S
yracuse and Stanford have both been prominent universities since the late 1800s. In that time, SU saw some of the most legendary athletes of all time across a multitude of sports pass through its corridors, like Jim Brown, Pearl Washington and the Gait brothers. The Cardinal have also developed a renowned institution of athletic excellence, as Stanford students or alumni have medaled in every Olympic games since 1908.
Yet, the two schools, located on opposite sides of the United States, have never battled on the gridiron. That changes Friday night.
The Orange host the Cardinal on primetime in their third game of the 2024 season, which comes after an idle week. Before the bye, SU quickly found a rhythm in its first two games under head coach Fran Brown. Syracuse defeated Ohio, then upset then-No. 23 Georgia Tech as quarterback Kyle McCord led the nation with eight passing touchdowns through the first two weeks.
Meanwhile, Stanford enters Friday following an idle week as well. But the Cardinal stumbled at home in Week 1, with a narrow loss to TCU, before bludgeoning Cal Poly of the Big Sky Conference in their next contest.
Here’s what to know before Syracuse (2-0, 1-0 ACC) takes on Stanford (1-1, 0-0 ACC) in the JMA Wireless Dome:
All-time series
This is the two teams’ first-ever meeting.
The Cardinal report
Following former head coach David Shaw’s 12-year tenure, Stanford is now in its second season of the Troy Taylor era. The Cardinal struggled significantly in their first campaign under Taylor. Stanford went just 3-9, falling to a measly 2-7 in Pac-12 competition.
Friday will be the first-ever ACC game for the Cardinal. The university was admitted in the conference’s three-school expansion on Sept. 1, 2023, along with California-Berkeley and SMU. On paper, Stanford may be in for a rude awakening against Syracuse.
The Cardinal faltered in a variety of avenues in their 34-27 Week 1 loss at home to TCU. The Horned Frogs’ offense outgained Stanford by 171 yards, mostly due to an 188-yard passing yards discrepancy. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels completed under 50% of his 35 pass attempts while the Cardinal rushing offense generated just 3.3 yards per carry.
Stanford did recover two fumbles against TCU, but only one resulted in a touchdown on the other end. It garnered just one sack as well, allowing Horned Frogs’ quarterback Josh Hoover to sit back in a clean pocket and run a successful pass-heavy offense. The Cardinal stayed close overall, but lacked enough explosive offense to match TCU.
In its next game, Stanford dominated Cal Poly 41-7 and racked up 437 total yards of offense. Though, versus a lowly Football Championship Subdivision opponent, any positives taken from that matchup won’t be as easy to replicate against a team like SU.
Ilana Zahavy | Design Editor
How Syracuse beats Stanford
It sounds simple, but the Orange just need to play their game to leave the Dome with a victory. McCord is already receiving early Heisman Trophy attention for his 735 yards and eight touchdowns across Syracuse’s first two wins. SU hasn’t even had to rely on running back LeQuint Allen Jr. much thus far. On Friday, that will likely continue.
McCord has looked at ease within offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon’s set. He’s worked well in the shotgun, often reading defenses pre-snap and quickly releasing the ball to open receivers. It’s helped that McCord has a deep wide receivers room, providing him with crafty route runners like Zeed Haynes and speed options like Trebor Peña. Plus, star tight end Oronde Gadsden II is a one-on-one nightmare in the middle of the field.
Based on Stanford’s passing defense struggles against TCU, the Orange can find early success by sporting an air-raid offense. On the flipside, an improved Syracuse rushing defense is facing a Cardinal attack that hasn’t found its identity yet. Their leading rusher is Daniels, with just 118 yards.
Without a true bellcow in the backfield, Stanford’s ground game shouldn’t make much of an impact. Syracuse properly adjusted in its first game without linebacker Marlowe Wax, and signs point that Friday will reap a similar outcome.
Stat to know: 33.3%
In Stanford’s season-opening loss to TCU, it converted just 33.3% of its third downs. The Cardinal went 5-for-15 on third-down conversions, three fewer than the Horned Frogs, as their offensive inconsistency led to a narrow defeat.
For a Syracuse defense that’s still getting used to being without Wax, getting off the field as much as possible will be crucial Friday. The Orange will want to provide McCord and the offense with persistent possessions to develop an early lead. They accomplished this for the most part against Georgia Tech, though late special teams errors made the game closer than it needed to be. If SU can stall Stanford on third down, expect a lopsided scoreline to rapidly materialize.
Player to watch: Ashton Daniels, quarterback, No. 14
Daniels, a junior, is in his second season as Stanford starting quarterback. In 2023, he completed just 58.8% of his passes (191-of-325), tossing 2,247 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding 292 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. But there aren’t many qualities that stand out about the 6-foot-2, 215-pound signal-caller.
He doesn’t possess the strongest arm and, while mobile, isn’t going to outrun players past the second level. He’s graded solid thus far in 2024 per Pro Football Focus’ rankings, garnering an above average 77.3 passing grade. But much of his air success came through facing Cal Poly. Daniels will have his work cut out for him to try to match Syracuse’s offense, and will match up against a strong secondary led by Duce Chestnut and Alijah Clark.
Photograph by Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
Published on September 19, 2024 at 12:25 am
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews
