The challenge for the Pitt defense heading into Saturday night’s regular season finale against Syracuse will be a bit different than what this group has been facing in recent games. Last week the Panthers went up against the ACC leading passer in Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong. Two weeks ago the Pitt was tasked with defending potential first round quarterback Sam Howell of North Carolina.
Syracuse has a different way it likes to attack defenses, and that is with a potent ground game. The Orange are the 7th best rushing offense in the nation, averaging 230.6 yards per game. Syracuse tailback Sean Tucker is the nation’s third leading rusher with 1,467 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Not only that, Syracuse starting quarterback Garrett Shrader is the ACC’s eighth leading rusher with 783 yards and has a team-high 14 rushing touchdowns.
“It's going to be a two-headed monster there,” Pat Narduzzi said of facing Syracuse’s backfield. “They don't throw it like Virginia, but they're going to try to run it down your throat.”
The Pitt defense was stretched out a bit by the passing prowess of Armstrong last week, but should be better equipped to handle what Syracuse will throw at them on Saturday. While Syracuse has a potent rushing offense, the Panthers only surrender 98.8 yards a game on the ground, good for 9th nationally.
Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is enjoying a strong sophomore campaign. He has 29 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks on the year. Kancey believes it will take a strong effort to contain this Syracuse rushing attack.
“As a defense we’ve got to take great angles,” Kancey said of Saturday's game. “We’ve got to tackle. We’ve got to be smart as a D-Line with our pass rush lanes and we’re going to get the job done.”
Tucker’s touches will be pretty conventional for a running back, but the challenge on defending Shrader will be key according to Narduzzi.
“They're definitely designated whether it's a draw, whether it's a counter, quarterback counter,” he said of Shrader’s rushing attempts. “They do all kinds of different stuff. But it's quarterback — they’ll run zone read keepers more than anybody that we've seen…They want to get him the ball. And they will.”
Pitt will be looking to end the regular season on a high note. After knocking off Virginia 48-38 last week to clinch the ACC Coastal, Pitt now has the opportunity to win 10 regular season games for the first time since 1981.
With the division title in hand, it may be natural to think Pitt could hold some guys back a little, but Kancey doesn’t see it that way.
“I think everyone is going to play,” the Pitt defensive tackles said. “We’re good right now, everyone is healthy and we’re ready to go beat the ‘Cuse and get ready for the ACC Championship.”
