Syracuse dropped its first game of the season in a loss to Stanford on Friday evening.

Here are six takeaways from the loss.

We now know what it looks like when the Orange offensive line struggles and it is not pretty. Kyle McCord was sacked four times in the first half, including fumbling once, and LeQuint Allen and Yasin Willis generated 14 yards on six rushing plays. While things were better in the second half (zero sacks allowed and the two backs had 20 yards on six more rushes), the line still struggled throughout.

Going with a heavy package did not help the beleaguered line. When Syracuse went to a two tight end blocking set by subbing Max Mang and Dan Villari in for Oronde Gadsden II and a wide receiver, it tipped the offense’s intention to run. The only time that personnel package had success was on the late touchdown pass to Jackson Meeks that gave SU the lead. That play came on the heels of back-to-back gains of nine and four yards by Allen (his only carries of the fourth quarter) in the no-huddle offense and McCord hit Meeks on a play-action slant for the score.

Here are the ratio of run to pass plays on the season for a team that whose coaches have expressed the desire to be a power running team:

· 29 run, 41 pass vs. Ohio

· 31 run, 47 pass vs. Georgia Tech

· 13 run, 46 pass vs. Stanford

The strength of the Syracuse offense has clearly been the pass game to this point, but running on 35.2 percent of snaps points to greater problems that need attention, especially considering that Friday night’s game with the Cardinal was the first time the Orange trailed by more than six points in the young season.

With Stanford directing a lot of resources to take Gadsden out of the game, Trebor Pena took over what amounted to the #1 receiver role. After having nothing come his way in the first quarter, Pena soaked up a dozen targets in the rest of the night, catching ten of those passes for 101 yards and earning four first downs. Gadsden, meanwhile, was targeted on McCord’s first four passes, then went silent until one more attempt to him on SU’s final drive.

The Syracuse defense has shown the ability to make in-game adjustments thus far. After allowing Stanford to gain at least ten yards on ten different plays in the first half, the unit tightened up, allowing only four of those gains in the second half. Unfortunately, three of them came on the final possession when the Cardinal drove for the winning field goal.

While his interception was the obvious big play, Clarence Lewis had a strong all-around game with five solo tackles and two additional pass breakups. If Lewis can solidify one cornerback spot, that will help the defense, especially as Justin Barron plays more at linebacker to offset Marlowe Wax’s absence.

The special teams units were a lot better against Stanford, save for Malachi James. James returned one kickoff out of the end zone despite retreating to make the catch for only 15 yards and also mishandled another one, eventually being replaced by Trebor Pena.

The freshman also caught an earful from Barron and a coach on a punt that Stanford’s Tiger Bachmeier muffed, but recovered.

A gunner on the punt cover team, James may have pulled up in coverage instead of continuing to sprint downfield, possibly costing the Orange a change to pounce on the loose ball, as he was one of three Orange players closest to Bachmeier, including Barron.

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