#25 Pitt Defeats Syracuse, 21-10

Saturday, September 19

Pittsburgh, PA

12 PM

Syracuse University

0-2 , 0-2

Pittsburgh

2-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Syracuse

Pitt

9/19/2020 3:28:00 PM | Football

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Orange home opener set for next Saturday.

The Syracuse football team (0-2, 0-2 ACC) received another stellar effort from its defense and a spark from backup quarterback Rex Culpepper against No. 25 Pittsburgh Saturday, but the Panthers (2-0, 1-0 ACC) held on for a 21-10 win in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at a fan-less Heinz Field.

Culpepper, a redshirt senior who temporarily relieved starter Tommy DeVito in the second quarter, connected with wide receiver Taj Harris on a 69-yard touchdown pass to give the Orange a 10-3 lead. Culpepper floated a perfect pass to Harris along the right sideline and Harris did the rest, skipping away from a lunging Pitt defender and racing the final 20 yards into the end zone.

Sophomore linebacker Mikel Jones, who recorded his first career interception last week against North Carolina, sparked the defense with a fumble recovery and another interception.

DeVito returned to start the second half and completed nine of 15 passes for 32 yards and one interception, and also rushed 14 times for 29 yards. Culpepper, who returned in the fourth quarter, was 4-for-9 for 88 yards with the touchdown to Harris.

Harris caught three passes for 72 yards and one touchdown, while running back Jawhar Jordan gained 44 yards on 13 carries and running back Sean Tucker had 24 yards on four carries for the Orange.

Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 25-of-36 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Jordan Addison had seven receptions for 57 yards on one touchdown, while Jared Wayne had five catches for 59 yards and one touchdown. Vince Davis led the Panthers' rushing attack with 70 yards on 18 carries.

Midway through the first quarter, Pickett tossed a pass behind the line of scrimmage to wide receiver Addison, who bobbled the ball and Syracuse's Jones pounced on it at the Pittsburgh 14. Jones' turnover led to redshirt junior Andre Szmyt's 26-yard field goal that gave Syracuse a 3-0 advantage with 6:08 remaining in the first quarter. It was Szmyt's 50th career field goal as he moved past Nate Trout (1996-99) and Ross Krautman (2010-13) into third place on Syracuse's all-time list.

Late in the second quarter, the Orange defense rose to the occasion as the Panthers looked to add to a 14-10 lead. Defensive lineman Drew Tuazama batted down a Pickett pass attempt to slow down the drive, and linebacker Tyrell Richards sacked Pickett for a 7-yard loss to force Pittsburgh into a third-and-long. The Panthers set up for a 45-yard field goal attempt, but the holder bobbled the snap and Kressman couldn't get the kick off as the Orange defense held.

Jones struck again for the Orange as the Panthers were driving early in the third quarter. On second-and-eight from the Syracuse 20, Pickett tried to hit tight end Lucas Krull, but Jones jumped the route and snared the ball at the 18 and raced to the 30 to thwart the Pittsburgh drive.

With Pittsburgh starting a drive from the Orange 33 early in the fourth quarter, the Syracuse defense forced a three-and-out and Panthers kicker Alex Kressman missed his second field goal of the game as Pittsburgh's lead stayed at 21-10.

The Orange fell to 0-2 overall and the ACC, while Pittsburgh improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in the ACC. Saturday's game marked the 65^th consecutive year that the teams have played and the 76^th meeting overall in a series that started in 1916.

The Orange, who played at then-No. 18 North Carolina in their first game, opened a season against back-to-back top-25 teams for first time since the 2001 campaign, when the Orange won the Insight.com Bowl after opening with losses to No. 10 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Tennessee.

The last time Syracuse played top-25 teams in back-to-back games at any point in the season was in 2017, when Syracuse upset No. 2 Clemson 27-24 in the Dome before losing at No. 8 Miami 27-19 the next week.

Up Next
The Orange will host ACC foe Georgia Tech at noon Saturday, Sept. 26 in the home opener. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Regional Sports Network.

Gallery: (9-19-2020) Syracuse at Pittsburgh