Syracuse football (0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) flies home from Atlanta in despair after a 45-26 loss to No. 24 Tennessee (1-0, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes Benz Stadium. From the get go, it didn’t look good for the Orange.
It didn’t take long for @CuseFootball to lose control in its 45-26 loss to No. 24 @Vol_Football.@Hudson_Ridley and @SamuelReisTV had the call of the 2025 season opener that got away from SU. pic.twitter.com/7efTZaIft2
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) August 30, 2025
Syracuse found itself down by ten towards the end of the first quarter. But a glimpse of momentum briefly appeared when UT had the ball just outside the redzone and Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar fumbled and gave Syracuse the ball.
The excitement from the 'Cuse sideline lasted only for a moment until Steve Angeli rolled to his right and lost control of the ball and 'Vols linebacker Colton Hood returned it for a touchdown, increasing the deficit to 17.
Unfortunately, the lackluster day upfront for SU would continue to struggle throughout the entire game. UT would finish with multiple tackles for losses and sacks in the game. After the disappointing loss, head coach Fran Brown said that the offensive line needs to step up.
“Five sacks is unacceptable, as long as I am head coach,” Brown said.
With SU in a big hole, Brown made his message simple once the scoreboard was not in SU’s favor.
“Make sure we stay together, and continue to fight,” Brown said.
However, SU played just about even after the first 15 minutes of action. SU would only get outscored by two points in the remaining quarters. A big reason why was the play of running back Yasin Willis and quarterback Steve Angeli.
Willis and Angeli got their first starts in an SU uniform and did not waste it. The sophomore tailback totaled 91 yards and found the endzone three times on 23 carries.
Paydirt has been found by @CuseFootball running back Yasin Willis.@SamuelReisTV detailed Syracuse's first touchdown of the season.
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) August 30, 2025
📻@waer883, https://t.co/BG0Q3sGq3P pic.twitter.com/hTdQd5iLrt
The Notre Dame transfer signal caller finished with 247 passing yards, a passing touchdown, and two turnovers. SU head coach Fran Brown approved of the way Angeli performed.
“I think that our team is behind him. I fully support him and we fully support the way he played today,” Brown said.
Going over to the other side of the ball, chunk plays really hurt the Syracuse defense.
“They wanted to go tempo. I think we did a good job of keeping up, it was just the big plays that hurt us,” said linebacker Derek McDonald.
Closing the book on Tennessee, Syracuse turns the page to chapter two: UConn. The Orange host the Huskies this Saturday in the dome with kickoff slated for noon. Our coverage of the gridiron clash between Syracuse and UConn starts at 11:30, with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Kickoff.