McCord makes history in SU win over Holy Cross

After suffering his second loss in college as a starting quarterback, Kyle McCord couldn’t sleep for a couple of days. Though he threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, he took responsibility for the loss after throwing two interceptions.

After reviewing the game film multiple times over the weekend, McCord came to practice with extra motivation to get the team back on track.

“The biggest thing we were trying to focus on was it doesn’t matter who we play,” McCord said. “It’s Syracuse versus Syracuse. Practice this week was tough, but we had four really good days.”

Against the FCS’s Holy Cross Crusaders, McCord wasted no time airing out the ball deep to his receivers. Syracuse scored on its first three possessions, all on passes from the quarterback to a trio of receivers. After McCord finished the game with four passing touchdowns and 385 passing yards while the defense shut down Holy Cross to give the Orange the 42-14 victory and improve to 3-1 before going on an extended road trip. 

The game marked McCord’s fourth straight with over 300 passing yards, the first Syracuse quarterback to reach that streak.

McCord went 6-for-9 on passes during the first drive of the game, including a 40-yard gain on a deep pass to wide receiver Umari Hatcher. Two connected later in the drive on a seven-yard touchdown pass to put Syracuse up 7-0.

On the following drive, Darrell Gill Jr. caught his first touchdown of the year on the 23-yard pass from McCord. In the first quarter alone, McCord threw for 162 yards.

Syracuse carried the momentum to begin the second quarter. Jackson Meeks, who made ten catches for over 120 yards, broke free from his defender on the sideline to complete a 38-yard touchdown pass from McCord.

Five players had over 40 receiving yards for SU, and nine players recorded a reception. McCord credits the team’s depth that allows him to spread the ball around to different guys.

“There are a lot of viable options, and every single play, we can get five guys out there that are good options,” he said. “We can get the ball in their hands and let them go to work.”

McCord finished the half with a short 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Trebor Pena. While Syracuse has spread the ball out, Pena leads the team in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions.

The Crusaders made sure the game was not a runaway in the second quarter. Holy Cross scored on back-to-back drives, including a trick play that concluded with the running back throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jacob Petersen.

After two defensive lapses, the team needed a wake-up call with the score 28-14 at halftime.

“I thought those two drives were not good at all,” head coach Fran Brown said.

The defensive intensity picked up in the second half after Brown gave a passionate speech during halftime.

“Are we playing the way that we want to represent our families and we want to represent the S? Is this what you want people to look at the tape and said, ‘Is this what Syracuse is about?’ They said no, so I said, ‘Let’s show them and put on tape who we are,’” Brown said to the team.

The defense clamped down on Holy Cross for the rest of the game. The Crusaders managed two first downs and 31 yards of total offense.

In the second half, the Syracuse offense struggled to find the endzone. It wasn’t until LaQuint Allen scored from the goal line as time expired in the third quarter to put the team up 35-14.

Bellamy seals game with pick-six

After not seeing a ton of time on the field the first couple of games, cornerback Jayden Bellamy found himself in the middle of several big plays. Bellamy dropped two potential interceptions early in the game but put the game away by intercepting Holy Cross quarterback Joe Pesansky and taking the ball 20 yards to the endzone to make the score 42-14.

“He has the knack for the ball. The kid has been around football for a long time,” said Brown. “We just got after him in practice to push. Sitting that first week didn’t sit well with him. That made him pick it up, and he’s more focused.”

Going on the road

After starting the season with four straight home games, Syracuse will not be at the JMA Dome in October. The team will play three games on the road, starting next week at UNLV before coming home on Nov. 2 to host Virginia Tech.

Sell-out crowd

Between the team’s early season success and the university holding its family weekend, the Orange played in front of a sell-out crowd. The game marks the first sellout under Brown, as well as since the completion of the seating renovations that decreased the seating capacity to 42,532. 

The last time Syracuse sold out under the previous capacity of 49,262 was against Notre Dame in 2022.