Syracuse Football: Key takeaways from the Orange's week 7 road win over NC State

For only the second time in program history and the first since 2013, Syracuse football came into Carter-Finley Stadium and left victorious.

The Orange never trailed and won 24-17 in a game that felt more lopsided than the final score would suggest.

My key takeaways from Syracuse football's week 7 win versus NC State.

Justin Barron was incredible

A year after being named an All-ACC Honorable Mention as a safety, to me, Justin Barron has been a little underwhelming. That changed after Saturday's game. Lining up primarily as a linebacker, Barron played his best game of his career against the Wolfpack. The 6'4" 225-pound senior led the Orange with eight tackles, five being solo. He also recorded a sack, two tackles for loss, two pass breakups, an interception, and recovered a fumble. Talk about filling up the stat sheet.

With an Orange defense that has been increasingly banged up, Barron was needed even more than usual. And he stepped up.

Good things happen when you dominate turnover differential

For the first five games, Syracuse was either even or negative in turnover differential. Kyle McCord, despite everything great he has done, has still thrown six interceptions. The defense was averaging a mediocre one turnover a game and there was room to improve on both sides.

Against the Wolfpack, Syracuse's defense forced three turnovers while not turning the ball over. It was only the second game all year with no turnovers (week 2, Georgia Tech), and the first time the Orange defense forced three takeaways since playing Pittsburgh last year.

As mentioned above, Justin Barron had an interception and recovered a fumble forced by Derek McDonald. Additionally, Devin Grant forced a fumble on a strip-sack recovered by David Omopariola. Each takeaway occurred in Syracuse territory and led to a touchdown. The 21 points off turnovers were massive, outscoring NC State on all drives.

When Syracuse won 10 games in 2018, the Orange were +13 in turnover differential and won the turnover battle in nine games. I don't think Syracuse has the roster or coaching philosophy to end up near +13 in turnovers, but you eliminate a lot of pressure by winning in turnovers.

Kyle McCord played his best college game

In his sixth game with Syracuse and 19th career start, Kyle McCord threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Statistically, that's one of McCord's lesser games as it's the second fewest yards he's thrown all year and tied for the fewest touchdowns. Looking past the two important numbers, McCord completed 31-of-42 passes for a season-high 73.8% completion percentage. He did that despite numerous drops from receivers.

I don't think Kyle McCord threw a bad ball all game and made fantastic decisions. Again, McCord had averaged over an interception a game and that number could be closer to two if not for drops from DBs. To my knowledge, he didn't have a single pass that should have been a turnover. Additionally, his 346 yards passing were over 60 yards more than what NC State allowed in any other game.

I was very impressed with how McCord handled pressure. The Syracuse offensive line did not have a great game and the Wolfpack defense sent a lot of blitzes. It didn't matter, as McCord would just get rid of the ball fast to an open receiver. Equally impressive is the types of throws McCord made. His 31 completions didn't come from screen passes and checkdowns; he threw downfield and to all parts of the field. McCord was also able to improvise and get yards with his legs. Add it all up while playing in a hostile environment, and McCord had his best collegiate game.