“Everything comes full circle.” A year ago, Kyle McCord committed to Fran Brown and Syracuse. McCord came to New York’s College Team by way of Columbus, Ohio. In three seasons with Ohio State, McCord had 3,776 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 regular season record. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for the Buckeyes. McCord hit the transfer portal and found a home in Syracuse. Friday night McCord led the Orange to a 52-35 Holiday Bowl win over Wazzu. Sure, it wasn’t a CFB Playoff game, but you could tell the Syracuse quarterback had some fun and that life had come full circle. Let’s look at a night with plenty of eye-popping numbers.
Holiday Bowl Video Game Numbers
Syracuse and Washington State did their best #Pac12AfterDark on Friday night. Here is a look at some numbers that help to see just how much fun this game was to watch.
- 1078: Total yards for the two teams.
- 52: The two teams combined for 52 first downs. Syracuse was just 2-6 on third downs in the game.
- Over: The game total was 59.5. The two teams combined for 56 points in the first half.
- .5: Syracuse was favored by 17.5 points. Wazzu’s late fourth-quarter touchdown with:09 seconds sealed the backdoor cover.
Holiday Bowl Highlights
Defense was an optional Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights and big winners from Syracuse’s Holiday Bowl win.
Kyle McCord’s Big Night
In the opening paragraph, we referenced how the Holiday Bowl helped make McCord’s whirlwind year come full circle and end on a positive note. McCord made big plays all night for Syracuse. He finished the game with 453 yards passing and five touchdowns. His receivers made big plays with their legs, but it felt like every time McCord completed a pass, it was going for 20+ yards. On the night, McCord averaged 13.3 yards a reception.
McCord’s Friday night performance was one for the history books, as he became the conference’s single-season leader in passing yards—a remarkable feat in a league that has produced legendary talents like Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, Cam Ward, and Philip Rivers. Adding to his accolades, McCord shattered two Syracuse football bowl game records, setting new highs for both passing yards and touchdowns in a single bowl game. McCord will now wait to hear from the NCAA to find out if he can return to Syracuse for another year.
Who Else Brought the Juice for Cuse?
McCord played well, but he wasn’t the only star for the Orange. Here are three others that deserve accolades for their Holiday Bowl performance.
LeQuint Allen had a big day on the ground for Syracuse. The Junior from Millville, NJ, had 17 rushes for 120 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Allen said after the game that he and Brown would have a conversation next week to decide if he would return for another year or declare for the NFL Draft instead.
Jackson Meeks was one of McCord’s favorite targets on the night. Meeks put on a clinic all night on how to beat your defender with multiple back-shoulder catches. Meeks came to Syracuse last year with Brown from Georiga. Although Meeks did not have a touchdown on Friday night, the senior averaged 22 yards a catch.
Oronde Gadsden II and Trebor Pena led Syracuse with two touchdown catches apiece. Gadsden is a big target at tight end, finished the game with four catches, and averaged 18.5 yards a reception. Pena made a handful of bit catches and helped Syracuse extend its lead early.
The final shoutout goes to the Orange’s head coach, while he avoided the Gatorade bath at the end of the game and the Eggnog dump after it, Brown made great strides in year one at Syracuse. Brown has made Orange a serious player in high school recruiting and has used the Transfer Portal to transform the roster. He also became only the second Syracuse coach to win 10 or more games in their first season as head coach since World War II.
Wazzu Found its Quarterback
Hats off to Washington State for showing up and playing as hard as they could on Friday night. They were undermanned, with both coordinators, their head coach, and at least 27 players out looking for a new start in the Transfer Portal. They were in a similar boat to what Marshall faced at the end of the season. Unlike the Thundering Heard, the Cougars decided to come and play. Friday night they found their leader for 2025 in Zevi Eckhaus.
It was Eckhaus who motivated the locker room to lock in and stick around to play in the Holiday Bowl. His performance showed that Eckhaus not only talked the talk but also walked the walk. The senior quarterback from Culver City, CA had a great show that he could lead the Cougars in 2025. He finished with 363 yards passing and three touchdowns. Eckhaus also did a masterful job with his legs, evading pressure and extending plays. It must have been the socks.
Thank you to both teams for a fantastic Friday night.
The post McCord, Syracuse Juice Wazzu in Holiday Bowl Win appeared first on Last Word on College Football.