EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A run at the national title is still a long way off for No. 10 Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets' high-powered offense sputtered to a 13-7 victory over Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic on Sunday as George Godsey hooked up with record-setting Kelly Campbell 10 times for 193 yards and Joe Burns ran for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia Tech, with 18 starters returning from last year's 9-3 team that averaged nearly 34 points per game, is hoping to make a run at dethroning Florida State as Atlantic Coast Conference champions and then bidding for a national championship.
But in a game that was anything but classic, Georgia Tech discovered it needs a lot of work before challenging the sixth-ranked Seminoles on Sept. 15.
Godsey, who completed 64 percent of his passes last season, was 15-of-26 for 224 yards, and cornerback Marvious Hester intercepted a pass at the Syracuse 6 to set up Burns' 1-yard TD.
Burns, who ran for more than 900 yards a year ago, carried 34 times and padded his numbers by picking up 55 yards on three runs late in the game. His TD with 8:27 left in the half gave Tech a 10-0 lead.
Syracuse, guilty of crucial penalties that kept alive Georgia Tech drives, stayed in the game thanks to the Yellow Jackets' failure to make big plays.
Troy Nunes, a victim of three of Georgia Tech's four sacks, scored on a 1-yard keeper with 8:35 left in the third quarter to pull the Orangemen within 10-7. But the Yellow Jackets defense — helped by a number of tipped passes and a dropped ball by Johnny Morant at the Tech 24 with 6:32 left — held on.
Nunes finished 19-of-32 for 183 yards and an interception.
The Giants Stadium crowd of 41,517 was the smallest in the game's 19-year history and they saw the lowest scoring game. In 1986, Alabama beat Ohio State 16-10. The previous smallest crowd was 46,251 in 1992.
Campbell, an all-ACC player last season, broke the school record for receiving yards on a 72-yard hookup with Godsey early in the second quarter. The reception, his fourth of the game, put him at 116 yards at the time and pushed him past Harvey Middleton, who had 2,291 yards for the Yellow Jackets from 1994-97. Campbell now has 2,392 yards.
The catch was also the longest in Kickoff Classic history, topping the 67-yarder from Miami's Kenny Kelly to Santana Moss in 1999.
Tech was leading 3-0 at the time of the catch, but could not score on four running plays from the 8-yard line. On fourth down from the 3, Burns, being pushed forward by Godsey, was stopped at the 1 by cornerback LaTroy Oliver.
Syracuse gave the ball back three plays later when Nunes' pass was intercepted by Hester and returned 10 yards to the Orange 6. Tech nearly blew another scoring chance, but Syracuse was called for holding on a third-down play from the 5 and the Yellow Jackets had another first down at the 2. On fourth down, Burns scored with 8:27 left.
Luke Manget made his 92nd consecutive extra point — one shy of the ACC record — but only after getting a second chance. He missed his first try, but kicked again when Syracuse was penalized for too many on the field. He also added field goals of 22 and 20 yards.