QB Haynes King accounts for 5 TDs as No. 7 Georgia Tech beats Syracuse 41-16

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ATLANTA — (AP) — Haynes King threw two touchdown passes to Josh Beetham in the second quarter and accounted for five on the day, and No. 7 Georgia Tech cruised to a 41-16 victory over Syracuse on Saturday in its first home game as a top-10 team since 2009.

The Yellow Jackets (8-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) briefly fell behind 3-0 early, but even Syracuse's lone points of the first half felt like a missed opportunity. The Orange (3-5, 1-4) had the ball first-and-goal at the 1, but two pre-snap penalties and a sack killed the momentum and forced a field goal attempt.

Georgia Tech scored the next 20 points, with the two King-to-Beetham touchdowns sandwiched between field goals, and ended up allowing its lowest point total of the season in conference play.

“We’re getting closer to playing a full game," Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “The good thing about that is we haven’t peaked yet.”

King tacked on another touchdown pass to Dean Patterson, and reached the end zone twice with his legs later on to make it five total touchdowns.

The Yellow Jackets are 8-0 for just the sixth time in school history, and first time since 1966.

Before he caught his first two touchdowns of the season, Beetham had an early mistake. The senior tight end dropped what would have been a touchdown pass on Georgia Tech's second offensive possession, flubbing a second-and-goal throw from King. Georgia Tech ended up settling for a field goal on the drive, but Key quickly offered a message for him.

“He came off the field and I told him, ‘Move on, next play,’" Key said. "And fourth-and-1, we had a really good play designed. He was able to get the touchdown, and he got another one later on.”

Georgia Tech played without both starting nickel Jy Gilmore and starting corner Ahmari Harvey, and lost corner Zachary Tobe to an injury on the first drive of the season half. Despite playing with a depleted secondary, the Yellow Jackets still held Syracuse to just three points in the first half.

“It's just seizing an opportunity," safety Clayton Powell-Lee said. “That's how I look at it when it comes to us being banged up. It's next man up. That doesn't mean the play drops, it doesn't mean things go bad or anything. It's just like, ‘OK, now it’s your turn.'"

Syracuse: Outside of a quick touchdown drive to open the second half, it was another dismal day for the struggling Syracuse offense. The Orange are 0-4 since quarterback Steve Angeli's injury, and are averaging just 12.5 points during the streak.

Georgia Tech: King continued his outstanding season, accounting for 395 total yards. He completed 25-of-31 passes for 304 yards along with 91 rushing yards. His second-half scores brought his rushing touchdown tally to 12, the most by any FBS quarterback.

Syracuse will turn around and prepare for a short week with a home game against North Carolina on Friday night.

Georgia Tech will travel to Raleigh to take on NC State for its last game before its second bye week.

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