Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord is attempting to come back to the Orange for a fifth and final season.
McCord filed a waiver to the NCAA in an attempt to gain an additional season of eligibility for the 2025 season earlier this year but was denied. He’s challenging the NCAA’s decision now through an appeals process, Syracuse.com reported Friday.
It seems unlikely that McCord will win the appeal, considering he’s played four full seasons of college football (and doesn’t have a COVID season), but you never know in today’s age of college football.
McCord played in five games as a true freshman at Ohio State in 2021, which is one game over the redshirt threshold. And that could be what his argument centers around.
McCord led Syracuse to a 9-3 record this season, earning a spot in the Holiday Bowl against Washington State, whose head coach left for Wake Forest this week.
He was good this season, finishing 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting. In 12 games, he completed 367-of-558 pass attempts (65.8%) for 4,326 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions — leading the FBS in pass attempts, completions and passing yards.
And Pat Narduzzi was very complimentary of McCord before he came to Pittsburgh for a Thursday night matchup in October.
“That one transfer quarterback, that Kyle McCord, is a tremendous football player,” Narduzzi said before the Syracuse game this season. “If you’re not a Pitt fan, if you’re not a Syracuse fan, but you’re a quarterback fan, you should get your tickets now because that guy is going to play in the National Football League.
“We watched him on third down the other day. I don’t know if he throws an incomplete pass, especially on third and medium. He throws darts. He’s accurate. He’s smart. He knows where to go with the ball. He will be the best quarterback that’s walked in to play us in this stadium in a while. So, we got a great chore ahead for us to defend him and a slew of really good receivers.”
But Pitt certainly slowed McCord down this season. He tied for the conference lead in interceptions this season, but it’s largely because he threw just about half in one game against Pitt.
In a 41-13 loss to Pitt in October, McCord completed 35-of-64 pass attempts for 321 yards and five touchdowns — easily the worst game of McCord’s career. And three of the five interceptions were returned for touchdowns, all in the first half.
If McCord were to gain another season of eligibility, a rematch would come at the JMA Wireless Dome next season. A date has not yet been decided.
