SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange couldn’t generate any offensive momentum as the Pittsburgh Panthers survived miscues and an aggressive Orange defense at the JMA Wireless Dome. Pitt took the victory
30-13, handing Syracuse a 3rd straight loss and dropping the Orange to a losing 3-4 record. Both teams combined for 25 penalties for 221 yards.
Syracuse started with the ball but the first drive ended quickly. After two run plays, Rickie Collins looked for Johntay Cook on an out route to the sideline, which would’ve been good for a first down. However, Collins overthrew Cook and Pitt cornerback Tamon Lynum was in perfect position to snag the overthrow for an early interception.
Pitt immediately responded with the legs of true freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel. Making his third start of his career, Heintschel gained all of the yards of the scoring drive with his legs to put the Panthers on the board first. The Orange potentially had Heintschel stopped in the backfield on a 3rd-and-4 play, but Berry Buxton slightly overran the Pitt QB. That allowed Heintschel the time and space to burst right up the middle and reach the end zone for a 36-yard score.
Syracuse and Pitt traded three-and-outs on the next drives. Syracuse’s defense bottled up Pitt running back Ja’kyrian Turner and Devin Grant provided tight coverage to deny a deep pass from Heintschel intended for Malachi Thomas. However, Syracuse’s offense couldn’t respond. Even after the Orange moved the chains for the first time in the game, the offense continued to stall. Syracuse didn’t run a play on third down that needed less than eight yards for a first.
The Orange defense lit a fire under the Dome crowd to drive Syracuse to its first score. Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff and Chase Simmons teamed up to sack Heintschel to set up a 3rd-and-16 at his own 18-yard line. Heintschel heaved a ball up to midfield intended for Kenny Johnson.
But Duce Chestnut was all over the Pitt wideout, allowing Davien Kerr to jump in front of the lofted ball for his second interception of the game. Kerr returned the ball 34 yards to the Pitt 12 to set up the Orange with prime field position. Darrell Gill repaid the work done by the Syracuse defense by snagging an 11-yard pass from Collins on a slant route to give the Orange its first points of the game.
Pitt responded with a methodical 14-play drive to get into the red zone. The Panthers got to the four-yard line but Devin Grant stopped a Heintschel scramble and sacked him for a loss of nine yards. Pitt settled for a 31-yard field goal to retake the lead.
Syracuse’s offense started to string together plays to move the ball down field. The Orange managed two first downs after only one first down on the first four drives. However, a holding penalty against Dan Villari stalled the drive and Syracuse had to punt from midfield.
The Orange defense continued to light it up in the Dome. The ensuing Panthers drive featured two more sacks from Syracuse courtesy of David Reese and Kevin Jobity. Pitt’s offensive line also committed its fourth false start of the game to end the drive quickly after not much progress.
Syracuse couldn’t capitalize on the defensive stop as Collins tossed another interception. He looked downfield for Cook again but he didn’t get enough air on the pass. That allowed Cruce Brookins to jump the route and intercept the ball. Fortunately for Syracuse, three Pitt penalties destroyed the following drive.
Disaster struck for Syracuse to end the half. The Orange went three-and-out on a drive with 30 seconds left. Jack Stonehouse’s punt went 43 yards down the field to the Pitt 34-yard line. Kenny Johnson fielded the ball and returned it 66 yards to the house to swing the momentum squarely in Pitt’s favor. The Panthers led 17-7 at the half.
Pitt found success on seam passes against zone coverage to advance the ball up the field after the half. The Panthers got to the Syracuse 20-yard line but were stopped short. Jobity picked up his second sack and fifth of the game to ice the Pitt drive. A 42-yard field goal increased Pitt’s lead to 20-7.
The curveball came immediately as Fran Brown sent true freshman Luke Carney out to play quarterback to start the second half. Carney did fake a pitch and rushed up the middle for a six yard gain. However, Syracuse called three rushing plays and failed to convert a 3rd-and-5.
Syracuse’s defense continued to barricade the Pitt offense. Another three-and-out was capped by yet another sack by Jobity. Carney responded by completing two passes to move the chains. Both passes were short and two the sideline. The true freshman found Darrell Gill and Will Nixon to grab a first down. However Syracuse’s rushing offense couldn’t get anything going, forcing yet another third-and-long that proved difficult to convert.
Syracuse’s defense continued to hold up, adding a seventh sack. But towards the end of the third quarter, Fran Brown decided to put Collins back in at quarterback after the offense ran two rushing plays. Collins also came out to start the fourth. He moved the chains with a 17-yard rush.
Collins then targeted Gill on a deep ball down the field. However, Gill was hit as he tried to make the catch and the ball was tipped into the air. Kavir Bains-Marquez grabbed the loose ball and returned it to Syracuse’s 25-yard line. As became the norm, the Orange defense didn’t allow anything, but the field positioning gave Pitt another short field goal to make. The Panthers led 23-7.
Syracuse survived penalties of its own to finally string together an offensive drive. Holding penalties were erased by a deep completion on an offsides and some scramble runs from Collins. After another holding inside the five, Collins found Emanuel Ross on a 12-yard slant to score. The Orange couldn’t convert the two-point conversion however, so it remained a two-possession game at 23-13.
The Orange stole the ball back immediately on special teams. Jadyn Oh fired the kickoff right at a Pitt player and it bounced off him right to Cornell Perry. Syracuse, however, could not capitalize. A series of holding and false start penalties meant that Syracuse couldn’t even move the chains on its ensuing drive, essentially ending the game. Pitt took advantage of the field position to score and make the game 30-13.
Rickie Collins finished 16-32 on the day with 126 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Syracuse is on the road next week at Georgia Tech. Kickoff is set for 12:00 pm ET.
