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Pitt's Power Running Dumps Syracuse 27-13; Narduzzi Marks Coaching Milestone
A dominant ground attack and late clock-control runs powered Pittsburgh to a 27-13 ACC opener at Acrisure Stadium, as Pat Narduzzi reached a milestone in his 144th game leading the program.
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh leaned on its ground game and rode it to a 27-13 victory over Syracuse on Thursday night, piling up 245 rushing yards at Acrisure Stadium while doing so without injured starting back Boosier Turner. The win improved the Panthers to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the ACC, and came as Pat Narduzzi recorded a noteworthy milestone in his 144th game as Pitt's head coach — a mark that moved him past Jock Sutherland on the school's all-time games coached list. "Nice to win when you don’t play your best football on offense or defense," Narduzzi said afterward, briefly growing sentimental as he produced a copy of Elbert Hubbard’s “Loyalty Pledge,” a touchstone his father once kept close.
Freshman Damon Ferguson Jr. supplied a burst early in the second quarter, racing 32 yards to the end zone and finishing with 102 yards on the night. La'Vell Wright added 81 rushing yards, and the Panthers nearly erased previous concerns about their ground game — which had averaged just 3.6 yards per carry entering the evening — by nearly doubling that mark in conference play. Linebacker Braylon Lovelace put it simply about Ferguson: "He’s that guy. He’s a young guy. But it don’t matter what age you are at this level. If you’re a dog, you’re a dog." Justin Cook also flashed speed on a 23-yard burst in the first quarter but pulled up with what appeared to be an injury and did not finish the run.
Sophomore QB Mason Heintschel had an uneven evening through the air, completing 10 of 23 passes for 123 yards with an interception, but he made plays with his legs — rushing for 41 yards and scoring on a 9-yard scramble in the third quarter that featured a neat juke past diving linebacker Gary Bryant III. Heintschel later sealed the game with a spin move on third-and-9 that picked up 10 yards and allowed Pitt to run out the clock. He laughed that the spin felt like it happened in "slow motion," but was blunt about the passing game: "To be a dual threat, you’ve got to throw the ball too. And we didn’t throw the ball well today."
Syracuse continued to struggle with penalties and turnovers. The Orange were flagged nine times for 90 yards, and a second-quarter pass-interference call — followed by coach Fran Brown being assessed unsportsmanlike conduct for protesting — helped set up Ferguson’s second-quarter touchdown. Starter Steve Angeli finished with 167 passing yards but was benched in the fourth quarter after throwing interceptions on back-to-back drives; Amari Odom went 7-for-7 in relief against a Pitt defense protecting a three-score lead. The teams turn quickly to their next opponents: Syracuse travels to UConn on Oct. 3, and Pitt hosts Bucknell on Sept. 28.