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SAN DIEGO — A 42-38 victory over then-No. 8 Miami capped Syracuse’s first regular season under head coach Fran Brown. The victory was a culmination of a season full of mostly ups and some fatal downs.

SU didn’t reach Fran Brown’s ultimate goal. He’s repeatedly said the goal no matter the positives to be taken away was an Atlantic Coast Conference title and a National Championship. He repeated the sentiments at his Holiday Bowl press conference, saying his goal was to play next Wednesday in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals.

While setting lofty goals in year one, the Orange still completed their best regular season in years. Against Washington State Friday, Syracuse completed its 2024 season in style. After a slow start, SU dismantled the Cougars to breeze to its 10th win of the year. The victory marks the Orange’s first bowl win since 2018 and the third 10-win season this century.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (10-3, 5-3 ACC) 52-35 win over Washington State (8-5, 0-1 Pac-12) in the Holiday Bowl:

Chasing numbers

SU’s bowl win came with individual milestones being chased, and surpassed. Entering the contest, quarterback Kyle McCord was 21 completions and 267 passing yards away from becoming the ACC single-season leader in those categories, passing Deshaun Watson’s 2016 totals.

For McCord’s weapons, LeQuint Allen Jr. was 99 rushing yards away from reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the second season in a row. Wide receiver Jackson Meeks was just 89 receiving yards away from 1,000, while Trebor Peña was 129 and Oronde Gadsden II was 140.

Following a stalled first drive, SU got going through the air as McCord hit Darrell Gill Jr. and then Peña. On the next drive, Meeks caught two contested catches to total 37 yards. Allen Jr. strutted into the end zone the next play on a 12-yard gain, giving Syracuse its first lead and pushing Allen Jr. closer to his mark.

To begin the second quarter, Gadsden broke free for his first catch, a 23-yard gain. A few plays later, he caught a slant route for an open touchdown, pushing his season total 99 yards away from 1,000. The touchdown pass gave McCord 132 on the day.

After Alijah Clark recorded an interception, Allen Jr. burst through the middle for a 29-yard gain. Gadsden added another big catch and Allen Jr. finished the drive with his second score, a two-yard rush.

Just before the two-minute warning, Allen Jr. inched over the mark, becoming the seventh-ever SU running back to rush for 1,000 yards in multiple seasons. Later on the drive, Gadsden added his second touchdown.

On SU’s first drive of the second half, a 50-yard bomb down the left sideline to Gill Jr. put McCord ahead of Watson in passing yards. While McCord went on to shatter the record, Peña inched closer with a 45-yard score on the next drive.

While the others were chasing prominent marks, Gill Jr. continued to thrive. He caught a 49-yard pass, pushing him to 145 receiving yards on four receptions. Meeks passed his mark with just under four minutes to play in the game, becoming the fourth SU wide receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a season since 2016. Peña and Gadsden fell short of their marks, though, it was an all-around strong effort for SU, finishing with 606 total yards.

Fresh faces

While the Orange were as well equipped roster-wise as any team in the country, multiple absences still spurred some fresh legs getting playing time. Edge rushers Fadil Diggs and Chase Simmons and defensive back Berry Buxton were unavailable. Defensive backs Jayden Bellamy, Jaeden Gould and Marcellus Barnes Jr. all transferred or are in the portal.

The changes pushed Dion Wilson Jr., Braheem Long Jr., Jalil Martin and Ibn McDaniels into the fold. Wilson Jr. was ruled as “likely out for the season” by Brown after four games. Wilson Jr. returned for the first time this season against Washington State. The defensive tackle rotated in and out, totaling three tackles.

Long Jr. recorded just three tackles prior to the matchup against the Cougars but played on an island on the outside. Martin, McDaniels and Greg Delaine rotated in. McDaniels added a strong open-field tackle on a screen pass to Josh Meredith in the second quarter. Later in the frame, Martin hit Carlos Hernandez in the middle of the field.

Denis Jaquez Jr. has missed time with an injury but he saw lots of reps with Diggs down. He recorded a sack in the third quarter, wrapping up quarterback Zevi Eckhaus. The Cougars then stalled and missed the field goal. To start the fourth quarter, Martin jumped a throw to the outside for his first interception at Syracuse.

Brown said in his press conference Thursday the bowl game is the start of the 2025 season. Giving underclassmen who rarely touched the field all season a chance fits the idea.

Prominent special teams

Special teams was an issue that plagued the Orange through the first half of 2024. Against then-No. 25 UNLV, the special teams blocked two punts. Syracuse mostly cleaned up its woes in the second half of the season, but they again showed up in San Diego.

SU tried a little trickery after its first touchdown, going for two with a direct snap to holder Jack Stonehouse in shotgun before flipping left to right to kicker Jackson Kennedy, who started along the left side. Kennedy appeared to dive into the right corner, celebrating emphatically after.

After a review, the call was overturned to no good, taking two points off the board for Syracuse. Nearing the end of the first quarter, Stonehouse set up a punt from SU’s 27-yard line and was blocked by Leon Neal Jr. Meredith easily collected the ball in the end zone, giving WSU a 21-14 lead.

SU retook the lead at 28-21 with 7:34 to play in the first half but made another special teams mistake. Brady Denaburg is the usual kickoff man for Syracuse, but he recently transferred to Minnesota. Jadyn Oh took kickoffs Friday and booted one out of bounds, giving WSU solid field position.

To start the second half, the Cougars had kicking issues. Dean Janikowski missed a 41-yard attempt wide left, keeping Syracuse’s lead at 14. But, as Syracuse drove down the field, a poor snap caused Kennedy to miss a 39-yard attempt wide left.

Yasin Willis returned a kickoff 47 yards after Washington State cut the deficit to seven points with two minutes to play in the third quarter. That was one of the lone bright spots for SU’s special teams unit. WSU answered with a big return of its own, going 46 yards to their own 47.

Nearing the final buzzer, Janikowski added one more chef’s kiss, missing a 37-yard attempt.

Both teams made mistakes on special teams. The Orange looked like an earlier version of themselves, but it didn’t impact the game too much. However, the proof is in the pudding. SU special teams coordinator James Vollono and Brown have some serious revamping to do with their unit.

A different Kyle

Washington State was decimated through the transfer portal but one star stuck it out. Wide receiver Kyle Williams entered the game with 1,026 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He quickly continued his stellar season versus the Orange.

Williams broke out for three big catches across the first quarter. Then, a 66-yard streak down the left sideline cemented him over the 100-yard mark. He was held to just one catch in the second quarter but was easily WSU’s best player. As he went, so did the Cougars.

WSU attempted to force the ball to Williams to open the third quarter. Three straight passes went incomplete, with the Orange keying in on him. Late in the third quarter, Williams caught a pass for a tw-yard loss before walking off with an injury.

Williams re-entered in the fourth quarter and added a 29-yard catch. To close the contest, he finished with 172 receiving yards and finished with the most receiving yards ever in a Holiday Bowl, passing Dez Bryant’s record in 2008.

Still, it wasn’t nearly enough as the Orange were doused in eggnog to seal the deal.

Published on December 27, 2024 at 11:56 pm

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