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For the first time, Stanford traveled across the country to play Syracuse in the JMA Wireless Dome. The Cardinal, along with Cal and SMU, are amid their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference after leaving the Pac-12.

Before their bout, both the Orange and Cardinal were coming off bye weeks. SU began its season by taking care of business against Ohio before upsetting then-No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28. Meanwhile, Stanford suffered a 34-27 Week 1 loss to TCU and then blew out Cal Poly 41-7.

Syracuse started slowly versus Stanford, trailing 13-10 at halftime and 20-10 at one point in the third quarter, but clawed its way back to take a 24-23 lead with three minutes remaining in the game. The Cardinal, however, marched 59 yards down the field to set up an Emmet Kenney game-winning field goal.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (2-1, 1-1 ACC) 26-24 loss against Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) Friday night:

Matching up against Elic Ayomanor

Throughout SU’s first two games, its opponents emphasized running the ball. Ohio running back Anthony Tyus III notched 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the season opener. Then, the Orange faced Georgia Tech, who had run 70 times for 415 yards in its first two games. While Syracuse fared better against GT, allowing 112 yards on 24 carries, it still surrendered three rushing touchdowns.

Stanford, however, posed a different offensive identity than Ohio and Georgia Tech. The Cardinal’s best offense comes through wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, who tallied 62 receptions, 1,013 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2023. Marcellus Barnes Jr. began the game lining up against the wide receiver but suffered an injury on the Cardinal’s second drive of the game.

Ayomanor notched one catch for 10 yards against Barnes Jr., who didn’t return. From there, the Orange primarily matched Clarence Lewis against Ayomanor. Later on the same drive, Barnes Jr. sustained his injury, Devin Grant opposed the wide receiver. Ayomanor broke free from the Buffalo transfer and hauled in an absurd one-handed catch in the end zone, giving Stanford a 7-0 lead.

The Canadian wide receiver was mostly silenced from there, but fourth-quarter heroics led the Cardinal to their first-ever ACC win. On Stanford’s game-winning drive, Ayomanor caught a 27-yard pass along the right sideline over Lewis on 4th-and-9 with 37 seconds remaining to get the ball within field goal range.

Ayomanor finished the night with seven catches, 87 yards and a touchdown.

Kyle McCord struggles

Kyle McCord’s first two games as Syracuse’s quarterback couldn’t have been better scripted. The Ohio State transfer threw for 735 yards and eight touchdowns while leading the Orange to a 2-0 start to the season. The quarterback’s start to the season prompted early discussions about whether he could be a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Following SU’s bye week, McCord looked sloppy. He threw behind a wide-open Oronde Gadsden II for what could’ve been a 15-yard gain on second down before underthrowing Umari Hatcher on the ensuing play, forcing the Orange to punt on their first drive. On their next drive, the Orange faced a third-and-9 from their 36-yard line. McCord had Jackson Meeks open on the left side of the field, but he overthrew his receiver, forcing SU to punt again.

With Syracuse trailing 7-0 on its first drive of the second quarter, McCord was nearly strip-sacked inside its 15-yard line on second down. Left tackle Da’Metrius Weatherspoon fell on the ball, but the Orange lost nine yards on the play before punting.

On the Orange’s ensuing two drives, their offense only mustered three points despite two prime scoring opportunities. First, Grant notched an interception, putting Syracuse on Stanford’s 23-yard line. Despite moving just outside the 10, McCord and SU’s offense had to settle for a field goal, after he and Trebor Peña couldn’t connect on third down. Then, McCord led the Orange down to the Cardinal 35-yard line, but he took a nine-yard sack on third-and-2, forcing them out of field goal range.

McCord salvaged his first half on his touchdown strike to Hatcher, finishing 8-of-13 passing for 158 yards. Still, his struggles persisted in the second half, most notably on an interception that led to a pick-six, after the signal caller and tight end Dan Villari were not on the same page. Though he had a crucial 19-yard touchdown run, McCord’s struggles persisted when he threw an ill-advised forced interception to Jay Green. McCord was 27-for-42 for 339 yards, two passing touchdowns and two interceptions.

Running game discrepancy

Spearheaded by LeQuint Allen Jr., who earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2023, SU’s rushing attack is one of the best in the conference. However, in its first two games, Syracuse only ran the ball 38% of the time. In the first half versus Stanford, the Orange only gave to their running backs six times. Allen Jr. notched six yards on four attempts, while freshman Yasin Willis — who stepped into the backup role with Will Nixon out — had eight yards on two carries.

Syracuse gave Allen Jr. a handoff on the first play of the second half, which he turned into a six-yard gain before McCord hit Peña for a first down on the ensuing play. From there, SU opted for three straight passes and fell six yards short of the sticks, forcing it to punt for the fifth time. As the Orange fell behind, they turned to the running game even less, but McCord worked magic on a 19-yard touchdown run to pull their deficit to 20-17 at the end of the third quarter.

While SU finished the game with 17 rushing attempts for 26 yards, Stanford, despite struggling on the ground in its first two games, turned 32 attempts into 173 yards. On Monday, SU head coach Fran Brown praised Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels for his prowess as a dual-threat. The Cardinal heavily relied on the quarterback in the running game four days later, as he had 45 yards on 13 attempts. Additionally, with SU linebacker Marlowe Wax still sidelined, running backs Chris Davis Jr. and Micah Ford combined for 124 rushing yards.

Stanford’s last laugh

After the early slip-up against Ayomanor, Syracuse’s defense didn’t surrender another touchdown. While the Cardinal’s rushing attack helped them muster three field goals, it didn’t do enough to break the game open.

Throughout the second half, SU had multiple opportunities to take its first lead of the game, but its offense continuously fell short. However, after receiving the ball on its 40-yard line with just over six minutes remaining and a 23-17 deficit, it finally broke through.

First, McCord hit Darrell Gill Jr. for a 17-yard connection on the first play. Three plays later, Syracuse faced a third-and-17 after a holding call. McCord remained unfazed. As he scrambled to his right, Gill Jr. broke free in the middle of the field and moved the chains on a 24-yard reception.

SU turned to back-to-back Allen Jr. runs, which gained 11 yards, advancing it to Stanford’s 13-yard line. Then, McCord dropped back and found Meeks — filling in as a starter because of Zeed Haynes’ absence — as he shook his defender before slanting toward the middle of the field and into the end zone with 3:13 remaining in the game.

Stanford responded by marching the ball down to Syracuse’s 45-yard line, but faced fourth-and-9 with 0:37 remaining. Then, Ayomanor made his remarkable grab around the sideline, setting up the game-winning field goal.

Published on September 20, 2024 at 11:27 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon