Syracuse (4-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) is in for a second-straight ACC road matchup, this time against Pittsburgh (2-3, 1-1) at Heinz Field.

To get the lowdown on the Panthers, The Daily Orange talked with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s beat writer, Brian Batko, about Pitt, it’s running attack, quarterback play and more.

Read the full conversation, lightly edited for content and clarity, below.

The Daily Orange: What’s the deal with Kenny Pickett?

Brian Batko: I think he’s still figuring it out. There were pretty high expectations for him going into this season after the way he finished 2017 — beating Miami — and doing a lot of that by himself, with his feet. So that raised the bar, and now you get into this season and it seems that he’s sort of fallen back to earth a little bit and you’re reminded that he is a true sophomore who has played, this be his what, seventh start?

I thought last week down at UCF was maybe his worst game. The stat line looked not horrendous in the end, but he got a 50-something yard flip forward to Maurice Ffrench for the only offensive touchdown in that game. And it was really one that, UCF had pretty much taken its foot off the gas and Ffrench did most of the work just beating everyone to the end zone. So you take that out and suddenly it’s a pretty miserable stat line. It’s been an up-and-down season for him, but it’s really been mostly down.

In three losses especially, well two of the losses, Penn State and UCF, he really struggled. He has some moments against North Carolina, but he’s basically a sophomore. He’s not exactly the season savior that some people hoped he’d be.

The D.O.: How key is stopping the run for Syracuse?

B.B.: That’s going to be huge. It’s maybe oversimplifying it to say that if Pitt runs the ball well, it will win this game. But it makes all the sense in the world that you want to the responsibility off of Kenny Pickett’s shoulders and off of his right arm and let him handoff, more than have to make plays — that hasn’t been a recipe that has worked in the three losses for Pitt. So if they can come right out and maybe get the ball first, establish that ground game, run it down their throats and smack Syracuse in the mouth a little bit, that could set the tone for Pitt.

I think probably the best position group on the field is the backfield. Qadree Ollison is really good, as a fifth-year senior he’s taken a step up. Darrin Hall had some humongous games last year, he’s a senior as well. They need to get the ball to those guys early and often, and really sort of make it a situation where Kenny Pickett can be a game manager rather than have to try to win it himself.

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The D.O.: Who should Syracuse fans watch out for, other than the two running backs?

B.B.: On offense, the receiving core has been suspect for the most part. I mean Taysir Mack has made some really good plays, but I would consider him questionable for this game. He left the UCF game with an injury. So I’ll say someone to maybe keep an eye, their numbers don’t jump out, but could be a big play guy is Shocky Jacques-Louis. He’s a true freshman, he’s the only one who is definitely not going to redshirt for Pitt this year.

He brings the speed to the receiving core. They want to get him the ball in space whether it’s on the jet sweep or a little screen or something. So I think they’re going to try to work the ball to him more often, see what he can do. Beyond that, if he can take the top off the defense and give Kenny Pickett a change to take some deep shots, that could open up some running lanes for the backs.

The D.O.: Who wins and why?

B.B.: I can’t bring myself to pick Pitt to win. Don’t get me wrong, Pitt football is sort of known for being hard to predict and they always seem to do something that catches you off guard whether that’s beating a team that they have no business beating — like Penn State or Clemson or Miami — or losing to a team that really should’ve been a layup, like North Carolina. That said, I guess it wouldn’t shock me if Pitt finds a way to win, but on paper, and just watching what these two teams have done so far this season, I think the Syracuse offense will be too much. Maybe Pitt gets on track a little bit offensively, it’s hard to be worse than what they were against UCF, I’ll say Syracuse covers the three or three and a half point spread and I’ll say something like a nine or 10 point win for the Orange.

Published on October 6, 2018 at 11:11 am