Syracuse Football: The good, and the not-so-good, in Orange's season-opening victory

The Fran Brown era as the head coach of Syracuse football started with a win against a solid Ohio program on Saturday afternoon, as the Orange came away with a 38-22 victory at the JMA Wireless Dome in the team's 2024 season opener.

The 'Cuse didn't blow out the Bobcats, as some Orange fans predicted. Syracuse football was a sizable betting favorite against Ohio, but the Bobcats proved highly efficient on the ground and kept fighting on the Hill.

After a sluggish first quarter, the Orange's offense found its groove, led by senior quarterback Kyle McCord through the air and junior LeQuint Allen Jr. in the run game. Redshirt junior receiver/return man Trebor Pena was also terrific, while McCord connected efficiently with multiple other Syracuse football receivers.

However, the 'Cuse defense left a lot to be desired. Brown also will not be happy with Orange players committing several untimely and unnecessary penalties.

All in all, though, a win is a win, and the 'Cuse is 1-0 heading into this coming Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference showdown with Georgia Tech in Central New York. The Orange is now 4-0 in its all-time series with the Bobcats out of the Mid-American Conference ("MAC").

The good and the bad for Syracuse football in its week-one triumph over Ohio.

The Good
•McCord, the four-star transfer from Ohio State, was excellent. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 354 yards and four touchdowns, according to statistics provided on cuse.com. McCord did have one interception.
•Redshirt junior tight end Oronde Gadsden II, who missed most of the 2023 season due to an injury, hauled in seven catches for 108 yards and one score. Gadsden's big frame is highly appealing to McCord, and I think this duo is in for a fantastic campaign.
•Pena, who also missed much of 2023 due to an injury, caught six passes for 78 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Additionally, he had a rushing score.
•Allen didn't do much in the first half on the ground, but he finished with 15 carries for 98 yards, while also scoring a receiving touchdown.
•Speedy freshman Malachi James had three kick returns for 70 yards.
•On defense, redshirt freshman linebacker James Heard Jr., a transfer from West Virginia, tallied an interception. Freshman defensive back Marcellus Barnes Jr. had two pass breakups. Senior edge Fadil Diggs, a transfer from Texas A&M, recorded eight total tackles, three solo tackles for a loss and two sacks.

The Not-So-Good
•While Ohio is a good team that has won 10 games in back-to-back seasons, it's also a MAC school and not a squad in a power-four conference. I mean no disrespect to the Bobcats; in fact, I admired how they stuck with the Orange throughout this non-conference affair. What frustrated me is that, for one, Ohio absolutely dominated the first quarter. The 'Cuse only had the ball for about one minute in the opening 15 minutes. Syracuse football limited the Bobcats to a pair of field goals in the first quarter, but it was a lackluster beginning to the 2024 season for the Orange.
•To that end, throughout this contest, Ohio offensive linemen did an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage. That, in turn, led the Bobcats to rush 39 times for a whopping 255 yards on the ground, which translated to a concerning 6.5 yards per attempt. In all fairness, this was the first game for an overhauled Syracuse football roster that has a new head coach and many new assistants. Let's see how the defense adjusts in the coming weeks. That being said, Orange defenders weren't doing a credible job of getting to the edge and making tackles to prevent longer runs. The defensive line has work to do.
•In recent seasons under former head coach Dino Babers, the 'Cuse often committed too many penalties. On Saturday versus Ohio, Syracuse football committed six penalties for 47 yards. In the larger context, six penalties isn't a huge amount, but some of these penalties came at inopportune times and were just flat-out mental mistakes. Brown is big on discipline, and he can't be pleased with the penalty department against the Bobcats.

I'm thinking about star senior linebacker Marlowe Wax Jr., who suffered an injury and wasn't able to play the entire game. Per the ACC Network broadcast team, Wax was seen using crutches and was in a boot at one point. I sincerely hope that the Baltimore native is okay; he's a veteran leader not just of the Orange's defensive unit, but also of the entire program.

Following this victory, McCord conducted a brief interview with the ACC Network. He called this outcome a "really good team effort." He praised the 'Cuse offensive line for its pass protection, also noting that the Orange ramped up its rushing attack in the second half.

Brown, his assistants and their players got the job done in week one. It wasn't perfect, but it was still a win. I'm excited for this Saturday against the Yellow Jackets at the Dome.