No. 23 Georgia Tech picked an inopportune time not to play up to expectations Saturday, losing 31-28 at Syracuse.
The Yellow Jackets (2-1, 1-1 ACC) fell behind 31-14 in the second half. A furious comeback in the fourth quarter netted two touchdowns and made the more than 39,000 fans at the JMA Wireless Dome more nervous than they wanted to be, but the Tech defense couldn’t make one final stop to get the ball back to the offense.
Coach Brent Key’s team was playing as a nationally ranked squad for the first time in nine years. It likely will drop out of those rankings when the next version is released Monday.
Here are some other takeaways from Saturday’s loss:
Not physical enough
Key preached all week leading to Saturday’s game that he needed his team to be more physical than the Orange. He didn’t necessarily get his wish for a full 60 minutes.
“We knew coming up here that they were gonna have a physical football team. You turn on the tape from the first game, you see that, you know that,” Key said. “We knew they were a physical team, so we had to be the more physical team coming in here. That’s what we control. We control that. I thought at times, today it really showed that we were not.
“I’m talking about the ability to set the line of scrimmage. The ability to stop the run in a short-yardage situation. At the end of the day, when you can’t convert those things, and stop them from converting, that comes down to the physicality and the ability to set the line of scrimmage and start the line of scrimmage.”
Tech’s relative lack of physicality showed up in the trenches. The Jackets’ usually stout offensive front could pave the way for only 112 rushing yards — 15 of which came on Tech’s last offensive play of the day. Syracuse also had three quarterback hurries and three tackles for loss.
On the flip side, Tech couldn’t do anything to neutralize Syracuse’s offensive line. The Jackets got to quarterback Kyle McCord only twice, once on a Kyle Efford sack and once on a Romello Height hurry. Otherwise, McCord had all the time in the world to sit in the pocket and complete 32 passes for 381 yards.
“We knew we were going against a really good quarterback. We were not able to affect him with the rush. He was able to sit back there and hit some open receivers,” Key said. “The vertical seam game, the guys were hitting up the pipe, and I think it was either three or four big third downs they were able to get the ball the intended target, and we didn’t challenge the guy.
“We weren’t coming on. Whether we rushed three, rushed four, rushed five, (they) had a hat on a hat, we weren’t able to come on. That’s something we gotta continue to work on and improve, the ability to get to the quarterback. We can’t let quarterbacks sit back there and just have all day to throw the ball.”
Defense takes a step back
Through two games, Tech’s defense appeared to be on the right track thanks to wins over then-No. 10 Florida State and Georgia State. But Saturday was a major regression.
The Jackets allowed 515 yards, 28 first downs, 10 third-down conversions, two fourth-down conversions, 6.6 yards per play, 11.9 yards per completion and five red-zone scores in five chances. Syracuse also held the ball for nearly 37 minutes.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a wake-up call, just more of how are we gonna respond to it?” Efford said. “We know we’re a good team, we know we could have beat this team, but it played out how it played out.”
The 381 passing yards allowed by Tech are the most it has allowed since Florida State threw for 396 on Oct. 29, 2022. The 28 first downs are the most allowed since Wake Forest racked up 29 in a matchup last season.
Defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci’s squad was on the field for 68 plays, and 46 of those were pass attempts from McCord.
“We tried to put some pressure on him, tried to stop that pass game. Played out how it played out. Gotta watch that tape and get right,” Efford added. “You try to have a good balance of pressure and coverage, but, again, (McCord’s) a good quarterback. He knows how to read defense and he played ball today.”
Ground woes
The Jackets have created an identity as a team that thrives on running the football, draining the clock and narrating the pace of the game. They did none of those things Saturday.
“I believe just one of those days,” Tech quarterback Haynes King said.
Tech managed only 112 yards on the ground, its fewest since rushing for only 99 against Miami last season. Fifteen of Tech’s rushing yards came on Jamal Haynes’ 15-yard touchdown run in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, and 47 more came on two TD jaunts from King.
It was an uncharacteristic day for Tech’s ground-and-pound attack.
“A little bit,” King said on whether the team’s ground-game struggles were surprising. “But at the end of the day, they’re a well-coached football team. I was at (Texas) A&M with (defensive coordinator) Elijah Robinson. I know how he does. They’re gonna play hard and rally to the football, and that’s what they did.”
Special teams has a day
Aidan Birr missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in the first half. Other than that, Tech’s special teams had a day to remember in New York.
Zeek Biggers blocked a field-goal attempt in the first quarter and a punt in the second quarter. David Shanahan had four punts for an average of 48.3 yards. And Biggers’ recovery of an onside kick, executed by Birr, in the fourth quarter kept Tech’s comeback hopes alive in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse didn’t have a single punt return or kickoff return yard.
Rutherford goes out
Tech’s leading receiver Malik Rutherford left Saturday’s game during the second half after an apparent injury.
Key did not have an update on the seriousness of the injury after the game.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior made seven catches for 38 yards Saturday and now has 18 grabs for 235 yards over three games this season. Rutherford is now over 1,000 yards for his career, the 25th receiver in Tech history to reach that milestone.
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