The Ohio State Buckeyes opted to let former quarterback Kyle McCord enter the transfer portal, instead opting to bring in Will Howard to be their quarterback for the 2024-25 college football season. And on Thursday, McCord largely proved them right after a truly horrific performance.
McCord has largely been great for the Syracuse Orange, coming into their Week 9 game against the Pittsburgh Panthers inside the top 10 in passing yards across Division 1 college football.
However, McCord has had a reputation dating back to his days at Ohio State that he simply can’t perform against the top echelon of teams across college football. And unfortunately, that reputation reared its ugly head against the undefeated Pitt Panthers.
McCord threw for 300 yards in the game Thursday, which he has done in every game this season so far. However, he struggled massively with ball security in the game, throwing five interceptions in the game, three of which Pittsburgh returned to a touchdown.
The game was largely non-competitive in the second half, as Syracuse ended up falling in the game 41-13.
It’s about as brutal of a game as you’ll ever see from a collegiate quarterback, which completely ruined Syracuse’s chances of winning the game. In fact, Syracuse actually outgained Pittsburgh by 100 yards offensively. But McCord’s turnovers were too much to overcome.
On top of ruining Syracuse’s chances in the game, it may have also ruined their chances of potentially sneaking into the CFP this year. As a two-loss team now, they would need to run the table in order to get back into the hunt in the ACC.
Currently, Ohio State fans must feel very happy about their team’s decision to let McCord go. While Syracuse fans may be having a bit of buyer’s remorse.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.