Through two games, SU football is 2-0 under new head coach Fran Brown. Part of the reason for the hot start is Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord. The quarterback tossed a career best 381 passing yards and four touchdowns in this past Saturday’s game against then 23rd ranked Georgia Tech. On top of that, the New Jersey native is tied for first in the nation for passing touchdowns with eight. Some are even saying McCord is a contender for the Heisman. While the bulk of this intro has been about Kyle McCord, he wouldn’t be having such a hot start without elite wide receivers. So, who is making the biggest difference for Syracuse so far, and will it continue? Let’s jump into all of that and more.
WR-Trebor Pena
Pena is without a doubt the hottest receiver on the entire offense as of right now. Coming into this year, the wideout only had a single touchdown. Pena is now tied for the most receiving touchdowns in the nation with four. Seeing all of the redshirt juniors recent success, it begs the question, what was Dino Babers thinking? Coming into this year, Pena had just north of 270 yards. He’s now got more than half of that in just two games under Brown. McCord’s chemistry with the wideout has started to make people think that Pena could be the number one option over Oronde Gadsden. While I think that’s a stretch so early into this season, Pena already has more touchdowns than any other SU receiver did last year.
TE-Oronde Gadsden
SU fans were questioning if Oronde Gadsden was going to show up like he did in 2022. Well, I’m here to tell you he’s back and better than ever. Through two games, Gadsden has three touchdowns which is tied for first in the entire nation. Compared to his sophomore year, Gadsden already has more than double the amount of touchdowns and receiving yards in 2024. On top of that, having Pena as such an explosive option takes attention away from Gadsden. Thus, Gadsden has so much more space to thrive making him near unstoppable.
Will it continue?
Syracuse’s next opponents on the schedule before it hits the road are Stanford and Holy Cross. The Cardinal came in ranked as the worst team in the ACC preseason poll. Knowing this, McCord, Pena, and Gadsden should all have career days. After that, the Crusaders are an FCS team. The entire SU offense should take advantage over the next couple of games and put up more astronomically high numbers. If all goes according to plan, Syracuse will roll into a tough road matchup against UNLV 4-0, with everything to play for.
