Syracuse Orange v. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Prediction and Preview (10/25/25)

As we countdown to kickoff for the start of the Syracuse football season on Aug. 30, The Juice Online will be doing a team-by-team preview of its opponents.

On Wednesday, we left off with my prediction and preview for Syracuse's matchup against Pittsburgh.

Picking up where I left off, the Orange will make their second trip to Atlanta of the season, this time, to face the Yellow Jackets in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech is coming off a mediocre season that saw them finish 7-6 with 5 conference wins.

Their season highlight was an 8OT bout against state rival, Georgia Bulldogs, where they faltered 44-42. Syracuse comes into this matchup winning the most recent battle against Georgia Tech, that saw SU eke out a 3-point win at home.

Georgia Tech is coming into the 2025 season, having weathered the transfer portal’ wrath. Tech currently sits 44th in Bill Connelly’s SP+ ranking, and their offense sits at a cool 27th.

Scouting the Georgia Tech offense

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets sit in an interesting position. Returning 5th year QB, Haynes King, gets another crack at the full-time starting role after a full season of efficient play. King threw for 2,114 yards while carrying a completion percentage of over 70% and threw just 2 interceptions in 13 games.

Brent Key also made use of King on the ground, as he ran for nearly 1000 yards and scored 11 times on the ground. King finished with a QBR of 82.4, good for second in the ACC. His primary targets were Eric Singleton Jr. (56 receptions, 754 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Malik Rutherford (62 receptions, 702 yards, 3 touchdowns). Singelton has since transferred to Auburn as a 4-star transfer.

This makes room for returning receivers Avery Boyd and Chase Lane to step up, as well as incoming FIU four-star, Eric Rivers. Leading the backfield is returning junior Jamal Haynes. Haynes is coming off a very productive sophomore season in which he ran for 944 yards and 9 touchdowns.

He was also a viable receiving option, racking up 168 yards on 28 receptions and scoring 5 touchdowns. He accomplished this behind a stellar O-line that was made up of returning starters Ethan Mackenny, Joe Fusile, Harrison Moore, and Keylan Rutledge. The line does take a hit with departure of Corey Robinson II, who transferred to Arkansas as a 4-star.

A look at the Yellow Jackets defense

Defensively is where Georgia Tech got exposed last season (gave up 27.2 points per game, 75th in the nation), and this season is not looking much better. In the SP+ rankings, the unit is ranked 64th.

As a unit, they allowed a completion percentage of 66.48% (119th in the nation), they carried a sack rate of 3.99% (126th in the nation) and allowed a rush yards per attempt of 4.5 (80th in the nation).

The front-seven is led by sophomore Kyle Efford, who tallied 64 total tackles and 3 sacks. The secondary was led by junior Ahmari Harvey who had just 47 solo tackles and just 1 interception. This Geogia Tech defense truly lacked a game-wrecker, and they didn’t really pull one in through the portal. Their only catches were Ole Miss three-star DL, Akelo Stone, and Penn State 3-start CB, Jon Mitchell.

A prediction and preview for the matchup

This would be a nice game for Syracuse to salvage as the season’s end is starting to quickly approach.

Up to this point, I've predicted that Syracuse has just three wins and just one conference win.

GT is a very gettable team in terms of where both rosters stand, and this would be such a momentum win as they head back home to take on UNC.

I have Syracuse getting an ACC road win with a 24-10 win over the Yellow Jackets.

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