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RALEIGH, N.C. — Halfway through the 2024 season, it’s apparent what Syracuse’s offense is. The Orange have thrown 287 passes through six games, 103 more than their rushing attempts. Despite having a star running back in LeQuint Allen Jr., SU relies heavily on the golden arm of Kyle McCord.

And why wouldn’t they?

McCord has been a top quarterback in the country thus far, accumulating the fourth-most passing yards in college football entering Week 7. Additionally, he dotted the second-most passing touchdowns, trailing just Miami’s Cam Ward.

The Orange are continuously attempting to get Allen Jr. more involved. But with McCord slinging the ball around, the philosophy is simple — let McCord use his weapons through the air. The trend continued Saturday in Raleigh.

Against the Wolfpack, McCord found seven different receivers for receptions. However, three stuck out. In Syracuse’s (5-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 24-17 win over NC State (3-4, 0-3 ACC), Jackson Meeks, Trebor Peña and Oronde Gadsden II all notched six receptions or more, totaling 265 receiving yards. As McCord and Co. continue to find their groove, it’s growing harder to stop them.

“If you double one of us, that means everyone else is in single coverage. You can’t do that all the game,” Gadsden said postgame. “We’re gonna find that out and exploit that.”

Gadsden, a tight end, started 2024 with two remarkable games, totaling over six receptions and 90 yards both times. However, following the first bye week, he garnered added attention. Gadsden recorded just three receptions for 16 yards combined between the Stanford and Holy Cross games, repeatedly fighting through double teams.

Though, the game against UNLV was a massive rebound, finishing with 10 receptions and 142 yards. The numbers weren’t as eye-popping against the Wolfpack, but Gadsden finished with six receptions for 74 yards.

On the opening drive, McCord found Gadsden three times, both in the intermediate game and on a 19-yard strike. Late in the second quarter, Gadsden simply outran a defender and high-pointed the ball, plowing forward for a 27-yard gain. He was especially lethal on third downs, moving the sticks three times.

“Not being able to be doubled like I was earlier in the season. Now, other dudes are shining. Other dudes are having they time and they really balling,” Gadsden said.

One of the other targets shining recently has been Meeks. A slow start to his SU career has quickly turned into a stampede of production, developing into a top threat on the outside. Including Saturday’s contest, Meeks has a combined 29 receptions, 344 yards and three touchdowns across his past three games. He’s found the end zone in SU’s last four contests.

Meeks didn’t record a reception until five minutes into the second quarter. Once he got rolling, there was no stopping the Georgia transfer. As the Orange attempted to gradually pull away in the third quarter, Meeks caught three consecutive passes. The biggest was a 24-yard reception, where he took a comeback route and dusted a defender, setting up Allen Jr.’s eventual score.

In the fourth quarter, Meeks again went streaking, catching five consecutive passes. The first was a fourth-down conversion touchdown, pushing SU to a 17-point lead, its largest of the day.

Meeks finished with a career-high 11 receptions while leading the Orange with 116 yards.

“I trust Kyle a lot, and I feel like Kyle knows where I’m going to be a lot of times,” Meeks said postgame.

With Gadsden and Meeks also came the play of one of the most consistent pieces of the offense. Peña, who has four or more receptions in each game this season, was again lethal out of the slot.

McCord looked to Peña on four of the first five plays. He caught two of them, converting one on third down. Peña scattered a few more throughout the rest of the game, totaling eight receptions for 75 yards. His best play of the day came when McCord scrambled out of the pocket on a first-and-10 from SU’s 35-yard line.

Peña originally ran a five-yard comeback route out of the left slot. But as he saw McCord roll right, he also rolled right, cutting through the middle of the field before catching a pass for 28 yards between three defenders.

“We just spread the wealth throughout the entire team,” SU head coach Fran Brown said postgame. “Coach (Jeff) Nixon does a really good job of just not having you be able to just key on one guy.”

Aside from SU’s top three weapons, McCord found many others. The first touchdown of the day came on a 28-yard back shoulder catch by Umari Hatcher. It was Hatcher’s only catch of the day, but it got the ball rolling for the passing game. Allen Jr. and Darrell Gill Jr. also contributed two catches each on the night, allowing McCord to use the intermediate game when needed but also stretching the field horizontally.

Even tight end Dan Villari was used for a six-yard gain. The once wildcat guru has been utilized far less in 2024, totaling just two receptions. But the use of a second tight end brings one more layer to both the rushing and passing game.

Postgame, Meeks disagreed with the notion that the lethal passing game has become SU’s sole offensive identity. He quickly pointed out Allen Jr.’s day, with 91 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

Though Meeks — who has been key in Syracuse’s evolving air attack — wouldn’t identify it, the numbers don’t lie. The Orange are finding comfort in the air, no matter how many times per game McCord needs to drop back and deliver. And Saturday, with the showing of multiple weapons throughout, SU is becoming a tougher task for any opposing defense it faces. Its quarterback knows it, too.

“I feel like teams are starting to have to pick and choose where they want to stop us,” McCord said.

Published on October 13, 2024 at 2:33 am

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky