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Halfway through Syracuse’s first season under Fran Brown, the Orange are 5-1 and 2-1 to start Atlantic Coast Conference play. After a Week 4 blunder against Stanford, SU has won its last three games, including an overtime thriller over then-No. 25 UNLV and its first win over NC State in Raleigh since 2013.

Quarterback Kyle McCord has been stellar, totaling 2,160 yards through the air and 19 touchdowns. McCord’s prowess has led SU to have the sixth-best scoring offense in the conference.

Following their second and final bye week of 2024, the Orange return to action with their biggest test yet, a Thursday night battle with No. 19 Pittsburgh. The Panthers, led by redshirt freshman Eli Holstein at quarterback, are undefeated, and also enter the contest off the bye. A win over Pitt would clinch SU its third consecutive bowl appearance for the first time since it had five straight appearances from 1995-99.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (5-1, 2-1 ACC) will fare against Pitt (6-0, 2-0 ACC) on Thursday night:

Aiden Stepansky (4-2)
Steel City stunner
Syracuse 34, Pitt 30

This Pitt team is legit. The Panthers haven’t started this well since Dan Marino’s senior season in 1982. And they haven’t had a quarterback start his Pitt career 6-0 since Marino’s freshman year.

But make no mistake — Holstein is no Marino. And though star running back Desmond Reid leads the ACC in all-purpose yards with 182.6 per game, I have the Orange outlasting the Panthers in prime time.

Syracuse’s defense is on the cusp of returning star linebacker Marlowe Wax to the lineup. Brown said in his weekly press conference that the matchup at Pitt will likely be the last without Wax. In his place, Justin Barron has moved up to linebacker and has increased his production each week. I see the trend continuing in the Steel City.

The Orange and the Panthers will wrestle back and forth throughout the contest with McCord and Co. continuing their explosiveness. The Pitt defense — though allowing only 23.5 points per game — presents a favorable matchup for McCord if the offensive line can buy time due to its lower pass rush (71.7) and cover grade (78.4) than rushing defense grade (83.8), per Pro Football Focus.

In an exciting finish, Syracuse will march down the field with minutes remaining and pull ahead late, stealing a game on the road and moving into the AP Poll Top 25 for the first time in the Brown era.

Cooper Andrews (4-2)
Silencing the Yinzers
Syracuse 38, Pitt 24

Pat Narduzzi is treating McCord like a god heading into Thursday’s matchup. Pitt’s 10th-year head coach said Syracuse’s quarterback is the best signal caller his program has faced in awhile. Narduzzi called him a future NFL Draft selection, even saying he’s unsure if he’s ever watched tape of McCord throwing an incompletion on a third down this season.

For the unfireable Narduzzi, it’s quite strange to loudly sing the praises of McCord when his own passing defense is the third worst in the ACC. And McCord will make him pay this week.

McCord has thrown over 300 yards in every single game this season. There’s no reason why that won’t continue against the Panthers, who allow the 95th-most yards through the air per game in the country. If Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns against this Pitt defense, I can’t even imagine what McCord would do. Expect a similar performance to his 381-yard, four-touchdown outing versus Georgia Tech in Week 2.

On the flipside, I’m not confident that Holstein can match SU’s offense. The Orange likely will have cornerback Marcellus Barnes Jr. back in a starting position, which should curb the impact of Pitt No. 1 wide receiver Konata Mumpfield. The biggest concern, though, is Holstein’s measly 57.9 PFF passing grade. Both he, and Pitt, will be exposed Thursday when Syracuse wins by double digits.

Justin Girshon (3-3)
Bringing the boom
Syracuse 30, Pitt 27

Pitt is 6-0. Which is amazing, no doubt about it. But I’m questioning how good the Panthers really are. According to PFF, Pitt’s strength of schedule so far is the 102nd hardest in the nation. For comparison, the Orange have faced the 88th most challenging schedule.

When looking at their six wins, it’s hard to pick one game as the Panthers’ best of the season. Cincinnati and Cal are solid teams, but neither stands out as an amazing win to put Pitt over the edge. Meanwhile, the Panthers barely squeezed by 3-4 West Virginia and took care of business on the road against a middling North Carolina team.

Even with its blip against Stanford, there’s an argument Syracuse is the best team Pitt has faced thus far in 2024. And with how the Orange have looked over their three-game winning streak, I don’t see any reason to believe they’ll slow down.

Among the units facing off, SU’s aerial attack is by far either team’s biggest strength. And whether Trebor Peña plays or not, having McCord under center gives Syracuse a chance anytime. I had my reservations about this SU team earlier in the season, but now, I think it can beat almost any team in the nation on any given day. They’ll showcase that to the country with a win over the Panthers.

Published on October 24, 2024 at 12:09 am