No. 23 Georgia Tech faces first test as ranked team in ACC matchup at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Given the many air miles No. 23 Georgia Tech has accumulated on its way to the Yellow Jackets being ranked for the first time since 2015, their early season travels haven’t slowed their run game so far.

Having crossed the Atlantic to beat Florida State in Ireland before a brief stop at home to beat Georgia State, Georgia Tech heads north to Syracuse where it’ll get a chance to test its legs again in an ACC matchup on Saturday.

It could turn into a promising outing for a Yellow Jackets team that has rushed for 415 yards, good for ninth in the country, and facing an Orange defense that yielded 255 yards on the ground in winning its opener against Ohio.

Even more good news for Georgia Tech, who have an opportunity to go 3-0 for the first time since 2016: after playing Syracuse, the Yellow Jackets will have completed 79% of their travel schedule already, 9,764 of 12,302 miles.

For Georgia Tech then, it’s all about getting their mileage on the ground against a Syracuse team that got off to a winning start under Fran Brown, but suddenly finds itself facing a tough challenge in the midst of a stretch of opening the season with four straight home games.

Making things even more challenging is that Syracuse will be without star linebacker Marlowe Wax, the heart and soul of the defense who is expected to miss the next six weeks with a right leg injury suffered against Ohio.

“You’re going to need two or three guys to fill Marlowe’s shoes,” Brown said. “We just have to be more physical, have to demand physicality.”

He added: “We better stop the run because that’s what coach Key does. He’s an offensive line coach at heart so he’s going to keep on running the ball until we stop it.”

Key has no intention of going away from his team’s strength. “We run the ball,” he said after the Georgia State win. Jamal Haynes leads the ground attack with 159 yards, an average of nearly six yards a carry.

Perhaps as a way to take the pressure off his now-ranked team, Key downplayed the significance of the Syracuse matchup.

“If you want to play 15 games you better not be peaking in September,” Key said. “No one really cares what you do in September.”

Young at heart

Brown compared Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King to a college Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy runner-up from Texas.

“He reminds me of Vince Young, just watching him run around and play. He’s a strong, powerful guy,” Brown said. “A dual threat who can throw the deep ball.”

King is 35-of-45 passing for 421 yards and 91 yards on the ground.

E for Efford

Linebacker Kyle Efford had 10 tackles against Florida State. He followed that up with 13 more Saturday, making him the nation’s leader in that category.

“Really, the tackles just come from pure effort,” Efford said Saturday. “Just flying around.”

Spreading the wealth

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord is an equal opportunity passer. In his Orange debut, the Ohio State transfer delivered the ball to eight different receivers. Oronde Gadsden II and Trebor Pena led the way as McCord and the offense overcame a sluggish start in the win over Ohio.

“Everything played itself out quite nicely to shape this game up,” said McCord, who was 27-of-39 for 354 yards and four touchdowns. “Two teams undefeated up to this point, looking for something to prove and to make an early statement in the conference.”

Diggs-ing It

Texas A&M transfer Fadil Diggs made a great first impression for Syracuse. The edge rusher recorded four tackles for loss, which tied for the highest single-game total in the FBS through the early season.

Not going social

Brown and Key go back 20 years. Key was the RB/TE coach at Western Carolina when Brown was a DB there in 2024, but there’ll be no renewing of old acquaintances during game week.

“I’ll see him on Saturday,” Brown said. “We’re competing. I’m not giving him a call.”

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