Five Takeaways: Pitt wins No. 10

SYRACUSE, NY — Pitt won its tenth game of the season with a 31-14 victory over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Saturday night. It marks the first time Pitt has won ten regular season games in a single season since 1981. The Panthers will now take a 10-2 record into next week's ACC Championship game opposite Wake Forest.

Here are five things that stood out for Pitt in Saturday's win over Syracuse.

Handled Business

Pitt needed to win on Saturday, there just was not any way around that. Sure, the Panthers had clinched the ACC Coastal last week with a win over Virginia and had their spot reserved in Charlotte for next week, but Saturday's game against Syracuse still represented a big chance for this program and that was to show up as the better team and take care of business like good teams are supposed to do.

Pitt got the job done.

The Panthers did not flash their best effort on Saturday, but rather it was a workmanlike effort to clinch a win and secure its tenth victory of the season. Pitt was shorthanded once again, as the team was without leading rusher Izzy Abanikanda, and starting linemen Owen Drexel and Jake Kradel did not play, along with the trio of receivers that hadn't been playing in Jaylen Barden, Taysir Mack, and Melquise Stovall. It didn't seem to matter much, as Pitt found success the way it has all season with Kenny Pickett spreading the ball around and finding the end zone. In the stadium where Pickett made his college debut in 2017, the Panthers quarterback tossed four touchdowns on Saturday and looked like the poised senior quarterback he has been all season.

Pitt did not show too much, stayed relatively healthy, and got the win. The task on Saturday was to win. Period. It did not have to be a pretty victory, or a statement win - just put a 'W' in the column and that's exactly what they did.

Got Number Ten

Pitt notched its tenth victory of the season on Saturday night. It was the first time Pitt has done that since the team went 10-3 back in 2009, though as we know it goes a little deeper than that. Pitt hadn't won ten regular season games since 1981. It's been 40 long years, some more trying than others, but this program stepped up this season and took down that long run of futility.

Pitt is now 10-2, the highest ranked team in the ACC, with a chance to not only clinch its first ever ACC championship, but also an opportunity to get to 12 wins for the first time since 1976. Obviously the stakes aren't as high as they were for Pitt's last national championship run, but it is still a real opportunity for this program to prove itself on the national stage in its final two games.

Pitt has not been a perfect team this season, but they have been a rather consistent one. Behind the brilliant play of Kenny Pickett, this Pitt team has reached new heights in the seventh season of Pat Narduzzi's tenure that he's never reached in the previous six seasons.

Ten wins meant something to this team, and I think it means something to this university and fanbase as well. Getting to 10 was the focus this week, as they tried not to overlook Syracuse, and they got the job done.

Another big performance from Pickett

Kenny Pickett has been breaking or trying Pitt and ACC records in just about every game Pitt has played in the past month, and Saturday was no different. Pickett broke the single-season mark held by Dan Marino and Rod Rutherford for touchdown passes in a season as the two had thrown for 37 in a single season. After Pickett tossed four on Saturday, he now has 40 for his 2021 campaign. The Pitt quarterback now has 79 touchdown passes for his career, which ties him with Marino for the most in program history. Pickett will have the opportunity to break the record on a national stage with two games to play.

Pickett and the Pitt offense had a slow start today. He did not carve up the Orange at will like he has to other teams, but it was his fifth game this season with at least four touchdown passes. On a day where other Heisman hopefuls lost or didn't perform to a high standard, Pickett delivered with a solid showing. He may not have won over voters on Saturday or wowed the college football world, but all he did was go over 4,000 yards passing and 40 touchdowns - just another notch in an already impressive season.

The defense rises to the occasion

Pitt's defense has been through the ringer lately. They have been tasked with slowing down the likes of Sam Howell and Brennan Armstrong in recent weeks, two of the best quarterbacks in college football. There were mixed results in those performances, but they made big plays, got sacks, and ended up with wins on both occasions.

Saturday's challenge with Syracuse was different, as the Orange brought in one of the best rushing attacks in the country. Sean Tucker entered Saturday's game as the nation's fourth leading rusher with 1,467 yards. Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader may not have been posed the passing threat that Howell and Armstrong did, but his 14 rushing touchdowns made him a different type of animal to defense for this defense.

Pitt's defense stepped up and promptly shut that duo down with relative ease.

Syracuse came out and punched Pitt in the mouth on the opening drive, and that was pretty much it for them. Pitt dominated the Orange from there, and the vaunted Syracuse rushing attack was limited to just 25 yards on 30 carries. As usual, Pitt got to the quarterback with five sacks and they generated an early turnover that led to points. Pitt had its way with Syracuse, and as good as they are at running the football, it played exactly into their hands with how this defense is structured. It was strength on strength - Pitt's run defense against their rushing attack, and Pitt won the battle.

A date with destiny in Charlotte

Pitt clinched its division last week. The team took care of business and won its tenth game on Saturday. Now, a new opportunity is on the horizon: a conference title. Pitt hasn't won an outright conference title ever. They won the Coastal in 2018 and shared the Big East title in both 2004 and 2010, but that's where the history ends. The Pitt football program joined the Big East in 1991, and they don't have many banners and trophies to show for its history since it has joined that league, and subsequently the ACC in 2013.

That can change on Saturday. Pitt will get a chance to win the program's first ACC Championship against Wake Forest on a nationally televised stage with a lot of people watching. While Pitt and Wake Forest won't break into the College Football Playoff, the two teams may represent the most entertaining game from an offensive standpoint on Championship Saturday. Like Pickett, Wake Forest's Sam Hartman is also having a stellar senior season and the Demon Deacons can score the ball just like Pitt. It will be a high-flying affair with two of the best quarterbacks and offenses in the country taking center stage on ABC next Saturday at 8:00.

Pitt was just in this spot in 2018, but obviously this one feels different. They aren't decided underdogs like they were against Clemson a few years back, but rather this team has everything to play for: a championship, a big bowl, and perhaps even a Heisman for its quarterback. It has been years...decades since this program has been in this type of conversation, and Saturday night they get to prove they belong right there. It's a big step for this program, and also a big opportunity.