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09/17 22:22 CDT Pitt stays perfect, improves to 3-0 by grinding its way to a
27-13 win over sloppy Syracuse
Pitt stays perfect, improves to 3-0 by grinding its way to a 27-13 win over
sloppy Syracuse
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Damon Ferguson Jr., La'Vell Wright and Mason Heintschel ran
for touchdowns, and Pittsburgh continued its perfect start with a 27-13 win
over Syracuse on Thursday night.
The Panthers (3-0, 1-0 ACC) piled up 245 yards rushing against the Orange (1-2,
0-1) to make Pat Narduzzi a winner in his school-record 144th game as head
coach.
Pitt's running game had struggled a bit coming in, averaging just 3.6 yards per
carry. The Panthers nearly doubled that total in its conference opener.
Ferguson finished with 102 yards on the ground, including a 32-yard sprint to
the end zone early in the second quarter that gave Pitt a 14-point lead.
Syracuse kept Heintschel under wraps as a passer. The sophomore completed just
10 of 23 for 123 yards but made up for it with his legs. Heintschel ran for 41
yards, the highlight coming on a 9-yard touchdown scramble in the third quarter
that featured a pretty juke past diving Orange linebacker Gary Bryant III. He
capped the win with a spin move on third-and-9 that produced a 10-yard gain and
a first down that allowed the Panthers to drain the rest of the clock.
Syracuse began the night as the most penalized team in the country and was
flagged nine times for 90 yards, including a sequence in the second quarter in
which the Orange were called for pass interference on third down, leading head
coach Fran Brown to get called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he protested.
Two plays later, Ferguson bounced outside and down the sideline to the end zone
to give the Panthers control.
Steve Angeli had for 167 yards passing for Syracuse before being benched in
favor of Amari Odom in the fourth quarter after throwing interceptions on
back-to-back drives to thwart any chance of a rally. Odom was 7 for 7 against a
Pitt defense protecting a three-score lead.
The takeaway Syracuse: If the Orange want to be any sort of factor in the ACC, they have to clean things up. The steady barrage of flags in the first half consistently extended Pitt drives and Brown's frustration on the sideline --- while understandable --- didn't help. Pitt: The Panthers have won three games three different ways. They blew out Miami (Ohio) in the opener, showed some grit while slogging past UCF in a monsoon last weekend, and rode their ground game to a third straight victory over the Orange. That kind of versatility could play in a league that looks wide open behind frontrunner Miami. Up next Syracuse: travels to UConn on Oct. 3. Pitt: hosts Bucknell on Sept. 28. |
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