'Cuse Goes Back on the Road to Face Georgia Tech
11/13/2023 4:20:00 PM | Football
Syracuse goes on the road for the final time during the regular season when it takes on Georgia Tech on Saturday. Opening kick is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.
Â
It will be a rare trip to Atlanta for the Orange. Georgia Tech is one of the teams the Orange have faced the least since joining the ACC. Syracuse has played Miami just once and taken on the Yellow Jackets and Virginia twice.
Â
Like the Orange, Georgia Tech enters Saturday's game with a 5-5 record. The Yellow Jackets are 4-3 in league play after their two-game winning streak was snapped in a 42-21 loss at Clemson last Saturday. Georgia Tech ranks third in the ACC in total offense (444.2 ypg.) and fourth in scoring offense (32.0 ppg.). In addition, the Yellow Jackets' 42 touchdowns this season rank third in the league. Quarterback Haynes King leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the nation with 24 touchdown passes. He also leads the conference and ranks seventh nationally in points responsible for this season (182).
Â
"We've got a very, very good opponent this week," Orange head coach Dino Babers said. "Coach Key is doing an amazing job at Georgia Tech. Those guys are really, really high in the conference. We know they have a fantastic team with fantastic athletes. We know it's going to be difficult. We know it's going to be hard. We're looking forward to going down there and having the opportunity to play that football team."
Â
While the Georgia Tech offense has put up some big numbers, the defense ranks 13th in the league in scoring defense (31.3 ppg.) and 14th in rushing defense (224 ypg.). That could bode well for the Orange, which are coming off their best rushing performance in more than 20 years.
Â
Syracuse posted 392 yards rushing in the win against Pittsburgh. It's the seventh-highest, single-game total in the FBS this season and the most rushing yards for an ACC squad in 2023. The Orange had three players rush for more than 100 yards against Pittsburgh, led by TE Dan Villari's career high 154 yards. QB Garrett Shrader finished with 105, while RB LeQuint Allen Jr. had 102 yards.
It marked the first time since 1997 that Syracuse had three 100-yard rushers in the same game. That year, Kyle McIntosh (136), Dee Brown (117) and Donovan McNabb (100) accomplished the feat against Miami.
Â
Will the new-look Syracuse offense be in play again this week? Babers said it all comes down to the health of his players.
Â
"This thing is dictated off of personnel," Babers said. "We can't keep basing on so-and-so is going to be healthy, so-and-so is going to be healthy, so-and-so is going to be healthy and then so-and-so is not healthy. That's not fair to everyone else. We're basing these things based on guys who are healthy, not somebody we're expecting to be healthy, so it could change based off of how our health changes."
Â
The winner of Saturday's game becomes bowl eligible. For Syracuse, it would mark the first time the Orange have played in bowl games in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013. Babers had this prediction when asked at his weekly press conference what he expects from two teams fighting for a postseason berth.
"Physical, exciting, close."
Â
It will be a rare trip to Atlanta for the Orange. Georgia Tech is one of the teams the Orange have faced the least since joining the ACC. Syracuse has played Miami just once and taken on the Yellow Jackets and Virginia twice.
Â
Like the Orange, Georgia Tech enters Saturday's game with a 5-5 record. The Yellow Jackets are 4-3 in league play after their two-game winning streak was snapped in a 42-21 loss at Clemson last Saturday. Georgia Tech ranks third in the ACC in total offense (444.2 ypg.) and fourth in scoring offense (32.0 ppg.). In addition, the Yellow Jackets' 42 touchdowns this season rank third in the league. Quarterback Haynes King leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the nation with 24 touchdown passes. He also leads the conference and ranks seventh nationally in points responsible for this season (182).
Â
"We've got a very, very good opponent this week," Orange head coach Dino Babers said. "Coach Key is doing an amazing job at Georgia Tech. Those guys are really, really high in the conference. We know they have a fantastic team with fantastic athletes. We know it's going to be difficult. We know it's going to be hard. We're looking forward to going down there and having the opportunity to play that football team."
Â
While the Georgia Tech offense has put up some big numbers, the defense ranks 13th in the league in scoring defense (31.3 ppg.) and 14th in rushing defense (224 ypg.). That could bode well for the Orange, which are coming off their best rushing performance in more than 20 years.
Â
Syracuse posted 392 yards rushing in the win against Pittsburgh. It's the seventh-highest, single-game total in the FBS this season and the most rushing yards for an ACC squad in 2023. The Orange had three players rush for more than 100 yards against Pittsburgh, led by TE Dan Villari's career high 154 yards. QB Garrett Shrader finished with 105, while RB LeQuint Allen Jr. had 102 yards.
It marked the first time since 1997 that Syracuse had three 100-yard rushers in the same game. That year, Kyle McIntosh (136), Dee Brown (117) and Donovan McNabb (100) accomplished the feat against Miami.
Â
Will the new-look Syracuse offense be in play again this week? Babers said it all comes down to the health of his players.
Â
"This thing is dictated off of personnel," Babers said. "We can't keep basing on so-and-so is going to be healthy, so-and-so is going to be healthy, so-and-so is going to be healthy and then so-and-so is not healthy. That's not fair to everyone else. We're basing these things based on guys who are healthy, not somebody we're expecting to be healthy, so it could change based off of how our health changes."
Â
The winner of Saturday's game becomes bowl eligible. For Syracuse, it would mark the first time the Orange have played in bowl games in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013. Babers had this prediction when asked at his weekly press conference what he expects from two teams fighting for a postseason berth.
"Physical, exciting, close."
Players Mentioned
Fran Brown Press Conference | Clemson Week
Monday, September 15
Fran Brown Press Conference
Monday, September 15
Players Press Conference vs. Colgate
Friday, September 12
Syracuse Football Postgame Press Conference
Friday, September 12
