No. 21 Syracuse Orange defeated the Washington State Cougars, 52-35, in the second-highest scoring game in Holiday Bowl history in front of 23,920 fans at Snapdragon Stadium.
Syracuse and Washington State fell four points shy of the Holiday Bowl record of 91 points (BYU vs. SMU in 1980).
The Orange victory was their 10th of the season, a key benchmark for head coach Fran Brown in his first year at Syracuse.
“It’s a collective thing that’s been going on through the entire building and everybody’s working, everyone’s on the same page,” Brown said. “We set a standard. I think the 10 wins show that we are becoming a successful program and we have to continue to work, so this is just a standard that was said and we want to go above and beyond.”
Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord surpassed the single-season ACC passing record with his 453 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams, in his final career NCAA appearance, set the Holiday Bowl record with 172 receiving yards on 10 receptions, topping Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant’s previous record of 168 receiving yards in 2008.
“It’s amazing, you know, every game I come try to put on a show and do the most that I can but to be a receiver that’s all time is great. That’s just an honor. And this shows that all the work that I put in was not for nothing,” Williams said.
“They fought and I’m so proud of them,” interim head coach Pete Kaligis said.
The game got off to a hot start with 35 points in a first quarter that saw the Cougars take a 21-14 lead. The first quarter was three points shy of the record for total points a single quarter (USC vs. Nebraska in 2014).
Syracuse limited the Cougars to 14 points in the last three quarters after they allowed 21 points in the first quarter.
Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus completed his first 10 passes before he threw a second-quarter interception to Syracuse defensive back Alijah Clark. Eckhaus completed 31 of 43 passes with 363 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the Cougars’ loss.
Neither team had a two-possession lead until 17 seconds before halftime when Syracuse scored after they forced a turnover on downs.
Syracuse outscored the Cougars, 17-14, in the second half for the 17-point victory.