College Football Week 2 brings us up to Syracuse, New York, for a big ACC matchup between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome, now known as the JMA Wireless Dome, on Saturday.
Georgia Tech are currently 3-point favorites (-3) against Syracuse in the updated college football odds for Week 2, with the Yellow Jackets -150 on the moneyline and Syracuse +125 to pull off the upset. The over/under is 61.5 total points scored.
This will be a highly anticipated game as both teams have looked good early this season. Georgia Tech, which went 7-6 in 2023, has begun the year 2-0 in Brent Key’s second full season in Atlanta, with a big win in Dublin over Florida State followed by a solid victory against Georgia State. Syracuse (6-7 last season), on the other hand, won by a couple of scores in its first game against the Ohio Bobcats.
Georgia Tech held the upper hand in last year’s matchup, but will this year be different up in Syracuse? Here's my Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse prediction and pick.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Syracuse Orange Prediction
College Football Week 2 Pick for Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech: Syracuse ML
My Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech best bet is on the Orange on the moneyline, with the best line currently available at BetRivers, according to our live NCAAF odds page.
Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse Odds
| GA Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -120 | 59.5 -115o / -105u | -142 |
| Syracuse Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -102 | 59.5 -115o / -105u | +118 |
- Spread: Georgia Tech -3 | Syracuse +3
- Over/under: 61 points
- Moneyline: Georgia Tech -150 | Syracuse +125
Georgia Tech Football vs. Syracuse Football
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Betting Preview: Unique Offensive Looks
The Yellow Jackets have had a great start to their season and will look to keep that momentum rolling in their first true road game of the year in Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Georgia Tech attacks teams with its relentless run game, headlined by junior running back Jamal Haynes and dual-threat quarterback Haynes King. Key mixes up the looks offensively and runs a lot of options to the point where opposing defenses need to worry about both King and Haynes as legitimate runners.
This has led Georgia Tech to rank 18th-best in Rushing Success Rate, even while ranking 32nd in rush plays rate.
The Yellow Jacket offense is tough to prepare for because it forces defenses to rely a lot on in-game reads.
Because of this consistent ground attack, Tech is able to burn defenses in the passing game with big plays off of play action (10th in passing explosiveness).
Key and his team will look to establish their physicality and ground game early to silence this crowd and take them out of the game.
There's no surprise Georgia Tech likes to run the ball a lot to keep the defense off the field (119th in Defensive Success Rate). Georgia Tech’s defense looked solid in the Florida State game in Dublin, but after watching the Noles again at home against Boston College, that offense may just be anemic.
The bright spot for this defense is it ranks 18th in explosiveness, so it makes teams beat it with consistent offense. The Jackets will need to play that type of defense again in this one to keep this low scoring, because if they fall behind early and can’t run the ball, a lot of pressure will be put on this defense to get stops.
Syracuse Orange Betting Preview: McCord Settled In
The Carrier Dome has proven to be one of the tougher places to play in the ACC, so the Orange should have a good home field advantage in this one.
Fran Brown will be coaching in his first ACC matchup since coming over from Georgia this offseason. He's not the only newcomer for this Orange team, though.
Their quarterback — Kyle McCord — transferred in after being run out of Columbus, where he finished last season as QB1 for Ohio State. The Orange offense looked pretty solid against Ohio, with McCord throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns.
It's clear the Orange wanted to get McCord comfortable so that he'll be prepared for this matchup and future ACC matchups this season.
Syracuse is a team that leans on the ground game, which is orchestrated by offensive coordinator and running backs coach Jeff Nixon. Unfortunately, for the 10th-ranked rushing play rate offense, it ranks 121st in Success Rate.
The key matchup for this ground game is if the Orange can rip off the explosive runs, since Georgia Tech's defense tends to limit the big plays. Something's got to give in this one.
The Orange defense — like Georgia Tech's — limits big plays in the run game, ranking seventh in rushing defense explosiveness. They, too, force teams to score with steady offense.
The Orange do return quite a bit of production on the defensive side of the ball, headlined by Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron. Unfortunately, the Orange will be without Wax for about the next six weeks after he suffered an injury in Week 1.
Wax is a key piece in stopping the run game for the Orange, so they'll need someone else to step up in the middle.
How to Make College Football Picks on Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse
Despite the injuries Syracuse has on the defensive side of the ball, I think it'll be able to slow down Georgia Tech’s offense with crowd noise and attention to detail in its first big home game.
I think the noise on the road will cause some communication problems early, and the Yellow Jackets will fall behind early, taking away their ability to maintain time of possession through the run game.
Syracuse will pull out a tight one, and Georgia Tech will come back down to reality after a great start to the year.
Give me Syracuse ML.
Pick: Syracuse ML
How to Watch, Stream Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse
| Location: | JMA Wireless Dome |
| Date: | Saturday, Sept. 7 |
| Kickoff Time: | 12 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | CBS Sports Network |
Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech kicks off at 12 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network on Saturday live from the JMA Wireless Dome, aka the Carrier Dome. The game is streaming on Sling, YouTube TV, fubo and more.
Syracuse -GT Betting Trends
- 56% of the bets and 57% of the money are on Georgia Tech to cover the Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech spread.
- 58% of the bets but only 21% of the money are on the under.
- 76% of the bets and 83% of the money are on Syracuse to win.
- Four Action Network experts are on Georgia Tech ATS against Syracuse.
College Football Weather Forecast: Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse Weather
