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Kyle McCord just led the Syracuse football team to a 9-win season. He capped that campaign off with an emphatic win over Miami which will keep the Hurricanes out of the ACC Championship game, and potentially, the College Football Playoff.
After the win, Orange head coach Fran Brown had some interesting things to say about his starting signal caller, who previously played at Ohio State. He believes he was wrongfully blamed for the Buckeyes’ failures!
Ryan Day wouldn’t commit to naming McCord the Buckeyes’ starter after last year’s loss to Michigan. That came despite the fact that he went 11-1 and just missed out on a Big Ten title game appearance. He’d eventually transfer to Syracuse while Ohio State nabbed Will Howard in the transfer portal.
Ryan Day would not commit to Kyle McCord as QB1 in the Cotton Bowl or the 2024 season:
“I think that’s a long way away right now…everyone is going to have an opportunity to compete and get after it during bowl practice.” pic.twitter.com/pOT49Xr8Jr
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) December 3, 2023
Unfortunately, it didn’t make much difference in Columbus! The Buckeyes went 10-2 this year with another loss to Michigan, though the 7-5 Wolverines are a far different bunch than the group that won the national championship last season. The quarterback changed, but the results didn’t. In fact, they got worse!
Meanwhile, the Orange have seen an immediate bump in success following Kyle McCord’s addition. The team is 9-3 after going 6-7 last year. McCord is one of the nation’s leading passers. He won three games against Top 25 competition compared to Ryan Day’s two at OSU. Fran Brown was heard thanking Day for letting McCord slip away earlier this year!
“I should send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing us to get Kyle McCord” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/CCskU2P6KX
— MGo🫘 (@MJoeBean) September 1, 2024
After the Orange knocked off eighth-ranked Miami in the season finale, Brown continued his criticism of Day. He blasted the Ohio State leader for scapegoating his quarterback, suggesting that it’s the coach who’s been the problem the entire time. He’s the lone constant after four straight losses to Michigan!
Fran Brown saying Ryan Day can’t blame Kyle McCord for losing to Michigan again and saying he should send him an entire case of Champagne…. pic.twitter.com/n4bXsTG5AO
— Menace 2 Sports (@Menace2Sports) December 3, 2024
Kyle McCord was able to clear his name after being forced out of Ohio State. Ryan Day, meanwhile, still can’t get the Michigan monkey off of his back.