No. 21 Syracuse defeated Washington State, 52-35 in the Holiday Bowl.

Here are five takeaways from the win:

It was another record setting night for Kyle McCord. He set a Syracuse bowl record with 453 passing yards to go along with five touchdowns (also an SU bowl record).

And on top of leading the nation in passing yards (4,779), he also set an ACC record for single season passing yards and finished with the 26th highest total in NCAA history.

Syracuse is hoping for another season of McCord, as his petition to play another season of college football is pending.

McCord spread the ball around, finding seven different receivers, including Darrell Gill Jr. (145 yards), Oronde Gadsden II (74 yards, two TDs), Trebor Pena (70 yards, two TDs) and Jackson Meeks (110 yards).

For Meeks, the extra yardage allowed him to surpass 1,000 yards on the season.

The Orange also balanced the run, as LeQuint Allen rushed 17 times for 120 yards and two scores, and added 45 receiving yards and a score. That allowed him to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year.

If there was one flaw in the Syracuse season, it was their special teams. The Orange had a punt blocked for a touchdown in the first quarter, the first time that's happened since its September matchup against UNLV, but still an area that the Orange will need to address in the offseason.

Any way you look at it, Syracuse had an impressive season. For just the third time since the turn of the century, the Orange finished with double digit wins (2018, 2001).

It's even more impressive considering it was Fran Brown's first year as a head coach, having no prior experience at even the coordinator level.

SU beat all expectations, and will finish the season inside the top 20 for the first time in six years.

The transfer portal ending when the regular season ends has taken some of the pizzazz out of post season matchups.

On top of losing head coach Jake Dickert (left for Wake Forest), Washington State also had 22 players enter the transfer portal, including star quarterback John Mateer.

So the team that finished the season 8-4 didn't resemble the team that took the field, as a smattering of second and even third stringers playing a significant amount of snaps.

For Syracuse's part, eight players entered the portal, with defensive backs Jayden Bellamy and Marcellus Barnes Jr. headlining the group.

And other players, like defensive lineman Fadil Diggs weren't available.

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