Kyle McCord’s 5 touchdowns give No. 21 Syracuse a win over Wazzu in the Holiday Bowl

Kyle McCord threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns as No. 21 Syracuse completed an offensive masterpiece with a 52-35 victory over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl on Friday in San Diego.

As part of his outstanding performance, McCord set the Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record for passing yards (4,779) in his first year at Syracuse. The old mark of 4,593 was set by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson in 2016.

On Friday, McCord threw two touchdown passes each to Trebor Pena and Oronde Gadsden II.

LeQuint Allen also caught a TD pass to go along with 120 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground for the Orange (10-3), which finished the game with 606 yards of offense.

“Kyle McCord is that guy,” Allen said. He is real. He is everything you need for the program. I can’t wait to see him play ball on Sundays.

Zevi Eckhaus passed for 363 yards and a rushing score with three touchdowns and two interceptions for Washington State (8-5).

Kyle Williams had 172 receiving yards and a score on 10 catches to lead the Cougars, who are coming off a tumultuous month that saw coach Jake Dickert leave for Wake Forest and more than 30 players enter the transfer portal, including starting quarterback John, who is headed to Oklahoma , Mateer fought bravely.

The Cougars trailed 35-21 at halftime before cutting their deficit in half on Eckhaus’ 42-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hernandez. However, the Orange scored the next 17 points and won comfortably.

Late in the third quarter, McCord found Pena, who took a short pass and ran down the left sideline for a 45-yard score to make it 42-28. Allen increased the lead to 52-28 late in the fourth with a 33-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Eckhaus gave Washington State an early 7-0 lead with a 4-yard TD scramble, but the Orange responded with touchdowns on their next two possessions. First, McCord hit Pena with a back-shoulder throw for a 19-yard TD, and then Allen found some wiggle room on the way to a 12-yard scoring run.

Syracuse’s momentum didn’t last long, however. On the Cougars’ third play of the ensuing drive, Williams took a slant pass and split the defense for a 66-yard touchdown. Moments later, Leon Neal Jr. blocked a Syracuse punt and Josh Meredith recovered for a 12-yard score, giving Washington State a 21-14 lead after one quarter.

“There were a lot of questions asked about which team would compete,” Washington State interim coach Pete Kaligis said. “…I take (all blame for the loss) because they fought. They fought and I am so proud of them. I’m so proud of her.”

The second quarter was also full of action – at least for the Syracuse offense. The Orange outscored the Cougars 21-0 in the period, highlighted by two touchdown passes from McCord to Gadsden.

Syracuse totaled 364 yards in the first half and had a 14-point lead at halftime.

–Field level media