Pitt Faces Another ACC Road Battle vs. Syracuse

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers (4-2, 2-1 ACC) will hit the road again and head north this time to face the Syracuse Orange (3-3, 1-2 ACC).

Pitt ventured south last week and left with a 34-31 win over No. 25 Florida State. It was Desmond Reid's first game back from injury, and he led the Panthers in receiving with eight catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns, earning ACC Player of the Week honors as a wide receiver and being named to the Pro Football Focus ACC and national teams of the week.

Pittsburgh Panthers running back Desmond Reid (0) reacts to a big play against the Florida State Seminoles — Oct 11, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Desmond Reid (0) is held back as he reacts to a big play in the first quarter against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Syracuse is coming off a bye week after losing consecutive games for the first time under head coach Fran Brown. The Orange fell to Duke 38-3 and SMU 31-18 in the two weeks after beating Clemson in Death Valley, but lost Notre Dame transfer quarterback Steve Angeli to a season-ending Achilles injury in that game.

Angeli had 1,317 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, two interceptions and completed 63% of his passes in four games this season. Ricky Collins is the new quarterback for the Orange, and he has passed for 607 yards, three touchdowns, five interceptions and completed 60% of his passes.

The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Orange 44-33-3. Pitt has had a lot of recent success against Syracuse, winning eight of the last 10 matchups.

Pitt won last year's matchup in Pittsburgh, 41-13. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord threw five interceptions and two pick-sixes to Kyle Louis and Rasheem Biles. The last away game for Pitt was played in The Bronx, N.Y., and the Panthers lost 28-13. But the last time Pitt played in the JMA Wireless Dome was in 2021, with Pitt winning 31-14.

Injuries

Baline Spires, Rashan Murray, Joey Zelinsky, Nilay Upadhyayula and Jeff Persi were all listed as out last week and are now questionable on the ACC Availability Report this week. Tight end Justin Holmes is the only new addition to the report, and he is listed as questionable. Desmond Reid is also questionable to play, even though he played last week.

Pat Narduzzi announced at the beginning of the week that defensive end Zach Crothers and cornerback Nigel Maynard have suffered season-ending injuries.

Syracuse's touchdown receptions leader, Justus Ross-Simmons, is listed as questionable for the Orange, as is the team's leading tackler, Gary Bryant III, and starting left guard TJ Ferguson.

Two-way player Demetres Samuel Jr. is listed as probable, as is the leading receiver Johntay Cook and starting tight end Dan Villari.

Key Stats

Pitt Offense

Scoring: 39.8 points per game (15th in FBS)
Total: 431.8 yards per game (38th)
Passing: 309.3 yards per game (11th)
Rushing: 122.5 yards per game (105th)

Pitt Defense

Scoring: 21.5 points per game (tied-52nd in FBS)
Total: 313.7 yards per game (32nd)
Passing: 230.2 yards per game (81st)
Rushing: 83.5 yards per game (8th)

Syracyse Offense

Scoring: 29.0 points per game (tied-69th in FBS)
Total: 432.3 yards per game (37th)
Passing: 320.7 yards per game (6th)
Rushing: 111.7 yards per game (118th)

Syracuse Defense

Scoring: 29.8 points per game (tied-114th in FBS)
Total: 448.8 yards per game (128th)
Passing: 291.2 yards per game (131st)
Rushing: 157.7 yards per game (tied-96th)

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