FIRST LOOK: Shorthanded Cougars impress in Holiday Bowl loss to Syracuse
Orange QB Kyle McCord passes for over 450 yards and WSU WR Kyle Williams sets Holiday Bowl record with 172 receiving yards
Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus passed for over 300 yards in his first Cougar start and senior wide receiver Kyle Williams made 10 catches for a Holiday Bowl-record 172 yards in his final game, but WSU could not sustain a record-breaking night from Orange QB Kyle McCord, who passed for over 450 yards in Syracuse’s 52-35 DirecTV Holiday Bowl win over WSU on Friday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
McCord completed 24-of-34 passes for 453 passing yards and five touchdowns as he surpassed former Clemson QB Deshaun Watson (2016) for the all-time single-season Atlantic Coast Conference passing record.
McCord led all passers in the nation with 4,779 yards in 2024.
The Cougars (8-5) and the Orange (10-3) combined for over 1,000 yards and 87 points.
WSU posted 21 points in the first quarter thanks to an Eckhaus rushing TD, a 66-yard Williams catch-and-run score and a Leon Neal Jr. blocked punt returned by San Diego native Josh Meredith for the 12-yard touchdown.
WSU’s bowl game effort came on the heels of losing its starting quarterback, head coach, half the coaching staff and over 30 players to the transfer portal.
