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HomeSPORTSyracuse football: three takeaway’s from the Orange’s loss to #24 Tennessee

Syracuse football: three takeaway’s from the Orange’s loss to #24 Tennessee


A new Syracuse Orange football season is officially underway, and the program is starting 2025 under water after falling 45-26 to the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers.

It was a game where Syracuse fell into a hole quite early, trailing 17-0 by the end of the first quarter. The Orange were only outscored by two points the rest of the way, but never cut the deficit closer than 12 points in Atlanta.

The first game means there are plenty of fresh faces and intriguing developments. Here are your takeaways from Syracuse’s first game of the season:

Preseason concerns manifest in Week 1

There were plenty of question marks heading into 2025. Two of the major ones: 1) how would the defense perform with the loss of key contributors from the 2024 squad, and 2) what does the new offensive line look like.

Defensively, it was pretty rough for the Orange. Tennessee had almost 500 yards of total offense, including 246 on the ground (over six yards per carry for the Vols). That was despite having the ball around nine minutes less compared to Syracuse, albeit with an up-tempo scheme.

The Vols stayed ahead of the chains consistently, punting rarely and controlling the game from the beginning. Joey Aguilar (16/28, 247 yards, three TDs, 8.8 yards per pass) kept things steady and never gave the Orange a chance to capitalize on any mistake (outside one fumble in the first quarter). And for Syracuse, one-on-one coverage wasn’t superb, leading to a few big plays like this one which kept Tennessee out in front and the Orange multiple scores behind:

On defense, there will certainly be plenty to sort out over the next few weeks before ACC play begins.

The other concern was the O-line. When Steve Angeli had time, Syracuse’s offense had its moments. When the protection broke down, it forced quicker throws from Angeli or (arguably) the two turnovers that Tennessee converted into 14 points. It’s a similar story as the defense: multiple notable departures and major holes to fill.

Angeli debuts and the offense shows some life

The other seismic question marks for the Orange was who would take over under center and how would they perform?

Syracuse managed to score 26 points in its first game with Angeli at quarterback. The former Notre Dame backup went 23/40 in the air, finished with almost 300 yards, one TD and one interception in his Orange debut.

Syracuse fans wondered if the team would continue to air the ball out post-Kyle McCord. That proved to be the case: six players finished with multiple catches and four had at least three catches for 40 total yards or more. The passing game will not be abandoned. It also appears that not only will RB Yasin Willis (23 carries for 91 yards and 3 TDs) is more than capable of taking on that higher usage role, but Will Nixon will provide some balance as more of a receiver-playmaker archetype.

In short, the offense did cough up the ball twice and was punished for it, but broadly-speaking, I thought the offense performed better than at least what my expectations were.

A limited margin of error

A bigger-picture takeaway: this year’s Syracuse has minimal room for self-inflicted wounds.

There is a lot of turnover and a difficult schedule facing coach Fran Brown and the Orange. This is one game in a 12-game regular season, but because the slate ahead is so difficult, losing the turnover battle will just drastically reduce the likelihood Syracuse can win against those tougher opponents. Ditto losing the turnover battle or falling behind by double-digits early on.

There is still plenty of season left to go and this team will certainly bounce back, but the margin for any error remains slim.

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