Syracuse Football Downs No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 in ACC Opener

By: Skyler Wilkes | @swilkes04

Everyone knows that football is physical and requires toughness. That’s especially true for Syracuse head coach Fran Brown, I mean it’s the T in his sacred acronym D.A.R.T. So, when he felt that Georgia Tech’s Brent Key questioned his team’s toughness, it lit a spark. A spark that ignited the Orange to a 31-28 win over the 23rd-ranked Yellow Jackets. For Coach Brown, those doubts were the perfect motivation. 

“I did take that very personal,” explained Brown. “I want to make sure everyone understands that when you play us, just be quiet. That way, we’re just going to worry about us throughout the week. Don’t give me any ammo. If you give ammo to me, I’m coming at you full tilt.” 

SU tight end Oronde Gadsden II added some more insight into the team’s mentality. 

“The whole week we were just listening to that clip over and over and over and over again,” said Gadsden. “When you thought it was done, [Fran Brown] kept bringing it up and kept playing it again. So, we were kind of playing with something.” 

The Orange’s headman also set the record straight on his program’s image.

“Syracuse has been physical forever,” proclaimed Brown. “I wanted to make sure that that will never be said about us. We’re not soft.”

This win marked Syracuse’s first over a ranked opponent since October 15, 2022 against NC State. SU hopes to carry this momentum through the bye week and into its meeting with Stanford on September 20th. That inaugural ACC clash is set for 7:30 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome.