Which Syracuse football records could fall in 2019?

Now that Eric Dungey’s finished with his Syracuse Orange football career, you’d think there may not be a lot of records that could fall this season. However, there’s still plenty to look out for in 2019. We run down that list below.

Passing

Tommy DeVito won’t be breaking many career marks in his first season as a starter, but single-season records are well within reach for the strong-armed quarterback. Not only can he break Syracuse’s sophomore record for passing yards in a single season (2,679 by Dungey), but he can set the overall single-season mark too. Ryan Nassib currently owns that with 3,749 yards in 2012.

With four touchdown passes already, DeVito needs just 15 this year to tie Pat Stark and Bill Hurley for 10th on the school’s career list (insane). The single-season record is 26 from Ryan Nassib in 2012 — another mark that seems well within reach. Same goes for SU’s single-season completion and attempts marks.

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Rushing

Through three seasons, Moe Neal has amassed 1,714 rushing yards, which is not among the top-10 marks in school history, but is nearly 800 yards away from getting into the top-10 (Damien Rhodes is currently 10th with 2,461). With more carries like heading to the running backs this year, it seems perfectly reasonable he could hit it. He’ll also be striving for 1,000 yards in 2019, as will Abdul Adams. Anything over 1,065 gets either into the top-10 single-season totals. SU hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Jerome Smith in 2012.

The single-season mark for most rushing touchdowns is 20 by Walter Reyes, but it would take just 12 to get into the top-10.

Receiving

Taj Harris already set SU freshman records last year with 40 catches and 565 yards. Now he’ll have his sights set on Mike Williams’s sophomore highs (60 catches, 837 receiving yards).

Though he started slow, Sean Riley now has 83 receptions going into his senior season. If he equals last year’s mark of 64, that’ll put him fourth in school history behind Ervin Philips, Steve Ishmael and Alec Lemon. As a slot receiver for a young quarterback, he could wind up with some extra opportunities as a safety valve within this offense. We’ll see if that gets him anywhere close to Steve Ishmael’s school-record 105 catches in a single season.

If Riley or any other receiver can amass more than 1,064 receiving yards, they’ll have one of the top-five single-season totals in school history. A total like that would also move most of these guys into the top-10 in terms of career receiving yards, with Riley having the best chance to move up a lot higher.

Total Offense

SU’s 523 points last year were the most in school history, but not the most points per game. That distinction belongs to the 1998 Syracuse team that averaged 468 points in 11 games (bowl game stats did not count toward official records at the time), for 42.5 per game. This year’s team could potentially pass both.

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Kicking

Hopefully he doesn’t, just for the sake of our red zone offense, but if Andre Szmyt makes 30 field goals again, he’ll be Syracuse’s all-time record holder in that department, surpassing Cole Murphy (59). Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez owns the career FBS mark with 96 — something that Szmyt would be well on his way to blowing past if he stays at this pace, though.

Defense

Last year’s team had a school-record 43 sacks, and could challenge that mark again this season. Alton Robinson has 15 sacks in his career, which is just outside the top 10 career marks at SU, though he’ll fall well shy of the No. 1 spot (Tim Green’s 45.5). Kendall Coleman has 11.5 in his career, and could also wind up in the top 10. Dwight Freeney holds the single-season record with 17.5.

Andre Cisco’s seven interceptions in 2018 were one off the school’s single-season record of eight (Tommy Myers in 1971). If he equals that mark again in 2019, he’ll be third on SU’s all-time list behind Myers (18) and Markus Paul (19).