The Duce is Loose: Syracuse football defeats Ohio 29-9 (Brent Axe recap)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Even the first game can be a must win.

That was the feeling surrounding Saturday’s opening game at Ohio for the Syracuse football team before kickoff.

Every soul in Syracuse knew the team was coming off a dreadful 1-10 season in 2020 and had lost 15 of 18 games total coming into its 2021 season opener.

Could the Orange hit the reset button and make this season worth checking out?

How many fans who waited in line to get Buddy Boeheim’s autograph on Saturday were talking football?

Can they be convinced to dance around Covid protocols and check out the newly renovated (and air conditioned!) Carrier Dome in one of seven home games scheduled for the 2021 season, starting Saturday with Rutgers (2 p.m.).

At the very least, SU’s 29-9 victory over Ohio has them curious for another week. So much for being a two-point underdog to the Bobcats.

“It feels good to start off on a win, it helps to get that bitter taste out of your mouth,” Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito said.

The Sunny Side

Duce is Wild

Syracuse coach Dino Babers said during his opening-week press conference that he likes to lean on his veterans and those with game experience in the first game of the season.

Darian “Duce” Chestnut had something to say about that.

All he did against Ohio was have one of the most electric debuts for a Syracuse freshman in recent memory.

Chestnut was all over the field on Saturday, recording eight tackles and an interception.

Chestnut was one of the few players on the Syracuse depth chart that entered Saturday’s game with no experience. He looked like the player who had the most.

It’s only one game, and no one wants to go too far over the moon here, but the eye test does not lie. This kid is a player.

Chestnut shut down Ohio receivers, kept his man in front of him, tackled with precision, has keen instincts and technique and defended with ease. He had one interception and missed another by inches.

Another star has been born in Syracuse’s secondary.

“Just a dream come true. Worked all summer for this. Worked all my life for this, really,” Chestnut said after the game.

Super Sean

Sean Tucker must have pointed at his back and told his Orange teammates to enjoy the ride before Saturday’s game because he carried SU to victory over the Bobcats.

Tucker amassed a career-high 181 yards on 25 carries. He ran inside and outside on Ohio, which was hopeless to stop him, including on a 47-yard run in the first quarter that set a major tone for the game.

Tucker’s presence takes a huge burden off the Syracuse offense. If the Orange offensive line can hold up, Tucker is capable of a 1,000-yard season. Heck, he may not even need the offensive line to hold up to do that. The guy is one-man wrecking crew.

Forget giving him the No. 44 as teammate Chris Elmore recently suggested.

Tucker is ready to make the No. 34 shine bright on its own.

The Dark Side

QB won?

DeVito didn’t lose the starting quarterback job after one game on Saturday.

But he didn’t exactly take command of it either.

DeVito was 11-for-17 for 92 yards passing on Saturday. He also rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown.

DeVito made good decisions in the RPO game, was sharp on short throws and generally ran the offense well.

He failed to connect on anything deep and misfired to Taj Harris on two throws, one in the end zone and another with Harris streaking down the sideline, that both should have been touchdowns.

“It’s a game of inches,” DeVito said. “Inch there and inch here, we’re going to get those shots.”

To be fair, DeVito had not played in a real game in more than 300 days after being knocked out for the 2020 season against Duke last year. He wasn’t going to light up the scorebaord on the first day back.

That said, Babers has made it clear he was looking for someone to take command of the starting quarterback job.

DeVito didn’t do that on Saturday. Garrett Shrader didn’t get much of a chance to do that on Saturday.

There is enough intrigue left in the discussion that it is not settled heading into Syracuse’s Week 2 matchup with Rutgers.

Stat of the Day

The Orange improved to 85-43-4 all-time in season openers and is 5-1 during the Babers era in the first game of the year.

Tweet of the Game

Contact Brent Axe: Email | Twitter

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