8 p.m. | FOX
Snapdragon Stadium San Diego, CA
SERIES HISTORY
Washington State is facing Syracuse for the second time in program history, previously meeting during the 1979 season. The Orange claimed a 52-25 victory in a game played at Rich Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills while the Carrier Dome was being built.
Syracuse Orange Notes
OPENING DRIVE
ORANGE FACE WASHINGTON STATE IN DIRECTV HOLIDAY BOWL
• Syracuse makes its third-straight bowl appearance when it takes on Washington State in the 2024 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl. • The game will air on FOX, with Gus Johnson (PxP), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (reporter) on the call.
GOING BOWLING
• The 2024 DIRECTV Holiday Bowl marks Syracuse’s 29th bowl game appearance. The Orange have won four of their last six bowl games and have an all-time record of 16-11-1. • From 1989-96, the Orange won seven-straight bowl games. The streak is the seventh-longest in college football postseason history. Florida State owns the record with 11-consecutive bowl game victories from 1985-96. • Syracuse is 1-of-41 teams to play in bowl games in each of the last-three seasons (excludes Minnesota and San Jose State who received bowl invites with a 5-7 record in that span).
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
• Syracuse and Texas are tied for the most wins against bowl eligible teams, with eight heading into the postseason. • Ten of the Orange’s 11 FBS opponents will play in bowl games this season. Syracuse’s opponents posted a combined record of 86-60 (.589) heading into bowl season. • Syracuse has two victories over the current CFP top-25, a mark with ties for the fourth-most nationally. • Syracuse posted three wins against AP top-25 teams at the time of their matchup this season for the first time since 1998. • Two of the Orange’s non-conference victories came against teams that played in their respective conference championship game (Ohio, UNLV).
LAST TIME VS. WASHINGTON STATE
• Syracuse scored 17 unanswered points in the first quarter and went on to a 52-25 victory against Washington State. • After the Cougars cut the deficit to 24-18 in the third quarter, the Orange scored 28-straight points to put the game out of reach. • RB Joe Morris led the ‘Cuse offense with 159 yards rushing on 21 carries. He scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 48-yard run in the third quarter. • Morris and the Orange recorded 384 of their 456 total yards on the ground. • Washington State QB Steve grant was 13-21 for 141 yards and a touchdown.
A WIN WOULD …
• Give the Orange 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2018 and just the third time since 2000. • Make Fran Brown the second head coach in the modern era (post World War II) to record 10 wins in his first season as head coach, matching Paul Pasqualoni’s mark in 1991. • Give Syracuse its 764th all-Ɵ me victory (includes 11 wins from 2004-06 that were vacated by the NCAA). The Orange currently rank 21st on the FBS ledger of winningest programs. Syracuse is one of 34 FBS schools to have accumulated 700+ wins.
FACING THE BEST
• After facing 10 bowl-eligible teams in 2024, Syracuse’s schedule for the 2025 campaign looks even more daunting as the Orange will face four College Football Playoff teams and five teams in the top-16 of the current rankings – all away from home. • All-11 FBS squads on next year’s schedule reached a bowl this season, including six games against teams that won nine-or-more games in the regular season. • Syracuse opens next season against Tennessee in the Chick-fi l-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Aug. 30. • The Orange will also play road games at Notre Dame, SMU, Clemson and Miami among teams in the top-16 of the current CFP poll.
ALLEN TO THE HOUSE
• RB LeQuint Allen Jr. has scored a team-high 17 touchdowns this season. That total ranks second in the ACC and 13th in the nation. • After scoring just two touchdowns in the first four games, Allen started heating up when the calendar turned to October. He has scored multiple touchdowns five times this season, including four of the past five games. • Allen ranks third in the ACC and 23rd in the nation in rushing touchdowns in 2024 with 14.
SPREAD OFFENSE
• Syracuse is the only FBS school that has three players who are averaging 70.0 yards receiving or more per game this season. • WR Jackson Meeks leads the way with 75.9 ypg,. WR Trebor Pena is right behind, averaging 72.6 ypg., while TE Oronde Gadsden II averages 71.7 ypg. • Gadsden, Meeks and WR Darrell Gill Jr. surpassed 100 yards receiving against UConn. It marked the first time in program history that three ‘Cuse players recorded 100 receiving yards in a game. • The Orange have 13 100-yard receiving games this year, which is the highest total in the ACC.
TOUGH ON THIRD DOWN
• Syracuse ranks sixth in the nation in third down conversion percentage, converting on 49.5 percent of its chances. • The Orange have had 86 third down attempts this season, which ranks Ɵ ed for sixth in the nation. ‘Cuse has converted on 92 of those opportunities. • Syracuse has 310 first downs this season, which ranks fourth nationally and third in the ACC.
4 OVER 60
• Syracuse has four players with 60 receptions in a season for the first time in program history. • The Orange are the only team in the nation to have three or more players with 60 or more catches in 2024. • WR Trebor Pena has 79 receptions to lead the Orange. WR Jackson Meeks has 73, while TE Oronde Gadsden II has 69. RB LeQuint Allen Jr. reached 50 catches this season at Cal to join the group. He currently has 61.
PENA LEADS RECEIVING CORPS
• WR Trevor Pena has been the most frequent target for QB Kyle McCord this season. Pena leads the team in receptions (79) and is second in receiving yards (871). Both are career highs. • Pena recorded a career-high 11 catches in Syracuse’s win at California. He had six catches for a career-best 128 yards against Miami. • He leads the ACC and ranks 16th in the nation in receptions per game (6.6). He also ranks fourth in the league in receiving yards per game (72.6). • Pena has seven receiving touchdowns this season, which Ɵ es for fifth in the ACC.
POSITIONAL BESTS
• Syracuse has players that rank among the leaders at their position in receptions this season. • RB LeQuint Allen Jr. is second in catches by a running back with 61. • TE Oronde Gadsden II is fourth in the nation in receptions by a tight end with 69. • WR Trebor Pena has 79 receptions this season, which Ɵ es for ninth among FBS wide receivers.
1,000 YARD RECEIVERS
• Syracuse has two receivers who have 1,000 yards receiving in their careers. • TE Oronde Gadsden II surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards last season. He reached the milestone in the season opener against Colgate. He currently has 1,920 yards receiving in his career. • WR Trebor Pena reached the milestone in the Orange’s victory at Cal. He now has 1,142 yards receiving.
GAME NOTES:
OFFENSE O-LINE CONSISTENCY
• Syracuse’s offensive line has a combined 135 starts. • J’Onre Reed (24), Mark Petry (23) and Jakob Bradford (22) are in their second season as starters up front for the Orange. • Redshirt juniors Savion Washington and Da’Metrius Weatherspoon joined the group this season. Washington made his 31st career start against Miami combined between his time at Kent State, Colorado and Syracuse. Weatherspoon now has 21 career starts after the Boston College contest. He started all 12 games at right tackle at Grambling last season and earned HBCU All-America honors. • David Wohlabaugh Jr. (ω) made his third-straight start against Miami. He started the first two games of 2023 after transferring from Kentucky. He missed the remainder of the season due to an injury. • Josh Illoa made his first career start against Miami, while Joe Cruz (4) was in the starting lineup for the first time this season against the Hurricanes. • Additionally, Enrique Cruz has 18 career starts, all of which came in 2023.
TURNOVER TALE
• ‘Cuse has won the takeaway battle in 38 of its last 88 games (23 of the remaining 50 were even). • Syracuse has ranked in the top-15 in turnover margin in three of the last seven seasons. • Since the start of the 2018 season, Syracuse’s 141 takeaways rank 13th among FBS schools.
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS
• DB Devin Grant scored Syracuse’s second defensive touchdown of the 2024 season when he returned a fumble for a touchdown in the win against Miami. • Earlier this season, DB Jayden Bellamy recorded his second career interception return for a touchdown. He was one of three players to record a pick six last season. • The Orange recorded three defensive touchdowns in each of the prior two seasons.
PINNING DOWN THE OPPOSITION
• K Brady Denaburg has recorded 59 touchbacks on 73 kickoff s this season. That performance continued a trend that began last season. • In 2023, Denaburg kicked off 62 times and had 56 touchbacks which was good for 90.3 percent. • That mark ranks as the highest percentage of touchbacks on kickoff s for the Orange since the line of scrimmage for the kickoff was moved to the 35-yard line prior to the 2012 season.
SPECIAL TEAMS U
• Syracuse has continued its long history of producing punters and kickers who have gone on to success in the NFL. • Since 2010, Syracuse is one of three schools to have multiple punters selected in the NFL Draft: Riley Dixon (2016) and Sterling Hofrichter (2020). The other is Texas A&M. • Hofrichter and P Nolan Cooney earned All-America honors in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020, respectively. • K Andre Szmyt concluded his career in 2022 as Syracuse’s all-Ɵ me leader in points with 454. That total ranks 14th in FBS history and fourth in ACC history in scoring.
Washington State Cougars Notes
WASHINGTON STATE SET TO FACE SYRACUSE IN DIRECTV HOLIDAY BOWL
Washington State heads to San Diego for a matchup against No. 21 Syracuse in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl. Kickoff is set for Friday, December 27 at 5:05 p.m. on FOX.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State enters the Holiday Bowl with an 8-4 record, the most wins since 2018 and are playing in its eighth bowl in the last nine full seasons. The Cougars own the nation’s No. 12 scoring offense (36.8) while the defense is No. 16 in the country with 22 takeaways. Wide receiver Kyle Williams is second nationally with 13 receiving touchdowns.
HOLIDAY BOWL HISTORY
Washington State is making its fifth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, the most among the program’s 19 bowl appearances. WSU dropped a 38-36 decision to BYU in 1981, beat fifth-ranked Texas 28-20 in 2003 before falling to Minnesota 17-12 in 2016 and Michigan State 42-17 in 2017. WSU is 8-10 all-time in bowl games with the last win coming in 2018, 28-26 over Iowa State at the Alamo Bowl.
COUGAR QUICK GAME
TEAM
• WSU is 8-4 for the most wins since 2018, is seeking first 9 win season since 2018 and 12th 9-win season all time • WSU is headed to its 8th bowl in last nine full seasons and 19th bowl all time • WSU owns 3 fourth-quarter comeback wins this season (San Jose State, at Fresno State, at San Diego State) • WSU owns 11 100-yard rushing games this season, most since 2005 (11), owns 2 300-yard games (TTU, USU) • WSU’s 22 defensive takeaways this season are No. 16 nationally, most by WSU since 2021 (29) • WSU has returned 3 INT for touchdowns, the most since 2013 (4)
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
• WSU’s roster features 5 players from San Diego, also includes Defensive GA/former WSU LB Jihad Woods K Ryan Harris, K Dean Janikowski, EDGE Jack Janikowski, WR Josh Meredith, EDGE Quinn Roff • WR Kyle Williams is 3rd nationally with 14 rec TD, 8 rec TD in last 4 games, leads team with 60 rec, 1026 rec yds • TE Cooper Mathers owns WSU single-season record 6 rec TD in 2024 • Edge Nusi Malani and OL Esa Pole were named to the 2024 Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List.
