Syracuse football: Orange leaders refused to fold in Vegas

DART on display in Sin City

The Syracuse Orange almost left Las Vegas like many visitors to the Sin City- flying home wondering just how they gave away so much when they were up so big.

With a great third quarter rally, the Orange were up ten points on the UNLV Rebels and looked like they were starting to click. Then a second blocked point tied the game and with it still tied in the fourth, Kyle McCord tried to force a pass to LeQuint Allen which was intercepted. UNLV drove 94 yards in 10 plays to go-ahead late and it looked like Syracuse had crapped out.

Then the Orange went 75 yards to tie the game and all the yards were gained by Allen, Oronde Gadsden, and Jackson Meeks. Allen’s 4th down run will live in Syracuse history as he willed his way to the first down.

Then McCord hit Meeks with a dart to tie the game and send it to OT. After the Orange defense led by Fadil Diggs and Justin Barron made a key 3rd-down stop to hold the Rebels to a field goal, it was McCord, Gadsden and Allen again leading the way for the Syracuse win.

Look there’s a lot to critique about this Syracuse team right now, but what they have shown in the first five games is that there is a toughness about them that is more than a t-shirt slogan. Building the program back is going to be a work in progress. Yes, there’s a lot of players who will move on after the season. Yes, there is a much tougher schedule in 2025.

However a foundation is being established in Syracuse. The culture doesn’t come from a flashy social media post or some press conference quotes. It’s built on the inside where every player on the roster sees their leaders doing what’s needed for the team to win.

Last night the Orange veterans refused to lead the team fold. That effort was best summed up a future star who got his first career touchdown on Friday night

“That’s LeQuint,” freshman running back Yasin Willis said. “You talk about LeQuint Allen, first thing that comes up is he’s a dog. He’s going to put the team on his back every time. Just seeing that, it put a big smile on my face. That’s a big moment for him right there.”

It’s not just a big moment for LeQuint, it’s a big moment for Syracuse Football because it’s a moment that a program can point to as evidence to why they do all that extra work. It’s why they talk about Detail, Accountability, Relentlessness and Toughness.

Maybe we didn’t get a full 60 minutes of each of those, but when the game was on the line Syracuse’s leaders exemplified Fran Brown’s philosophy.