Kyle McCord is a Heisman contender. No, that’s not an overreaction.
Syracuse football knocked off No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 today. While the Orange’s special teams unit had an abysmal day and there were still issues with SU’s run defense, that will all be covered plenty over the next two weeks. Today, Syracuse fans should focus on that fact that in Kyle McCord, they’re watching the best ‘Cuse quarterback in at least a decade, and maybe more.
At halftime, McCord’s numbers were already insane. The Ohio State transfer was 19/26 with 286 yards and three touchdowns. The second half was only slower because the Orange slowed the pace down, which was only because SU was protecting its lead.
At the end of the day, Kyle McCord finished with a line of 32/46, 381 yards, and four touchdowns. He also had a nice 15-yard scramble on a key 3rd-and-3.
That line is just four yards shy of being a top-ten passing yards day in Syracuse football history. Plus, it’s a new career high for McCord, breaking his old record of 351 yards. That record, by the way, was set last week.
Kyle McCord has had arguably his best two career performances in his only two games at SU. He’s going to keep getting better. Syracuse is going to need to throw in a lot of high-scoring games this year, which will help McCord’s stats even more.
Numbers-wise, McCord is on pace to compete for the Heisman. If he keeps going at this rate, he’ll have 4,410 passing yards and 48 passing touchdowns. Now, that’s probably not going to happen. However, even slowing down slightly, McCord is on pace for a great year. 4,410 yards is in the range of the last few Heisman winners, too.
Winning is also key to being a Heisman finalist. Syracuse just knocked off a ranked team, and will likely enter October 4-0. If Kyle McCord keeps this up, then the Orange should as well.
