Rickie Collins makes first collegiate start as Syracuse hosts Duke

Duke comes to the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday for their first meeting with Syracuse since the 2020 season. The Blue Devils bring a 2-2 mark with them, including a victory in their ACC opener last week against North Carolina State, and are looking for their first road win of the campaign.

The two teams have gotten to this point in similar ways. The Orange offense has outperformed Duke by about four points per game, but the Blue Devils have been more efficient on a play-to-play scale, averaging over a yard more per play. SU’s defense has also been a little stingier than that of their guests, giving up about five points per game and about one foot per play than their weekend guests.

Of course, that was the old Syracuse with Steve Angeli at quarterback.

An experienced offensive coordinator will be guidiung the new quarterback

While we have praised Orange offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon many times for his coaching acumen and game plans, including after last week’s upset at Clemson, the switch to Rickie Collins taking presents him with a new challenge. While Collins’ athleticism opens a new dimension for the SU offense, he is nearly a fresh start with his receivers and offensive line.

However, it is not a complete loss and a total overhaul of the game plan. Collins has been a little scattershot with his arm when he has played this season, but there is reason to believe Syracuse can still move the ball with him at the controls.

Collins has tossed two touchdown passes this season and both have shown his arm talent and the accuracy he is capable of bringing to the fight. Against Colgate, Collins lofted a perfect touch pass to Gabe Daniels in the right corner of the end zone. Last week, Collins zipped a bullet to the outside hip of Justus Ross-Simmons on the left sideline of the end zone that put Clemson behind the eight-ball.

In short, Collins is capable of making good throws and it is Nixon’s task to get him comfortable in the flow. Perhaps a couple easy tosses to start the festivities and get his feet wet are in order, such as simple screens and slants.

Collins has lots of help around him

After all, that would shift some of the offensive responsibility to the talented and diverse Orange receiving crew. Four receivers have tallied at least 14 receptions and 210 receiving yards for SU this season. Tight end Dan Villari leads the way with 20 grabs while Darrell Gill Jr. tops the squad with 310 receiving yards and Ross-Simmons has a team-high five touchdowns while Johntay Cook II is second on the team in catches and yards.

Tack on the 1-2 combo of Yasin Willis and Will Nixon in the backfield and Collins is surrounded by enough skill to make the offense work. The offensive line turned in their best effort of the season last week and that improvement turning into a trend would go a long way toward helping Collins get his first win.

The top job for that line will be limiting the impact of Duke defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr, who stands atop the ACC with five quarterback sacks on the season. The 6’6” Anthony came by them honestly, notching three of them against Illinois.

Should the line hold up, Collins and his diverse receiving group could be able to make hay against a Duke defensive backfield lacking in sticky cover players. The Blue Devils have eight passes defensed as a team this season. In comparison, Demetres Samuel Jr. has six to lead the Orange, who have 23 as a team.

The defense needs to pull their weight, too

Samuel and his defensive mates have a tough task in front of them, as well. Transfer quarterback Darian Mensah has rolled up 11 touchdown passes against two picks by spreading the ball around. Four different wideouts are in double figures in receptions while three different running backs have over 100 yards on the season.

SU comes into this game off a big win, but are viewed as underdogs at home, mostly due to the loss of Angeli. However, the defense is coming off its best performance of the season, as are the special teams units. There is ample help for a first-time starting quarterback.

It is also easy to see Fran Brown riling up his squad in the locker room and getting them united to lift that first-time starter and pull off another upset in front of a sellout Dome crowd. It will not be easy against an improving Duke offense, but the Orange claim their fourth win of the season and a 2-0 start in conference play with a 34-30 win.

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