SYRACUSE, NY- With positive momentum for the first time in almost a decade, #23 Georgia Tech football ran into a brick wall at Syracuse falling to the Orange 31-28 in a game where the defense struggled to defend Kyle McCord and the Tech offense was stuck in second gear. Tech fell to 1-1 in ACC play and 2-1 overall while the Orange improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in ACC play.

"Congrats to Syracuse and Fran (Brown) they played a good football game," head coach Brent Key said after the loss. "They beat us on the field. It is good to see another team in the league working to be a good football team and they were. It is a credit to them. I think the biggest word for us is inconsistency and that is what we have been working on. We have been trying to become consistent and this game was the epitome of that."

Key explained how his offense struggled with consistency in the game and that kept them from trading blows with the Orange until it was too late to fully come back from the 17-point hole they dug in the third quarter.

"We had 10 drives and five long drives and the other five were three and out for four and out. The ability to sustain the positive on first downs and keep the chains moving. One of those long drives we missed the field goal," Key said. "The inconsistency was all over the place and we have to become better on that side."

Tech blocked a field goal, blocked a punt, and recovered an onside kick, but also missed a 45-yard field goal before halftime and had a series of defensive miscues and offensive struggles in the third quarter to dig a large hole they couldn’t dig out of. Ironically the last time that Tech blocked a punt and a field goal was also in an upset loss during Key's interim period to Virginia in 2022.

Senior defensive tackle Zeek Biggers blocked the field goal attempt and freshman defensive lineman Amontrae Bradford blocked the punt.

Kyle McCord threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns as the Orange racked up 515 yards of offense while Tech managed just 371 yards and only 25 yards in the third quarter on two drives. The Jackets looked overmatched on the lines of scrimmage throughout the game.

"We knew they were going to be a physical. You turn on the tape from the first game you know that and we knew we had to be the more physical team and we control that. At times today it showed we are really not," Key said. "I'm talking about setting the line of scrimmage and the ability to stop the run in short-yardage situations. When you can't convert and you allow them to convert that comes down to physicality and the inability to set the line of scrimmage."

Key said the inability to move McCord off his spot with a pass rush led to the defensive issues.

"On the defensive side, we knew had a really good quarterback and we were not able to affect him with the rush and he was able to hit some open receivers," Key said. "He hit on three or four key third downs and get the ball to the intended target and we didn't challenge the guy. We have a lot of work to do and we know where we are as a football team and we will come back in tomorrow and get to work on being a better version of ourselves."

The Jackets managed just one sack in the game and one quarterback hurry on 48 dropback attempts by McCord.

"We weren't coming home," Key said of the pass rush issues. "Whether we rushed three or rushed four or rushed five they were a hat-on-a-hat and we weren't able to come home. That is something we have to continue to work on and improve. We can't let the quarterback sit back there and have all day to throw."

Orange tight end Oronde Gadsden caught six passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns and receiver Trebor Pena added 88 yards on six catches and two touchdowns.

Backup safety Taye Seymore led the Jackets with 10 tackles including six solo tackles and Ahmari Harvey finished second with eight tackles and Warren Burrell was tied for third with five tackles with linebacker Kyle Efford illustrating the issues defensively with the secondary leading the team in tackling.

The Orange bottled up the Tech rushing attack holding Jamal Haynes to 35 yards on 11 carries including a 15-yard touchdown. He caught five passes for 26 yards as well. Anthony Carrie Jr. had five rushes for just five yards. Key said that Cuse had a good plan to slow down the Tech rushing attack and they didn't adjust well to it.

"They did a good job and were playing a 3-2 defensive front with a down safety/rover safety and we have to be able to make better adjustments," Key said.

Quarterback Haynes King was the only successful rusher on the day with six rushes for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

King threw for 259 yards on 28-38 passing with one touchdown to Chase Lane on a four-yard pass.

"We went into a lull in the third quarter, but I loved how we fought in the fourth quarter and how we finished the game," King said. We played until the clock read double zeros we do need to get better and consistency is part of that."

Tech's vertical passing game was a non-factor in the game and King said that had more to do with how the Orange opted to defend the pass dropping eight at times.

"A lot of this game they drop eight and played deep to not give up a big play and that kind of hurt with shots and taking a shot," King said. "We have to find ways when things stall out and we can't move the ball to covert."

Kicker Aidan Birr missed his lone field goal attempt in the game from 45 yards. Birr did have a successful onside kick that was recovered by Avery Boyd.

Punter David Shanahan had a better day with four punts for 193 yards and two punts ended up inside the 20.

Georgia Tech won the toss and deferred to the second half. Aidan Birr’s kickoff sailed the through end zone for a touchback. LeQuint Allen ran for six yards on the first play and Tech safety Clayton Powell-Lee left the game with an injury on that play. Kyle McCord connected with Will Nixon for 20 yards on first down to the GT49. McCord hit Umari Hartcher for 10 yards to the GT39, but the Orange misfired on the next two pass attempts, but connected on a long third down screen pass to the GT11 to Allen. Trebor Pena hauled in a touchdown from McCord from 11 yards to make it 7-0 Cuse in the first quarter.

After a touchback on the opening kickoff, Jamal Haynes lost one yard on first down to the GT24. Malik Rutherford dropped King’s second down pass. King hit Avery Boyd for 19 yards to the GT43 and then Cuse was offsides on the first down play to move the ball to the GT48. Haynes ran two times for four yards and then converted on third down to the Cuse45. Chase Lane on second down caught a 16-yard a pass to the Cuse29. Rutherford hauled in an eight-yard pass and then King scored on a 21-yard run.

Birr’s second kickoff sailed through the end zone. After bottling up the Orange on the first two run plays, McCord hit Yazeed Haynes for a first down at the Cuse39. A hold wiped out a big gain on the next play to set up first down and five, but Oronde Gadsden caught a pass at the marker for a first down. Nixon ran for eight yards across midfield. Josh Robinson and Jackson Hamilton had tackles to create a fourth and short, McCord however optioned the ball to Allen for a first down on a 12-yard run. Tech held Cuse in check on the next two plays to set up third and seven. Tech pressured McCord on third and long and he missed TE Dan Villari to set up a 44-yard attempt that Zeek Biggers blocked.

Taking over at the GT26, Haynes ran for one yard on first down. King hit Haynes on a swing pass to the GT31 to set up third and five. King couldn’t connect with Chase Lane on the crossing route and David Shanahan was forced to punt where it was fair caught at the Cuse30 after going 39 yards.

McCord hit Pena for 21 yards to the GT49 on first down. LaMiles Brooks broke up a pass on first down to end the first quarter. McCord was sacked on second down by Kyle Efford and Tren Tatum and then hit Pena for 32 yards on the next play to the GT22. Gadsden hauled in a five-yard pass and then McCord hit Pena a play later for an 11-yard touchdown his second score of the game to make it 14-7 Syracuse with 12:27 left in the half.

After a touchback, King hit Eric Singleton Jr. for 12 yards on first down. Rutherford caught a screen for eight yards. Haynes was bottled up on second down and King couldn’t connect with Singleton on third down on a leaping catch on his back. Shanahan’s punt was fielded at the Cuse11 where Omar Daniels drilled the return man for no gain.

Gadsden hauled in the first down pass for 32 yards to the Cuse43. Nixon ran two times for 14 yards to the GT43 and then Jackson Meeks hauled in a nine-yard pass. Jordan van den Berg had a TFL, but the Orange converted no third and four to the GT28 on a pass to Pena. Coming out of a defensive timeout, Tech jumped offsides and McCord hit Gadsden for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 with 6:19 left.

King hit Singleton for a 55-yard pass on first down to the Orange30. Anthony Carrie Jr. ran for five yards on first down but was bottled on second down, but King ran for a 26-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 21-14 (Birr PAT) with 4:39 left in the half.

After a touchback on the kickoff, a holding call on first down put the Orange at their own 15 with 1st and 20. McCord connected with Hatcher for 30 yards to the Cuse45. McCord hit Hatcher again to the GT47 on the next play and a running play gave them first and 10 at the GT44 at the two-minute warning. McCord couldn’t connect on a deep shot on first down and Gadsden dropped a second down pass. Tren Tatum broke up the third down pass and Amontrae Bradford blocked the punt on the next play and Jackson Hamilton recovered it at the GT41.

Haynes ran for five yards on first down and then caught a five-yard pass to the Cuse 49. Singleton picked up three yards on a pop pass and Rutherford picked up one yard on second down on a pass to the Cuse45. Tech called a timeout with 25 seconds left. King ran for one yard on the next play to set up fourth and four. Singleton converted on a catch from King 10 yards to set up a 45-yard field goal by Birr that missed just right.

The opening kickoff of the second half rolled out of bounds giving Tech the ball at their own 35. Haynes ran for one yard on first down and couldn’t connect with Avery Boyd on second down, Boyd on a check down picked up two yards to force a Tech punt. The punt rolled into the end zone for a touchback 61-yard punt.

McCord hit Hatcher for a first down on the first play of the drive to the Cuse35. Kyle Efford sniffed out a pass to the tight end on first down and Warren Burrell tackled a receiver after a four-yard gain on second down. After a short pass on third down, the Orange faced fourth and one at their own 44 and lined up to go for it before Fran Brown called a timeout. The Orange ran an end around from the QB sneak position to the GT45. Allen ran for two yards and caught a pass for four yards to set up third and three at the GT38. McCord connected on a screen pass for eight yards to the GT29 and a first down. Burrell broke up the first down pass for Hatcher and Allen picked up four yards on the ground to set up a third and six at the GT25. Meeks converted on a short catch to the GT18. Allen picked up two yards and then Tech’s defense held on third down to force a 33-yard field goal to make it 24-14 Cuse with 6:51 left in the third quarter.

Christian Leary bobbled the short kickoff and only returned the ball to the GT22. Rutherford caught a screen for no gain on first down. Rutherford juked two defenders for a 15-yard gain on second down to the GT37. After a short gain on first down to Rutherford again, Tech had a false start and then Singleton hauled in a pass to set up third and five. King overshot Rutherford under pressure to force a punt. Shanahan’s 49-yard punt was down at the Cuse8.

McCord hit Haynes for a short gain on first down to set up second and six. After a short run, McCord escaped pressure and ran to the Cuse31 for a first down on a 15-yard scramble. Villari hauled in a seven-yard pass and the Orange ran two times to midfield. Hamilton dropped a potential interception, but Rodney Shelley had the PBU on third down to force a punt that was downed at the GT10 to end the third quarter.

Rutherford caught the first down screen for four yards before going down on the play. Carrie picked up a few yards on second down to set up third and short. King converted on third down to the GT26. King couldn’t connect on second down with Lane and then hit Hawes just short of the sticks on third down. On fourth down, Cuse dropped Carrie in the backfield for a turnover on downs at the GT32.

Thomas Gore had a TFL on first down, but McCord hit Meeks for a first down at the GT21. Allen after a misfire on first down by McCord picked up eight on second down. Allen hurdled a Tech defender to set up first and goal at the GT9. A delay of game on first down moved the Orange back to the GT14. Syeed Gibbs had a TFL on the next play to move the Orange back to the 17. Gadsden hauled in a 17-yard touchdown on the next play to make it 31-14 Orange.

King hit Bailey Stockton for a short gain and then King hit Haynes for a first down at the GT35. Lane hauled in a pass for seven yards and then Haynes ran for a first down. King after minimal yardage hit Jackson Hawes just short of the first down marker, but a late-hit by the Orange moved the ball to the Cuse29. An illegal shift wiped out a first down catch by Abdul Janneh to set up 2nd and 15. Tech followed that with a false start to make it 2nd and 20. Boyd hauled in a 14-yard pass to make it third and six at the Cuse25. Boyd broke two tackles on a 20-yard catch to the Cuse5. King ran for one yard on first down. Lane hauled in a four-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone to make it 31-21 Orange with 5:08 left.

Avery Boyd recovered Tech’s onside kick at the GT44 with 5:06 left in the game. King was forced to throw his first down pass away. He connected with Bailey Stockton for 12 yards on first down, and Haynes for 10 yards on the next play to the Cuse39. Singleton and Haynes had back-to-back catches and Zach Pyron came in at quarterback to run for the first down. King misfired on first down and then King ran for nine yards on second down to set up third and one. Haynes scored on a 15-yard run on third and one to make it 31-28 Syracuse with 2:31 left.

After a touchback, the Orange began their drive at the 25 with 2:31 left in the game. Allen picked up one yard on a screen pass on first down to take it to the two-minute warning. McCord’s pass on second down was incomplete. A chop block penalty was declined by GT. McCord found Gadsden on the next play for a first down. Allen ran for four yards on first down and Tech burned a timeout with 1:14 left. Allen escaped a tackle in the backfield and ran 24 yards to the GT34. Key used his second timeout with 1:05 left. The Orange took a knee three times to kill the clock and end the game.