Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 22, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE BY JACK SOBLE O fficially out of answers, Syracuse head coach Fran Brown made another change at quarterback. This one, though, was by choice and came straight out of left field. The Orange had lost four in a row since former Notre Dame signal-caller Steve Angeli tore his Achilles tendon during an upset win over Clemson in Death Val- ley. At the time of his injury, Angeli was leading college football in passing yards (and, it should be noted, pass attempts). He had led Syracuse to a 3-1 start, but a promising season evaporated with the redshirt junior on the sidelines. Redshirt sophomore Rickie Collins, a transfer from LSU, stepped in with Angeli hurt. In his first four starts, the Orange averaged 12.5 points per game and lost by an average margin of 18 points. That gave Brown, he felt at the time, no other choice. "I can't do that no more," Brown said. "He had a month of running the pro- gram. We were 3-1 under Steve's time, and under Rickie, we were 0-4. You've got to open that competition up and give us an opportunity to win." But Brown's answer to the question, "If not Collins, then who?" shocked peo- ple in and outside of upstate New York. True freshman Joseph Filardi got the start Oct. 31 against North Carolina. Fi- lardi was the No. 26 prospect in the 2025 class … in lacrosse. He was not rated for football, walking onto Brown's team af- ter committing to Syracuse for lacrosse. And that turned out about the way you would expect. Filardi completed only 4 of 18 throws for 39 yards in a 27-10 loss, giving the Tar Heels their first Power Four win un- der head coach Bill Belichick. Critics called the decision to start Filardi mal- practice. Brown went back to Collins the next week against No. 18 Miami, once again with predictable results: 12-of-25 passing for 85 yards with 2 interceptions in a 38-10 defeat. Now, to say this is all on Collins or that Syracuse would be just fine if Angeli had stayed healthy would be disingenuous. After a 10-win 2024 season, Brown's first at the helm, the Orange had major red flags for regression. A more difficult schedule is one of them, and a defense that lost significant talent and failed to adequately replace it is another. The Orange allow 31.5 points per game, which is 117th in the country. That number jumps to 34.1 points dur- ing the current six-game losing streak. With a 3-7 record, a bowl game is out the window for Syracuse. The Or- ange is recruiting above its weight un- der Brown, though, with the 29th-best class in 2026, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. The future is still bright, and that future does include Angeli. Brown confirmed he will be Syra- cuse's starting quarterback in 2026 — and 2027; he got hurt in Game 4, so he gets the year of eligibility back — as long as he's healthy. "We're fine in that department," Brown said Nov. 3. "We'll be good. Steve will be back and Steve will be the quar- terback next year." Redshirt sophomore quarterback Rickie Collins, a transfer from LSU, stepped in with Angeli hurt, but he and the team have struggled during a six-game losing streak. PHOTO COURTESY SYRACUSE ATHLETICS LOST SEASON Winless since Steve Angeli's injury, a once-promising season has taken a dark turn for Syracuse