Sports

History Projects Kyle McCord As The Future Head Basketball Coach At Niagara After Five Interceptions

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Kyle McCord Greg Paulus Syracuse Five Interceptions
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Congratulations to future Niagara head basketball coach Kyle McCord! The first-year starting quarterback at Syracuse threw five interceptions in a loss to Pittsburgh, which puts him in unusual company alongside Greg Paulus.

Yes, that Greg Paulus…

McCord played one of the worst halves in college football history on Thursday night. He completed 16 of 34 passes for 130 yards and four interceptions. Three of the four interceptions were returned for touchdowns. It got to the point that it was legitimately hard to watch.

To make matters worse, McCord threw a fifth interception near the end of the third quarter to put the game on ice if it was not already over by that point and the way it happened was straight out of a cartoon. It was salt in the wound.

ESPN announcers had nothing more to say after McCord sacked himself on the final offensive possession of the game.

Hilariously enough, it was actually a record-setting night for the Orange. McCord threw for more than 300 yards for the seventh-straight game, which is the longest streak in program history.

However, his five interceptions were not ideal.

Pittsburgh players finished with five catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns from McCord. Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein completed 11 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

The last Syracuse quarterback to throw five interceptions in one game was Greg Paulus on Oct. 2, 2009.

Paulus played four years of college basketball at Duke, including three seasons as the starting point guard. The Blue Devils went 112-28 during that stretch.

Paulus announced that he was going to transfer to Syracuse to play football in May 2009. He completed 67.7% of his passes for 2,025 yards and 13 touchdowns in his lone season as the starting quarterback. The Orange went 4-8.

Unfortunately, the five-interception game is what fans in northern New York remember about Paulus’ brief run with the football program. It is hard to forget, much like McCord’s rough night in Pittsburgh.

Paulus, now 38, was named as the head basketball coach at Niagara University in 2019. Should history repeat itself, Syracuse’s current starting quarterback will take over the Purple Eagles down the road.

Congratulations to future Niagara head basketball coach Kyle McCord!