Kyle McCord and Syracuse knocked No. 6 Miami out of the ACC title race and possibly ended their College Football Playoff chances with a 42-38 comeback win on Saturday.
McCord threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. LeQuint Allen ran for two scores and made two key first-down runs on Syracuse’s final drive to help run out the clock. Devin Grant forced a fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, which helped the Orange beat a ranked team for the third time this season.
“I want to be the one who brought (Syracuse football) back to what it once was,” said McCord, who transferred from Ohio State after starting there last season. “That’s a testament to this team. This win shows that Syracuse is for real and being part of that team that turned things around, that’s going to last forever. Looking back, everything (coach Fran Brown) said came true and coming here is the best decision I’ve made in my life.”
Cam Ward threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns for Miami (10-2, 6-2, No. 6 CFP). The Hurricanes now have to hope for an at-large bid to the 12-team playoff while they are off next week and Clemson faces SMU for the ACC title.
“If we get a chance to go into the playoff, we’re going to make the most of it,” Ward said.
Miami had little trouble scoring but had to settle for a field goal on what turned out to be their final possession after coach Mario Cristobal decided not to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 10-yard line with four minutes left.
“We use analytics. It was outside the 10-yard line with four minutes to go. Get the points. Get a stop,” Cristobal said.
But Miami didn’t get the stop. Syracuse ran the ball eight times to run out the last 3:42, helped by an offside penalty.
Before this loss, Miami had won six straight against Syracuse. In this game, the teams combined for 983 yards and 51 first downs. Miami started 9-0 but has now lost two of their last three games, including a loss to Georgia Tech three weeks ago.
“We came up short and that’s on all of us, starting with myself,” Cristobal said. “We don’t shy away from it. We’re not in any way, shape or form anything but hard workers and accountable people. And it’s brutally difficult.”
McCord was 26 of 36 and became the first Syracuse quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. His second touchdown pass to Jackson Meeks was his 27th of the season, setting an Orange record.
McCord made a remark about his old school after Ohio State lost to Michigan earlier on Saturday.
“Everything comes full circle,” he said.
Allen finished with 143 yards from scrimmage for Syracuse — 22 carries for 82 yards and six receptions for 61 yards. Trebor Pena had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown, and Meeks had seven catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
“They made contested catches 80, 90 percent of the time,” Cristobal said. “We had a difficult time covering them. The ball was out quick. We affected (McCord) early but didn’t affect him much as it went on.”
The game was tied at 28 when Grant forced a fumble from receiver Xavier Restrepo at the Syracuse 44. Grant scooped the ball and ran it down the left sideline for the score, giving Syracuse a 35-28 lead with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
“We do it in practice,” Grant said. “The ball is the program. You punch at the ball. I was grateful for it to come out and was fortunate to take it to the house.”
Miami quickly answered with a 2-yard touchdown run from Damien Martinez to tie the game at 35. But Allen’s 3-yard run gave Syracuse the lead for good at 42-35.
Restrepo finished with 148 yards on nine catches, and Jacolby George had six receptions for 121 yards for the Hurricanes.
Miami scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, and it looked like they might run away with the game. A 40-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Pena in the first quarter was called back due to an illegal formation penalty, which seemed to deflate Syracuse.
Miami dominated the first quarter, outgaining Syracuse 189 yards to 42.
“We gave them 21 points. There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” said Brown, Syracuse’s first-year coach. “I think we were just tested again, about how tough we were and our will. I think the 21-0 (deficit) showed we won’t quit and that we’ll continue to push.”
Syracuse began its comeback with two quick touchdowns in the second quarter. Allen ran for an 8-yard touchdown, bouncing off a tackler, and McCord connected with Meeks for a 9-yard touchdown to make it 21-14 at halftime.
The scoring didn’t slow down after the break.
A 25-yard pass to Pena in the end zone tied the game at 21, but Miami answered with a 2-yard touchdown from Mark Fletcher Jr. McCord and Meeks tied it again at 28 with another 9-yard touchdown pass.
