Complementary football key to Syracuse’s success

After Saturday’s loss to Duke, Fran Brown talked about not putting all of the blame on quarterback Rickie Collins after his first start.

Brown’s right about the other units picking each other up. What made the difference in wins against UConn and Clemson? It was each unit contributing in key moments. The defense held UConn through the majority of the 2nd half and gave the offense a chance to get going. At Clemson, the execution of the onside kick and two forced turnovers gave the offense extra possessions.

Against Duke, it was a different story. On the opening kick-off Jaden Hart misplayed the ball, then hesitated in the end zone before taking it out to the 10. Collins and the offense got into Duke territory before he turned it over. After the controversial fumble call on Cook, the defense let Duke go 61 yards in just 3 plays.

With 2 minutes to go, it was still 17-3 and Duke faced a 3rd down and 9 from the Orange 29, Braheem Long got to the running back in the flat but missed the tackle. The Blue Devils punched that one in and then after some poor clock management from Fran Brown, they had a chance for 3 more before the break.

When the Orange defense finally responded with a 3 and out to start the half, Cook had the ball punched out on the first play for the offense. The defense held again but Davien Kerr called for a fair catch at the 5 and the offense turned to Yasin Willis on the first two downs but only got 3 yards. Collins was forced to scramble and was taken down short of the marker and another 3 and out.

It’s little things that all compound and turn close games into blowouts. It’s the little things that Syracuse was very good at last year and it’s the little things that Fran Brown and the Orange need to get better at the rest of the season. Despite the way some Syracuse fans think, Eric Dungey and Kyle McCord weren’t the only reason why their teams won 10 games and Rickie Collins won’t be the only reason why this year’s squad wins or losses. Now it’s time for the Orange to get back to complimenting each other….before this season slips from promising to disappointing.