’t realistic, so Jeff Nixon’s going to need to find someone or something who provide the offense another weapon.
Matthew Ouetten’s move to running back might be one option, if he’s healthy enough to play this week. Are there more offensive snaps for Demetres Samuel? Could we start to see the other top freshmen receiver Amare Gough in more passing situations? No matter what adjustments are made, the Orange need players who can make defenders miss if they want to get this offense going.
