Red-hot Syracuse QB Kyle McCord adds pressure on Ryan Day, Ohio State

Ohio State's trash has been Syracuse's treasure.

On Saturday, Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord led the Orange to an upset 31-28 win over Associated Press No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-1 in ACC).

The 2023 Buckeyes starting quarterback was 32-of-46 for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

Following last Saturday's 38-22 win over Ohio, first-year Syracuse head coach Fran Brown told reporters he should send Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing McCord to leave Columbus.

The reality is that the longer McCord plays at a high level for Syracuse (2-0, 1-0 in ACC), the more Day should be questioned for his inability to get more out of the talented quarterback.

On McCord's first touchdown pass against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday, he showed great poise and awareness by tossing the ball out to wideout Trebor Pena right before two Georgia Tech defenders reached him.

McCord displayed a nice touch on his second touchdown pass, an 11-yarder he lofted to Pena early in the second quarter.

McCord later delivered a 17-yard dart midway through the fourth to tight end Oronde Gadsden II, expanding Syracuse's lead to 31-14.

Day's decision to allow McCord to enter the portal in order to pursue former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard was arguably the biggest decision the seventh-year Buckeyes head coach made this offseason. In 2023, McCord started 12 games for the Ohio State. While he led the Buckeyes out to an 11-0 start, he couldn't bring home their important most game at Michigan.

McCord has surpassed his 2023 season-high in passing (335) in each of his first two starts at Syracuse. In comparison, during his first start for Ohio State last week, Howard was 17-of-28 for 228 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-6 win over Akron (0-2).

Ohio State (1-0) plays Western Michigan (0-1) on Saturday and Day might not open his full playbook in what should be an easy win. Per ESPN Bet , the Buckeyes are favored by 37.5 points.

As the season progresses, however, if McCord outplays Howard, expect Day's decision to be second-guessed around the college football world. Two weeks into the 2024 season, it appears the former Buckeyes quarterback might not have been the problem last fall.