Syracuse WR Steve Ishmael leads nation in receptions after two weeks

The Syracuse Orange picked up a stunning loss on Saturday, looking largely listless on the offensive end for much of the contest. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t records set. So as tough as that may be to stomach right now, we’re going to take a look just the same.

We’ll be highlighting the most notable (largely offensive) Orange statistical accomplishments in this space each week.

Passing

After last week’s all-around effort, Eric Dungey came back to earth a bit vs. MTSU. He failed to record a passing touchdown for just the third time in the Dino Babers era, and just the second full game (the other was last year’s loss to Wake Forest). So he’s still at 29 passing TDs on his career, sixth in school history — and three behind Troy Nunes in fifth.

Dungey’s 180 passing yards give him 4,485 on his career, but that’s still 93 behind Nunes (currently in seventh) on the all-time list. Adding in his 53 yards on the ground, that’s 223 total yards on Saturday, putting him at 5,223 for his career. He’s now surpassed Perry Patterson for eighth, and is just 124 behind R.J. Anderson for seventh in school history.

Dungey is still top 30 in the country in terms of yardage and completion percentage right now. He has the 13th-most completions (54) and the 15th-most attempts (78).

Receiving

On this week’s game recap podcast, Julian Whigham said that Steve Ishmael’s 14-catch day was the most deceptive in college football history. That’s a bold statement, but there’s some veracity to it considering the day’s results.

Still, his 14 receptions tie Art Monk and Ervin Philips for the most in a single game by an Orange receiver. And now the senior is up to 26 on the year, which is tied for the most in the country -- but he has the highest catch per game average. His 26 catches are also just 22 away from his career-high already. He set that mark last season.

Ishmael now has 140 catches in his career, which is third on SU’s all-time list, and just seven behind Philips in second. They’re both trailing Alec Lemon for the career mark of 201, but at this rate, it may be attainable for both of them to pass it this season.

Also, his 116 yards on Saturday gets Ishmael to 1,794 in his career, which is now eighth all-time for the Orange.

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Total offense

After scoring just 23 points last week, Syracuse per-game average fell pretty far. Same goes for the team’s passing accomplishments and total offense, too. As you know, it was a pretty underwhelming effort throughout.

However, with another 25 first downs, SU remains in the top 10 in first downs per game. Third and fourth downs will just aggravate you, and the same is true for red zone efficiency, though not to the same extent. Red zone scoring is down to 92.31 percent after missing on one trip last week. But Syracuse’s touchdown percentage (46.15) remains an issue and is among the worst rates in the country.

SU ran another 93 plays, which should raise alarm bells about just how inefficient this offense was on Saturday. That average puts them just below Tulsa as the fastest attack in the country.

Spot any other statistical achievements from this week? Share below.