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The new football era at Syracuse is off to a 1-0 start thanks to Saturday’s 38-22 victory over the Ohio Bobcats, but it was another team from the Buckeye state that was on head coach Fran Brown’s in the aftermath.
“I should send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing us to get him,” he told reporters (4:26 mark) when discussing quarterback Kyle McCord, who transferred from Ohio State to Syracuse this past offseason.
McCord played well in his debut for the Orange and went 27-of-39 for 354 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He helped the ACC team overcome a slow start that saw the Bobcats jump out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and then largely put things away with touchdown passes to LeQuint Allen and Trebor Pena in the third quarter.
Allen also ran for 98 yards on 15 carries.
Syracuse made a number of changes this past offseason, but the most notable ones were hiring Brown as the head coach and bringing in McCord as the quarterback. Both are accustomed to the biggest stages college football has to offer, as Brown was a coach on the Georgia staff and McCord played at Ohio State.
They will be tasked with establishing Syracuse as a contender in the ACC, as the program was just 24-37 the last five seasons.
McCord played well from a statistical standpoint during his one season as Ohio State’s starter and completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. It helped throwing to the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Co., but he made a number of impressive plays.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, they still fell short of their goals in part because of his struggles in the Michigan game to end the regular season. He threw two interceptions with one coming deep in Ohio State’s own territory to set up a touchdown and the other ending its final drive with a chance to win.
He ended up transferring before the team’s ensuing Cotton Bowl.
Day and the Buckeyes went a different direction this offseason and brought in transfers Will Howard (Kansas State) and Julian Sayin (Alabama) to the quarterback room. They once again have high expectations and are hoping to compete for a Big Ten and national title.
Perhaps McCord and Syracuse can surprise and join them as a College Football Playoff contender if the quarterback continues to play well.