Kyle McCord is letting it rip at Syracuse - ESPN

Let's talk about the spike, although Kyle McCord wants to move past it. The spike is at the heart of who McCord is now at Syracuse: himself. Not some image of who Kyle McCord should be. Not some image of what his coaches demand him to be. Kyle McCord is playing fast and free, and all the emotions he played with as a little leaguer have come tumbling out.

Like the spike. It happened two Saturdays ago against Georgia Tech. Third-and-2 in the third quarter. Syracuse up 24-14 at its own 16-yard line. McCord takes the snap and is chased out of the pocket. He takes off running to his left toward the sideline, tiptoeing downfield as a Georgia Tech defender tries to grab him from behind.

McCord loses his balance and as he goes out of bounds, he spikes the ball — partly in anger because he thought he could have gotten more yards, partly in excitement because while he might not quite be a «mobile quarterback» he absolutely can pick up big yards with his legs when needed. The crowd stood and roared in approval. On the sideline itself, Syracuse safety Justin Barron started jumping up and down and high-stepping toward McCord.

Kyle Mccord powers past defense for 15-yard rush

Upstairs in the press box, quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile scanned the field for flags, expecting a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. None came. «I don't think he'll do that again, but I also think that fired our guys up,» Campanile said.

It was spontaneous and emotional and completely unexpected. It was the perfect reintroduction for McCord.

Syracuse sits at 2-0 headed into Friday night's game against Stanford (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App) thanks in large part to the Ohio State transfer quarterback, who has thrown for 735 yards, eight touchdowns to one