NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
The 2025 season didn’t turn out as fans had hoped for the Syracuse Orange. Riding the high of the 2024 season, it would turn to disaster in 2025. Injuries took a toll on the team, but the drive was still there. With some bright spots on the roster, how does the team bounce back in 2026?
Balanced Attack
It was no surprise when the passing attack of the Orange hit a snag, so too did their run game. Fixing the QB would go a long way to fixing their run game. Getting Angeli back to full health and productivity will be key. It’s easy to stop the run when your offense becomes one-dimensional, and defenders can cheat to the line of scrimmage. If your quarterback is struggling to stretch the field and plays only 10 yards downfield, defenses will naturally go to their biggest threat. The passing game was no threat once Angeli went down, and defenses adjusted to that.
Better Blocking Up Front
Whether it’s adjusting to defenses with better blocking packages or schemes or just getting more physical guys on their line, the Orange need to be able to move people out of the way. Having two physical backs in Yasin Willis and Will Nixon is fine if you’re looking to push for the extra yard or two, but if defenses are making contact at 1-2 yards, the fight only gets them to 2-3 yards more often than not. Syracuse has to find a way to get more runs of 4+ yards and let their backs fight for the 5th and 6th yard.
Both backs for the Orange did average 4 YPC, but that’s how averages work. They need to be more consistent. For instance. If you run the ball with a 15-yard gain, then back-to-back 3-yard gains, your average per carry is 6 yards. Yet 66% of your carries were for just 3 yards. Having backs that can make explosive plays is fine, but balancing out consistency is key.
Dual Threats
While The Orange struggled in the passing game due to quarterback play in 2025, the contribution from the running back position was almost nonexistent. With QBs struggling to push the ball downfield, tight ends and running backs retreat to a bailout role. However, despite their struggles, the two lead backs combined for 35 catches and 229 yards. If you’re going to have an offense built on speed, you have to get guys who can turn nothing into something out of the backfield on both run and pass plays. If you’ve got physical runners, try to get them into open space at full speed to (hopefully) run someone over. For comparison, a year sooner, LeQuint Allen had 65 catches for 500+ yards with a balanced attack and getting him the ball in open space to make plays. Running backs need to be featured in your passing attack, especially with a struggling quarterback.
For the Syracuse Orange, it really was the tale of two different seasons. Everything that made them a success the year before fell apart in 2025. Improved play in 2026 isn’t that far off with some tweaks along the way. They can most certainly get better with a great class of recruits coming in. How much will the Orange improve in 2026?
