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Syracuse began the Fran Brown era with a 38-22 win over Ohio. After SU trailed 6-0 after the first quarter, Kyle McCord and its offense came alive in the second, giving the Orange a 17-9 halftime lead.

Ohio running back Anthony Tyus III, who ran for 203 yards, responded with a touchdown to begin the third quarter. But Syracuse scored 21 unanswered points, propelling it to its 16-point win.

One week later, Brown faces two more firsts: an Atlantic Coast Conference foe and an AP Top 25 team.

Here’s what to know before Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) hosts No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC) Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome:

All-time series

Georgia Tech leads 3-1.

Last time they played…

Syracuse traveled to Bobby Dodd Stadium on Nov. 18, 2023, for its second-to-last regular season contest. The Orange and Yellow Jackets each entered the matchup with five wins, needing one more victory to secure a bowl game appearance.

The week prior, SU heavily utilized LeQuint Allen Jr. and Dan Villari out of the wildcat formation, running the ball 65 times for 392 yards — with Villari (154), Garrett Shrader (109) and Allen Jr. (103) each running for over 100 yards — en route a 28-13 win over Pittsburgh. The win ended the Orange’s five-game losing streak.

With Shrader’s injuries limiting his abilities under center, Syracuse again utilized its run-heavy, wildcat-centric offense against GT. At first, it failed miserably, as SU trailed 24-3 less than a minute into the third quarter. But the Orange scored touchdowns on three of their first five second-half drives, cutting their deficit to 24-22 on two touchdown runs from Allen Jr. and one from Villari.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King ended SU’s scoring run by scoring a rushing touchdown. With Syracuse trailing 31-22 with 2:22 remaining, it pulled a card it hadn’t all season: putting backup quarterback Luke MacPhail under center. On his lone drop back, he threw an interception. It was the last offensive play of the Dino Babers era.

Cole Ross | Digital Design Director

The Yellow Jackets report

For the first game of the 2024 College Football season, Georgia Tech traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to face then-No. 10 Florida State. Despite entering the game as double-digit point underdogs, the Yellow Jackets played at or above FSU’s level throughout.

In crunch time, GT’s offense embarked on an over six-minute, 12-play drive that led to a game-winning field goal as time expired. Georgia Tech followed its Week 0 win with a 35-12 bludgeoning of Georgia State in Week 1, propelling it to reach the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2015.

The key behind the Yellow Jackets’ early season success is its running game. Anchored by a dual threat in King and Jamal Haynes, who scored two touchdowns against SU last year, Georgia Tech is averaging 35 rushing attempts and 207.5 rushing yards per game.

How Syracuse beats Georgia Tech

With linebacker Marlowe Wax out for about six weeks, SU’s defense will need to step up to contain Georgia Tech’s running game. Considering how they performed versus an inferior offense even when Wax was on the field against Ohio, it’s a tall task for the Orange’s defense.

There’s a famous saying that sometimes, your best offense is defense. But for Syracuse on Saturday, its best defense might be offense. To beat the Yellow Jackets, who Brown and company know are going to run the ball, the Orange’s offense must match them in shootout fashion.

Unlike when it faced GT last year, Syracuse is equipped with one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC in McCord, while having a variety of threats in the passing game. If Trebor Peña, Oronde Gadsden II and SU’s skill position players perform like they did last week, it won’t matter how the defense fares against one of the best offenses in the conference.

Stat to know: 1

Through two games this season, Georgia Tech’s defense has only accumulated one sack. As seen from his time at Ohio State and throughout last week’s game against Ohio, McCord thrives when he has a clean pocket and is not under pressure. If the Yellow Jackets struggle to apply pressure, McCord is primed to follow up a career-best outing with another spectacular performance.

Player to watch: Haynes King, quarterback, No. 10

King is amid his second campaign at Georgia Tech after spending his first three collegiate seasons at Texas A&M. After redshirting as a freshman in 2020, King became the Aggies’ starting quarterback in 2021 but suffered a season-ending injury two games into the season. King regained his starting role under center in 2022. But injuries again derailed his campaign, as he appeared in only six games.

Following his stint at Texas A&M, King transferred to Georgia Tech, where he stayed healthy and broke out. Appearing in 13 games, King threw for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was one of two Power Five players with at least 2,800 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes, 700 rushing yards and 10 touchdown runs, alongside Heisman Trophy Winner and No. 2 NFL Draft pick Jayden Daniels (LSU).

Published on September 5, 2024 at 12:37 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon