Kyle McCord threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns in his Syracuse debut, guiding the host Orange to a 38-22 victory over Ohio on Saturday.
McCord, a highly regarded transfer from Ohio State, completed 27 of 39 passes, including seven to Oronde Gadsden II (108 yards, one TD) and six to Trebor Pena (78 yards, two TDs). Pena added a rushing touchdown, while LeQuint Allen collected 122 total yards and a score for the Orange (1-0) in their first game under coach Fran Brown.
Ohio’s Parker Navarro went 18 of 30 for 181 yards with an interception. The top offensive weapon for the Bobcats (0-1) was Anthony Tyus III, who rushed 16 times for 203 yards and two scores.
The Orange managed just nine yards in the first quarter and trailed 6-0 at the conclusion of the period after Gianni Spetic kicked field goals of 43 and 37 yards for the visitors.
The tide shifted in the second quarter, as Syracuse racked up 220 yards and outscored the visitors 17-3 en route to an eight-point lead at intermission.
McCord opened the second quarter with a 28-yard scoring pass to Gadsden, who got open down the left sideline for the game’s first touchdown. Brady Denaburg then boosted the lead to 10-6 with a 26-yard field goal.
Spetic kicked another field goal with 49 seconds left in the second quarter, but Syracuse responded in the waning moments of the half with McCord’s 20-yard TD pass to Pena along the left side of the end zone
Tyus’ 13-yard TD run early in the third quarter kept the Bobcats close, but the Orange scored the next three touchdowns to take control of the contest.
McCord threw TD passes of 5 yards to Allen and 14 yards to Pena to make it 31-16. Pena added a 1-yard TD rush early in the fourth to create a 38-16 cushion.
Tyus’ 46-yard scoring burst capped the scoring with 12:22 remaining.
–Field Level Media
