‘You better learn how to swim’: Pitt football “sharks” take ‘Cuse for a dip

Last Thursday, Pitt took on Syracuse in a highly anticipated matchup, and the Panthers lived up to the hype. Pitt put up 41 points against the Orange, shutting down top 10 senior quarterback Kyle McCord in a massive defensive feat. 

The Panthers had five interceptions in the game, three of those resulting in pick-sixes. This was the first time an FBS team has had three pick-sixes in a game since USC in 2022 and the first time Pitt has had five interceptions in a game since 2008. 

The game was determined by defensive performances from players across the board. Sixth-year linebacker Brandon George came up with an interception in the first quarter, Braylan Lovelace had a pick-6, sophomore linebacker Jordan Bass tipped a pass and senior defensive back Phillip O’Brien Jr. caught an interception in the third quarter. 

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis, who had one of the pick-sixes, was motivated and driven by the lack of respect and attention that is given to the Panther defense.

“We’re hungry,” Louis said. “Nobody’s been putting respect on our defense and we’re hungry for respect. We pride ourselves on being called the sharks. You come in here, you better learn how to swim. It’s that simple.” 

Sophomore linebacker Braylan Lovelace knows the message that this good defensive performance sends and wants to continue to build on that. 

“This was more of a statement game to the ACC. We’re gonna keep shining every week,” Lovelace said. “We’re trying to show it every week that this is what Pitt defense does.”

Sophomore linebacker Rasheem Biles feels that the key factors are the chemistry and relationship that this successful defensive unit has built with each other. 

“We’re all close,” Biles said. “We know what our goal is — an ACC Championship — and then to go on from there. Pitt standards are a good defense, but we want to be great. In the years before, I don’t think we were all that close. This year, it’s everybody hanging out with everybody.” 

More than half of the points on the board came from defensive plays during the game, but another important factor in putting up points was redshirt senior kicker Ben Sauls. In this game, Sauls made a 57-yard field goal — just one yard less than the Pitt school record for longest field goal, which he broke two weeks ago in Pitt’s win over Cal. 

This week’s game marked his 13th consecutive field goal, another new school record for Pitt with Sauls’ name on it. Even with his phenomenal performance this season, Sauls made sure to credit his success to the team in his post-game press conference.

“My confidence comes from preparation,” Sauls said. “We have elite preparation every single day, but with that, I have the absolute best holder and snapper in the country. That makes my job so much easier. I put the cherry on top of the unit.”

While the defense obviously put a big chunk of points on the board, Coach Pat Narduzzi labeled this matchup a team win. 

“I don’t care how we win,” Narduzzi said. “Offense, defense, we got great coordinators, we got great coaches, we got great great players. A team win overall, and now onto the next.”

The Panthers now sit at 7-0 and face SMU away this Saturday, Nov. 2, as they hope to stay unbeaten in a tight ACC race. The night game is set for 8 p.m. and can be found on the ACC network.