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Last Thursday in Pittsburgh was supposed to be the night where Kyle McCord used his flamethrowing right arm to thrust Syracuse into the AP Top 25 Poll.

Instead, it was a nightmare.

SU was drubbed 41-13 by then-No. 19 Pitt following McCord’s worst performance with the Orange. He threw a career-high five interceptions — tied with Todd Norley and Greg Paulus for the most ever in a single game by a Syracuse quarterback.

It wasn’t just McCord’s interception tally that killed the Orange, it was the severity of his turnovers. Three of his interceptions were pick-sixes. It was the first time a team returned three or more interceptions for touchdowns since Sept. 3, 2022, when USC housed a trio against Rice.

Considering SU’s strong defensive showing, it could’ve stayed close against Pitt. But McCord’s poor play gave the Panthers a 21-point cushion, eliminating that possibility.

Here’s a breakdown of what led to McCord’s three pick-sixes in Syracuse’s (5-2, 2-2 ACC) lopsided defeat to then-No. 19 Pittsburgh (7-0, 3-0 ACC):

1st quarter, 12:55 — Caught in a deep stare

McCord made a different mistake on each of his three pick-sixes. While three of his five total interceptions were caused by tipped balls, it’s hard not to cast the blame on McCord for most of them. On this play, he got caught staring down Trebor Peña near the sideline.

Peña, whose status was in doubt heading into the game, is McCord’s go-to guy. He leads SU with 47 receptions. McCord certainly wanted to take advantage of the Panthers potentially strategizing against an offense without Peña. But the quarterback let his eyes do too much of the talking.

On its first drive, Syracuse faced a second-and-10 from the 33-yard line. Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. motioned pre-snap to the right flat, while SU had four receivers split wide. Pitt lined up in a cover 2 defense, with linebacker Rasheem Biles dropping down to cover Peña in the left slot.

Allen Jr. turned toward McCord, hoping for the ball with plenty of space, two blockers and minimal defenders ahead of him. Yet, McCord’s eyes never moved from Peña’s direction. Peña ran an out-route to the Pitt sideline. McCord planned to hit him the entire time, which Biles read exquisitely. McCord fired a pass and Biles immediately jumped Peña’s route to hawk the ball. Biles dashed to the end zone with ease for a 35-yard pick-six.

McCord often stared receivers down Thursday. His 35-for-64 passing line told the story. He consistently made predictable throws, which Pittsburgh feasted on for points.

1st quarter, 6:36 — A brutal 3rd-and-long mistake

There was no need for McCord to force a throw here. He’d already been struggling, though seemed to regain a rhythm earlier on this drive when he connected with tight end Oronde Gadsden II up the left seam for a 24-yard completion. Yet, he felt urged to toss to his lone read on this third-and-12 play from SU’s 49-yard line.

Here, Syracuse split three receivers to the right in a bunch formation — Peña, Jackson Meeks, Gadsden — and just Umari Hatcher to the left. Gadsden went in motion briefly before stopping at the right hash marks in the slot position. Once McCord took the snap and dropped back, Hatcher was blanketed by Pitt cornerback Rashad Battle. His other three options all ran vertical routes.

McCord finished his drop back and felt pressure from the left by defensive lineman Jimmy Scott. Gadsden stopped, pivoted and broke toward SU’s sideline. McCord saw him, but linebacker Kyle Louis was close by. There was an opening in the pocket for McCord to slide into, and either see the field more or throw the ball away. He didn’t do it, though.

The quarterback rushed a pass toward Gadsden. Louis easily stepped in front of the ball and intercepted it. He scampered 59 yards to the end zone while breaking a tackle from Gadsden, juking Allen Jr. and McCord and muscling through center J’Onre Reed at the end. Instead of moving in the pocket, McCord threw another touchdown to the Panthers.

2nd quarter, 1:23 — Screen pass disaster

McCord’s interception total was honestly impressive. Especially because he did so all in one half. Here on his final pick-six, which put the Panthers up 31-0 before halftime, a simple screen pass was botched about as severely as it could have been.

On this drive, the Orange just wanted some yards to gain an offensive rhythm — and maybe muster a field-goal attempt. Syracuse split three receivers right and one left, while Allen Jr. darted upfield and cut left after McCord took the snap. With all of SU’s skill position players away from Allen Jr. to unbalance the defense, its line tried to do the same, drawing defensive linemen away from Allen Jr. But after McCord threw it, all hell broke loose.

Allen Jr. ran into left guard Jakob Bradford, who was dominated throughout the rep by defensive lineman Nahki Johnson. McCord should have seen the traffic nearby, but decided to flick it forward anyway. The ball bounced off Allen Jr.’s chest and flew into the air once Johnson collided with the running back after bull-rushing through Bradford.

Linebacker Braylan Lovelace was in a picturesque spot to grab the ball — right under it. He stutter-stepped past Da’Metrius Weatherspoon before charging into the end zone for a 33-yard pick-six.

All McCord could offer was a half-hearted tackle attempt at Lovelace, desperately swinging his arms hoping the linebacker would fall. It signaled the beginning of the end for Syracuse, and was arguably the lowest moment of McCord’s forgettable night.

Published on October 29, 2024 at 12:07 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews