Syracuse’s quarterback issues are getting company across the Power 4, but that doesn’t make the Orange’s situation any easier to sort out.
The Athletic put together a list this week of 10 quarterbacks who have underwhelmed in the opening month of the season, and the names on it are not the ones most people would have guessed a month ago. In a spot where experience is supposed to lead to growth, several of those veterans have gone the other direction. Former Orange commit LaNorris Sellers is one of the examples, moving from being discussed as a top 5 NFL pick to showing up as a top 5 disappointing college QB.
Syracuse is not being asked to chase a CFP spot like Texas A&M, Michigan or Oklahoma, but the Orange also do not have the same margin for error those teams might find elsewhere. If the quarterback play isn’t steady, Syracuse does not appear built to lean on a dominant run game or a suffocating defense to carry it against P4 opponents.
That is why Steve Angeli’s last two games have pushed so many Orange fans to call for a change under center, myself included. The frustration comes from a few places at once: five second-half interceptions in the two losses, Angeli clearly limping after hits in the first two weeks, and a string of missed reads and missed throws that have stalled the passing game.
It would be too simple to put everything on Angeli. The offensive line, the receivers and the coaching staff all share in the mess.
But against Pitt, it was obvious the passing game needs a fix. The question now is whether the bye week actually helped.
Did Syracuse have enough time to shuffle pieces around, get healthier and look different? The staff seems to believe so, but fans have not had much reason to trust those kinds of assurances without seeing it on Saturdays.
Fran Brown is sticking with Angeli for now, and he will start at UConn tomorrow. The Huskies have been friendly to opposing quarterbacks this season, which at least gives Syracuse a chance to build some confidence. The flip side is just as clear: if Angeli has another rough outing against this defense, the hole gets deeper for Brown, the staff and the program.
Brown spent the offseason trying to make sure Syracuse had more experience in the quarterback room after last year’s disaster, and Amari Odom was one of those additions. The feeling here is that he looks better equipped to run the offense than Rickie Collins was last season, and plenty of Orange fans would probably like to see tomorrow’s game as the chance to prove it.
Odom has the kind of profile that stands out right away. He passes the eye test, brought points in mop-up duty last game and gives Syracuse a running threat that fits what modern offenses want.
That kind of quarterback force is hard for defenses to handle because spying the quarterback takes away another defender from pressure or coverage. Just as importantly, he gives fans something they have not had much of lately: hope.
Quarterbacks do find ways to shake off bad stretches. They also can sink into slumps that do not turn around quickly. Tomorrow will tell us whether Angeli used the bye week to get back to the player Syracuse saw in the 4th game of the 2025 season, or whether the staff waited too long to make a switch.
In Other News...
Syracuse Escaped UConn But Fran Brown Just Sparked A Bigger Debate
Syracuse needed every bit of its composure, and then some, to leave UConn with a 42-41 overtime win after watching a 20-point lead evaporate. The late quarterback switch to Amari Odom gave the Orange a different spark, and he ended up factoring heavily in the comeback, including on the game-winning two-point conversion. It was the kind of chaotic road result that can feel like a turning point, even if it came with a long list of reminders about how thin the margin was.
Fran Brown still has plenty to sort through, because the win did not cover up Syracuses discipline issues or the defensive lapses that turned a game the Orange should have controlled into a one-score fight for survival. There was enough fight to escape, but also enough sloppiness to leave open a bigger question about whether this team can clean itself up before the schedule gets less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown's Blunt Syracuse Warning Overshadowed A Win Over UConn
Syracuse got the result it needed against UConn, but the path to the finish line was anything but clean. The Orange built an early lead, then watched the game tilt badly in the second half as the defense gave up 27 straight points, a collapse that turned a manageable afternoon into a far more uneasy one for a team still trying to settle into its identity.
Fran Brown did not try to soften any of it afterward. The defensive backs coach took responsibility for what happened, pointed to poor play in the secondary and a rush defense that also failed to hold up, and even made an in-game adjustment by shifting Chris Peal from cornerback to safety. For Syracuse, the win matters, but the warning sign may matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Just Got Pulled Into The ACCs Most Uncomfortable Week
The first weekend of October turned into a brutal sorting exercise across the ACC, with six league matchups suddenly clarifying who is rising, who is wobbling and who is simply trying to survive the month. Pittsburgh edged Virginia Tech but paid a steep price with starting quarterback Mason Heintschel going down with a season-ending ACL injury, while Miami made the loudest statement of the slate by rolling past Clemson. Wake Forest also looked sharp in a dominant win over Stanford, adding to a weekend that left Louisville and Virginia licking their wounds and Florida State looking far more convincing against Virginia.
For Syracuse, the larger lesson is less about any one final score than the way the conference is beginning to separate into uncomfortable tiers. SMU handled Boston College but still looked short of the expectations that came with the programs entry into the league, and three ACC teams ventured into non-conference play with mixed outcomes, adding even more noise to a week already crowded with consequences. In a conference this volatile, every result starts to matter faster than anyone would like, and Syracuse is now watching a race that feels like it could shift again by next Saturday. [Read more 🡒]