College Football
Preview
Duke at Syracuse
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 27, 2025
Where: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, New York

Syracuse and Duke have shown this season that they can battle through adversity.

The Orange will face a significant challenge the rest of the way, as they will take the field without quarterback Steve Angeli on Saturday when they host the Blue Devils.

Angeli came into last week's game against Clemson leading the nation in passing yards, and he threw for 244 and two touchdowns against the Tigers before tearing his left Achilles tendon. The Notre Dame transfer will miss the remainder of the season -- his first with the Orange (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

"I'm sorry that he has to go through it, but it's part of the game," Syracuse coach Fran Brown said. "It's part of being a human."

The next man up for the Orange is redshirt sophomore Rickie Collins, a transfer from LSU who will make his first career start on Saturday.

"I'm happy for Rickie. I'm excited for him. I thought he handled everything the right way," Brown said of Collins, who threw a touchdown pass to help the Orange secure a 34-21 upset win over Clemson. "No one deserves an opportunity more than he does."

The Blue Devils (2-2, 1-0) were staring at the possibility of a third straight defeat last weekend as they trailed North Carolina State by 13 points in the first half. However, Darian Mensah finished with three passing touchdowns and Anderson Castle ran for three scores as Duke rallied for a 45-33 victory.

"Momentum is only real if you keep earning it," said Duke coach Manny Diaz, whose team plays four of its next five games on the road. "That win was great for our guys, but the standard has to be about consistency. Syracuse is playing really good football right now, and we'll need our best."

The Blue Devils are 4-1 all-time against the Orange. This will be the teams' first meeting since 2020, when Duke recorded a 38-24 victory at Syracuse.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf Conf
Duke 2-2 W1 34.0 32.2 2-1 0-1 2-1 0-0 1-0
Syracuse 3-1 W3 38.2 27.5 2-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 1-0
Last Meeting
Duke Syracuse
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
10/10/20 DUKE 38 SYR 24 645 363 282 286 28 258
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Duke C. Brice 57.9 270 2 1
Syracuse T. DeVito 50.0 255 2 0
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Duke D. Jackson 30 169 5.6 0
Syracuse S. Tucker 12 53 4.4 0
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Duke J. Garner 3 73 24.3 1
Syracuse T. Harris 6 138 23.0 1
Touchdowns Player TD
Duke M. Durant 2
Syracuse L. Benson 1
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Duke D. Mensah 67.3 1305 11 2
Syracuse S. Angeli 62.8 1316 10 2
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Duke A. Castle 22 193 8.8 3
Syracuse Y. Willis 52 233 4.5 4
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Duke C. Barkate 17 337 19.8 1
Syracuse D. Gill Jr. 14 310 22.1 3
Touchdowns Player TD
Duke S. Hagans 4
Syracuse J. Ross-Simmons 5
Quickchart Matchup
Duke Duke Off vs  Syracuse Syracuse Def
Duke 464 yards
Syracuse 458 yards
Duke 4.9 yards/rush
Syracuse 5.2 yards/rush
Duke 8.7 yards/attempt
Syracuse 6.3 yards/attempt
Syracuse Syracuse Off vs  Duke Duke Def
Syracuse 473.2 yards
Duke 413.8 yards
Syracuse 3.3 yards/rush
Duke 3.9 yards/rush
Syracuse 8.3 yards/attempt
Duke 9.2 yards/attempt