Syracuse (5-1, 2-1 ACC) ends its three game October road trip with a meeting against conference rival Pittsburgh (6-0, 2-0) Thursday night, the Orange playing their second straight outdoor night game of the season.
Opponent: Pittsburgh Panthers
Date & Time: Thursday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TV: ESPN
PREDICTION (The Juice's Season Record: 3-3)
Winning on the road, especially in ACC play, is something that Syracuse needs to do to upgrade their potential bowl game from a mediocre game to a higher-tier game. So far, Syracuse has had no problem on the road, with two wins at UNLV and NC State.
In Pitt's last game, Cal was able to find a vulnerability in the Pitt’s defense.
As the linebackers blitzed, Cal was able to make the correct reads and get the ball to their tight end in the middle of the field. Jack Endries, the sophomore Cal TE, was able to end the game with eight receptions, 119 yards and a touchdown.
Kyle McCord has the talent to read defenses and make the correct checkdowns when necessary and has arguably the best TE in ACC with Oronde Gadsen II.
SU will be looking for a similar performance from Gadsen against the Panthers to counter its prolific offense guided by Eli Holstein and Desmond Reid.
The Orange are ranked twelfth in the nation in total offense (469.5 yards per game) but ranked 64th in total defense (356.7 yards per game), against a Panthers offense that ranked eighth in the nation in total offense (481.3 yards per game).
With Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback Eli Holstein coming off the worst week of his short career, Syracuse’s defense will have to have a strong start to not give Holstein confidence. Additionally, Desmond Reid will need to be a focus of the Syracuse defense this week. Reid ranks second nationally and first in the ACC with an average of 182.6 all-purpose yards per game. Pitt has many offensive weapons all over the field with a lot of speed. Syracuse will need to be disciplined and ready for whatever Pittsburgh throws at them offensively.
Syracuse won its first ACC road game at NC State since 2013 but has lost 18 of the past 22 games to the Pittsburgh Panthers. Fran Brown is still working on getting his defense upgraded, and just so happens to have a quarterback and offense that can score points and cover for defensive woes. In another game with a lot of ups and downs, Syracuse cannot outlast Pitt and falls just short in a 27-24 loss.
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