Six win Syracuse rolls over to Alumni Stadium this Saturday afternoon. The Orange came away with an overtime victory over a Virginia Tech team down their starting QB and running back. That makes three ACC wins for Fran Brown’s team (NC State, Georgia Tech), with a bad loss to Stanford and more recently a rough outing at Pittsburgh.
Nobody’s completed more passes this season than quarterback Kyle McCord. The Ohio State transfer airs it out to the tune of 345 yards per game, fourth in the nation. McCord has completed just over 65% of his passes for his career, which is third best in the conference and top 15 in the country too. He even has a good shot of breaking most of the ‘Cuse single-season passing statistics. It’s less explosives, more paper cutting to death. They spread the ball out a lot as three receivers average over 60 yards per game, one of only three schools to meet this mark.
Leading the receiving corps are Trebor Pena and Jackson Meeks, alongside the big tight end Oronde Gadsden II. Pena is McCord’s ever reliable target leading the conference in receptions per game (6.8), while Meeks has made big plays in clutch moments. Pena and Meeks lead the way in receiving scores with 5 and 4, respectively. But it’s Gadsden who might be the most dangerous. He’s the program’s all-time leader in receptions and yards for a tight end. The big man has had some injuries to fight through his career, but he’s an athletic freak who dominated BC back in 2022.
TOUCHDOWN GADSDEN‼️
Oronde Gadsden II tallies two TDs on the day to give Syracuse the W over No. 23 Georgia Tech@CuseFootball | @Cuse | @cpisecurity pic.twitter.com/qvzoePhfv3
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) September 7, 2024
Running back LeQuint Allen just broke the school record for receptions by a running back. He’s fourth on the team with 311 yards and three scores. Allen has 602 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground as well. He had a then career-high 142 yards against BC last season. This season, he’s run behind the same veteran offensive line every single game
The Orange are exceptional on third (and fourth for that matter) downs completing over 50% and are one of the best teams in terms of time of possession. Needless to say, they put up points — over 30 a game. McCord has turned the ball over 12 times, including five in the Pitt game, but he’s still proven to be one of the best passers in the country. Dropped passes and tips have done him no favors either. BC will need to continue their streak of some timely turnovers to keep pace in this one, and probably go more ball control to keep Syracuse’s offense out of rhythm. We’ll look more at the defense tomorrow.