The Syracuse defense slowly jogged back onto the field. The type of play that Syracuse had become accustomed to making had just been done to them. Ryan Winslow was set to punt and then he wasn’t.

A harmlessly lofted throw landed in the hands of linebacker Matt Galambos, who had a first down. Syracuse, futile in it’s third-down abilities, had finally made the play it needed to. But it was erased by a trick out of its own playbook.

The play extended a Pittsburgh drive that started at its own 5-yard line with 9:20 to play. And it finished with a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) lost its fourth game in a row, 23-20, to No. 25 Pitt (6-1, 4-0) and second on the game’s final play. Its inability to make late defensive plays again erased a chance to win the game.

In the first half the Orange and Panthers repeatedly traded scores. After a five-minute first drive that ended with just three points, it took Syracuse only two plays to respond with seven of its own.

Quarterback Eric Dungey handed it off to fellow freshman Jordan Fredericks on the first play, and he took it up the gut before cutting past the secondary for 55 yards. Moments later, Dungey found Ervin Philips on a screen pass. The sophomore juked a defender and had nothing but space that separated him from the early score.

SU’s second touchdown drive to close the first half went nearly as quickly. Following a Pittsburgh touchdown, the Orange took 71 seconds to retake the lead. Dungey hit Steve Ishmael who stopped and rose up for a 40-yard catch before corralling the touchdown a few plays later.

Syracuse lost its momentum closing out the half. Kicker Ryan Norton booted a short kickoff and was called for a late hit before the Panthers got in field goal position.

The Orange offense couldn’t get on track in the third quarter. Dungey broke free of a tackle in the backfield but was brought down with helmet-to-helmet contact. He was taken off the field and into the locker room. His replacement, walk-on Zack Mahoney, threw one complete pass but Dungey returned later in the quarter.

But on two consecutive passes, he threw interceptions. The first was a pass over the middle that was picked off by Galambos. On the first play of the next drive, Dungey’s deep ball attempt was snagged by Lafayette Pitts.

It took only one minute at the start of the fourth quarter for Pittsburgh to take its first lead since the opening moments. Running back Qadree Ollison burst through the middle on two straight plays to flip the momentum. But Syracuse drove right back down to tie it up on a field goal.

The final drive was again the nail in Syracuse’s coffin. The final field goal was just a chip shot. A quick finish to lengthy, 89-yard buildup. The roar of the crowd in anticipation of a miss was silenced the second the kick went through the middle of the uprights.

Published on October 24, 2015 at 3:30 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3