Preview: What will depleted WSU Cougars look like in Holiday Bowl?

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Syracuse Orange coach Fran Brown and WSU Cougars acting coach Pete Kaligis shared a heartfelt hug after their Holiday Bowl news conference on Thursday.

Kaligis can certainly use all the support he can get, especially an embrace and some encouraging words from the opposing coach.

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No. 22 Syracuse (9-3, No. 21 CFP), led by national passing leader Kyle McCord, is a 17-point favorite according to BetMGM in Friday night’s Holiday Bowl against the depleted Cougars (8-4), whose season has nosedived since mid-November.

After beating future Pac-12 opponent San Diego State 29-26 on Oct. 26 at Snapdragon Stadium, coach Jake Dickert, quarterback John Mateer and the rest of the Cougars were 7-1 and about to jump into The Associated Press Top 25.

Now the Cougars are barely recognizable as they return to Snapdragon. Dickert was hired away by Wake Forest, Mateer transferred to Oklahoma and running back Wayshawn Parker left for Utah. Numerous coaches, including the offensive and defensive coordinators, are gone, and more than 20 players have entered the transfer portal.

The Cougars, who lost their last three games, are a prime example of how college football’s rapidly changing landscape can dramatically affect a program.

“Going into the ins-and-outs of the game tomorrow doesn’t matter,” Kaligis said. “We are who we are, we have what we have. I know that’s for both of us.”

Kaligis said players who entered the portal after Dickert left can suit up Friday night. “I know we came here with 98 guys. That’s who we’re going to show up on the field with.”

The state of the game

Kaligis said relationships between players and coaches are more important than ever, even if there’s less time to develop trust “and coach them the right way.”

“When a staff (member) leaves and guys get in the portal, it’s because of the relationships they have garnered with their position coaches. When that position coach isn’t guaranteed he’s going to be there, that’s who that young man trusts,” Kaligis said.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he added. “What’s been hard for me, I spent 13 years at Wyoming, I saw three graduating classes. I remember I was the longest-tenured coach there. To see them all the way through. When I came to Wazzu, I was their fourth D-line coach.”

WSU Cougars’ slump

The Cougs improved to 8-1 by beating Utah State 49-28 on Nov. 9 but then lost three straight, including to Oregon State in the de facto championship game between the two teams left in the Pac-12. They also lost to New Mexico and Wyoming, two of the Mountain West teams that weren’t invited to join the reconstituted Pac-12 starting in 2026.

Airing it out

McCord, who transferred from Ohio State, rewrote the Orange’s record book this season with 4,326 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and 367 completions. He’s well within range of breaking Deshaun Watson’s ACC single-season record of 4,593, which he set in 15 games in 2016.

Orange goals

A win will give Syracuse 10 wins for the first time since 2018 and just the third time since 2000. Brown can become the second Syracuse coach since World War II to record 10 wins in his first season, joining Paul Pasqualoni, who did it in 1991.

In their final regular-season game, the Orange rallied from a 21-0 deficit for a 42-38 win against then-No. 6 Miami that knocked the Hurricanes out of ACC title contention and ended their College Football Playoff hopes. McCord threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns.

“We want to go out and have a good game,” Brown said. “We have an opportunity of winning 10 games, which means you’re starting to become a successful program, right? Our players haven’t had a chance of winning a bowl game. So there’s a lot of things that are on the line for us to really be able to build our program and being able to move forward.”

Series history

This will be the teams’ second meeting. Syracuse beat Washington State 52-25 in 1979.

More on WSU Cougars football

• Five candidates to replace Jake Dickert as WSU Cougars football coach
• Jake Dickert gives statement to ‘Coug Nation’ after leaving WSU
• Klatt: WSU Cougars QB’s transfer highlights ‘totally broken’ system