While playing away on Sept. 7, the Jackets fell to the Syracuse Orange in a 28-31 loss, their first of the season. Tech struggled on both sides of the ball until the fourth quarter, but their attempt to overcome a Syracuse lead at the end of the game fell short. As a result, Tech has fallen out of the Associated Press’s Top 25, losing their No. 23 ranking.
Going into the meeting, the Jackets were predicted to be favorites against the Orange by ESPN. Both ACC teams entered the week undefeated, and the winner could claim the number one spot in the conference rankings. With the coinciding postseason implications of this, the game was a critical win for each school.
Syracuse made their presence known early by marching down the field and scoring on the first drive. Tech’s passing offense got off to a rough start, but the Jackets answered with a touchdown. Throughout the matchup, Syracuse picked apart Tech’s secondary, creating big passing plays and continuously adding to the score. Despite another touchdown late in the second quarter, Tech failed to find a solution to the Orange’s offense. After a few more Syracuse scores, the score was 13-31, an 18-point deficit for Tech with less than a quarter left to play. However, Tech rolled back into the game with a touchdown drive, a timely two-point conversion and a recovered onside kick that set them up for a second scoring drive. With just over 150 seconds on the clock, the difference between the two teams was only a field goal. However, in the final minutes, Tech could not stop Syracuse from running out the clock, ending play.
Most of Syracuse’s success came from their newly acquired transfer quarterback, senior Kyle McCord. McCord threw for a career-high 381 yards to go along with four passing touchdowns and no turnovers. Syracuse’s offense and McCord were so effective that only one out of their nine drives ended in a punt. For Tech, redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King excelled in the run game. During the first half, King had two running touchdowns for over 20 yards each. These came at opportune moments when he found holes in the Orange’s defensive line and evaded the remaining defenders. Overall, he led the Jackets in rushing with six attempts for 67 yards and kept Tech competitive for the first half of play.
On his passes, King had a few overthrows to wide receivers that resulted in punts on drives where the Jackets needed to score. One was in the second quarter for sophomore receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and another was in the third quarter for redshirt junior running back Jamal Haynes. Despite this, King’s arm allowed Tech to stay competitive. Just about every scoring drive was possible because of a crucial pass. King threw for 266 yards on 29 of 39 attempts with a 92.7 quarterback rating. Other than King, the rest of Tech’s offense struggled to produce. Shockingly, the Jackets did not have a single red zone possession until the fourth quarter.
The run game in particular looked sluggish throughout the contest. Haynes had 11 carries, but managed to only garner 35 yards. However, his longest rush of 15 yards resulted in a rallying touchdown in the fourth quarter. The most disappointing run this past Saturday was in the fourth quarter on a failed fourth down conversion that went sideways due to a missed block. This resulted in a turnover on downs that ultimately led to a Syracuse touchdown, creating an even deeper hole for Tech to climb out of.
In total, Tech ran for 112 yards off of 24 rushing attempts. In comparison, Ohio University, a smaller program that played Syracuse a week before, collected 255 yards from 35 attempts. It was definitely concerning to see Tech’s run game struggle against an opponent without demonstrated success against runs.
The Jackets’ secondary did them no favors, either. They had no answer for McCord or his receivers. The redshirt junior trio of tight end Oronde Gadsden II, receiver Trebor Pena and receiver Umari Hatcher all accrued more than 60 receiving yards. Much of this can be attributed to the Jackets’ struggles with tackling, an issue that has persisted throughout the season. Furthermore, many of the Orange’s big moments were either the result of crafty play design or poor defensive management on Tech’s end. For example, the first of Syracuse’s receiving touchdowns was the result of one receiver setting up a block with their route in order for another receiver to get open. For their second touchdown, the same scheme was successful because Tech did not properly adjust.
One highlight of Tech’s performance at Syracuse was the special teams. The Jackets’ special teams unit blocked a punt and field goal while recovering an onside kick. Despite this, a missed Tech field goal loomed large as the difference between victory and defeat.
According to Sports Illustrated, Tech has the strongest strength of schedule or difficulty of opponents in the ACC and fourth strongest out of all Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) programs. They need to take care of the easier games, and they failed to accomplish that against Syracuse. With this loss, the rest of the year becomes increasingly uncertain. In the coming weeks, the Jackets will face nationally ranked opponents such as Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville and u[sic]GA. How do they overcome these more adverse challenges in the coming weeks? The Jackets will provide an answer upon their return to The Flats on Sept. 14 to face the Virginia Military Institute Keydets.