I took a night to sleep on what I just watched in the Syracuse Orange’s game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday.
I wake up still feeling confused and unsure.
That’s not the feeling you want the fanbase of your team feeling after three games of the season. With 25% of the schedule complete, Syracuse looks to have massive issues that do not have an easily identifiable root cause. All of that came to a head on Thursday night as the Orange fell 27-13 to the Panthers.
Here are our three takeaways from another disappointing loss:
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 17: Syracuse Orange quarterback Steve Angeli (9) throws a pass during the first quarter of the college football game between the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers on September 17, 2026, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Did Steve Angeli have a good game? If you asked that question after the first half, you might have said yes. But his second half performance, much like last week against Cal, left a lot to be desired. Fran Brown pulled the plug after Angeli threw his second interception of the game, bringing his QB’s total to five over the last two games.
As much as Syracuse and Angeli want to deny it, it definitely seems like Angeli is playing hurt. He was limping for a bit against Cal and he continued to take big hits from the relentless Pitt blitz. The other factor, though, is a side of Angeli that we’ve really only seen against Syracuse’s last two opponents.
When the Orange are trailing massively in a game, Angeli seems like he plays a lot of hero ball. He looks to unlock the game by looking for the high-risk, high-reward passes in order to provide a spark to the offense. However, what that is creating are prime-time opportunities for opposing defenses to read his intentions or take advantage of even smaller mistakes.
Did Amari Odom look much better in the one drive we saw him? Yes. But, that was one drive against a Pitt defense that gave him more to work with, given the game state. So, the big claim here is, don’t be surprised if Syracuse starts its next game against UConn with Angeli still as QB1. Brown has always shown fierce loyalty to his starting quarterback. However, you would think the leash has gotten significantly shorter.
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 17: Syracuse Orange offensive lineman Trevion Mack (75) hoists Syracuse Orange running back Ahmad Miller (22) in the air after Miller scored on a 2-yard touchdown run during the second quarter of the college football game between the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers on September 17, 2026, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
If Angeli is the starting quarterback, you would imagine then that starting the game quickly would be of massive importance to Syracuse. Getting a lead quickly could allow the Orange as a whole to feel much more comfortable.
That being said, the play calling from Jeff Nixon did not do Syracuse any favors to get the Orange in a position to succeed and find the end zone to start the game. It’s fine if you want to be a run heavy team. The military service academies do it to great success, and the Orange found victories with a run-based offense at the end of 2023 to go bowling.
However, many of the run concepts and run designs against Pitt that were called in certain situations left a lot to be desired. The Panthers clearly dominated in between the tackles, and the Orange continued to call runs up the middle. We saw that Syracuse’s running game found success once Ahmad Miller ran outside the hashes and had even a small amount of space to work with.
There were some signs that showed Syracuse has talent on the offense. The Orange wide receiver group, especially at the top end, is very potent. Miller looked to get into a rhythm against a Pitt run defense that dominated during the first two weeks of the season. However, the Syracuse play calling put the offense in unfavorable positions on 2nd and 3rd down, which forced too many high-risk chances to be taken.
Sep 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown talks with the referee during the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I think it seemed funny the first two weeks.
It’s not funny anymore.
The Orange, once again, committed far too many penalties. Syracuse had 10 penalties called for 94 yards. The more damning issue is that those penalties either stalled offensive drives or gave Pitt extra momentum to score. Brown has always wanted his team to face adversity. And even though the adversity is self-inflicted, it’s clear that this team cannot respond in a positive manner when put in a tough situation on the field.
We’ve seen many Syracuse teams bend, but not break. These penalties are seemingly breaking the Orange once the yellow laundry flies through the air. You can argue that some of the penalties called were soft calls or not penalties. No matter what your stance is on that issue, the response is the most important part. And that response has been lackluster since the Cal game.