It’s the first time the Orange have ever had a three-headed receiving monster this threatening
The Syracuse Orange sit at 5-1 halfway through the 2024 season, in large part thanks to the No. 2 passing attack in the entire country. Kyle McCord has spread the ball around the receivers’ room nicely, as instead of a true WR1 taking all the glory, three legitimate options have emerged to split the targets.
Georgia transfer Jackson Meeks leads the team with 459 receiving yards, while returning juniors Trebor Pena (458) and Oronde Gadsden (433) are right behind him. Do the math and you’ll notice that all three are averaging over 70 yards per game – something that’s never happened over a full season in program history.
Jackson Meeks (76.5), Trebor Pena (76.3) and Oronde Gadsden (72.2) are all averaging over 70 yards receiving per game.
Syracuse is the only FBS school in the country with three players averaging over 70 receiving yards per game.
Only six schools have 2 players averaging > 70. pic.twitter.com/xfxexBE5M1
— Tim Leonard (@Tim_Leonard4) October 14, 2024
The other five schools with two qualifying receivers are Washington, Ohio State, Iowa State, Middle Tennessee State, and Kent State.
Across Syracuse football history, there are only three instances of two players averaging 70+ YPG:
12 games:
- 2017: Steve Ishmael (1,347) and Ervin Phillips (904)
- 2012: Alec Lemon (1,063) and Marcus Sales (863)
11 games:
- 1993: Shelby Hill (937) and Marvin Harrison (813)
Close Calls
- 2007: Mike Williams (837) and Taj Smith (822)
- 1989: Rob Moore (1,064) and Rob Carpenter (761)
BONUS Stat: SU is also the only school to have three players in the Top 50 for receptions per game. Pena is 12th (7.0), Meeks is 24th (6.3), and O.G. is 49th (5.3).
It’s another example how efficient the Jeff Nixon offense has been this season… and what could give the Orange the edge in key second-half matchups.
Over the remaining schedule, Syracuse will face:
- The No. 1 (Miami) and No. 11 (Pitt) national offenses in yards per game
- Two defensive backs PFF graded Top 50 in coverage AND national interception leader Nohl Williams at Cal
- A Virginia Tech squad who quietly allows less than 200 pass yards per game
So on paper, there are instances where the offense will need to outduel their opposition, as well as where they need to carefully dissect strong secondaries.
For once, they’ll have both the quantity and quality to do so.