History! Syracuse’s Kyle McCord smashes Deshaun Watson’s record

Syracuse Orange's quarterback Kyle McCord broke former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson's ACC's single season passing yards record in Holiday Bowl win over Washington State.

History! Syracuse’s Kyle McCord smashes Deshaun Watson’s record

(L) Kyle McCord and (R) Deshaun Watson (Image via IMAGO)

Kyle McCord switched from the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Syracuse Orange and made history. During Friday’s Holiday Bowl matchup against the Washington State Cougars, McCord broke Deshaun Watson’s single-season ACC passing yards record.

Watson threw for 4,593 yards for the Clemson Tigers back in 2015, and McCord only needed 268 yards to break the record. It took him until the Orange’s first play of the second half on a 50-yard pass to Darrell Gill Jr. to go past Watson’s tally.

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McCord not only cemented himself as the passing yards leader in the ACC, he utterly destroyed it by throwing for 453 yards and five touchdowns against the Cougars. Two of them were to Oronde Gadsden II, who caught four passes for 74 yards; two to Trebor Pena (5 receptions for 70 yards) and one TD pass to running back LeQuint Allen, who also rushed 17 times with the ball for 120 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.

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McCord further connected 5 times for 110 yards with Jackson Meeks and four times with Gill Jr. for 145 yards. The game ended in a 52-35 victory for Syracuse.

The 22-year-old quarterback finished his senior year of college football with 4779 yards. He is among an illustrious group of players who went on to make a name for themselves in the NFL: Deshaun Watson for Clemson (4593 yards), Matt Ryan for Boston College (4507 yards), and Philip Rivers for NC State (4491 yards).

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Kyle McCord was awarded the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP

It was a historic day for McCord and there couldn’t be any other player more worthy of the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP trophy. During the award ceremony, the 2024 Direct TV Holiday Bowl president Jackie Reed announced the good news and of course, his passing yards record was the main topic of discussion with FOX Sports announcer Joel Klatt.

History! Cyracuse's Kyle McCord smashes Deshaun Watson's record
Kyle McCord (Image via IMAGO)

McCord accepted the trophy and said,

It means the world. Coming here [Syracuse] a year ago, just to see how it would work out… To be standing on this stage with 10 wins with these guys behind me, means the world.

Kyle McCord in his acceptance speech

Klatt had covered McCord since his first year at Ohio State and last year when he went 11-1 but still entered the transfer portal to join the Orange. Klatt highlighted that McCord and Syracuse turned out to be the perfect fit for each other, and learning from head coach Fran Brown worked out really well.

This time last year did not know what it was gonna be. Because I was in the portal and did not know what the next move would be. Coach Fran sat in my living room and basically gave me the keys to his program, and seeing out twelve months later with these guys, man, you can’t script that any better.

Kyle McCord said
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McCord became the first ACC quarterback since 2003 to throw for 450+ passing yards and 5 touchdowns in a bowl game. Now all eyes will be on his announcement of whether he will declare for the draft or not.

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