3 takeaways from Syracuse's ACC road win at NC State

Syracuse is on the rise under first-year coach Fran Brown.

A week after beating UNLV in overtime, the Orange went back on the road Saturday and picked up their first ACC road win under their new coach, defeating NC State 24-17 at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Quarterback Kyle McCord threw two touchdowns and running back LeQuint Allen scored once to complement a defense that forced three turnovers. At 5-1 (2-1 ACC), Syracuse is one win away from bowl eligibility at midseason, while the Wolfpack falls below .500 at 3-4 (0-3) after its third straight loss.

It's the first time since 2014 that State has dropped its first three conference games since then

Here are 3 takeaways from the Orange's first win in Raleigh:

McCord keeps it at 300

Only 42 pass attempts were required this week, 21 fewer than last week at UNLV. But the result was the same for McCord. The transfer from Ohio State completed 31 of his throws for 346 yards and 2 touchdowns. He has now thrown for more than 300 yards in all six games as a member of the Orange, extending the school record he set two games ago against Holy Cross.

McCord effectively distributed the ball among his top three targets, hitting three different receivers at least six times each. Jackson Meeks led the way with 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Trebor Pena had 8 grabs for 75 yards while tight end Oronde Gadsden II added 6 for 74 yards. The other touchdown pass went to Umari Hatcher.

The red zone didn't sit well with the Orange in the first half

Syracuse dominated time of possession and opportunities in the red zone in the first half. But these advantages did not translate into points. Despite holding the ball for 9 minutes longer than State and reaching the 20-yard line three times before halftime, the Orange only managed to put 10 points on the board before halftime.

Both scores – a 28-yard pass from McCord to Hatcher and a field goal from Jayden Oh – came from outside the red zone.

While Syracuse was 0-3 when it got into scoring position, the Wolfpack used its only red zone possession of the half to cut the Orange's lead to 10-7. However, the Orange turned things around after halftime, scoring touchdowns on two of their final three drives within 20.

The wolf pack is his worst enemy

Syracuse wasn't the only team that ran into trouble getting the ball into scoring position. The difference is that the Wolf Pack's self-inflicted mistakes ultimately came at a cost. They scored a touchdown late in the first half when CJ Bailey hit tight end Justin Joly for a 14-yard touchdown.

But State's three other offenses inside the Orange 30-yard line ended in turnovers. And Syracuse converted every one of them into points.

The first came after a fumble in the second quarter by running back Kendrick Raphael and led to Syracuse's first touchdown of the night. The 2nd was forced by safety Devin Grant after a strip sack by Bailey in the 3rd quarter and also resulted in 7 points the other way, while the 3rd came later in the period when a pass bounced off Raphael's hands and off Justin Barron was intercepted.

However, State appeared to get a break in the 4th quarter when a 75-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to Noah Rogers was left on review even though it appeared Rogers had left the field before making the catch .