In the first game under the newly renovated Dome roof, the Syracuse defense intercepted Georgia Tech four times en route to their first win of the 2020 season by a score of 37-20.
After a 30-minute delay due to confirmation on COVID-19 testing results and an Andre Cisco pregame injury that prevented him from playing, the Orange offense delivered their best punch early in the game. Freshman running back, Sean Tucker, carried the offense early rushing for 73 yards and two touchdowns
in the first quarter.
Heading to Saturday, Tucker had just four carries for 23 yards on his resume.
Leading 17-0 after the first quarter, Syracuse appeared to be cruising their way to a blow-out victory, but Georgia Tech didn’t go away without a fight. Though it wasn’t the classic triple option, the Yellow Jackets ground attack allowed them to get back into the game.
Quarterback Jeff Sims threw for a touchdown and rushed for another in the second quarter to cut Syracuse’s lead to ten points heading into halftime.
Swapping second half scores, the Orange lead stayed at ten for much of the contest before Ja’had Carter and Trill Williams pulled off the play of the afternoon.
Facing a third and long in Orange territory with 8:30 remaining in the game, Jeff Sims dropped back the pass and hurled a ball that was intercepted by Carter. As Carter sprinted the other direction he was faced by a swarm of Yellow Jackets and instead of lowering his shoulder for more yards, Carter turned and lattered the ball into the hands of Williams. From there, Williams dashed toward the Syracuse sideline and went untouched into the endzone. The Orange turned a heart-stopping moment into a knockout blow that put the game out of reach.
Danny DeVito’s two touchdown bombs of 40-plus yards to Harris and Johnson gave Orange fans a glimpse of what the junior quarterback is capable of when he puts it all together. Devito finished 13 for 24 and 194 passing yards to go with two touchdowns and a pick.
Trill Williams had an interception of his own and so did Josh Black and Robert Hanna.
Nykeim Johnson hauled in four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Syracuse improves to 1-2 on the season and will host Duke on October 10th after an open week.