Pitt Manhandled in Embarrassing Loss to Syracuse at Yankee Stadium

If Pat Narduzzi prides himself on one thing, it’s stopping the run. He says he’s sick to the stomach when opposing teams run the football on his Pitt squad.

I don’t know what he’s feeling after Syracuse racked up 384 yards in a 28-13 win over Pitt Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium — delivering a demoralizing loss to the Panthers in a game that felt extremely winable through two-and-a-half quarters.

Pitt mustered just 269 yards of offense, failing to crack 300 yards yet again this season, and Christian Veilleux didn’t last the whole game after turning the ball over three times — three of four Pitt turnovers on the afternoon.

It was an abject disaster for Pitt football in what has been a disastrous season for the Panthers.

Syracuse came out determined to run the football, and Pitt kinda just let them.

‘Cuse racked up a handful of double-digit gains on its first possession, averaging nearly 10 yards a carry, on the way to an opening drive touchdown. Garrett Shrader rolled out, underthrew tight end Max Meng but didn’t pay a price as Meng found himself wide open in the end zone.

Pitt, perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t manage much on its first possession and punted the ball back to Syracuse. The second Orange drive appeared to be more of the same, but a strange pop-pass to Shrader on a Wildcat play was blown up by Dayon Hayes to give Pitt the ball in plus territory.

But it only resulted in a 35-yard Ben Sauls field goal.

A very… interestingly called game offensively for Syracuse settled down as Pitt handled the ‘Cuse offense more effectively, and the Panthers offense came alive for the first time in what felt like a month. Veilleux hit Bub Means on a route over the middle, Orange defenders missed and Means took off for a 65-yard gain.

And facing a 3rd-and-goal from the ‘Cuse 5, 0-of-4 on the day and 1-of-27 over the last two-and-a-half weeks, Veilleux fired a ball to a slanting Konata Mumpfield, who dove into the end zone to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead. And a 33-yard Sauls field goal just before the half secured Pitt’s first halftime lead since Week 1 against Wofford.

Pitt appeared to be in the midst of a promising drive to open the second half, in the midst of a 7-play drive that just crossed midfield, but a botched handoff on a sweep to Kenny Johnson rolled across the turf long enough for Jaden Bellamy to dive on it.

And nine plays later, Shrader — showing that any injury concerns were overblown — pulled on an option run and there wasn’t a Pitt defender in sight as he dashed into the end zone for a 21-yard go-ahead touchdown midway through the third quarter.

The Pitt defense, despite giving up an unbelievable number of rushing yards, made a stand late in the third quarter — trailing by just a point. And on the second play following a turnover on downs, Veilleux fired a dart to ‘Cuse safety Jayden Bellamy, who carried the ball back to the end zone for a lead-extending touchdown.

Another botched handoff, to make matters worse, resulted (almost immediately) in a 27-yard touchdown run from Villari to stretch the lead to two scores.

Pitt pivoted to Nate Yarnell following the third turnover of the half, and it didn’t matter. Even Rodney Hammond Jr., after a booth review determined that he fumbled despite looking as though the play was over, couldn’t avoid the disaster.

And, fittingly, the Orange ran out the clock late in the fourth quarter by just continuing to pound the football down Pitt’s throat to clinch its first win in well over a month — ending a five-game losing streak.

Pitt (2-8, 1-6 ACC) will return home to Acrisure Stadium to host Boston College on a short week, the Eagles arriving on a Thursday night for Senior Night. It’s the penultimate game of the 2023 season.