The eyes of the nation will be on Syracuse on Friday night when it hosts Stanford on ESPN. The college football world has been abuzz with the Orange after their first two performances of the season.
One of the top offenses in the country will be on display when the Orange take the field. Syracuse is averaging 497.5 yards of offense through the first two games, which ranks 15th in the nation. 'Cuse recorded 515 yards in the victory against Georgia Tech, its highest total versus an FBS opponent since the 2021 season.
Quarterback Kyle McCord has been the field general that Orange Nation hoped for when he announced he would transfer to Syracuse from Ohio State. The Mt. Laurel, New Jersey native leads the nation in touchdown passes per game (4.0) and is second in passing yards per game (367.5) and total offense (372.0). With four touchdown passes in each of the first two games, McCord joins Tommy DeVito as the only quarterbacks in program history to post four touchdown passes in back-to-back games. DeVito accomplished the feat in 2019.
"I'm excited, happy, it's where we wanted to be," head coach Fran Brown said of his quarterback's fast start to the season. "There's a lot of things that he is still working on and working towards, and we all are. So, we're constantly trying to evolve on a regular basis. But I'm very thankful, of course the team is thankful to have him as our quarterback. I think he's thankful and happy to be here."
Fadil Diggs, another transfer on the defensive side of the ball, is causing havoc in opponents' backfields. Diggs, who came to Syracuse from Texas A&M after last season, leads the nation in tackles for loss, averaging 3.0 per game. His four TFLs in the season opener against Ohio tie for the most by an FBS player this season and tie for the sixth-highest single-game total in program history.
While newcomers have certainly played a big role in the early going for Syracuse, it's the way they have meshed with the returners that have been key for the Orange. Perhaps there is no better example of that than on the offensive line. J'Onre Reed, Mark Petry and Jakob Bradford are returning starters, while Savion Washington and Da'Metrius Weatherspoon transferred from Colorado and Howard, respectively. Add Enrique Cruz, Joe Cruz and Trevion Mack into the mix and you have a unit that has more depth than any in recent memory. The group has helped the Orange rank third in the nation in passing offense and ninth in tackles for loss allowed.
"Keeping Kyle healthy, that's really all I care about," Brown said when asked what has impressed him most about the group's play. "Making sure Kyle stays healthy, making sure they make the hole big enough for LeQuint (Allen Jr.) to be able to get through those holes. Those guys communicate and they're spending time with each other. What's most impressed me though, honestly, is that relationship – how they've grown, how they are helping each other."
Friday night marks the 44th anniversary of the opening of the Dome. The first game was a 36-24 victory for the Orange over Miami (OH) on Sept. 20, 1980. That game sparked a new era for Syracuse, just as Brown hopes the 2024 campaign catapults the Orange back to national prominence. Syracuse is just outside the top 25 in both the AP and coaches polls and a victory over Stanford would tie Brown for fourth place for the most wins for a Syracuse coach to start his tenure with three.
