Pitt holds off Syracuse in 27-20 win
SYRACUSE - Pitt is at the Carrier Dome to face Syracuse. Keep up with the action here.
FIRST QUARTER
For the seventh time this season and the eighth consecutive game overall, Pitt lost the coin toss on Friday night. Syracuse opted to defer, giving the Panthers the ball first. Pitt started at its own 13, converted one third down on a pass from Kenny Pickett to Maurice Ffrench and got another 10 yards on AJ Davis' first carry since missing the last two games due to injury. But Aaron Mathews dropped a pass on third-and-10 from the 36 and the Panthers had to punt.
Syracuse came out firing on its first possession, with Tommy DeVito dropping back to pass five times. But he only completed two passes and didn't even get the fifth attempt off before he was sacked by Kylan Johnson, leading to an Orange punt.
For Pitt's second drive, the Panthers turned to freshman running back, who hadn't played since the UCF game. He looked good on his first two carries out of the I-formation, getting nine yards to set up third-and-1. But his third attempt from the same formation was met with heavy resistance, and Davis was dropped for a four-yard loss.
After the sack, Pitt's offense found some rhythm. Pickett started by hitting Ffrench for 10 yards. Then AJ Davis ran for 19 and Pickett connected with Taysir Mack for 21 yards. But the offense faltered after that, as pressure forced Pickett into some off-target throws and the Panthers had to settle for a 47-yard field goal from Alex Kessman.
Kessman's kick was good and Pitt took the first lead of the game.
PITT 3, SYRACUSE 0 - 5:45, 1st quarter
Pitt's defense continued its strong play after the field goal, forcing DeVito to throw a trio of incomplete passes - with a false start in the middle of them - to lead to another punt. But Ffrench fumbled the fair catch attempt and Syracuse recovered on Pitt's side of the 50.
From there, the Orange made their first big play of the game when DeVito and Nykeim Johnson connected o a 29-yard pass to get close to the red zone. A seven-yard run from Moe Neal moved inside the 20 and Syracuse got inside the 10 when DeVito and his tight end gained another seven yards. But Amir Watts got to DeVito for a seven-yard sack and a screen pass on third down forced Syracuse to kick a field goal of its own.
PITT 3, SYRACUSE 3 - 3:07, 1st quarter
Pitt's offense picked up some of the momentum it had on the field goal drive on the next possession. V'Lique Carter got things started with a 21-yard run and then Pickett moved the offense across midfield with a 13-yard pass to Nakia Griffin-Stewart. After that, Mark Whipple dialed up a trick play on first down from the Syracuse 43 as Pickett threw a screen to AJ Davis who then turned and threw back to Pickett, who found Aaron Mathews open for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
The officials initially ruled the play illegal with two forward passes, but upon review, they overturned the call and the touchdown stood.
PITT 10, SYRACUSE 3 - 1:23, 1st quarter
As the first quarter wound down, Pitt's defense was giving Syracuse's offense trouble again. The Orange gained a first down to their own 38, but pressure on DeVito forced a third-and-6 at the 42.
SECOND QUARTER
For the third down play, Syracuse went with backup quarterback Clayton Welch, who kept the ball and ran for 23 yards into Pitt territory. Running back Moe Neal followed that with a 19-yard run and the Orange got a little closer to the end zone when Damar Hamlin was called for a personal foul on the next play.
But despite facing first-and-goal from the 4, Syracuse couldn't convert, as Pitt broke up one pass and stuffed two rushing attempts. Orange head coach Dino Babers opted to kick the field goal, and Syracuse cut Pitt's lead to four points.
PITT 10, SYRACUSE 6 - 12:03, 2nd quarter
Pitt's offense drove into Syracuse territory on the next possession. First, Pickett hit Shocky Jacques-Louis for an 18-yard gain on third-and-8; then he connected with Mathews for 14 yards to convert third-and-6. But third-and-13 was too many third-and-longs for the offense as Will Gragg dropped what could have been a first down pass.
Pitt's defense was up to the task, though. After Kirk Christodoulou's punt pinned Syracuse at its own 9, the Panthers proceeded to post three consecutive tackles for loss - including two sacks - to force a punt from the 3.
The ensuing punt gave Pitt favorable field position at the Syracuse 39, and the Panthers got a big play on third-and-6 when Pickett and Ffrench hooked up for a 22-yard gain. Carter moved the ball inside the 10 to the 5 on first down and then AJ Davis closed out the drive with a five-yard run to extend the lead.
PITT 17, SYRACUSE 6 - 4:53, 2nd quarter
With Syracuse's offense struggling, Babers tried to mix things up by bringing in Welch, the backup quarterback, and it seemed to work when the redshirt senior ran for 18 yards on third-and-4. But the pressure came after Welch after that and the Orange had to punt again.
Pitt took the ball back with 2:47 on the clock and started to march. AJ Davis converted a third down with a 21-yard run and then a pass interference penalty moved the Panthers close to midfield before Ffrench took a pass from Pickett, broke a couple tackles and ran for 17 yards on third-and-7.
Davis hit for another run from the Syracuse 31 with more broken tackles and a spin move; then, on first down from the 14, Pickett threw to Ffrench on the side of the end zone and the senior receiver stretched for a touchdown grab to give Pitt an 18-point lead heading into halftime.
PITT 24, SYRACUSE 6 - 0:23, 2nd quarter
As the teams went to the locker rooms for halftime, Pitt held a commanding lead in almost every statistical category. The Panthers out-gained the Orange 305-133, out-rushed them 116-39 and converted 6-of-10 third downs as Syracuse hit on just 2-of-9. Pickett finished the half with 189 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-24 passing. Ffrench was the leading receiver with 73 yards and a score on five catches, while AJ Davis was Pitt's leading rushing with 73 yards and a score on eight attempts.
Defensively, the Panthers recorded six sacks in the first half, including three on third down.
THIRD QUARTER
Syracuse got the ball to open the second half, but it didn't go any better than the first-half possessions had, as DeVito threw the ball away on second down and then was sacked by Deslin Alexandre on third down.
Pitt's first possession of the third quarter didn't get anything either, though, as Pickett was sacked on third down to force the Panthers to punt. The Panthers' defense seemed to still have its momentum, though, hitting DeVito hard on a pair of scrambles to send the Orange's starting quarterback to the sidelines and bring Welch in for third down.
Welch dropped back and fired a deep pass to Taj Harris, who had a step on Jason Pinnock. The ball dropped into Harris' hands and he ran the rest of the way for a 94-yard touchdown pass to cut into Pitt's lead.
PITT 24, SYRACUSE 13 - 11:12, 3rd quarter
Pitt's offense didn't have an answer for the Syracuse touchdown, going three-and-out, bu the defense re-settled itself and forced a punt from the Orange after giving up one first down.
The offense couldn't pick up the momentum, though, despite picking up a first down on a defensive holding penalty, and the Panthers' next drive ended when Pickett was sacked on third-and-4.
The ball went back to Syracuse at the Orange's 14-yard line, and in what would become a trend on the drive, they had the possession extended by a pass interference penalty. Three times on the drive - twice by Damarri Mathis, once by Dane Jackson - Pitt interfered, and those 45 extra yards moved Syracuse to the red zone as the third quarter ended.
FOURTH QUARTER
For the first play of the final frame, Welch tried to drop back on third-and-7, but Patrick Jones got to him for another third-down sack and the ensuing 49-yard field goal attempt was wide left, giving the ball back to the Panthers.
Pitt took the ball with 14:13 on the clock and promptly moved back five yards on a false start penalty. But the Panthers recovered. Pickett hit Ffrench for 19 yards to get a first down and then converted third-and-7 on a just-long-enough pass to Mack. Vincent Davis ran for five yards on the next third-and-4, but Nakia Griffin-Stewart dropped a would-be first down on third-and-9 from the 16 and Kessman came out to nail a 34-yard field goal.
PITT 27, SYRACUSE 13 - 7:03, 4th quarter
Syracuse opened its next drive with a big play, as Welch hit Trishton Jackson for 40 yards, and the two hooked up again three plays later for an 11-yard gain on third down. Pitt seemed to put an end to the Orange's drive, though, when the Panthers forced the home team into fourth-and-25, but while Welch's pass was incomplete, Dane Jackson was called for defensive holding and Syracuse got a fresh set of downs.
Welch moved the sticks again with a 10-yard pass to Taj Harris and then scrambled for eight yards to set up third-and-2 from the Pitt 11. Welch's third-down pass was incomplete, but Syracuse picked up a first down with a fourth-down run by tight end Aaron Hackett.
Hackett got the call again two plays later when Welch threw to him from the 7 for a touchdown to cut the lead to one score.
PITT 27, SYRACUSE 20 - 2:44, 4th quarter
Syracuse opted not to try an onside kick, giving Pitt the ball at the 25. The Panthers got going strong with a 10-yard run by AJ Davis and avoided a disaster on the next snap when Vincent Davis appeared on fumble, but he was ruled down on review and the Panthers maintained possession.
A six-yard run by AJ Davis followed to set up third-and-2, and with the game on the line, Davis plowed through for a three-yard pickup to secure the win.
AJ Davis posted his first 100-yard game, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Pickett completed 18-of-33 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Ffrench caught six of those completions for 92 yards and a score.
Pitt's defense piled up nine sacks in the victory.
With the win, the Panthers improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.