Kyle McCord lead the way in a year that will stand long in the record books
Almost all Syracuse Orange fans will look back on the 2024 season as one filled with hope and fun. A high-octane offense under rookie Head Coach Fran Brown guided the team to a very successful season, building a platform for future success.
But the 2024 season isn’t just one that will stand long in the memory. It also stamped its place in the record books as the programs saw several records broken, particularly in relation to Kyle McCord and the SU passing offense. Let’s take a look at all the SU school records the class of 2024 challenged.
Individual Records:
Kyle McCord set the Syracuse school record for single-season touchdown passes with 34. This broke Ryan Nassib’s record of 26 from 2012.
McCord also set the school and ACC record for single-season passing yards with 4,779. Nassib previously held the Syracuse record with 3,749 in 2012 while Deshaun Watson had the previous ACC record with 4,593.
McCord also broke the record on a yards-per-game basis with 367.6 in 2024. Eric Dungey averaged 298 in 2016. McCord also set the career record in this regard.
He also ranked as one of the top-10 highest single-season passer ratings and second in career passer ratings at SU.
With his five touchdown passes in the Bowl against Washington State, McCord tied previous records for the most touchdown passes in one game.
McCord set the school record for pass completions in one season with 391. The record was previously held by Nassib with 294 in 2012.
McCord also set a few individual game records and a few of his performances this year will end up on the most completions in one game list. He will even end up 7th on the leaderboard for most career completions at SU.
The gunman also set the record for most 300+ yard games in a season and tied the metric for a career. With 12 games of 300+ plus yards, McCord broke Dungey’s single-season record (6 in 2016) and tied his career record of 12.
McCord did the same on the 400+ yard front, as his two 400+ yard games this season are tied for the school record.
On a slightly more negative tone, McCord tied the school record for interceptions in one game when he threw five against Pittsburgh.
McCord also shattered the previous record for most pass attempts in a season (471) with his count of 592. His 64-attempt game against Pitt ranks as the second most in a game by an SU quarterback.
This season alone was also enough to launch the Senior into 7th on the all-time list for career passing yards and touchdowns, and 9th in pass attempts.
At the tight end position, Oronde Gadsden II also took down a few records. The NFL-bound Orangeman caught 69 passes this year, breaking his record of 61 set in 2022. He also became SU’s all-time leader for receptions by a tight end (137) and receiving yards by a tight end (1,896) this year.
Gadsden broke the record for most receiving yards in one game by a tight end with 142 at UNLV. He will also just beak into the top-10 at all time at SU for career receiving yards.
The receiving trio of Jackson Meeks (1021), Trebor Pena (941) and Gadsden (934) all registered over 9oo yards this season, putting them at 7th, 11th and 12th for most yards in a season.
Pena’s nine touchdowns this year ties him for the 6th most receiving touchdowns in a season at SU.
LeQuint Allen recently announced that he would be heading to the NFL Draft, but he still made an impact on the record books this year. Allen is SU’s career (119) and single-season (64) record holder for receptions by a running back.
Allen also broke SU’s record for total receiving yards by a running back for a season (521) and a career (848). He did this while going over 1,000 yards on the ground for the second straight season. He joins Sean Tucker (2021-22), Walter Reyes (2002-03), Delone Carter (2009-10) and Larry Csonka (1966-67) as the only Syracuse backs to accomplish that feat.
On the defensive end, Marlowe Wax finishes his career 2nd all-time in tackles for loss (43) and fumbles forced (10). Wax is behind only Dwight Freeney in each category
Justin Barron will also end his career in the top-10 for most tackles by a defensive back in SU’s history with 294.
Clarence Lewis’ 12 pass breakups rank in the top-10 all-time for a single season at SU.
On special teams, despite the protection problems all season, Jack Stonehouse smashed the SU record for yards per punt with 45.73 yards on average. The previous record was 44.78 by Nolan Cooney.
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Team Records:
For team records, many stats we see related directly to the individual brilliance of the likes of McCord, Gadsden, and Allen.
The Orange set the record for most completed passes in a season with 393. The previous record was 332. This year’s trigger-happy approach also saw McCord shatter the record for pass attempts in a year. The previous record was 548, but now stands at 598.
With 370 passing yards per game, this year’s team also broke the 2016 team’s record, which was 321 per game.
The Orange also smashed the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with 34. The team also ranks second in most yards per game for an Syracuse team with 467. This closely trails the record of 476 from 2012.
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Overall, this year’s SU team will be remembered fondly by fans, and the record books will shine kindly on their performances. Although there were a few negative stats mixed in, most of the impact left by 2024 will be seen as positive.
For more updates on what the 2025 team may look like, along with all things Syracuse football, stay tuned.