Syracuse’s quarterback situation is suddenly one of the biggest questions hanging over the Orange after Thursday’s 27-13 loss to Pitt.
Steve Angeli had another rough outing, finishing 52% on his passes for 161 yards with two interceptions. He didn’t look like the quarterback who flashed early last season, and Syracuse’s offense again spent too much of the night trying to survive rather than threaten.
But the loss also gave Fran Brown and his staff a different data point: Amari Odom.
The Kennesaw State transfer got into the game and gave Syracuse a cleaner, steadier look. He went 7-for-7 for 44 yards, a small sample, sure, but one that showed poise and control. At a time when the Orange are trying to find any kind of rhythm, that matters.
The comparison with Angeli is where this gets interesting. Even before last season’s injury, Angeli was mostly a pocket quarterback.
This year, that’s still been his game, and when pressure has shown up, so have the problems. Against Cal, the Golden Bears blitzed him on 26 of his 54 dropbacks.
Syracuse never really settled in, and Angeli was sacked three times and hit three more.
Odom brings a different dimension entirely. Last season at Kennesaw State, he rushed for 347 yards and seven touchdowns, with a lot of that work coming in the red zone. That kind of movement forces defenses to account for one more threat and can change how a game is played around him.
He can also push the ball downfield. Odom completed 25 of 45 passes on throws of 20 or more yards at Kennesaw State last season, tying for 20th nationally in deep completions.
He hit 55.6% of those attempts, which ranked third nationally among quarterbacks with at least 40 deep-ball tries. On those throws, he posted 13 touchdowns and two interceptions and earned a 94.8 PFF deep passing grade, eighth best in college football.
That blend of legs and arm talent gives Syracuse something it hasn’t consistently had through three games: a quarterback who can threaten defenses in more than one way. If the Orange can make opponents worry about the run and the deep ball at the same time, the rest of the offense has a better chance to breathe.
Odom isn’t just some emergency option either. He has 19 career starts and is 11-8 overall.
He went 4-4 as a starter at Wofford before moving to Kennesaw State, where he went 7-4 as a starter last season. Kennesaw State finished 10-4, reached a bowl game, and then lost to Western Michigan.
His résumé includes first-team All-Conference USA honors and CUSA Championship MVP recognition at Kennesaw State, along with a spot on the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team at Wofford.
For now, no quarterback change has been announced. Syracuse is in its bye week at 1-2, giving Brown and his staff time to sort through an offense that hasn’t found consistency. The Orange return to the field Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2-1 UConn.
Angeli may still be the starter when Syracuse plays again. But if the same issues keep showing up, Odom’s mobility, arm strength, and starting experience will make this a decision Brown can’t avoid for long.
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