The Pittsburgh Panthers stayed undefeated under a dominant defensive performance. The defense dominated on defense, notching three pick sixes in the first half and a total of five interceptions, leading to a 41-13 destruction.
The Panthers have won their last six out of seven games against Syracuse, keeping their win streak alive.
Rasheem Biles, Kyle Louis, and Braylan Lovelace notched the pick sixes, while Brandon George and Phillip O’Brien Jr. tallied interceptions.
“This has to be the best performance, like, of all time on this team,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said after the game. “I mean that’s crazy. We got five picks, three pick-sixes, four sacks.”
The 19th ranked Pitt held Syracuse to just 29 rushing yards. The Panthers remain in first place in the ACC with a 3-0 record.
Kyle Louis added that the hype around Kyle McCord fueled the defense.
“The main narrative of the story was that it was going to be Kyle McCord vs. Eli Holstein, and they were hyping up Kyle McCord more than Eli. The whole bye week, the defense took that personally,” Louis said. “We changed up some passing concepts that we did because we knew where McCord wants to go. He definitely tried the linebackers.”
Despite forcing a three and out to start the game, things went south early for the Orange when Biles picked off a Kyle McCord pass and took it to the house for a 35-yard pick six not even three minutes into the game.
George then picked off another McCord pass to a well-covered Emanuel Ross. The Orange held Pitt to a Ben Sauls 48-yard field goal.
Louis joined in on the pick party, jumping a route and taking it to the crib. Louis juked out LeQuint Allen on his way to the score, to give the Panthers a 17-0 lead.
Pitt’s Donovan McMillon then helped shut down a pass from McCord to Oronde Gadsden II, forcing a turnover on downs.
This led to a 65-yard drive that was capped off with an Eli Holstein 20-yard touchdown pass to Censere Lee, earning them a 24-0 lead in the second.
Biles then came up big, sacking McCord on a 4th and 6 at the Panther 35.
Lovelace didn’t want to be left out of the party. With 1:12 left in the first half, Lovelace notched an interception and battled his way through McCord and ran it into the end zone in front of the Panther Pit.
Despite just 83 yards of offense in the first half, the Panthers led 31-0.
The Orange then took up almost ten minutes of the fourth, and converted multiple 4th downs on their next drive.
Syracuse ended the drive with a McCord quarterback keeper for a 1-yard score. The Orange failed for two, making it 31-6.
The Panthers were forced to punt, but O’Brien Jr. intercepted a McCord pass, giving Pitt their fifth interception of the night.
Holstein then found Poppi Williams for a 27-yard touchdown pass, making it 38-6.
Sauls nailed a 57-yard field goal on their next drive, increasing their lead to 41-6.
Dan Villari ran in a 2-yard touchdown on the fourth, making it 41-13.
Photos by Mike Longo Jr.
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