Georgia Tech’s defense has had two solid showings through the season’s first two contests. The No. 23-ranked Yellow Jackets have yet another tough challenge ahead at noon Saturday on the road against Syracuse.
The Orange (1-0) brought in prized transfer recruit Kyle McCord during the offseason to be the focal point of their offense. His debut was impressive Saturday in a 38-22 win over Ohio, as the 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns on 27 completions.
Formerly at Ohio State, McCord joined Syracuse ahead of spring practice earlier this year.
“I think he’s a tremendous quarterback,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “Gets rid of the football, throws the football very well. Has got good skill guys on the outside that he can deliver it to, has some experience on the O-line in front of him. He’s a good quarterback. It’s a big challenge for us.”
McCord, named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list for his efforts, completed 69% of his throws in Saturday’s win. He distributed the ball to eight different receivers and connected on touchdown passes of 28, 20, 5 and 14 yards, respectively. McCord also was picked off once, but that miscue came with 3:38 to play on a third-and-17 call and kept Ohio deep in its own territory.
A New Jersey native, McCord started 13 of the 24 games he played in at Ohio State. He threw for 3,170 yards last season in leading the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record — McCord did not play in Ohio State’s loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
McCord, however, isn’t the only asset who makes the ‘Cuse offense dangerous.
Running back LeQuint Allen ran for 98 yards on 15 carries in the win over Ohio and is coming off a 1,000-yard season last year. The junior ran for 120 yards in the 2023 matchup with Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Tight end Oronde Gadsden caught seven passes for 108 yards last week. Wide receivers Trebor Pena (two touchdowns) and Zeed Haynes combined for 10 catches for 148 yards. The offensive line features three seniors and two juniors.
“I think we’ll be dynamic I think at every single position — offensive line, tight end, receiver. We have a lot of great weapons,” McCord said this summer at the ACC Football Kickoff. “Some were there last year like (Gadsden) and (Allen), some new guys like Zeed Haynes and Jackson Meeks (both former players at Georgia), who came in from the (transfer) portal. I’m excited to get going. I think we had a really good start in spring ball. Now we got (right tackle) Savion Washington from the portal, a good addition to the O-line.
“I feel like we’ll be dynamic. I feel like the toughness is definitely there. I think if we can combine those two things we’ll be off to a good start.”
Tech’s defense, and specifically the secondary, has been solid through two games. The Jackets have surrendered only 403 passing yards and only one touchdown throw.
If they can put together a similar performance Saturday, they have a good chance at helping the Jackets move to 3-0.
“They’re a good team. They throw the ball a lot. They have a good quarterback, good receivers. Seem like they got a pretty good handle on the offense and what they wanna do,” Tech cornerback Warren Burrell said. “So it’s gonna be a good challenge for us. They’re a good team — we’re good, too. We’re gonna line it up, compete and hopefully things fall the right way for us.”
