"Kyle McCord Breaks ACC Single-Season Passing Yards Record, Surpassing Deshaun Watson"

 Kyle McCord entered Friday's Holiday Bowl with history in sight. The Syracuse quarterback needed 267 yards to surpass Deshaun Watson’s ACC single-season passing record.

In the second half, McCord achieved that goal, surpassing Watson’s 2016 record set at Clemson to claim the top spot on the all-time list.

McCord kicked off the third quarter with a 50-yard pass to Darrell Gill Jr., pushing his yardage to 268 for the night. That throw moved him to No. 1 on the ACC's all-time single-season passing yards list, as he neared a 4,600-yard season. This milestone is part of an impressive debut campaign at Syracuse after transferring from Ohio State, as the Orange aim for a 10-win season under first-year head coach Fran Brown.

McCord entered Friday’s game as one of the top passers in the nation, leading the FBS with 360.5 passing yards per game and tied for fifth with 29 passing touchdowns on the year. His impressive performance put him on track to break the ACC record, and he got off to a strong start, racking up 218 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the high-scoring Holiday Bowl against Washington State.

Before his historic season at Syracuse, McCord spent three years at Ohio State, where he started for the Buckeyes in 2023. He threw for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior but entered the transfer portal after the season with one year of eligibility remaining. Clearly, he made the most of that opportunity, now standing alone at the top of the ACC’s single-season passing yards list.

For his outstanding regular-season performance, Kyle McCord finished 10th in Heisman Trophy voting and earned Second Team All-ACC honors. Throughout the year, Syracuse head coach Fran Brown repeatedly expressed gratitude to Ohio State coach Ryan Day for allowing McCord to transfer. He reiterated his appreciation after the regular season, emphasizing that he wasn’t joking or being disrespectful.

“I’m glad Kyle was able to come here and prove himself as a great quarterback,” Brown said. “I got some flak for saying I wanted to send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne, but I wasn’t being disrespectful. I was just saying, ‘This guy is the real deal, and you guys let him come here—thank you.’ I still owe him. I should send him a whole case, not just a bottle. Excuse my language, but I’m just extremely excited and thankful for Kyle.”