Syracuse, N.Y. — Kyle McCord passed for 381 yards and four touchdowns, two to Trebol Pena and two to Oronde Gadsden II, and Syracuse beat newly ranked No. 23 Georgia Tech, 31-28, on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets (2-1, 1-1 ACC), who were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 last week for the first time since 2015, cut the lead to three points on a 15-yard scoring run by Jamaal Haynes with 2:31 left.
The Orange kept Georgia Tech from getting the ball back and ran out the clock to earn their first win over a ranked opponent since October 2022 against North Carolina State.
McCord completed 32 of 46 passes, setting career highs in pass attempts and completions.
Gadsden had six catches for 93 yards, while Peña still has five touchdowns this season.
Syracuse (2-0, 1-0 ACC) had 515 yards of total offense.
Georgia Tech's Haynes King was 28 of 38 for 259 yards.
He scored one point by passing and two by running.
King escaped the hands of linebacker Derek McDonald and scrambled 21 yards for his first score.
He faked the throw and scored from 26 yards out to put Georgia Tech up 21-14 with 4:39 left in the first half.
The Orange defense held Haynes, the Yellow Jackets' leading rusher, to just 35 yards on 11 attempts. Entering the game, Haynes was averaging 5.7 rushing yards per attempt.
