NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
The Syracuse Orange (1-0) look for back-to-back wins at home as they take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets(2-0). It’ll be the Orange’s first ACC matchup of the season and could be an uphill battle as Georgia Tech has succeeded in areas Syracuse struggled last week.
Once Syracuse dialed in on offense against the Ohio State Bobcats, QB Kyle McCord seemed to be as good as advertised. The Orange leaned a bit more on the passing game as 39 of their 70 offensive plays were through the air(55%). So far, the Yellow Jackets have been stingy through the air not allowing opposing QBs to pass for over 250 yards. Their run defense has been a little softer but not much allowing just 98 yards in their first matchup and 150 yards on the ground last week. Will Syracuse have a balanced enough attack to keep Georgia Tech on their heels?
On the defensive side of the football is where Syracuse needed the most clean and they’ll need it this week as the Yellow Jackets are averaging 29.5 PPG so far this season. The Orange let too many run lanes open up last week and Georgia Tech has been very productive running the football. Can Syracuse stop a run game that’s averaging 207.5 yards per game? If they do, Georgia Tech does have the weapons to answer through the air with games of 274 yards passing and 146 the previous week.
Despite the low passing yards in their first matchup, Georgia Tech proved it’s the balanced offense that keeps them a threat to opposing defenses. The Orange will have to set the tone early and if they can’t contain the Yellow Jackets, the offense will have to be firing on all cylinders just to keep up. With flashes on both sides of the football, neither has proven to be unobtainable, however, Syracuse has played just one game so far and this will be an ACC in-conference game.
The Syracuse Orange take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scheduled for noon EST Saturday, September 7th. The matchup looks to be a close one as Georgia Tech opens up (3) to win this game. The Fran Brown Era opened up to mixed results. Can he and the team ramp up the intensity to prove they’re a team on the rise in the ACC?
