Syracuse 31, No. 23 Georgia Tech 28: Kyle McCord leads Orange to victory

I’d like to thank Ryan Day for making Kyle McCord a Syracuse Orange

Another career day from Kyle McCord led the Syracuse Orange to a ranked victory over the No. 23 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a 31-28 score. The Orange move to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in ACC play.

The Syracuse offense came out firing to start the game. A very efficient seven play, 75 yard drive ended with a Trebor Pena touchdown from Kyle McCord. Huge plays from Will Nixon and LeQuint Allen in the passing game helped drive the Orange downfield.

Georgia Tech responded right back on its opening offensive drive. Syracuse had the Yellow Jackets pinned on 3rd-and-11 back at the 24-yard line, but Georgia Tech QB Haynes King found Avery Boyd on a crossing route that picked up 19 yards.

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Both teams were held scoreless after the opening drives after a blocked Syracuse field goal and a Georgia Tech three-and-out. The Orange offense continued to look much better, especially by developing the running backs in the passing games through screens and play action. Kyle McCord’s ball placement continued to excel in favor of Syracuse.

It all culminated in the opening minutes of the second half as McCord found Pena in the end zone again on a fade route. Pena continued to pace the Orange receiving attack as McCord’s favorite target. The touchdown put Syracuse up 14-7 with 12:27 left in the 2nd.

The Orange once again held the Yellow Jackets to their own territory, which gave Kyle McCord the freedom to continue cooking on offense. He found Oronde Gadsden after a nine play, 89 yard drive for his third touchdown of the half to give Cuse a 21-7 lead. McCord finished the first half with 286 passing yards.

Meanwhile, the Syracuse run defense tightened up to limit the Georgia Tech offense. Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes only rushed eight times for 14 yards in the first half. However, King found another opening towards the end of the 2nd quarter to pull Georgia Tech within one score. The GT QB found another hole for a 26-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 21-14 lead. Both teams failed to score to close out the half.

The Orange defense came out hot in the second half, holding Georgia Tech to eight plays and 30 yards in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets only had one first down and one rushing yard in the third quarter. Georgia Tech were also 0-2 on third downs in the third quarter. Syracuse responded with 108 yards in the third quarter, getting a 33-yard field goal for their troubles. McCord increased his passing yards to 341.

The Syracuse defense continued to flex its muscles to start the fourth quarter, led by Fadil Diggs. He and Maarad Watson teamed up to stop Georgia Tech running back Anthony Carrie on 4th-and-1, firing up the Dome crowd. McCord and the Orange offense thanked the defense in kind. Gadsden scored his second touchdown of the game to put Syracuse up 31-14.

The Yellow Jackets finally scored in the 2nd half after a methodical 13 play, 75 yard drive to cut the Orange lead to 10 points. However, the game was not out of question after the Syracuse special teams continued to show their struggles. An onside kick for Georgia Tech bounced off an Orange player and the Yellow Jackets recovered to regain offensive possession. A blocked field goal, blocked punt, kickoff out-out-bounds, and failed onside recovery culminated in a bad day for the Orange specialty groups. Jamal Haynes finally found the endzone for Georgia Tech on the ensuing drive to make it a one score game with Syracuse leading 31-28.

Georgia Tech kicked the ball away instead of opting for another onside kick, hoping to get one more Syracuse stop. However, first downs by Gadsden and LeQuint Allen iced the game as Syracuse escaped the comeback attempt to take its first ranked victory since 2022.

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McCord set new passing records once again, this time setting new career highs in passing attempts and completions in a game. He also eclipsed his career high in passing yards in a game, which he set last week against Ohio. McCord finished with 381 yards on 32-46 passing with four touchdowns. Gadsden paced the way for receivers with two touchdowns on six catches for 93 yards. Pena also had six catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Diggs paced the Syracuse defense in the absence of Marlowe Wax with seven tackles, two of them for loss. Derek McDonald also had seven tackles.

The Orange take on the Bye Week Fightin’ Byes next week before returning to the JMA Wireless Dome for a Friday night showdown against new ACC foe Stanford on September 20.