Quarterback Kyle McCord continues to rewrite the Cuse record books

Quarterback Kyle McCord only got to play one season on the Hill, but he made it a magical season with Syracuse football.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Mount Laurel, New Jersey, native set another single-season program record in the first half against No. 6 Miami in the 2024 regular-season finale for the Orange in his historic senior year at the Central New York.

On Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cuse fell to the Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 in the ACC) 21-0 in a loud JMA Wireless Dome. Things weren’t looking good for the Orange, although the team did have an early touchdown that was negated by a penalty, which I thought was a questionable decision by the referees.

However, first-year head coach Fran Brown, his top team and their 2024 squad never gave up fighting. The ‘Cuse scored 14 unanswered points in the second quarter and cut its deficit to 21-14 at the break, with the Orange (8-3, 4-3 in the ACC) having the ball first in the third quarter.

In the second quarter, McCord threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jackson Meeks. That gave McCord his 27th touchdown pass of 2024, surpassing Ryan Nassib’s previous single-season mark of 26.

Congratulations to McCord, a four-star transfer from Ohio State. In the first half against Miami, McCord completed 16 of 24 attempts for 156 yards and scored.

His counterpart at Miami, senior Cam Ward, a potential Heisman Trophy finalist, went 11 of 16 through the air for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Before the Week 14 showdown against the Hurricanes, McCord had completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,946 yards and 26 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Prior to Week 14, McCord was No. 1 nationally in total passing yards, completions per game and passing yards per contest.

On the Hill, in addition to setting a new record for touchdown passes in a single season, he also set Syracuse football program records for total completions and total passing yards.

It’s a special tenure for McCord and the Orange in 2024, and hopefully the ‘Cuse’ can keep Ward at bay in the second half and pull off a massive upset for the Hurricanes in this regular season finale.

Syracuse football is headed to bowl for the third straight year, but a triumph over Miami would catapult the Orange into the top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings and advance the ‘Cuse to a premier bowl game.