Syracuse football: Three takeaways from SU’s 26-24 loss against Stanford

Win together, lose together – let’s talk about the loss.

The Syracuse Orange got off to a slow start against Stanford, regained the lead late in the 4th quarter, but ultimately fell short in a heartbreaking 26-24 loss.

Let’s not sugarcoat this one. Here are the three takeaways from SU’s week four matchup:

McCord is not the only guy to blame for the loss

Did McCord play perfect, no, but what he did do was give Syracuse a fighting chance until the end, and in a tight game like this one that’s all you can ask for. Head Coach Fran Brown said more or less the same after the game.

“He gave us an opportunity to win, that’s all you can ask,” Brown said. “Did he throw it to the other team? Yeah. But that’s football. You can’t pass for 500 yards every game.”

The star QB threw for over 300 yards, two INTs, and had three total touchdowns, including an electric 19-yard touchdown run to end the third quarter — his longest career rush attempt and first career rushing touchdown.

McCord’s two picks did directly, and indirectly, lead to 10 Stanford points. A pick-six from Stanford safety Mitch Leigber on a pass intended for TE Dan Villari -Stanford’s first pick-6 since September 2021- and a 35-yard field goal from Stanford K Emmet Kenney.

McCord was asked what he saw on those two turnovers, he said it had a lot to do with his impatience.

“The first (interception) was a miscommunication with Dan, but I take fault because I can’t throw it if Dan hasn’t turned around,” McCord said. “The second was just dumb.”

There was plenty of blame to go around, and McCord should be held accountable for his mistakes, but there’s a lot more to discuss this week aside from the quarterback’s play.

Defense continues to improve despite injuries

There were some positives from the Orange defense on Saturday, aside from Stanford’s final drive. Despite the absence of several key defensive contributors, including LB Marlowe Wax, DL Dion ‘Tank’ Wilson, and CB Greg Delaine, who has yet to play this year, Syracuse was able to keep Stanford’s offense out of the end zone the last three-quarters of the football game.

SU was among the worst teams in college football week-one in run defense and tackling week-one, according to Pro Football Focus — the Orange gave up 443 yards against Ohio, their worst mark since Oct. 14 of last year when #14 Florida State had 535 yards of total offense. But, in back-to-back weeks, Syracuse has improved substantially in total defense, #23 Georgia Tech had 378 yards of total offense, and Stanford was held to 351 yards.

Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

The Orange secondary looked much better in this game than they did against Georgia Tech. SU came away with two INTS, forced a fumble, and disrupted four passes. For the most part, CB Clarence Lewis did a good job limiting Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor. Before the final drive, Ayomanor was held to 41 receiving yards on four catches and a touchdown (Lewis was not in coverage on that snap).

Syracuse CB Devin Grant backed up Lewis after the game, praising his coverage throughout the game.

“Clarence Lewis is a great cornerback, that last play does not define him ” Grant added. “Best going against best is always going to 50/50.. I always have Clarence Lewis against anybody it just happened to go the other way, unfortunately.”

The D-Line has a lot to work on. No Dion Wilson hurt the Orange but as a group, they need to get better more pressure on the QB. Stanford QB Ashton Daniels ran the ball 13 times and had plenty of time to throw the football all game.

It’s essential Syracuse gets guys healthy this week and continues to move in the right direction.

Inability to run the football will continue to hurt the Orange

17 rush attempts for 26 rush yards is not going to be enough to win a football game, especially in the ACC. It can’t all rest on Kyle McCord’s shoulders — he won’t be perfect every game, it’s college football, and things happen. If SU continues to rely only on McCord’s arm to win football games, it will be a very long season, and not in a good way. SU needs to establish a more balanced offense with LeQuint Allen in the backfield.

Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

Credit to Stanford too, it played a heck of a game. Head Coach Fran Brown said his team ‘was out-physicaled’, and he credited what Stanford’s run defense was able to accomplish after the game.

“I felt like they had about 50 people on the D-Line, they were just flying around.. they would show five, bring six, and show six and drop back,” Brown added. “Those guys fought really well today, I thought their defensive coordinator and D-Line coach did real a good job.”

This season, Syracuse has run the ball 79 times for 286 yards (3.6 RUSH/AVG.). That’s good for the 117th-ranked rush offense in college football. To put this ranking in perspective, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, and Georgia Southern are the three teams below SU.

Skipping past Holy Cross, and looking at SU’s schedule, UNLV’s defense, specifically run defense (34th in NCAA), presents a significant challenge for SU in early October. The Rebels allow less than 14 points per game and give up only 3.5 yards per carry. UNLV was picked to finish second in the preseason Mountain West poll, and have met all expectations after three games — 3-0, including two wins against Big 12 opponents (Houston and Kansas).

Syracuse hosts Holy Cross next week for Family Weekend, in what should be a ‘pick-me-up’ game before traveling to Las Vegas for a non-conference matchup against UNLV.