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PITTSBURGH — In 2023, 4-5 Syracuse matched up with 2-7 Pittsburgh at Yankee Stadium in a battle of the bottom tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange totaled just eight passing yards in their 28-13 win, the last under former head coach Dino Babers.

Thursday evening’s contest had very different implications, with Pitt undefeated and ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 Poll and SU holding one loss through six games, just outside the Top 25.

Fighting to inch closer to the top of the conference standings and for its first ranking since week 10 of 2022, Syracuse faltered. SU quarterback Kyle McCord recorded three interceptions in the first quarter, including two pick-sixes. He finished with five overall and three pick-sixes while the Orange’s defense allowed 20 points.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (5-2, 2-2 ACC) 41-13 loss to No. 19 Pitt (7-0, 3-0 ACC) Thursday night:

Wax’s return

Despite Brown saying in his Monday press conference that Marlowe Wax likely wouldn’t return until SU’s Nov. 2 game against Virginia Tech, ESPN’s Pete Thamel announced 75 minutes before kickoff that Wax was active.

In the five games without Wax, Syracuse adjusted its defense multiple times, moving Justin Barron and Fadil Diggs into the linebacker position. In Wax’s return, the Orange began in a three-down set with Wax, Barron and Derek McDonald as the linebackers.

While the Orange struggled in many aspects, Wax made his mark. He recorded a solo tackle on Desmond Reid in the first quarter and a sack on quarterback Eli Holstein in the second quarter. Though, Wax’s most notable moment came when he was called for a roughing the passer penalty that nullified a Marcellus Barnes Jr. interception in the second quarter.

Wax didn’t appear in much of the fourth quarter and finished with two tackles in his first game since the season-opener against Ohio.

McCord’s nightmare performance

McCord’s first half of the season was near perfect, pacing for single-season program records in completions, attempts, yards and touchdowns. In this game, McCord started as poorly as possible.

His first pass went through the hands of a Panthers defender. Following a rollout for a first-down conversion, McCord overthrew Oronde Gadsden II the next play, before throwing a 35-yard pick-six on second down.

On the second drive, McCord followed the same pattern. A ball was batted down at the line before a third-and-10 throw was tipped around in the air and intercepted. SU’s quarterback had thrown just one interception in his last nine quarters. Through the first drives, he topped the previous total.

The next drive, it seemed as if the Orange had found some of their groove. A 24-yard pass to Gadsden gave SU some room to work with. But again, McCord turned it over. This time it was Kyle Louis, returning an interception for 59 yards to extend Pitt’s lead to 17.

Under duress for most of the game, McCord often had defenders in his face on every throw. Multiple times, a free rusher forced him to throw the ball away or into the ground, attempting to not be sacked by the blitzing bunch.

To add to the damage, just before the end of the first half, McCord attempted a screen to LeQuint Allen Jr. and it was again tipped in the air and returned for a touchdown. The third pick-six of the game and fourth overall for McCord. McCord’s line at halftime was abysmal, going 16-for-34 with four interceptions.

The Orange slightly found their footing on the first drive of the second half, putting together an 18-play, over nine-minute drive that was capped off with a touchdown on a McCord quarterback sneak. Following an SU stop on defense, McCord gave the ball back with his fifth interception.

The damage was done, and a career-high 64 passing attempts later, McCord turned in by far his worst performance at Syracuse.

Efficient Pitt offense

While the Orange possessed the ball double the time of the Panthers in the first half, Pitt got its offense going when needed through Reid’s running game. The transfer from Western Carolina entered the game second in the nation in all-purpose yards, totaling 182.6 per game.

Against SU’s defense, which entered allowing 127.5 yards on the ground per game, Reid rushed three times in the first quarter for 13 yards. In the second quarter, Pitt rode Reid three times in a row, running for 17 yards.

However, Pitt’s offense didn’t need to do much. The Panthers possessed the ball for under 10 minutes in the first half, despite leading by 31. Holstein attempted just nine passes at the half, 25 fewer than McCord.

The Panthers didn’t gain possession in the second half until just over five minutes to play. When they did, Holstein came out firing with three attempts. Though the Orange made necessary stops, forcing a punt.

McCord’s interception gave it right back though, and the Panthers’ offense turned in a three-play, 45-yard drive which finished with a Holstein touchdown pass to Raphael Williams Jr.

SU’s defense allowed just 20 points and 217 yards, and Reid recorded just 47 total yards. But it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the offensive blunders.

Biles’ big day

Sophomore linebacker Rasheem Biles shined for the Panthers Thursday night. Biles set the tone early for Pittsburgh’s defense, keying on McCord’s eyes and picking the ball off in front of Trebor Peña. He ran the ball back 35 yards with ease to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

After that, he added a 15-yard sack on third down late in the second quarter, wrapping McCord up and throwing him to the ground. Along with three hurries, Biles recorded six tackles in the first half.

When the Orange drove down the field for the first nine minutes of the third quarter, Biles was all in on the action. He recorded five tackles on the drive alone, bolstering his statistics despite Syracuse having its best drive of the night.

Biles finished with 12 total tackles and seven solo tackles, just one of the reasons why SU suffered its worst loss of 2024.

Published on October 24, 2024 at 11:12 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky