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Since Syracuse was bludgeoned 45-0 by South Florida in the Boca Raton Bowl last year, the program has taken a complete 180. The Orange’s culture completely flipped, as first-year head coach Fran Brown drew more national attention to the program than Dino Babers did throughout his eight-year tenure.

Propelled by a strong transfer portal haul coupled with key players returning to the program, the Orange boasted arguably their most talented roster this century. On Friday, they have the chance to win the program’s first bowl game since 2018 and win 10 games for just the third time since 2000 (2001 and 2018 teams each won 10 games).

Ahead of the Holiday Bowl, Brown said he expects everyone in the program to play. The Orange have had just 10 players enter the transfer portal. Friday’s game will likely mark Kyle McCord’s final game with SU, while Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, Fadil Diggs, Alijah Clark, Oronde Gadsden II and Jackson Meeks will suit up as collegiate players for the final time. The game could also be LeQuint Allen Jr.’s last with the Orange.

Here’s everything to know about Syracuse’s (9-3, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) Holiday Bowl matchup versus Washington State (8-4, 0-1 Pac-12) on Friday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 1-0.

Last time they played

The Orange’s only matchup against WSU was on Sept. 29, 1979. At Rich Stadium, now known as Highmark Stadium, in Orchard Park, New York, Syracuse cruised to a 52-25 win. There are no publicly available stats from the game, but the result marked SU’s third straight victory en route to a 7-5 campaign. That year, Syracuse was helmed by Frank Maloney and won the Independence Bowl against McNeese State.

The Cougars report

Washington State has had a rollercoaster of a season, to say the least. The Cougars started the year 8-1, first slotting into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 22 in Week 10 following a 29-26 win over San Diego State at Snapdragon Stadium on Oct. 26.

The Cougars then routed Utah State 49-28 at home for their eighth win following a bye week, propelling them to a season-best No. 19 ranking in Week 12. From there, however, everything went wrong. WSU ended the season with consecutive losses to New Mexico, Oregon State, and Wyoming.

Since then, Washington State has seen head coach Jake Dickert depart for the same role at Wake Forest and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle take over the offense at Oklahoma. Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding was fired following the Cougars’ late-season collapse.

As a result of WSU’s coaching staff shakeup, the program has seen over 30 players enter the transfer portal, including a litany of starters, most notably quarterback John Mateer, who followed Arbuckle to Oklahoma. With Mateer gone, Zevi Eckhaus will start under center for the Cougars. He threw for 8,480 yards and 75 touchdowns as a three-year starter at Bryant from 2021-23.

With the imperfect timing of the portal’s opening and the bowl games, Washington State announced it’ll allow players in the portal to suit up versus Syracuse if they choose. Interim head coach Pete Kaligis said he expects Mateer, running back Wayshawn Parker (who transferred to Utah) and punter Nick Haberer (who transferred to Vanderbilt) to be the Cougars’ only players in the portal not playing.

How Syracuse beats Washington State

SU is a 16.5-point favorite heading into Friday’s matchup. The Orange were only favored by more points against Ohio (17) and Holy Cross (30.5) this season. Put simply, all Syracuse needs to do to notch its third victory on the West Coast this year is do its job. So long as McCord doesn’t play like he did at Pittsburgh and the Orange hold onto the football, I see them cruising to the program’s first bowl game win in six years.

Numbers to know: 267 and 21

McCord was Syracuse’s missing piece and more in his likely lone season with the program. Against the Cougars, he can put the exclamation point on one of the best passing seasons in ACC history.

In 2016, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson set the conference’s single-season records with 4,593 passing yards and 388 completions. McCord is 267 passing yards (4,326) and 21 completions (367) away from tying those marks. Watson accomplished his numbers while playing in 15 games. Friday will mark McCord’s 13th this season.

Player to watch: Kyle Williams, wide receiver, No. 2

After switching his position from quarterback to wide receiver as a senior in high school, Williams made an instant impact at UNLV, tallying 1,568 receiving yards and nine touchdowns from 2020-22. Following his third season with the Rebels, Williams transferred to Washington State.

Paired with quarterback Cam Ward, he had a career-best 2023 season, registering career-highs with 61 receptions, 842 yards and six touchdowns. Following a dominant season, he remained at WSU for his fifth and final year of eligibility.

Though Williams has caught one less pass than he did last year thus far, he has 1,026 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Only San Jose State’s Nick Nash (16) and Colorado Heisman winner Travis Hunter (14) have more touchdown receptions than Williams.

Published on December 26, 2024 at 5:56 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon