Syracuse HC thanks Ryan Day after QB Kyle McCord dazzles

Syracuse first-year head coach Fran Brown notched his first win with the Orange on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. After his team took down Ohio by a 38-22 score, the former defensive backs coach at Georgia had a little fun in his postgame news conference.

Brown’s starting quarterback at Syracuse is senior Kyle McCord, who went 11-1 during the 2023 season at Ohio State before losing to eventual national champion Michigan. In the offseason, McCord, a four-star transfer and former five-star prep recruit, decided to hit the transferportal.

In a move that surprised some college football observers, the Mount Laurel, N.J. native ultimately chose to play for Syracuse in his senior year, citing his longtime relationships with Brown and several other Orange coaches, all of whom come from New Jersey.

After the triumph against Ohio, Brown commented on his quarterback’s performance.

“I mean, Kyle’s a good football player, you seen it right there,” the 41-year-old head coach said. “I should send (Ohio State head coach) Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing us to get him.”

When Syracuse hosted non-conference foe Ohio on Saturday in the 2024 season opener, the Orange defense struggled to contain the Bobcats’ potent rushing attack. McCord and the Syracuse offense were sluggish in the first quarter, but then they got clicking.

Ultimately, Syracuse would prevail by 16 points. McCord was sensational, completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts for a career-high 354 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw one interception.

In recent seasons under former head coach Dino Babers, the Orange were fairly pedestrian with its passing game. Part of that was due to unfortunate injuries. Starting over with a fresh coaching regime, the team’s fanbase have had high hopes for McCord and his talented cadre of receivers for the 2024 season.

McCord, throughout the game on Saturday, demonstrated his ability to throw accurate passes in tight spaces. Syracuse’s schedule is going to intensify in the coming weeks, of course, with a home showdown against Georgia Tech next up on the docket this Saturday in Central New York.

The Yellow Jackets are 2-0, having already defeated No. 10 Florida State in Dublin before dispatching Georgia State this weekend. Georgia Tech could reside in the major top-25 polls when they’re updated ahead of Week 2 in college football.

Syracuse’s defensive line will have a huge challenge in trying to contain the Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack. Georgia Tech, so far, is averaging more than 200 yards per game on the ground.

When it comes to the Orange’s offense, though, the program hasn’t had a quarterback of McCord’s talent in years. This past offseason, Brown was lauded by national and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits for what he and his staff did with their portal recruiting.

And no college transfer who pledged to Syracuse was bigger than Kyle McCord.