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On Nov. 18, 2023, Syracuse’s injury-plagued roster battled primarily out of the wildcat formation, doing anything it could to scrape by Georgia Tech in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Luke MacPhail’s sole dropback resulted in an interception, icing the game and Dino Babers’ time as SU’s head coach. The following morning, Babers was fired.

Less than a year later, the Orange, with first-year head coach Fran Brown at the helm, took on the Yellow Jackets again. This time, it was the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for Syracuse and the first ranked opponent for Brown as GT ranked No. 23 entering the contest.

Following a 38-22 win over Ohio in its opener, SU took down the Yellow Jackets with a potent passing attack and much improved rushing defense. The Orange never trailed in the contest and defeated their first ranked opponent since 2022.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (2-0, 1-0 ACC) 31-28 win over No. 23 Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-1 ACC) Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome:

Filling Wax’s void

While the Orange walked away with a win in their first game, they also suffered a major loss. Linebacker Marlowe Wax left the game with a right-leg injury in the third quarter and returned to the sideline in street clothes and a boot. Wax was later ruled out by Brown for at least six weeks.

Within the 4-2-5 formation, Wax’s helmet bore the green dot — hearing in-helmet communication with SU’s coaching staff. In his place, the Orange tagged a rotation of redshirt freshman James Heard Jr. and redshirt junior Anwar Sparrow to pair alongside Derek McDonald.

As Wax traveled down the sideline on a scooter, the linebackers struggled early without him. McDonald couldn’t bring Haynes King down in the backfield in the first quarter, allowing him to scoot free for a 21-yard touchdown. Sparrow and Heard Jr. both combined for one tackle in the first half, but SU’s safeties came down to make multiple. Safety Alijah Clark registered five in the first half while Justin Barron and McDonald added four each.

On King’s second touchdown of the afternoon, Sparrow reached for the quarterback’s legs but couldn’t make the wrap-up, allowing him to break through. Edge rusher Fadil Diggs was also dropping into coverage, helping the short-handed group hold on just enough to limit GT.

Explosive offense

Syracuse’s offense on its opening drive was the complete opposite of the one a week ago. After going three-and-out against Ohio, the Orange needed just 2:39 for their first score. The offense started with a run, with Zeed Haynes out wide and Oronde Gadsden II as a down lineman.

Following the opening rush from LeQuint Allen Jr. for six yards, SU then passed the ball six plays in a row. Using the intermediate passing game, quarterback Kyle McCord found Will Nixon for a 20-yard gain. A pass to Umari Hatcher put SU on GT’s side, then McCord fed Allen Jr. on a screen for 28 yards. The explosive drive culminated in an 11-yard score for Trebor Peña, building off his three-touchdown day against Ohio.

McCord was stellar in the opening quarter, going 9-for-13 (including two drops from Dan Villari) for 125 yards as the Orange offense continued to drive into the second frame. SU offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon used frequent motion patterns to get its running backs open in the passing game.

Set up at the GT 12-yard line early in the second quarter, Nixon set three wide receivers to the right and Allen Jr. to McCord’s left. After moving Allen Jr. to his right before the snap, McCord hit Peña in the right corner of the end zone, giving the Orange the lead. On SU’s next drive, McCord found the end zone again. This time, it was Gadsden on a free play to double the lead. SU’s quarterback was 19-for-26 in the first half for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

The offense continued into the second half. McCord found eight different weapons through the air and constantly pushed the attack, even using his legs to convert on a third down and adding a spike out of bounds for good measure.

The Orange’s offense finished with a near-perfect day, totaling 31 points and 515 yards, as McCord completed 70% of his passes for four touchdowns.

Rush defense improvements

Despite SU defeating the Bobcats in Week 1 by 16 points, its rushing defense stuck out as the clear weak spot. The Orange allowed 255 yards on the ground, including 203 to Ohio’s Anthony Tyus III.

Georgia Tech’s rushing attack wouldn’t do any favors for the Orange, as it entered Saturday averaging 207.5 yards per game on the ground with King and Haynes leading the way.

In GT’s first offensive play Saturday, the Orange rushing defense knocked Haynes back one yard with Kevin Jobity Jr. and Maraad Watson in on the play. Though Haynes was held to just six yards on five attempts on the drive, King broke through with a 21-yard run for GT’s opening score.

From there, the SU defense held strong in the first half. Diggs, an edge rusher, was shifted inside at times to bring added pressure. On its next two drives, Georgia Tech ran the ball only twice, gaining one yard on each.

While SU bottled up Haynes, King was unstoppable in the first half. Both of GT’s touchdowns were from King’s legs, and he scooted for 47 yards on two attempts. In Brown’s weekly press conference Monday, he compared King to former Texas star quarterback Vince Young. King looked the part Saturday.

But other than its quarterback, Georgia Tech’s potent rushing attack didn’t get much going in the second half either. On a fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, Diggs broke through the line for the stop, cementing SU’s lead.

In its fourth-quarter comeback effort, GT scraped through in the running game with a touchdown by Haynes. The Yellow Jackets finished with 112 rushing yards, nearly 100 yards fewer than their average through their first two games.

Special teams miscues

In Saturday’s ACC opener, the special teams units for both sides played a crucial role.

Late in the first quarter, SU’s 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked by a GT defender, taking three points off the board. Nearing the end of the second quarter, a Jack Stonehouse punt was blocked, setting up the Yellow Jackets on the offensive end with 90 seconds to play in the first half. Georgia Tech then missed a field goal on the ensuing drive to end the half down seven.

On the second-half opening kickoff, Brady Denaburg squibbed the ball out of bounds, allowing GT to start at the 35-yard line. With five minutes to play in the game, Georgia Tech scored a touchdown, then recovered an onside kick, giving it another chance to dig into SU’s lead. Haynes broke through for a score, cutting the deficit to just three with 2:35 to play.

Even with some scattered special teams miscues from the Orange, SU’s offense was too much for GT to handle.

Published on September 7, 2024 at 3:43 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky