What to know about No. 7 Georgia Tech ahead of Saturday’s matchup
Syracuse will look to rebound from a 17-point loss to Pitt in its battle with No. 7 Georgia Tech, which is first in the ACC. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse’s 2025 season continues to spiral. The Orange dropped their third-straight game with a 30-13 loss to Pitt. Despite coming off a bye week, SU’s offense wasn’t able to solve the Panthers’ defense, as Rickie Collins threw three interceptions and freshman Luke Carney entered for three drives.
Following their fourth loss of the year, the Orange sit in a pickle if they want to reach their fourth-straight Bowl game. Syracuse needs three more wins but faces off against three AP Poll top-12 teams on the road across its final five games. First up is No. 7 Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets are one of just six undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision squads entering Week 9. GT is Syracuse’s second-highest-ranked opponent of the Fran Brown era.
Here’s everything you need to know before Syracuse’s (3-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) matchup against No. 7 Georgia Tech (7-0, 4-0 ACC) Saturday:
All-time series
Syracuse trails GT 3-2.
Last time they played …
Brown’s first-ever ACC game as a head coach came against GT. The Orange took down the then-No. 23 Yellow Jackets 31-28 in Week 2 last season for Brown’s first signature win. He’d later add two more ranked wins to his resume over then-No. 25 UNLV and then-No. 6 Miami.
SU never trailed in the contest, as quarterback Kyle McCord ripped off 381 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Orange led by as much as 17 in the fourth quarter before nearly collapsing entirely. Yet, Syracuse held on just enough to squeak out the victory.
The Yellow Jackets report
In its third full season under Brent Key, GT has already matched its win total from 2023 and 2024. The undefeated Yellow Jackets haven’t skipped a beat thus far, knocking off then-No. 12 Clemson in Week 3 on a buzzer-beating field goal and taking care of nonconference foes like Colorado, Gardner-Webb and Temple.
Georgia Tech looks to be on a collision course with No. 5 Georgia in the final game of the season, which could end up as a top-five matchup in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets take on the Orange following a 27-18 win over Duke. GT held the Blue Devils to just 68 rushing yards and catapulted up five spots in the national rankings.
Quarterback Haynes King is leading Georgia Tech’s offense, which ranks fourth in the ACC with 35.3 points per game. He’s GT’s leading rusher, just ahead of the running back duo of Jamal Haynes and Malachi Hosley. Through the air, King has spread receptions to top options like Isiah Canion, Eric Rivers and Malik Rutherford. King’sbeen sacked just three times this year, tied for the fourth least in the country. He’s also thrown an ACC-low one interception, among starters.
Defensively, the Yellow Jackets are also near the top of the conference with just 20.6 points against per game. GT hasn’t allowed an opponent over the 30-point threshold this year, yet it’s only forced five turnovers this season. Linebacker Kyle Efford has a team-high 44 tackles, while Amontrae Bradford and Akelo Stone are the only players with two or more sacks.
Georgia Tech’s special teams unit nearly stirred a comeback against Syracuse last season. It was actually current SU special teams coordinator Ricky Brumfield who led GT’s unit last season before departing midseason. Under new special teams coordinator Tim Salem, the Yellow Jackets rank 18th in the country per Pro Football Focus with an 85.0 grade.
How Syracuse beats Georgia Tech
An easy answer for this would be based on Syracuse’s pass rush. The Orange recorded a season-high seven sacks against Pitt, and getting to King at that rate would entirely disrupt GT’s offense. Though King has been sacked just three times, and even if he were to be sacked more, SU still proved last week it needed far more than a pass rush to win.
The only way Syracuse pulls off the massive upset is if Collins — or possibly Carney — breaks through and finds efficiency without turning the ball over. The Orange haven’t led in a game since Steve Angeli was permanently sidelined, and Collins has thrown seven interceptions in the last three games. Win the turnover battle, and maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance.
Stat to know: 3,938 days
When Georgia Tech takes the field Saturday afternoon, it will mark 3,938 days since it was last ranked in the AP Poll top 10. That was Jan. 13, 2015, when the Yellow Jackets finished the season 11-3 and No. 8 in the country. For some context, Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” topped the Billboard charts. It seems not much has changed, yet GT is currently on a historic pace.
Georgia Tech started 7-0 for the first time since 1966. It began ACC play 4-0 for the first time since 1998. The Yellow Jackets are riding high and look like clear frontrunners to make the ACC Championship game.
Player to watch: Haynes King, quarterback, No. 10
King is the straw that stirs the drink for the Yellow Jackets in his third year with the program. The quarterback ranks first among ACC quarterbacks and fifth across the country in rushing yards with 560. The sixth-year quarterback has 10 rushing touchdowns to just four passing, yet he’s still efficient through the air with a 70.6% completion rate.
King tallied three touchdowns against the Orange in last season’s matchup despite the three-point loss for GT. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, King spent three years at Texas A&M, crossing over with SU defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson. Stopping King shuts down much of the Yellow Jackets’ attack.
