McCord, Offense Struggles as Syracuse Falls to Stanford on Late Field Goal 26-24, on the 44th Anniversary of the JMA Dome

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCCNEWS)- Syracuse may have racked up 365 total yards of offense by the end of the game, but the offensive performance was far from pretty.

Defensive huddle during a timeout. Photo Credits: Maria Wainscott

For much of the first half, the Orange struggled to get anything going as they were outgained at one point 100-27.

The rushing attack was nonexistent as Stanford held ‘Cuse to just 26 yards on the ground on 17 attempts.

QB Kyle McCord and RB LeQuint Allen lines up in Pistol formation. Photo Credits: Maria Wainscott

Head coach Fran Brown wasn’t pleased with the physicality in the trenches. “We have to be able to run the ball. If you can run the ball then you can protect Kyle,” said Brown. “You can’t be on one-dimensional.”

QB Kyle McCord drops back for a pass. Photo Credits: Maria Wainscott

Kyle McCord was sacked four times as he was pressured all night by the Cardinals. He also had a fumble and threw two interceptions as adversity met the Syracuse offense for the first time this season.

Those turnovers led to 10 Stanford points, with one of the interceptions being a pick-six.

“We were stopping ourselves just with you know dumb mistakes,” Said McCord. “When you’re misfiring and you’re not necessarily on the same page as the receivers. Or protection isn’t great like whatever it is, we’re obviously going have to get it fixed because we’re not good enough.”

Syracuse falls to 2-1 and 1-1 in ACC play. The Orange will take on Holy Cross at noon next Saturday at the JMA Dome for their fourth straight home game.