Pitt Defeats Orange, 30-7

Saturday, November 22

Pittsburgh, Pa.

3:30 pm

Syracuse University

3-8 , 1-6

Pittsburgh

5-6 , 3-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

PITT

11/22/2014 7:46:00 PM | Football

Box Score

PITTSBURGH -- Freshman wide receiver Steve Ishmael recorded a career high in receiving yards and Ron Thompson scored his first career touchdown in Syracuse's 30-7 setback at Pitt on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Heinz Field.

Freshman quarterback AJ Long was 10-for-19 for 149 yards and an interception. His favorite target was Ishmael, who finished with six receptions for 97 yards. George Morris II rushed for a team-high 34 yards, while Long recorded 30 yards on the ground, his highest total of the season. However, it was Thompson, Syracuse's starting defensive tackle, that was responsible for the team's only points. He plunged into the end zone from a yard out in the third quarter.

Defensively, Zaire Franklin led the Orange with a career-high 10 tackles in his second consecutive start in place of injured middle linebacker Marqez Hodge. Cameron Lynch had nine tackles, while Durell Eskridge posted eight, including seven solo stops.

The Panthers (5-6, 3-4 ACC) appeared to have taken the lead on the opening kickoff, but Pitt was called for holding, negating Tyler Boyd's 96-yard return for a touchdown.

Syracuse dodged another bullet as the Panthers nearly took the lead on their second drive of the game. Pitt advanced to the Syracuse 24-yard line, but Chris Blewitt's 42-yard field goal attempt was wide left. The Orange took over, but Prince Tyson-Gulley fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Panthers the ball deep in Syracuse territory. Four plays later, James Conner ran it in from the one to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 5:11 left in the opening quarter.

The Orange (3-8, 1-6) responded with one of its longest drives of the half, but it ended when Long's pass to Ishmael in the end zone was intercepted by Lafayette Pitts. Blewitt missed another field goal attempt, this time from 44 yards, on the ensuing Pitt possession, but he was able to convert a 46-yard attempt with 5:10 left in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 10-0 lead.

A career-long run of 33 yards by Morris highlighted the Orange's next drive, which ended with a missed 34-yard field goal attempt by freshman Cole Murphy.

The Panthers increased their lead with an 80-yard drive that was capped by Chad Voytik's 11-yard touchdown pass to Dontez Ford. Pass interference and personal foul penalties aided the Panthers as they took a 17-0 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Two plays later, Syracuse committed its third turnover of the half when Mitch Kimble's pass went off the hands of Sean Avant and into the arms of Bam Bradley, who returned it to the Syracuse 11-yard line with 32 seconds to go. But the Orange defense held strong and Antwan Cordy's first career interception in the end zone prevented the Panthers from adding to their advantage.

On the opening possession of the second half, Syracuse drove 75 yards on 10 plays for its only points of the game. Long rushed three times for 15 yards and connected with Ishmael twice for 57 yards during the scoring march. Ishmael caught the first pass as he was falling out of bounds for 11 yards on a third-and-9 from Orange 26. Long looked in his direction again on the next play, hitting Ishmael over the middle for 46 yards down to the Pitt 17-yard line. Six plays later, Thompson dove into the end zone from the one for his first touchdown. Murphy added the extra point to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the 11:04 mark of the third quarter.

The Panthers answered Thompson's score with a field goal on their next drive and then scored on the first play of the fourth quarter when Voytik threw a screen to Boyd, who took it 49 yards for a touchdown and a 27-7 Pitt margin.

After a three-and-out by the Orange, Blewitt converted a 46-yard field goalto put the Panthers up 30-7 with 9:42 to play. Syracuse was able to get a first down on its next possession, but the drive stalled at its own 47-yard line and the Orange was forced to punt. The Panthers took over and ran out the final 7:01 to earn its second straight win in the series.

Voytik was 14-for-20 passing for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Boyd finished with seven receptions for a game-high 126 yards and a touchdown. Conner, the nation's third-leading rusher, left the game with a hip injury in the first half and did not return. Chris James led the Panthers' ground attack in his absence, rushing for 122 yards on 19 carries.

Syracuse closes out the 2014 season next Saturday, Nov. 29 at Boston College. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Alumni Stadium. The game will be televised live on RSN.