"Kyle McCord is Diet Joe Burrow": CFB world goes wild after Syracuse QB breaks Deshaun Watson's long-standing record in Holiday Bowl

Syracuse QB Kyle McCord helped his team put up a 9-3 record this season. While they failed to compete for the ACC title and the playoffs, the No. 22 Syracuse Orange finished the season with a 52-35 victory over the Washington State Cougars in the Holiday Bowl.

McCord had an incredible game against the Cougars, tallying 453 yards and five touchdowns passing. He also completed 24 of the 34 passes he attempted on the field against Washington State.

Apart from this, Kyle McCord also broke an ACC Conference record that NFL star Deshaun Watson previously set in 2016. He played for Clemson during his collegiate career when he set the ACC single-season passing record with 4,593 passing yards.

Kyle McCord entered the game with 4,326 passing yards and took over the game with his incredible offensive style to beat Watson's record. The Syracuse QB broke the ACC single-season passing record with a beautiful 50-yard pass to Darrell Gill Jr. in the second half.

Fans took to social media to react to the QB beating Deshaun Watson's record.

One fan compared McCord's talents to Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow.

"Kyle McCord is diet Joe Burrow."

Another fan felt that the Ohio State Buckeyes should have held onto McCord. He began his collegiate journey with the Buckeyes in 2021 and played three seasons before joining Syracuse this campaign.

"Ohio State got rid of a QB that's better than their current one"

One fan praised him:

"Solid QB for Syracuse all year long"

"Wow....ACC is weak....a former B10 QB comes in and breaks this record in his first season," Another fan said.

"Crazy to think OSU would be undefeated with him," another fan said.

"Good for him! I'm an Ohio State fan and I'm glad he found the right program for him. Great job!," one fan stated.

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Syracuse HC praises Kyle McCord's competitiveness and hunger for success

The Syracuse Orange brought in Fran Brown as the head coach this season. Both Brown and McCord have known each other since the QB played in little league football.

After their Holiday Bowl victory, Fran Brown praised McCord's competitiveness. He also talked about how he showed passion and hunger for success since the very first day in Syracuse after transferring from Ohio State.

"We were in the weight room, we had an old vintage weight room," Brown said. "They had pushups that they were doing, and he (McCord) was one of the last guy to go down. Everybody stopped and he just kept going. And from that moment I knew like, 'Oh this dude's tough!'. And everyone else knew he was tough. He just kept showing that he's tough and relentless."

The Syracuse QB has petitioned the NCAA for another year of eligibility. If the NCAA grants him a waiver, then he will have to decide between returning to Syracuse or declaring for the 2025 NFL draft.