Some old demons come back to haunt the new Orange on ESPN primetime.
A walk-off field goal kick capped off the Syracuse Orange football team’s first loss of the season, a game which certainly saw a lot of frustration across all the different position groups. A comeback effort saw Syracuse get its first lead with around three minutes left to go, but it wasn’t enough as the Stanford Cardinal came away with the 26-24 win.
Outside of this being the Orange’s first defeat in 2024, the grades this time around are going to play out a lot more interestingly. For how many players stepped up in big-time ways, an equal number didn’t have the bestest of performances. How did things eventually take shape in the grade book this week?
Here’s your look at position grades from Syracuse’s Friday night loss to Stanford:
Quarterbacks: B
Two interceptions (one of which, albeit not his fault, led to a pick six for the Cardinal) unfortunately proved to be costly in hindsight, but it’s hard to blame Kyle McCord for this one. He still finished with a 64% completion percentage, 339 yards and two TDs. He overcame a bad day for the offensive line, a really bad day for Oronde Gadsden and a really (really) bad performance running the ball. B feels fair, although I was tempted to go to B+ for a second.
Running Backs: C+
Hard to give a anything higher than C+ when LeQuint Allen (8 carries, 25 yards, 3.1 YPC) and Yasin Willis (4 carries, 9 yards, 2.2 YPC) combined for just 34 rushing yards all game. How much of that is on them versus the O-line? There’s blame all around there, no matter what. I’m putting down C+ mainly because of Allen. First, that miraculous nine-yard run which set up Syracuse’s late-game TD was his longest of the night and came at the perfect time. Second, he still caught four passes for 43 yards and proved he can be a threat when the run ball is fully nonexistent.
Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images
Wide Receivers: C+
This is probably the most “up for debate” grade on the board. The tight ends were noticeably absent versus Stanford. Gadsden finished with two catches for 12 yards and had at least two very costly penalties, one of which erased a huge catch from Umari Hatcher. Dan Villari’s mistake on his route led to the pick-six to put the Cardinal back up by 10. At the same time, I’d still go with C+ because of this: even with all that plus no run game or consistent protection for McCord, this receiving group is still very productive. Trebor Pena (10 catches, 101 yards) again led the way, but huge shoutouts to big plays from Hatcher (3 catches, 84 yards) and Darrell Gill Jr. (4 catches for 55 yards).
Offensive Line: D-
From the hardest grade, we now move on to the easiest grade to hand out… and it’s not a good one. Costly holding penalties set the Orange back, particularly in the first half. The ground game wasn’t a threat at all, especially with how clogged things were in the middle. McCord had a good day. but was under duress all night.
Defensive Line: D
When the defense as a collective struggles, it’s hard to pinpoint who was “worse” out of the entire unit. However, only one sack on the day and there were a few too many plays where Stanford’s Ashton Daniels had a ton of time in the pocket or to move around. He just happened to misfire on a few makeable throws. When Stanford’s run was stopped, it was mainly due to tackles before the line of scrimmages by the defensive backs. The one case for a D+ was the unit did at least lead to Stanford getting some false start penalties as well.
Linebackers: C-
Missed tackles mainly played this unit, but Derek McDonald did lead the team in tackles (six) and genuinely played way better compared to his first two games. Stopping the run was a problem, but again, things looked better-ish in the second half. You can go anywhere from D+ to even a C with this unit.
Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images
Defensive Backs: C
Like the receiver grade, you had a handful of players shine and others not so much. I personally can’t go lower than C because Clarence Lewis and Devin Grant each came away with an interception to at least keep the comeback momentum going. It got lost because of the pick-six, but Stanford only scored two field goals in the second half. The first two quarters were rough, but genuinely there was improvement in coverage outside that one final Stanford play (which was more a coaching decision fault than anything).
Special Teams: B
Nothing going in favor of the Orange, but also nothing going against them. Jack Stonehouse punted six times for an average of 49.8 yards a kick. Brady Denaburg knocked in his only field goal. Malachi James and Pena each only returned the ball once.
Now it’s your turn: how would you grade the Orange after their 26-24 loss to Stanford?