The first game of the Fran Brown era at Syracuse featured ups and downs, but Syracuse had enough of the former to withstand a number of the latter to claim a 38-22 victory over Ohio at the JMA Wireless Dome.

On the good side of the coin, quarterback Kyle McCord was everything he was advertised to be, Oronde Gadsden II’s return was terrific, and LeQuint Allen was a force as the Orange piled up yards. On the flip side, SU got off to a poor start on both sides of the ball, the Bobcats rolled up 436 yards of offense, including 203 rushing yards from Anthony Tyus III, and linebacker Marlowe Wax suffered what appeared to be a significant injury in the third quarter.

McCord was accurate and efficient in his Syracuse debut, completing 27-of-39 passes for career highs of 354 yards and four scores to go with an interception. Gadsden and Trebor Pena were major beneficiaries, as the former bullied Ohio for seven receptions for 108 yards and a score while the latter had six grabs for 78 yards and a pair of touchdown catches while adding a rushing score. Allen had a slow start, but ended up with 15 carries for 98 yards and four catches, highlighted by a one-handed touchdown snare.

While pressuring the Bobcat quarterback midway through the third quarter, Wax’s right leg collided with defensive lineman Rashard Perry. As soon as the play was over, Wax was in considerable pain and could not get off the field on his own power. The linebacker used crutches to go to the SU locker room before eventually returning with a boot, as well.

The slow start on both sides was concerning for Syracuse, as the guests owned the opening quarter, eating up just under 14 of the session’s 15 minutes with two long drives that ended in field goals. The Orange defense bent, but did not break, stiffening on both drives after Ohio entered the red zone and forcing them to accept field goals of 43 and 37 yards for a 6-0 Bobcat lead.

The second quarter was a different story for SU, as they needed under three minutes for a touchdown drive. Kyle McCord closed that possession by hitting Oronde Gadsden II on the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Brady Denaburg’s extra point put Syracuse in front, 7-6.

Denaburg cashed in the next possession, a methodical clock-eater, by banking home a 26-yard field goal from the left hash. The football caught the inside of the left upright and caromed through to stretch the the Orange lead to 10-6 with just over two minutes left in the first half.

The Bobcats cut the margin to a single point with a field goal drive, but McCord coolly led SU to a touchdown despite getting the ball back with only 49 seconds left in the first half. McCord connected on 5-of-6 passes for 75 yards, including hitting Trebor Pena on the left side of the end zone on a 20-yard score with five ticks remaining. The conversion boosted the Syracuse lead to 17-9 just before the break.

After a fruitless opening possession by Syracuse, the Bobcats tore up the Orange defense, driving 75 yards in five plays for a touchdown to draw within a single point. LeQuint Allen became the leading man for SU on the ensuing drive, picking up 42 yards on four carries before finishing off the drive by stretching out for a one-handed touchdown catch from five yards out. Denaburg’s extra point reinstated an eight-point Syracuse lead at 24-16 with 6:37 left in the third.

Just over three minutes later, McCord hooked up with Pena for their second score when the quarterback put it right on the receiver’s hands on an out-breaking route in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown. Denaburg connected on another extra point to push the lead to 31-16.

Pena’s night was not done, as he knifed in from a yard out 90 seconds into the fourth quarter after cutting inside on a jet sweep on fourth-and-goal for his third score of the night, strengthening the Orange lead to 38-16.

Ohio bounced back with a score to pull within 16, then forced an SU punt. Their next drive, however, ended when defensive tackle Maraad Watson bull-rushed his way into deflecting a pass that settled into the arms of James Heard for a Syracuse interception and effectively ending the game.

While the Syracuse defense struggled to stop the Bobcat rushing attack, they did ramp their pass rush up with four sacks in the game, including a pair by Fadil Diggs, who also had an additional tackle for loss among his eight stops. Wax had a sack as one of his two tackles for loss prior to leaving the game while Dennis Jaquez Jr. and Kevin Jobity Jr. split the other sack. Alijah Clark led the defense with nine tackles while true freshman Marcellus Barnes Jr. had a pair of pass breakups.

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