The WSU Cougars (8-5) were defeated by the No. 21-ranked Syracuse Orange (10-3) in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl by a score of 52-35, in what was the second highest scoring Holiday Bowl of all time at Snapdragon stadium in San Diego. WSU receiver Kyle Williams set the all-time Holiday Bowl receiving yards record, with 168.
While heavy rain fell in Pullman, it was a brisk 60 degrees in San Diego when the game kicked off Friday night.
The Cougars were led by defensive tackles coach Pete Kaligis, who was named interim head coach by athletic director Anne McCoy after Jake Dickert’s departure for Wake Forest. Senior Zevi Eckhaus made his first start under center for the Cougs, replacing John Mateer, who transferred to Oklahoma last week.
Syracuse, meanwhile, was led by star senior quarterback Kyle McCord, who entered the game needing 268 yards to set the ACC single-season passing yards record. McCord tossed 29 touchdowns in 2024, en route to a tenth-place finish in Heisman voting.
Despite missing numerous starters and coaches, the Cougars were competitive throughout the game. They opened up the scoring in the first quarter, as Eckhaus led an explosive offensive drive and ran it in himself for a four-yard score.
Eckhaus channeled his inner Mateer by displaying the shiftiness to navigate pocket, rushing for 28 yards and the score.
Syracuse moved the ball with ease, piercing through the WSU defense, which was missing several starters including both defensive tackles and star defensive backs Ethan O’Conner and Buddah Al-Uqdah. Their absence was clear as McCord diced through the Wazzu secondary for a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior Trevor Pena.
Syracuse made the bold choice to go for two and did not convert, so the Cougs kept the early lead.
That was until the next Orange drive, when junior running back LeQuint Allen broke through for a 12-yard touchdown run, and caught the two-point conversion to give Syracuse a 14-7 lead.
The Cougs answered right back, as Eckhaus found Williams for a 66-yard touchdown pass that tied the game. A minute later, WSU found rhythm on defense and forced a punt. The Wazzu special teams stepped up, blocking the punt, and Josh Meredith ran it back for a go ahead score.
WSU took a 21-14 lead, their final lead of the game. Syracuse answered quickly, as McCord found his star junior tight end Oronde Gadsden II for an 18-yard touchdown pass. That would be the first of three Orange touchdowns in the second half.
The Orange took the lead as Allen ran for his second score of the game, and with just 13 seconds left in the half, Syracuse added another score with Gadsden finding the end zone for the second time in the quarter. WSU trailed 35-21 at half.
Coming out of halftime both teams traded missed field goals, before the Cougs broke through for a massive play to get back into the game. Eckhaus hit sophomore receiver Carlos Hernandez for a 42-yard dart who found the end zone, putting the Cougs within 7.
But once again, the Cougars defense showed weakness, allowing Syracuse to score within 47 seconds. McCord connected with Pena for a 45-yard touchdown on a blown coverage, his second score of the day, and McCord’s fourth touchdown pass of the night.
Syracuse added a field goal to extend their lead to 45-28, after Eckhaus’ second interception of the game. The Orange then added a seventh offensive touchdown, courtesy of McCord and Allen connecting for a 33-yard score.
McCord impressed throughout the game, throwing for 453 yards and five touchdowns. He surpassed Deshaun Watson for the most single-season passing yards in ACC history, and tied former Coug Gardner Minshew for 26th in NCAA history with 4,779 yards.
The Cougs weren’t done yet, however. Trailing 52-28, sports bettors and Vegas bookies held their breaths to see if the Cougs would score a garbage time touchdown to cover the 18-point spread.
They did, with nine seconds to spare, as Eckhaus found freshman Brandon Ganashamoorthy for a nine-yard touchdown, the first of his career, on third and goal. The Cougs covered the spread by a point, losing 52-35, and fought till the bitter end.
Eckhaus tossed three touchdowns and rushed for one while throwing for 363 yards and rushing for 28. He also threw a pair of interceptions. He redshirted in 2024 and will have an opportunity to return to Pullman and compete for the starting job in 2025.
Williams, in his final game as a Coug, put on a show, going for 172 yards and a touchdown on ten receptions. He broke Dez Bryant’s record for most Holiday Bowl receiving yards in what was a strong audition for the NFL draft in April.
“It’s been a long college journey for me, and it’s been a roller coaster,” said Williams on his final game as a Coug. “If I could do it again, I would do it over and over and over.”
On his record, Williams was humble.
“It’s amazing, you know, every game I try to put on a show and do the best I can,” said Williams. “But I wouldn’t have got it with this gunslinger (Eckhaus).”
Fellow senior Kyle Thornton expressed gratitude after his final game as a Coug. Thornton walked on at Wazzu in 2019 and eventually worked his way up to being a captain on the defense.
“There’s something special on this team,” said Thornton. “This whole year has been a fight…it’s what brings us closer.”
The Cougs finish the season 8-5. They lost to both ranked opponents they played (No. 3 Boise State, No. 21 Syracuse) and went 2-2 against Power 5 opponents. Wazzu is now 8-11 all-time in bowl games and falls to 1-4 in the Holiday Bowl.
Despite it being the worst-attended Holiday Bowl of all-time, with just over 23,000 in attendance, fans witnessed a pair of offensive powerhouses go head to head and multiple records were broken.
Kaligis expressed pride in his team for fighting and finishing the season strong.
“Love never fails, and it won’t fail,” said Kaligis.
The Cougs now head into the offseason with many questions to answer, but a promising final game of the season gave the Cougars a finish to remember.
