Key takeaways from Syracuse's loss to Ga. Tech include better QB play, poor defense

Another week, another blowout loss for Syracuse. After starting by forcing a fumble and kicking a field goal, the Orange would take their first lead since September 20th, against Clemson. That turned into the highlight of the day for Syracuse, giving up 20 unanswered, and Georgia Tech was off to the races from there. Here are my takeaways from Saturday's loss.

My key takeaways from Syracuse football's week-nine loss against Georgia Tech.

Rickie Collins played his best game yet, it wasn't good enough though

For the first time since taking over for Steve Angeli, Collins didn't throw an interception. The sophomore was 17-29 for 224 yards and a touchdown to Darrell Gill Jr. The biggest improvement I noticed from him was his decision-making. He limited poor decisions and did a better job of finding checkdowns when nothing was open downfield. I was also impressed by Collins' legs. He faced a lot of pressure, but did a very good job of avoiding sacks and picking up yards on the line, both on scrambles and a few designed runs. In total, he ran a season-high 14 times for 41 yards.

This was far from a perfect game for Collins, though. Accuracy was still an issue, especially when throwing to the sidelines, and he didn't locate open receivers at times. He also needs to play a complete game. In the first half, Collins was only 3-6 for 24 yards. In every game with Collins, I've seen a few really good throws and usually a great drive, but the consistency is never there. His second half was the best half I've seen him play. Now, the question is can we get it for a full game?

Syracuse played poor assignment football on defense

It seemed that nearly every play, a Georgia Tech runner or receiver had a wide open lane at the line of scrimmage. Their offense is very well-designed with frequent motions, plenty of RPOs, and well-timed play-action passes. That matches the Yellow Jackets personnel. Syracuse needed to have good eye discipline against Georgia Tech more than in any game, and that simply didn't happen.

Instead, Georgia Tech QB Haynes King had five touchdowns. Two of them were to a wide-open TE Josh Beetham on play action, one was to Dean Patterson on a well-blocked screen pass, and the other two were King touchdown runs where he faked a toss and got in the end zone standing up. Georgia Tech kept churning the Syracuse defense, going up-tempo at times, and ran away with this game.

"Northeast tough" didn't hold up a second time

After Syracuse beat a ranked Georgia Tech team in week two of 2024, Fran Brown proclaimed the Orange were "Northeast tough" and Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key disrespected the Orange with comments he made in a press conference before the game. Brown used what Key said as motivation for his team, who ran for more yards than the Yellow Jackets and made clutch plays on third and fourth downs.

I'm sure Key, a former Georgia Tech offensive lineman, was upset about what Brown said and made it a point of motivation all offseason for the Yellow Jackets. Being tougher than the other team is a big part of his offensive philosophy, and Georgia Tech was more physical than Syracuse and much better in the trenches. While the Orange were able to run for an impressive 157 yards, Syracuse struggled in pass protection and short-yardage situations. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, had 239 yards on 6.5 yards per carry, converting 8-12 third downs and the only fourth-down attempt. When you're the tougher team, you're going to win most times, and Georgia Tech was against Syracuse.