Syracuse Football: Top takeaways as the Orange pulls away from Holy Cross at the Dome

Syracuse football, on Saturday afternoon before a sell-out crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome, wrapped up its four-game home stand to start the 2024 season, and the Orange's performance wasn't always pretty, and it was far from consistent across all three phases of the 'Cuse roster.

In the end, though, first-year head coach Fran Brown and his squad bounced back from a heart-breaking loss to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Stanford a week ago by defeating a scrappy Holy Cross, 42-14.

The Orange (3-1, 1-1 in the ACC) raced out to a 21-0 lead over the Crusaders in the first half, and 'Cuse fans, myself included, figured this might prove an easy non-conference win for Syracuse football.

That sentiment didn't transpire. Holy Cross (1-4), which competes at the Football Championship Subdivision ("FCS") level as a member of the Patriot League, put together two long scoring drives in the second quarter to get back into this contest.

The 'Cuse would add a touchdown to go up 28-14 at halftime. After the intermission, Syracuse football would outscore Holy Cross, 14-0, to produce the final outcome. The Orange defense was excellent in the second half, but the 'Cuse offense went somewhat cold, leaving points on the sidelines due to turnovers, penalties and a dismal kicking game.

Regardless, Syracuse football took care of business. Per SU Athletics, the Orange is now 22-0 against FCS foes. The 'Cuse also moves to 25-5 in its all-time series with the Crusaders and has captured 14 consecutive triumphs over Holy Cross.

Top takeaways as Syracuse football got back into the victory column.

•Even with the offense sluggish in the second half, for the entire affair, the Orange generated a season-high 541 total yards. What encouraged me the most is that the 'Cuse rushed for 125 yards after struggling on the ground in a 26-24 home setback to Stanford on September 20.

•The Syracuse football defense allowed just nine rushing yards and 194 yards through the air. I recognize that Holy Cross is an FCS team, but the Orange only gave up 203 total yards. That's solid.

•You have to give credit to Syracuse football spreading things around. Six different 'Cuse players scored, and that included a nice pick-six by redshirt sophomore defensive back Jayden Bellamy.

•Senior quarterback Kyle McCord went 28-of-50 for a career-high 385 yards with four touchdowns (to four different receivers) and two interceptions. It was his second-straight performance with two picks, but he's also thrown for at least 339 yards in every encounter of the 2024 campaign, with a total of 14 passing touchdowns against five interceptions.

•As has occurred in other games this term, the Orange hurt itself with some untimely penalties, including one that brought back a 'Cuse touchdown. In total, Syracuse football committed six penalties for 52 yards.

•Orange fans, understandably, continue to feel frustrated with the team's offensive line, and I get that. Yes, the 'Cuse piled up a ton of yards against Holy Cross, but the Crusaders also sacked McCord three times and back-up quarterback Michael Johnson Jr., a redshirt senior who transferred in from Florida Atlantic, two times.

•In the fourth quarter, as it was obvious that Syracuse football would beat Holy Cross, Brown got a bunch of reserves and underclassmen into this contest, whether at running back, wide receiver, at various defensive positions and in the return game, among others. That was fun to see.

•The Orange had a nearly eight-minute edge in time of possession. And Syracuse football sported 32 first downs, as compared to eight for Holy Cross.

•However, the 'Cuse could have made this affair a blowout much earlier on if the Orange punched the ball into the end zone on several occasions when it had strong field positions. But in the second half, that didn't happen. And Syracuse football kickers were a combined 0-of-3 with their field goal attempts. That's concerning as the team's schedule will intensify in the coming weeks.

•Up next, this coming Friday night, Oct. 4, the 'Cuse will travel out west to Las Vegas to battle top-25 UNLV in a road non-conference game. The Rebels (3-0), a squad in the news a lot this week, were hosting Fresno State on Saturday afternoon. Assuming UNLV prevails, Syracuse football will have a major chance ahead to knock off a ranked group in week six.