Syracuse Orange v. Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction and Preview (10/18/25)

As we countdown to kickoff for the start of the Syracuse football season on Aug. 30, The Juice Online will be doing a team-by-team preview of its opponents.

I left off on Tuesday with a preview of Syracuse's matchup with SMU, with the Orange's record falling to an even 3-3 record heading into the bye. After the week off, SU takes on one of their biggest rivals, the Pitt Panthers.

ACC play is in full swing, and this game against Pitt marks the start of a three-game stretch where Fran Brown and the Orange can start to build some momentum. Pitt is coming off a roller coaster of a season that saw them start 7-0 reaching 18th in the AP Poll, then losing 6 straight to end their year.

Pitt was plagued by injuries and the chaos that comes with massive year over year turnover. Syracuse was the last team that Pitt beat last season in a game where Syracuse was handily beat, 41-13.

Scouting the Pitt offense

Last season, Pitt’s quarterbacking duties were led by true freshman, Eli Holstien. Holstien suffered a head injury late in their 9th game of the season against Virgina. This caused him to miss the next week against Clemson, but he made his return the following week against Louisville, where he subsequently suffered a season-ending leg injury. Backup Nate Yarnell took over duties for the rest of the season.

Holstien and Pitt were on track for a remarkable season. In ten games, Holstien threw for 2,225 yards and 17 touchdowns at a 62% completion rate. As of now, Holstien is projected to start again for Pitt. At their skill positions, Pitt is returning a majority of their guys.

Most importantly, junior lead back, Desmond Reid. The junior is coming off a respectable season of nearly 1000 yards rushing on 194 attempts while finding the end zone 5 times. Ried also provided receiving help, racking up 52 receptions for 579 yards and 4 touchdowns.

With the departure of Konata Mumphfield, the keys to the receiving room are left to sophomore Kenny Johnson (46 receptions, 537 yards, 3 touchdowns) and junior Raphael Williams Jr. (37 receptions, 426 yards, 6 touchdowns). Some additional receiving help was pulled in this offseason in the form of Deuce Spann from FSU and Cataurus Hicks from Louisville; both are three-star transfers.

A look at the PItt defense

Defensively, Pitt carried a very nice run prevention unit. The unit ranked 10th in the nation in yards per rush (3.2) and ranked 20th in rush yards allowed per game (116.3). The defensive line found its’ way to quarterback a bunch, carrying a sack rate of 8.21% (23rd in the nation).

The front-seven was led by returning sophomore Kyle Louis notched 45 solo tackles, 7 sacks, and 4 interceptions. Fellow returning line backers Rasheem Biles and Braylan Lovelace combined for 9.5 sacks, 26 TFL, and 2 interceptions.

On the line, Jimmy Scott and Nate Matlack combined for 21 TFL and 11 sacks.

A prediction and preview for the matchup

This game is a real opportunity to pick up a meaningful win, unfortunately Pitt has the thing that teams can hold over Syracuse: continuity.

Pitt has a strong returning defense; the weak points are the secondary, but the Orange impact receivers remain to be seen. The up and down second season for Fran Brown will likely continue into week 8.

I see Syracuse losing a 24-13 decision, dropping them to 3-4 on the year.

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