Syracuse football isn't DART, and that's the worst part of the Orange's 1-2 start

The frustration is palpable for the Syracuse football team and its fan base. In the span of six days, Fran Brown's team suffered two losses to ACC foes Cal and Pitt. In both cases, the Orange played well enough to win, especially on defense, but ended up beating itself. Against Cal, three turnovers and penalties cost the Orange. Against Pitt, it was more turnovers and penalties, with Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi saying afterward that the Panthers didn't play their best game, a subtle hint that Syracuse beat itself.

Some losses are inevitable, but beating yourself is unacceptable. The fundamental problem for the Orange right now is that they are not living up to the DART mantra that Brown promised. The Orange is falling well short of being detailed, accountable, relentless and tough. Brown has never ceased preaching DART, but three games into year three, it's nowhere to be seen, and that's the worst part of being 1-2.

Penalties are the problem

It's no secret that penalties are killing Syracuse right now. While some of the penalties against Pitt were questionable calls, that doesn't excuse 10 penalties for 94 yards. Granted, things got better after Brown picked up his own unsportsmanlike penalty. But the damage is done; the Orange will be fighting its reputation as an undisciplined team for the rest of the season.

At the moment, Syracuse leads the nation in both penalties and penalty yards. Plain and simple, teams that are detailed and accountable don't lead the country in penalties. In fact, teams that are detailed and accountable should be among the teams committing the fewest penalties. Needless to say, the Orange is a long way from that. If Syracuse could have just cut its penalties in half over the last two games, a win over Cal would have been more likely, while beating Pitt would not have been far-fetched.

Steve Angeli's turnovers

The enthusiasm about having Steve Angeli back from injury for the start of the season is officially dead. If not for the unacceptable level of penalties, Angeli's five interceptions over the last two games would be head and shoulders the biggest culprit in the Orange's two losses. A majority of those five interceptions came in situations in which not turning the ball over was more important than picking up a first down. That's not being detailed.

The only question is whether Brown will hold Angeli accountable for his mistakes. There's no reason to completely write off Angeli as a quarterback, but five interceptions in two games have to come with consequences. If he can't protect the ball, he's not the right quarterback for Syracuse right now, and Brown needs to hold him accountable and make a change.

Let's talk about arm tackles

Through three games, the Syracuse defense has been the team's savior. They played well enough to beat Cal and kept the Orange in the game against Pitt. But they are not blameless in Syracuse's lack of DART. They've been overzealous and undisciplined at times in racking up penalties that have proved costly. In that respect, the Syracuse defense hasn't been detailed despite being talented.

Against Pitt, the Orange had a strong showing, especially against the pass. Two weeks after throwing seven touchdowns against Miami (Ohio), Mason Heintschel completed just 10 of 23 passes for a mere 123 yards. However, most of Pitt's offense came on a handful or so of chunk plays created by missed arm tackles. It might be nitpicking, but a lack of toughness on a handful of plays proved costly and made the Syracuse defense look weak against the run statistically, even though the Orange are capable of playing much better.

The silver lining

If there's a silver lining to Syracuse's 1-2 start, it's that the relentless part of DART is still there. Amidst the penalties and turnovers, the Orange hasn't fallen apart emotionally and let teams run over them. It would have been easy to do in the second half against Pitt after Angeli's second interception. But even Narduzzi commended the Orange's toughness and physicality after Thursday's game.

Even at 1-2, the season is far from over. As Brown has promised all along, his team will be tough. Even last year's 3-9 team never showed quit, so there's no reason to expect it in 2026. However, even if Syracuse is the most relentless team in the country, the Orange is still failing DART. If they don't use the bye week to get more detailed, accountable and tough, the same problems that have caused the last two losses will continue to cause more losses in games that the Orange could or should win.

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