Syracuse, led by head coach Fran Brown (9-3), and Washington State, coached by interim head coach Pete Kaligis (8-4), entered the Holiday Bowl in very different situations. Syracuse ended their season ranked #21 in the country. Washington didn’t have much worse of a season, but the weeks following saw major changes.

The Oranges’ most impressive win of the season came against the #6 ranked Miami Hurricanes; they won the game 42-38 after being down 21-0. Heading into this matchup, their team is more intact than the latter.

The Cougars will be making their second trip to Snapdragon Stadium this year. They faced off against the Aztecs back in October, where they defeated the Red and Black 29-26. The team that took the field tonight looked a lot different from the team that was there just two months ago.

Since the end of the season, 32 players have entered the transfer portal, including star quarterback John Mateer. The coaching staff has vastly changed as well. Head coach Jake Dickert took a job at Wake Forest, and a handful of position coaches have also left the program. Kaligis led the Cougars into this matchup after serving as assistant head coach and defensive tackles since 2022.

As customary both teams had a busy week of game preparation on top of the activities the Holiday Bowl had planned for them. In between practices, the teams got a tour of the USS Tripoli as well as a fun day at Seaworld where players go to ride roller coasters and watch Dolphins.

Just hours before kickoff at Snapdragon Stadium, both teams were dialed in and focused as ever. Syracuse was itching for its tenth win, and the Cougars sounded ready to play anyone.

The storyline going into the game was whether or not the Cougars could field a good enough team to compete with the high-powered Orange and they quickly put that doubt to sleep.

Both teams impressed in the first quarter. The Cougars scored first after forcing a punt by the Orange on their first drive as Kyle McCord went 0-3.

Washington State didn’t waste much time as they moved the ball 68 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Zevi Eckhaus, who was making his first start, capped off the drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown. Eckhaus went 3-3 for 55 yards as he led his team down the field.

McCord and Syracuse bounced back as he completed all three pass attempts, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Trebor Pena. The Orange attempted a two-point conversion, but WSU was able to knock Jackson Kennedy out of bounds as he dove for the pylon.

“Something that we work a ton in practice,” McCord said of the play to Pena. “At this point, you have so many reps of that, that I knew exactly what he was thinking on that. Anytime you get press man one-on-one, I’m going to take that matchup and give him a chance to go up and get it.”

Washington State failed to strike back as their drive stalled after five plays.

After a WSU punt the Orange started out with a bang as Pena returned the punt 34 yards to set up his offense on their own 42-yard line. Two consecutive completions to Jackson Meeks, one of 18 and another for 19, quickly put Syracuse into enemy territory. The next play, Lequint Allen ran up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown rush. To make up for the previous failed two-point attempt, McCord threw a screen to Lequint for a 14-7 lead.

The Cougars quickly hit back; Kyle Williams took a slant for a 66-yard touchdown, and the game was tied 14-14. The drive took three plays for 73 yards and only took 1:22 off the clock.

Washington State’s defense forced a quick three and out. Leon Neal Jr blocked the punt, and Josh Meredith scooped and scored for the Cougars. Dean Janikowski nailed his third PAT of the night, and Washington took a 21-14 lead.

After the first quarter, WSU was outperforming expectations. Eckhaus was 7-7 for 136 yards and one touchdown compared to his counterpart McCord, who was 6-11 for 91 yards and one touchdown. Washington State was playing well in all three phases of the game but the Orange did put together two impressive touchdown drives that showed their ability to put up points.

The Cougars were surprisingly finding success in the air with 136 yards. They had only rushed for 23 yards total compared to Syracuse who had rushed for 61 yards.

After an impressive first quarter by both teams, the second quarter is where Syracuse began to separate themselves.

The Orange moved down the field with ease to start the second quarter. McCord found Oronde Gadsden II two times on the drive, once for 23 yards and lastly for an 18-yard touchdown. Kennedy made his PAT, and the Orange tied the game once again 21-21.

After an interception by Elijah Clark, Syracuses’ offense picked up where they left off and continued to run up and down the field. They completed their longest drive of the game. Starting at their own 6-yard line, they drove 94 yards in 2:49 seconds and took a 28-21 lead.

After another stalled drive by WSU, That ended with a failed 4th and two. Syracuse took over on their 20-yard line with 3:08 seconds left until half. After driving down inside the Cougar five with seventeen seconds until half, McCord hit Gadsden II for his second touchdown reception of the night to extend their lead to 35-21. The first half ended with Syracuse scoring 21 unanswered points.

At halftime, Syracuse had taken control of the game after a surprising start by Washington. The Orange jogged into the tunnel with a 14-point lead.

Allen had eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark with 101, and McCord was 15-23 for 218 and three touchdowns. The Syracuse defense did its job in the second quarter, allowing zero points and forcing one turnover.

Washington State had some things to be happy about within the first half but dug themselves into a hole in the second quarter.

The Cougars received the second-half kickoff, and after both teams put together drives into enemy territory, they exchanged missed field goals and drained 7:52 off the clock. Janikowski missed a 41-yard attempt, and Kennedy missed his 39-yard attempt.

With 2:21 until the fourth, Eckhaus scrambled and found Carlos Hernandez streaming across the field for a 42-yard touchdown. After a successful PAT, the game was once again a one-score game, 35-28.

It didn’t take Syracuse long to respond. Two plays later, they were in the endzone again as McCord hit Pena for a 45-yard touchdown. The score was Pena’s second touchdown and fitch reception of the game.

Heading into the fourth quarter, WSU had the ball on the Syracuse 44 and down 42-28. Two plays later, Eckhaus tried to roll out and pass to his running back on a wheel route but was intercepted by Jalil Martin.

“He did a good job; we had Devin Grant out, and he stepped up, and he was able to start,” Brown said of Martin getting experience and making plays in the game. “Was able to rotate the entire night and be able to play like that. But it’s just that we have the “next man up” mentality the entire year, and that’s just what we’re about.”

After completing a 49-yard pass on 3rd, twenty-one helped keep the drive alive; Syracuse failed to score on 3rd down and four and had to settle for a field goal to extend their lead 45-28.

Another missed field goal was the nail in the coffin as Syracuse took over with 5:02 left in the game.

Each team scored one more touchdown in the final minutes but the game was already out of reach for Washington State.

Eckhaus got his first start and performed well for a quarterback thrust into the moment on this stage. He completed 31-43 for 363 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

“It was a blissful experience,” Eckhaus said of the opportunity he had to play in this game. “Not everyone gets the opportunity to play in a bowl game, let alone the Holiday Bowl, a very prestigious bowl game. It means more with everything the team has gone through these past few weeks, the amount of changes and the amount of departures.”

McCord ended the game 24-34, 453 yards and five touchdowns on his way to becoming the new ACC leader for passing yards in a season. Lequint finished with an impressive 17 rushes for 120 yards and two touchdowns while also catching three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Syracuse ended up with two turnovers and played great in the second half to solidify the win.

“Take my hat off to Washington State and their Interm head coach; he did an amazing job,” Brown said in his opening statement following the team win. “Their players, they competed their butts off. I thought number two was one of the better receivers we went against the entire year. I thought they played well on both sides of the ball.”

Fran Brown, in his first season as head coach, impressed many with his ability to lead this team to a ten-win season. He capped it off on Friday with a Holiday Bowl win.

Johnny Olivieri

Johnny is born and raised in San Diego and a diehard fan of all his hometown teams. He is an avid collector of sports memorabilia that help paint a picture of the history of sports in San Diego. He spends a lot of his time attending sports games across San Diego county and enjoys studying the history and spreading knowledge of San Diego’s diverse sports.