Tech Falls To Syracuse 31-28
A Fast Finish Falls Short For Georgia Tech
An unexpected thing happened Saturday in upstate New York. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets got pushed around by an up and coming Syracuse team. That the Orange won the game is not shocking. Tech came in as a narrow 3- point favorite. And while the loss itself is not a shock, the manner in which it happened was surprising. Syracuse turned the tables on Tech. They bullied the Jackets throughout the game, winning the line of scrimmage throughout the day, on both sides of the ball. Only some outstanding special teams play and a few minor miracles from QB Haynes King kept this game from being a blowout loss for Tech.
Over the past several weeks, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key had isdued a consistent message for his team and for Tech fans. The next step for his program's overall advance, he said, was consistency itself. Saturday at Syracuse the Jackets provided evidence as to how elusive that consistency can be. They fell to the Orange by a 31-28 score in a game that never felt as close as that score sounds. Tech did hang around long enough to make things interesting– so much so that last year's "Miracle at Miami" crept into the minds of some Tech fans. But Syracuse RB LeQuint Allen ran for a late- game first down to allow the Orange to run out the clock - the old fashioned way, by taking a few kneel- downs.
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For the third game in a row, Tech's defense gave up a long drive on the game's first possession. The Orange scored with under three minutes gone to take a 7-0 lead. And once again, Tech answered, with King running it in from the Syracuse 21 to bring Tech back to a 7-7 score. But unlike Tech's first two wins, their defense found no effective answer the Orange attack on the following possessions. QB Kyle McCord looked quite comfortable in the pocket, doing a fine Joe Montana impression with precise short and medium range passes finding their mark play after play. On the day, McCord hit 32 of 46 attempts for 381 yards and four scores. He was not intercepted.
Despite changing up coverages and trying several stunts, Tech DC Tyler Santucci's defense was not able to hassle McCord, or even hurry him. Given that fact, the accuracy of the Ohio State transfer was not surprising. He had 125 yards passing in the first quarter and never really backed off. Tech sacked him only once in the game, and repeatedly failed to hurry him on his drops. McCord completed passes to eight different receivers to account for his 32 completions.
As for Tech's offense , the power run game that has been their go-to weapon for offensive control was missing in action. Whether it was scheme related or more about emotion, those holes that RB Jamal Haynes, et. al. had found in the first two games were nowhere to be found. Haynes netted only seven yards on his first six carries. He finished with 36 yards on 11 carries.
The Orange defense was geared to stop Tech's run-first offense, and they succeeded. For the game, the Jackets ran 24 times for only 112 yards. That success put the onus on QB King to spearhead Tech's attack. He did well, scoring on two first half runs , a 21 yarder and a 26 yarder. He also brought Tech into field goal range as the first half ended, but game one hero PK Aidan Birr was wide on a 45 yard attempt.
Nevertheless, Tech went to the break down 21-14, and with the second-half kickoff awaiting, there was reason for optimism.
But the third quarter scoring was limited to a short field goal by the Orange, who then added a TD in the fourth stanza to stretch their lead to 31-14.
Tech's success over their next two possessions – they scored twice in rapid succession after recovering an onside kick– brought the game to 31-28.
But Tech was not quite able to earn a critical final possession. With two minutes left, Syracuse converted a 3rd and 10 with a short pass. This came after Key and Tech declined a 10 yard penalty, choosing instead to cost the Orange a down.
And when Syracuse RB Allen broke off tackle for 24 yards on a 2nd down and 6 , Tech's fate was sealed. Yellow Jacket LB Kyle Efford later described that play by saying " We tried to stack the box, and he rolled it outside– it is what it is".
From there, Syracuse QB Kyle McCord killed the time remaining to settle the issue. Tech's Efford later summed up his team's frustration saying " We know we're a good team and we could've beat this team".
One big clue as to Tech's struggles on defense was the big numbers put up by the Jackets secondary. Of the Jackets top five tacklers for the game, four were from the secondary– Seymore, Harvey, Burrell and Daniels. Efford recorded Tech's lone sack.
Georgia Tech falls to 2-1 overall, 1-1 in ACC play. The larger concern is the failure to break the pattern of inconsistent play by Tech that marked the 2023 squad. The early season momentum in 2024, built by that 2-0 start and a #23 ranking, is now gone. It now falls to Key and his staff to help rebuild that momentum after this sobering defeat.
Is the Tech defense that porous? Can the power run game be recharged? Is Syracuse simply much better than projected? These questions loom over the season ahead as Georgia Tech begins to prepare for game # four.
The Jackets take on VMI at home next week and they will look to get back on a winning track prior to traveling to Louisville for the next ACC game on September 20 .
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com
