Syracuse falls to Georgia Tech, extending losing streak to four

ATLANTA – The Syracuse Orange fell to No. 7 Georgia Tech 41-16 as the Yellow Jackets cruised to victory in their first game as a top-10 team since 2009.  

The Orange showed offensive flashes against the Yellow Jackets and demonstrated explosive play capabilities throughout the game. The only problem? It came in spurts, after long periods of ineffectiveness. 

The game started off with textbook play. The defense continued to show signs of growth from last week’s game against Pitt and delivered a short field to the offense right away. But the team refused to get out of its own path. 

After Tech’s Isiah Canion was stripped of the ball on the first drive of the game by defensive back Chris Peal, Syracuse’s running back Yasin Willis broke off a 41-yard run down to the 1-yard line, but the offense began to implode from there with false start penalties and a sack, leaving them to come away with an early 3-0 lead. 

From there, the offense flirted between exciting and inept as the turnovers and missed throws resurfaced. 

The first quarter presented a defensive battle that saw the Orange hold their own against one of the best offenses in the country. Until the 17 unanswered points.

The Jackets’ running game came to life and forced the Orange defense to play on their heels, allowing for play action game to open up. Senior quarterback Haynes King found tight end Josh Beetham early in the quarter for his first touchdown on a 21-yard throw. Later on, he found him again in the same period for a 12-yard touchdown scamper and dive to the pylon, helping them jump out to a 17-3 lead.  

Photo by Ben Sax

Georgia Tech tight end Josh Beetham, wide receiver Eric Rivers, and wide receiver Dean Patterson celebrate after a touchdown against Syracuse on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

After the was became plagued with holding penalties and overthrows, they managed to find success on the ground and work their way down the field on the last drive of the quarter. However, it was short-lived, as consecutive calls were upheld on the runners. Running back Will Nixon and quarterback Rickie Collins were short of the first down marker.  

Georgia Tech made quick work of the defense and went down the field to score right before the half concluded, stretching their lead to 20-3. 

Opening the second half, Collins wasted no time capitalizing on coming out of the break. He connected with junior wide receiver Johntay Cook for 41 yards, and on the very next play, managed to find junior receiver Darrell Gill Jr. open over the middle for a 34-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 20-10. 

Georgia Tech quickly snuffed out the Orange’s momentum after a sack by defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr forced a third-and-12, allowing King to connect with receiver Zion Taylor for 14 yards and a first down. After that, King found receiver Dean Patterson for 37 yards and a score, building the lead 27-10.  

The next drive for SU ended in a punt while trying to stretch the field again with deep routes, but its attempts yielded no positive results.  

Pouring it on the Orange after letting up that opening half touchdown, Georgia Tech opened with a 27-yard rush from Malachi Hosley, and soon after, King found receiver Bailey Stockton on a big 33-yard gain that set up his 2-yard touchdown on the next play.  

Now leading 34-10, the Orange tried to fire back. They opened with a 35-yard strike to Dan Villari up the seam and slowly worked up the field on a couple of key fourth down conversions. The Orange showed positive signs of life on offense, but failed to close the quarter like they started it. The drive came to a screeching halt inside Georgia Tech’s 20-yard line when Collins turned the ball over on a fumble. 

Despite the blemish, Collins knew what was needed to maintain the team’s momentum to lead to wins. 

“Ever since I started starting, I’ve had an interception or turnover in every game,” Collins said. “It’s just me making more of an effort to take care of the ball so I can give us a better chance to win.”

With the Orange now in a 24-point deficit, the offense marched down the field for an 89-yard touchdown drive after the defense finished off the Yellow Jackets possession from the end of the third quarter. 

Syracuse got a bit of luck when Gill Jr. caught ricocheted pass off a teammate for 24 yards, only to fumble the ball, which Emanuel Ross recovered at Georgia Tech’s 9-yard line.  

Nixon ran it and scored from the 1-yard line, but failed the two-point conversion. Syracuse was then trailing 34-16 at the top of the fourth.  

Photo by Ben Sax

Syracuse running back Will Nixon scores a short-yardage touchdown against Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, October 25.

Collins finished 17-of-29 for 224 yards with a passing touchdown and 41 yards rushing. 

The defense that stifled this offense earlier couldn’t stop anything Georgia Tech wanted to do at this point, and they continued to be picked apart by King on the ground and in the air as he scored his second rushing touchdown on the day, sealing the 41-16 win.

The Yellow Jackets added on to their undefeated season and improved to 8-0 and reached 5-0 in ACC play for the first time with another dominant showing. 

In just its seventh meeting, Georgia Tech’s consistency overwhelmed the Orange. Syracuse played solid football throughout three quarters with strong starts to both halves. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to take down a top-10 team.

Brown said he felt the inexperience of the players starting in place injured players was not the cause of the loss. Instead, he said, it was the learning curve.

“Fran got to be better,” Brown said. “I don’t want to say, ‘This guy was new, that guy was new.’ There is a lot that goes into that, but I got to prepare us more for that in practice. That way, when we get back to winning games, we can do it.” 

With the fourth straight loss, Syracuse is now 3-5, marking the longest losing streak in Brown’s tenure.  

The Orange have a chance to bounce back at home on Oct.31 at 7:30 p.m. against UNC, who are 2-5 and 0-3 in conference play.