Georgia Tech vs Syracuse: Storylines to Watch

I don't think it is a stretch to say that tomorrow night will be the biggest home game for Georgia Tech since Paul Johnson left in 2018.

Making a bowl game would be huge for this program in Brent Key's first season and they have a chance to do that tomorrow. Both Georgia Tech and Syracuse are 5-5 and the winner will get to go to a bowl game. The Orange were in the postseason last year, but Georgia Tech has not done it since 2018. After the dreadful years under Geoff Collins, Key has a chance to take his alma mater to a bowl game and show there is progress being made.

So what are the storylines to watch for tomorrow?

1. Bowl eligibility for both teams

Yes, I just talked about it, but it would be huge for this program to get to a bowl in a year where many were projecting them to win only 3-4 games. Key has not talked at all about becoming bowl-eligible and the ramifications it has for the program until this week:

"So up until Sunday, I had not said the word at all, it is the same mentality each week, it is a one-game season each week and that is the mentality each week and taken, but yeah on Sunday, I brought it up, I did. This is playoff football now, this is NFL Championship, win and you're in. There is no... there is no dwelling on the last game, it is boom and you have to move on and that is the way it works and we brought it up. We talked about it. It is a big deal for these kids, a really big deal. As an alumni here, it is a really big deal for me, it is a big deal for these guys coming back here, it is a big deal for Georgia Tech, it is a big deal for the athletic association, it is a big deal for the entire Georgia Tech community so heck yeah we talked about it and these guys understand that and know it is something special they have in front of them to work and get."

Syracuse has made bowl games under head coach Dino Babers before, but he is reportedly on the hot seat and could use a win tomorrow and next week against Wake Forest. If Georgia Tech wins tomorrow, it will only make the hot seat talk louder for Syracuse.

2. What will Syracuse do on offense?

That is the question that Georgia Tech is trying to prepare for this Saturday when they face the Orange. Due to injuries and other factors, Syracuse had to drum up a brand new offense last week and a big part of that was because quarterback Garrett Shrader had trouble throwing the ball. Dan Villari (a tight end) played quarterback for Syracuse last week in a wildcat type of look and ran for 154 yards. Running back LeQuint Allen also had over 100 yards and it was a running-heavy attack for the Orange.

During his weekly press conference this week, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers did not update the health of Shrader or the backup quarterback Carlos Del-Rio Wilson (who started in a loss to Boston College). That is leaving a lot of mystery as to what the Orange are going to do on Saturday.

When talking with the media this week, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key was asked about what the Orange did on offense last week and what his team is doing to prepare for the uncertainty:

"There are only so many things you can do to change. The thing we have to do is get set, they are doing a lot of this with tempo as well so it is not like they are coming up there and always waiting and taking the time off the clock. They have been running the plays the last few weeks and playing with mixed tempos, we have to get up and get our cleats set in the ground, we have to get aligned, we have to defeat blocks, we have to cover guys in the back end, some of the shot passes or pop passes they might have off of it but we have to get an edge to ourselves and get down and get ready to play football on Saturday because it is going to be a battle with them coming in on offense."

"You have to adjust. They basically put in an entirely new offense in six days so who is to say they are not going to do that again this week. There is a lot of communication to that this week and a lot of moving parts and our crowd can really have an impact this week."

Georgia Tech has the worst run defense in the ACC and one of the worst in the country so I would not be surprised if the Orange continue their run-heavy approach on Saturday. Georgia Tech will need to be disciplined and tackle well if they want to win.

3. Will Haynes King have a bounce-back performance?

It was not the ideal week for Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King last week against Clemson. King could not get the offense going (though it was not just him) and threw four interceptions in the process. Syracuse has the worst passing defense in terms of yards per game given up and King could have a big day tomorrow.

One thing is for sure, Key still has plenty of faith in his quarterback:

"Haynes is a competitor now. When you sit down and talk to him, his knowledge of the game, his competitiveness. The competitiveness is what makes people great and when you get down in a game a little bit and look face it, when things are not going right, he is the guy that is going to step up and try to make things right. Sometimes he does not always have the right decision and like I said, it is a route or a protection and look at the end of the day he is the quarterback and he has the spotlight on him and I am the head coach and I have the spotlight on me. That is the nature of the position, it is. Is he hard on himself, yeah he is hard on himself, most competitors are.

The thing you love about him though, talking to him the other day, I made the comparison to Brett Favre, not as a player but Brett Favre would throw a pick and then let it rip the next one and then he would rip it again and that is what made him a great player as he matured and got older and got comfortable is that he progressed in his years playing that game and he was ripping those things in those tight windows when nobody thought he should have. But it is that confidence to continue to make a play and be the guy to put the ball in the right spot, to pull down and run and those things and is there coaching to it? Yeah, but that is like every game, there is coaching whether you win or lose.

There are as many things that go blindly... that go blindly unseen I guess you could say that go by in wins that need to be corrected in losses every week, we are going to correct mistakes that need to be fixed so yeah he is hard on himself and he is going to continue to grow and he is going to continue to mature and he is going to continue to rebound like he has, I have full faith and confidence in Haynes King."

King also is moving closer to making history as a Georgia Tech quarterback.

Currently, King is five touchdown passes away from tying Joe Hamilton for the single-season record. Hamilton had 29 touchdown passes in 1999 (the year he finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy) and King has 24. He has potentially three games (Syracuse, Georgia, and a potential bowl game) to reach 30 touchdown passes, which is doable.

In terms of yardage, King is 626 yards away from tying George Godsey for the most passing yards in a single season in Georgia Tech history. Godsey threw for 3,085 yards in 2001 and King currently has 2,459 yards.

King is also just the third ACC player since 2000 with 2,400 passing yards, 500 rushing yards, 24 touchdown passes, and six touchdown runs through his team's first 10 games of a season, joining Louisville Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in 2016.

King is one of only two NCAA Division I FBS players with at least 2,400 passing yards, 500 rushing yards, 24 touchdown passes, and six touchdown runs this season., LSU's Jayden Daniels is the other.

Final Score Predictions for Georgia Tech vs Syracuse

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