Week 2 wins & woes: Who shined and who stumbled in college football
By Justin Perez
. QB Kyle McCord. Winner #3. 3. 445. Syracuse QB Kyle McCord. player. . QB Kyle McCord.
Well, so much for the Georgia Tech hype train, huh? The Yellow Jackets have been the early darlings of the 2024 college football season. After their surprising 2-0 start and upset of then No. 10 Florida State, things were looking high for a program that's been stuck in mediocrity for years. They were a favorite in their third game of the season against Syracuse. And then the balloon got deflated.
In a shocking twist, No. 23 Georgia Tech lost a 31-28 shootout to their conference rivals. It wasn't that the Jackets played poorly. It was mainly because they couldn't stop Kyle McCord from having the best performance by a quarterback in week two. The Ohio State transfer has given the Orange some much-needed electricity for their football program with a tremendous showing.
This is the year. Kyle McCord has improved so much under this new offense. He's focused. He's having fun. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a dark horse for the Heisman.
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) September 7, 2024
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Syracuse gained 515 yards of total offense. 381 of those yards came from the arm of McCord. He was highly efficient and consistent, as he completed 32 of 46 passes and tossed four scores. Two of which went to the team's best receiver, Oronde Gadsden II. The other two were thrown to Trebor Pena. He averaged 8.3 yards per completion and didn't turn the ball over once.
Eight different pass catchers got a touch from McCord. McCord is one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the early going as he's thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception. He's thrown for over 700 yards already. His start makes people want to imitate the NBA Jam announcer. "HE'S ON FIRE!"
436. Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse. 31. 445. Final. 28