Syracuse, N.Y. -- A look at the highlights and lowlights from Syracuse football’s 31-14 season-ending loss to Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
Worst stat: After taking the ball 75 yards for a touchdown on its opening drive, it took the next eight drives for the Syracuse offense to compile another 75.
By then the Orange trailed 28-7 and a smattering of fans were disgruntled enough with the offense that they began heading for the exits late in the third quarter.
Biggest disappointment: The loss left Syracuse at 5-7, one game short of qualifying for a bowl game and finishing with a losing record for the seventh time in the last eight years.
Biggest question: Who coaches Syracuse next year?
Syracuse was better than last year and better than national expectations following the previous season’s one-win debacle. It fared better with a new offensive identity and quarterback but seemed to regress late in the year against tougher opponents.
Is that moderate improvement enough to justify bringing Dino Babers back after a fifth losing season in six years?
There were no answers immediately after the game.
Biggest play: Trailing by just seven points, Syracuse had Pittsburgh stopped on its opening drive of the second half and facing a likely long field-goal attempt after Stefon Thompson appeared to sack Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett at the SU 30.
Unfortunately for Syracuse, Thompson got a hold of Pickett’s facemask while making the tackle, giving the Panthers a free first down.
Given a second chance, the Panthers converted a 4-yard touchdown two plays later, taking a 21-7 lead with 10:26 left in the third quarter. With how Syracuse’s offense was playing, the two-score lead felt rather secure and the Orange never got within one score again.
Biggest hit: Pittsburgh did an excellent job taking advantage of its size advantage throughout the game, particularly at the tight end spot.
The best example came on the fifth play of the second half as Gavin Bartholomew caught a short pass and bowled over Syracuse defensive back Garrett Williams on the way to a first down.
Williams was outweighed by 70 pounds, leaving little for him to do with the tight end in space but slow him down and allow help to rally to the ball.
Best decision: Syracuse set an aggressive tone early, going for it on 4th-and-3 on the Pittsburgh 21-yard line with just over 9 minutes left in the first quarter.
The Orange converted on a pass from Garrett Shrader to DeVaughn Cooper, then took an early 7-0 lead when Shrader connected on a 12-yard pass to Courtney Jackson. The Orange wasn’t going to beat Pitt with field goals, so there was no use in settling for one to open the game.
Worst decision: With Syracuse facing a 4th-and-1 from its own 25-yard line and about 1 minute left to play before halftime, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers elected to take a delay of game and lose five yards of field position rather than use the second of his three timeouts before a punt.
The choice didn’t wind up costing the Orange because Pittsburgh failed to move the ball but, given the minimal amount of time that Syracuse would have had if it got the ball back, the five yards were much more valuable than a third timeout.
Best ovation: With 3:45 left in the first quarter, Syracuse running back Sean Tucker was recognized for setting the school’s single-season rushing record the previous week. Along with a quick ovation, the Carrier Dome’s video board displayed a Tucker-centric highlight film and a video from Joe Morris to commemorate the moment.
Best start: Syracuse’s defense got off to a phenomenal start against one of the country’s best offenses, holding Pittsburgh without a first down and to just 21 total yards in the first quarter. The tackling of Syracuse defensive backs Duce Chestnut, Garrett Williams, Jason Simmons and Aman Greenwood was particularly impressive.
Best Syracuse offensive performance: In a season in which Syracuse’s passing game has been minimal, wide receiver Courtney Jackson continued to flash some promise. He caught seven passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
His 15-yard touchdown reception from Shrader in the second half was likely the best pass of the day.
Best homecoming: Christian Brothers Academy graduate SirVocea Dennis made some big plays in his return to the Carrier Dome, including one that helped change the game’s momentum in the second quarter.
When the ball squirted free of DeVaughn Cooper on a reception with 6:38 left in the first half, Dennis was in the right place to pick it up, creating a turnover in a tie game.
Pittsburgh took advantage of the turnover and took its first lead, 14-7, on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Jordan Addison with 5:06 remaining in the first half.
Dennis finished with four tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Worst discipline: On its first offensive possession after surrendering an early lead, Syracuse’s offensive line was called for a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for shoving Pittsburgh players after the play. The Panthers helped draw the attention of the officials by flailing their arms, but the penalties contributed to the fifth-consecutive empty possession after Syracuse scored a touchdown on its opening drive.
Syracuse hurt its field position on the next drive with a block in the back on its punt return.
The Orange finished with nine penalties for 66 yards.
Biggest news: There will certainly be bigger dominos to fall during the offseason, but Syracuse will be replacing kicker Andre Szmyt next year.
While he has another year of eligibility remaining, he opted to be honored during the school’s Senior Day ceremony. Szmyt will leave as Syracuse’s all-time leading scorer with 354 career points. The Orange lists punter James Williams as the back-up option on the depth chart and will almost certainly be in the market this offseason.
Biggest number: Tucker was held in check by Pittsburgh’s stout run defense and fell short of leading the country in rushing yardage after running for a season-low 29 yards on 13 carries.
Still, he delivered a season to remember and should be in strong consideration for All-America status.
Syracuse’s new single-season rushing record stands at 1,480 yards. That will likely be good for fourth in the country behind Central Michigan’s Lew Nichols (1,710), Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III (1,614) and Missouri’s Tyler Badie (1,604).
Best thing to remember: Every year when the season comes we think we’ve got it all figured out. But every year is full of surprising twists and turns.
The Orange ended the year by hosting the Coastal Division champions. Pitt will go on to play Wake Forest for the conference title next week.
Just like we all expected. We’ll see you for the next one.
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639
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