NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
The Syracuse Orange face their toughest challenge, so far, when they take on the Pittsburgh Panthers Friday night in Pittsburgh. Syracuse is coming off a bye week and will need to be well-rested when they take on the 6-0 Panthers. How do the Orange walk away with a victory?
So far this season, the Orange are road warriors with a 2-0 record at away stadiums, but it won’t be so easy. Syracuse will need to get off to a hot start and use key playmakers to control the pace of the game. Their air attack is no joke so if they can get Pitt on the ropes early and on their heels, they might be able to wear down Panther’s endurance early on. Pitt isn’t dominant on defense and with the right balance of fundamental football and aggression on offense, Syracuse should have plenty of opportunity to score points.
The one thing they can’t do is play it too safe against the 19th-ranked Pittsburgh team. The Orange came out flat in their post-bye week game against Stanford which would lead to their one loss this season going into Friday’s game. They might have the firepower to impose their will but Pitt will challenge them on defense and the Orange don’t want to get into another foot race to the final whistle.
Syracuse’s defense shouldn’t take the Panthers lightly might be an understatement. Obviously, teams can’t take plays off against ranked opponents but don’t forget, Pittsburgh is only one game removed from hanging 73 points on their opponent. Pittsburgh will bring the skill set that has been a threat to Syracuse’s defense all season long. Both QB Eli Holstein and RB Desmond Reid are a challenge in the run game. Reid has 494 yards through 74 carries (6.3ypc) and Holstein 266 with 56 carries (4.8ypc) with each having 3 TDs.
Reid is also a dual threat racking up 25 catches for 341 yards and 4 TDs in the passing game. Wherever he is on the field, Syracuse better account for him. However, you can’t count the rest of their receivers out either. They have 4 WRs averaging 12 ypc or better and 11 touchdowns between them. Sticking with their assignments and playing clean/mistake-free football will be a key to staying in the game. At times we’ve seen their bend-don’t-break style attack opposing offenses and other times mental mistakes have turned into big plays.
Syracuse doesn’t have history on their side against the Panthers. Despite them winning their previous matchup, they are 33-43-3 and 2-8 in their previous 10 games (according to cuse.com). With all things considered, however, this could be a huge win for the Syracuse Orange as they’ve already knocked off two ranked opponents so far. Betting lines have the Pittsburgh Panthers favored (-5.5) and kickoff starts at 7:30 PM EST on Thursday.
