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Fran Brown kept things simple describing Jackson Meeks’ stellar performance against Miami.

“He a dog,” Brown said with a smile.

The dog barked loudly Saturday afternoon. Meeks torched the Hurricanes’ secondary for seven catches, 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns — his first-career multi-score game. It was the former Georgia special teamer’s fifth game with 100 or more yards this season, a campaign in which he’s transformed into Syracuse’s standout X receiver.

Meeks was the key to unlocking SU’s (9-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) offense in its 42-38 upset victory over (10-2, 6-2 ACC) Miami to clinch its first entry into the AP Top-25 Poll with Brown at the helm. Here’s a breakdown of four of Meeks’ best plays from the contest.

2nd quarter, 3:41 — Meeks hauls in McCord’s record-breaking pass

This was the first of many I’m-better-than-you plays from Meeks Saturday. And it also served as quarterback Kyle McCord’s 27th touchdown pass of the year, breaking Ryan Nassib’s single-season record.

The Orange faced arguably their biggest down of the first half on this play, with a third-and-goal from the nine-yard line down 21-7. A touchdown-less drive would have given the Hurricanes a chance to go up three scores before halftime. To make sure that didn’t happen, McCord lobbed one up to Meeks in a one-on-one matchup.

Miami defensive back Daryl Porter Jr. guarded Meeks up top while SU lined up in a four-wide shotgun set. Upon receiving the snap, McCord instantly looked left, flipped his hips and tossed a jump ball for Meeks. Porter fell to the ground upon soft contact with Meeks, who was simply positioning himself to leap up and grab the ball.

Once he snared the ball, Meeks had been left uncontested. He high-pointed the ball with ease and landed on his feet for the nine-yard receiving touchdown.

3rd quarter, 10:16 — Go-route beats Damari Brown for 33 yards

Here, McCord found Meeks deep for his longest reception of the day at 33 yards. It came on a second-and-18 at SU’s own 17-yard line, as Meeks lined up alone at X receiver with Damari Brown in press-man coverage.

Syracuse lined up in the shotgun with four receivers split wide; Meeks stood alone on the right. Out of the gate, Meeks sprinted a couple of yards upfield and hit a double move to create plenty of separation with Damari Brown.

It caused Damari Brown to lose track of where Meeks was on the field. When Damari Brown ran with Meeks downfield to catch up to him, he overcompensated the depth of McCord’s throw.

Meeks’ eyes, though, were straight on the ball the entire time. McCord placed one right in his chest at the 40-yard line, and Meeks picked up 11 extra yards through contact as Damari Brown tried to pull him down. The play put the Orange across midfield and was their longest gain of a drive, ending in another touchdown from the wide receiver.

3rd quarter, 7:47 — 2nd touchdown caps dominant drive

Miami defensive coordinator Lance Guidry clearly didn’t learn his lesson Saturday. He again left Meeks in one-on-one man coverage on this play, stacking the box and failing to leave a second high safety in Meeks’ vicinity. Meeks reaped the benefits. His latest victim? OJ Frederique Jr.

The receiver’s technical skills were on full display here. Syracuse had a second-and-5 from the Hurricanes’ nine-yard line. The Orange were in a 12-personnel pistol set, with seven down offensive linemen, LeQuint Allen Jr. trailing McCord and Trebor Peña and Meeks split out wide. Meeks was alone on the left with Frederique.

Meeks’ quick feet confused the cornerback, gaining about three yards of separation while perfecting a slant route. McCord flicked a pass as soon as Meeks got open. He caught the ball at his facemask and pulled the ball to his chest. At the same time, Frederique was in the dust. He caught up to tackle him late, but Meeks was already in the end zone.

The touchdown was Meeks’ seventh touchdown of the regular season and cemented his status as a potent red zone weapon.

4th quarter, 11:08 — Clutch catch to spur SU’s go-ahead drive late

It was crunch time for the Orange. First-and-10 from their own 49, game tied at 35-35, needing a touchdown drive to continue keeping pace with Miami’s high-flying offense. On a drive where Syracuse accomplished that with an Allen Jr. rushing score, its largest chunk play came through the Meeks-McCord connection.

This time, Miami played two high safeties with Jaden Harris lined up on the right side as help for Meeks, who stood against press man coverage by Frederique. The Orange positioned Meeks alone yet again and used Oronde Gadsden II as a blocker, a sign McCord would look for Meeks immediately. McCord’s choice became even more obvious once Harris crashed down upon the snap, though he backed off from rushing the passer for a true blitz.

Harris’ bizarre movement freed Meeks into more solo coverage without any deep fortifications from the Hurricanes’ defense. McCord went into his three-step drop, faced zero pressure and tossed a ball 10 yards past the first-down sticks for Meeks, who ran past Frederique.

Frederique was caught tracking behind Meeks, leaving him without a chance to defend the pass at all. He tackled him after Meeks ran for a few yards after the catch, with the receiver stumbling down at the Miami 22-yard line for a 29-yard reception on his last snag of the day.

Published on December 2, 2024 at 9:37 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews