Struggling Pitt awaits Syracuse
PITTSBURGH (AP) >> Syracuse coach Dino Babers believes the culture within his program is changing. That the days of the Orange settling for simply being competitive are gone.
Babers sees proof everywhere, from the warp speed offense led by senior quarterback Eric Dungey to a defense that has evolved from meager to occasionally menacing. Still, there’s work to be done. Saturday’s visit to struggling Pittsburgh (2-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) offers Babers and his team a chance to see just how grown up the Orange have become, on multiple fronts.
Winning at Heinz Field — where Syracuse (4-1, 1-1) hasn’t triumphed since 2001 — is typically hard enough. Now the Orange will have to do it while trying to recover from the emotional fallout of a draining loss to ACC power Clemson last Saturday. Syracuse led the Tigers by 10 points on the road with 13 minutes to go only to surrender the winning touchdown with 41 seconds left.
“There was just a lot of guys that were upset because we felt we were right there,” Dungey said. “At Death Valley against one of the best teams in the nation we were winning for 52 minutes of the game. You don’t want to feel sorry for yourself. Think about it and then you’ve got to move on.”
And do it quickly if the Orange want build on the momen-
tum of their hot start. Syracuse hasn’t won more than four games in a season since 2013, the last time it qualified for a bowl game. A victory over the struggling Panthers — who have dropped three of four — would top that total in early October and perhaps more importantly send a message to the rest of the ACC that this is not the same old Orange.
“We’ve got one loss and we’re trying to bounce back ... because if we want to be winners we can’t stay on this track,” said Babers, who is in his third season at Syracuse. “We want 2018 to be different. We need to stay together. What you do after a loss tells you what kind of football team you have.”
Dungey called it “the biggest week” the Orange will have all season. It may be that for the Panthers too.
Pitt was pushed around last weekend by No. 12 Central Florida in a 45-14 defeat and faces a daunting visit to Notre Dame next weekend. While quarterback Kenny Pickett stressed “everybody’s head is right” the sophomore is also well aware the offense needs to get it together.
Pickett watched from the stands as a recruit two years ago as the Panthers beat Syracuse in a bonkers 76-61 contest that set a record for the highest scoring regulation game in FBS history. Now Pickett leads an offense that has scored 79 points total in four games against FBS competition this year.