Syracuse, NY – Syracuse football’s first full game without starting quarterback Steve Angeli ended in a 38-3 loss to the Duke Blue Devils. The Orange’s performance in the first half on offense and defense played a major role in the defeat.
In the first half, the Orange allowed a dominant offensive performance from Duke. The team gave up 319 total yards of offense, including 203 passing yards and 116 rushing yards. Blue Devils running back Nate Sheppard rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on six attempts, and wide receiver Cooper Barkate caught four passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half.
Syracuse also struggled to get its defense off the field. Although the Orange held Duke to 3-for-7 on third-down conversions in the first half, the Blue Devils went 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions. The Orange forced Duke to punt only once in the half.
“As a defense we need to play more complimentary football,” Berry Buxton III said. “We weren’t doing our jobs, and we weren’t relying on our teammates next to us. We were trying to do too much or did too little. If everybody does their job next week…we’ll do a lot better.”
Duke ended the game with 504 total yards of offense, 268 passing and 236 rushing, and went 6-for-13 on third-down conversions.
“Learn from it,” Buxton III said. “As teams get better, we are not going to be able to come back, and we can’t put that on Rickie and the offense to score 50 points for us to win. On defense we have to limit them so we can have a better chance of winning.”
This was the Blue Devils’ first time this season with a single rusher logging more than 100 yards and the first time surpassing 200 rushing yards as a team.
“We just got punked,” coach Fran Brown said. “We didn’t play tough football.”
Offensively, Syracuse gained 158 total yards in the first half, 90 passing and 68 rushing. Quarterback Rickie Collins had trouble early moving the ball downfield, with some completions called back for penalties, missed throws and one interception.
The Orange ended the game with 314 total yards of offense, 228 passing and 85 rushing. Collins, in his first start at Syracuse, went 24-for-37 for 229 yards and one interception.
“I think he is going to do a good job down the line and continue to get better; he can’t get worse right?” coach Brown said. “He was able to move the ball, there were a lot of flags and things that happened at weird times that never gave him a chance to get the drive started and sparked…There are some things he did well, and there are some things we will fix. I’m comfortable and thankful he is our quarterback.”
The only major bright spot for the offense was running back Yasin Willis, who rushed for 52 yards on five attempts in the first quarter, including an electric 35-yard run where he hurdled a defender, causing the crowd to erupt. Willis didn’t provide more production after his stellar first quarter due to limited touches. He finished with 11 attempts for 63 yards.
“We got to give Yasin the ball,” Coach Fran said. “He needs the football, and he has to get the ball more.”
As the game went on, nothing seemed to go Syracuse’s way. The Orange lost the turnover battle 3-0, including a fumble by Johntay Cook that was originally flagged for targeting but was overturned and upheld as a fumble. The crowd was enraged by the call from the officials as the stadium rang with boos. Although Cook later lost another fumble in the third quarter, he finished as the Orange’s leading receiver with eight catches for 84 yards.
Coach Brown acknowledged that Duke’s coaching staff did a great job with play calling. He admitted he felt outcoached and should have switched things up on defense to give the team a better chance to make plays.
With tougher opponents ahead on the road, Georgia Tech, Miami and Notre Dame, Syracuse will have to put the loss behind and move forward. The Orange will play the SMU Mustangs next Saturday on the road at 3:30 p.m. EST.
“This is good for our players,” Coach Fran Brown said. “I would like for our players to look at their phones right now and see the text log and then see the text log from last week. I want them to remember that and work, just understand no matter what you still have to work tomorrow. Don’t allow those things to mess you up, you have to live in the moment at all times.”