Syracuse Drops Third Straight in Ugly Loss at Pittsburgh
Syracuse football lost its third straight game in an ugly, lethargic 19-9 setback at Pittsburgh. The defense held Pitt to under four yards per carry and forced two turnovers, but the Orange offense could not get into rhythm all game. Syracuse is now 6-3 (3-2) on the season. Next up is a home matchup with Florida State on Saturday, November 12th at 8:00 p.m.
The Syracuse rushing attack never got going as the Pitt defensive line dominated the Orange offensive line. When Syracuse tried to throw, there was a mix of dropped passes, receivers not getting open and inaccurate throws. Syracuse was without starting quarterback Garrett Shrader, and instead Carlos Del Rio-Wilson got the start. he was inconsistent throwing the football and completed less than 35% of his passes.
Add on top of that missed opportunities and it was a miserable game on the offensive side of the ball. Syracuse did not go over 100 yards of total offense until the fourth quarter and had only 145 (25 on the ground) for the game.
The opening kickoff saw Trebor Pena break into the open field and just get tripped up in what appeared to be set up for a score otherwise. Then in the first quarter, Syracuse marched down the field on its second possession of the game. On a third and one play, Syracuse tossed outside instead of pounding the ball up the middle. Sean Tucker was stopped for a loss and the Orange settled for a field goal. In the fourth quarter, Del Rio-Wilson had a wide open Oronde Gadsden inside the five yard line, but overthrew him for an incompletion. Syracuse would, once again, settle for a field goal.
That would be the closest they would get to putting the ball into the end zone. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, mustered just enough offense to find pay dirt twice behind two short runs.
Even when Pittsburgh gifted the Orange excellent field position (the Pitt 28) on a botched punt, Syracuse could not capitalize. After going three and out, Andre Szmyt's field goal was short and SU came away with no points.
Down eight with less than two minutes to go, Syracuse started with the ball on its own one yard line with a chance to tie. On the first play, Del Rio-Wilson was sacked for a safety to officially clinch the game for the Panthers.
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