Week One: Players of the Game

Three stars shined to help the Orange win in Ohio.

Syracuse opened up their season on the road with a 29-9 win against Ohio University. Syracuse was dominant in all three phases. The offense had 383 total yards, 283 of them being on the ground. The Orange went 8 of 12 on third down. The defense did not allow Ohio in the end zone the entire game. Syracuse caused a turnover late in the fourth quarter and took advantage of a muffed kickoff, which led to a safety the following play. Syracuse’s special teams was perfect, making all field goals and extra points in the game.

Here are my players of the game.

Offense: Running Back Sean Tucker ran all over the Ohio defense. Tucker had a career day with a career high of 181 yards and a touchdown.

On Tucker’s second carry of the game, he went 47 yards to put Syracuse in scoring position on their first drive of the game. He had 25 carries averaging 7.2 yards per carry for the game.

Tucker is a strong back, breaking multiple tackles from defenders. The freshman running back will be a key part to the offense moving through the season. He earned the starting spot this season over Abdul Adams and Jarveon Howard, who opted out last season due to COVID-19. Tucker stepped up last season as a true freshman with 626 yards and four touchdowns playing nine games.

Defense: Darien “Duce” Chestnut was the leader of the Orange defense in his first career college game. The four star recruit from Camden, New Jersey converted the only turnover for the Orange defense with a one handed pick in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

Chestnut had a big play with under three minutes to go in the third quarter, tackling Ohio receiver Jerome Buckner just shy of the first down on fourth and two. He also had eight tackles along with one pass break up.

The true freshman made a good first impression. Chestnut is a great playmaker for the defense and his athleticism is shown on the field. If Chestnut continues to play like this throughout the season, he could be the MVP of this Orange defense.

Special Teams: Andre Szmyt was perfect in the season opener. He had two field goals, one from 29 in the second quarter and the other from 20 yards away in the third. Szmyt was three for three on extra points. 

Syracuse starts off their season 1-0. Next Saturday they open up their home opener against Rutgers at 2 p.m.