Pitt beats Syracuse in overtime

Pitt is hosting Syracuse at Heinz Field today, and here's the latest from the game.

FIRST QUARTER
Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, giving Syracuse the ball to open the game. The Orange went right to work, getting positive yardage on all but one of their 11 plays to march 75 yards to the end zone. Syracuse converted three third downs on the drive, capped by a two-yard touchdown pass by quarterback Eric Dungey.

SYRACUSE 7, PITT 0 (10:54, 1st quarter)

Pitt's first offensive drive was promising, as the Panthers moved across midfield in a handful of plays. But on first down from the Syracuse 47, freshman receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis fumbled a jet sweep and Syracuse recovered.

It didn't take long for the Orange to strike. Boosted by a 29-yard from Dungey, Syracuse hit paydirt in five plays to take a two-touchdown lead.

SYRACUSE 14, PITT 0 (6:32, 1st quarter)

Pitt found an answer on its next drive. After Maurice Ffrench ran for six yards on a sweep to open the possession, Qadree Ollison took a handoff to the left side, found a hole, stepped out of a few tackles, kept his feet and ran 69 yards for the Panthers' first touchdown of the day.

SYRACUSE 14, PITT 7 (5:47, 1st quarter)

Pitt's defense came up with its first big play of the game on Syracuse's next drive. On a second-and-10 from the Syracuse 37, Dungey ran into a pile of defenders. In the pile, Quintin Wirginis pulled the ball out and Dane Jackson recovered to run 33 yards to the end zone and tie the game.

PITT 14, SYRACUSE 14 (4:21, 1st quarter)

Pitt's defense stepped up again, forcing punts on Syracuse's next two drives. The second of those gave the Panthers the ball at the Orange 34, and while the offense couldn't move, placekick Alex Kessman nailed a 54-yard field goal to give Pitt the lead.

PITT 17, SYRACUSE 14 (12:26, 2nd quarter)

Pitt's defense came up with another big play on Syracuse's next drive when defensive tackle Amir Watts got his hands on a Dungey pass for his first career interception. The Panthers' offense couldn't capitalize, but Kessman came up with another big kick - this time he cashed in from 55 yards.

PITT 20, SYRACUSE 14 (6:50, 2nd quarter)

Pitt's defense forced another punt on Syracuse's possession after the field goal, but the Panthers couldn't get anything going offensively, posting a three-and-out and punting back to the Orange, who started at the Pitt 42.

Syracuse moved the ball this time and drove inside the Pitt 20. But the Panthers' defense stepped up once again, stalling the Orange and forcing a field goal.

PITT 20, SYRACUSE 17 (1:30, 2nd quarter)

After Syracuse's field goal, Pitt took the ball with 1:30 on the clock. And while it didn't look like the Panthers were necessarily trying to drive for a touchdown, a 17-yard run by Darrin Hall on first down and an offsides penalty before the next snap moved the offense close to midfield. Then Kenny Pickett hit Maurice Ffrench with a 32-yard pass to get to the Syracuse 20.

But on first down from the 20, Pickett tried to hit Ffrench in the end zone. Syracuse cornerback Christopher Frederick appeared to make contact with Ffrench, but there was no flag and Frederick picked the pass off.

The two teams went to the locker room with Pitt leading 20-17.

THIRD QUARTER

After a relatively quiet first half with 158 total yards, Pitt's offense exploded to open the second half. Ollison ran for seven yards on first down; then, on second-and-3 from the 32, Pickett threw to Rafael Araujo-Lopes for a screen pass on the right side. With Aaron Mathews setting a huge block, Araujo-Lopes broke tackles and danced down the sidelines for a 68-yard touchdown reception.

PITT 27, SYRACUSE 17 (14:12, 3rd quarter)

Immediately after Araujo-Lopes' touchdown, the skies opened up and the game had to be delayed due to lightning. The delay lasted a little more than an hour, and when play resumed Pitt was kicking off to Syracuse. The defense forced another Syracuse punt, but Pitt's offense couldn't do anything and had to punt as well.

The Orange finally found some offensive success on the next drive, hitting pass plays of 27 and 22 yards before Jarveon Howard powered his way into the end zone from five yards out.

PITT 27, SYRACUSE 24 (8:12, 3rd quarter)

Defense controlled the next few possessions, as Pitt punted twice and Syracuse punted once before the Orange mounted another drive. This time, Syracuse started at its own 27 and managed to avoid facing a third down until it reached the Pitt 21. From there, Dungey scrambled away from pressure and ran 21 yards to the end zone.

SYRACUSE 31, PITT 27 (0:21, 3rd quarter)

FOURTH QUARTER

Pitt's offense continued to stall after the go-ahead touchdown from Syracuse, gaining one first down but giving the ball back to the Orange when Pickett was sacked and coughed it up. Syracuse recovered at the Pitt 31, and while the defense stood up inside the 15, the Orange still came away with a field goal to extend the lead.

SYRACUSE 34, PITT 27 (11:11, 4th quarter)

Pitt took the ball after Syracuse's touchdown in desperate need of a score, and the Panthers turned to the running game for it. As it happens, Ollison and Hall were up to the task, combining to run five times for 65 yards including a seven-yard touchdown run by Hall out of the Wildcat formation to tie the game.

PITT 34, SYRACUSE 34 (7:51, 4th quarter)

Pitt's offense forced Syracuse into a third-and-7 on the next drive, but the Orange completed a 44-yard pass and ran a subsequent play before Pat Narduzzi could call a timeout to review the play. The defense came up big again, though, causing Dungey to throw the ball away on third-and-16. Syracuse finished the drive with a field goal to take the lead.

SYRACUSE 37, PITT 34 (5:53, 4th quarter)

Pitt took the ball with 5:53 left on the clock and an eye, apparently, on overtime, as the Panthers proceeded to run the ball on 11 consecutive plays while letting the clock run. With 12 seconds left, Pitt's offense stalled at the 27 and Kessman connected on his third field goal of the game to tie the score.

PITT 37, SYRACUSE 37 (0:08, 4th quarter)

OVERTIME

Syracuse won the coin toss and opted to defend, so Pitt got the ball first in overtime and the Panthers took the same approach they had adopted in the previous few drives: run, run, run. To wit, Pitt ran the ball on five consecutive plays, culminating with Hall charging in from three yards out of the Wildcat formation to strike first.

PITT 44, SYRACUSE 37

Syracuse's drive lasted one play, as Dungey dropped back on first down and threw to the end zone, but Therran Coleman, working out of the nickel, played the ball and pulled it away from the intended receiver. The interception ended the game and broke Pitt's two-game losing streak.

The Panthers are now 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC.

PITT 44, SYRACUSE 37 - Final