Pitt comes into its contest against rival Syracuse, riding high after its upset win over then No. 25 Florida State. 

Following a rocky start to the season, the Panthers are bringing a two-game winning streak to upstate New York, feeling the rejuvenation brought by first-year quarterback Mason Heintschel. 

Syracuse comes into the game completely opposite of Pitt. After starting the season 3-1, the Orange have dropped their last two against Duke and SMU by a total margin of 69 to 21. While this seems like an easy victory for the Panthers, it’s critical that they don’t take the Orange lightly as Syracuse is also looking to turn their season around. 

Fortunately for Pitt fans, the team matches up well against the Orange, who look ripe for the picking against an explosive Pitt squad. Here are three keys for Pitt to keep the good times rolling against Syracuse. 

Air out the dome 

The biggest key to watch in this game is Pitt’s strength facing Syracuse’s biggest weakness, and that is the passing game. Pitt’s passing game has shown new life since Heintschel was inserted at the starting job and looks to take advantage of a Syracuse secondary that stands near the bottom of the country in most passing metrics. 

The Orange come into this contest surrendering 289.2 passing yards per game, the seventh lowest in the country, and are allowing opposing quarterbacks a rating of 174.7, also bottom 36 in the nation. Syracuse does not create a lot of havoc plays either, which are sacks, interceptions and tackles for a loss. 

This looks like prime real estate for Heintschel, who’s had a successful first two starts, throwing 51 completions on 70 attempts for 644 yards with six touchdowns against two interceptions. Heintschel has done a good job of sharing the wealth amongst his playmakers, with five different Panthers catching a touchdown pass in his two starts. 

While he certainly has the physical skills and moxie to compete at a high level, he does need to make some better decisions, as he took five sacks and threw two interceptions against the Seminoles this past weekend. Regardless, his play has drastically changed a team that looked dead to rights just three weeks ago, and the Panthers look for him to continue his ascension against a weak Orange defense. 

Attack of the running backs

Last week against FSU, senior running back Desmond Reid returned to the field from injury, and his presence was felt immediately. Reid finished the afternoon with 45 yards on 12 carries in addition to 155 receiving yards with two touchdowns, and was later named ACC Receiver of the Week for his efforts. Reid’s skill set provides the Panthers with a great east-to-west playmaker out of the backfield and is a reliable option in the passing game for Heintschel. 

The Panthers have also gotten a huge boost from first-year running back Ja’Kyrian “Boosie” Turner these past two weeks, and especially against Florida State. Turner notched 78 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns and was instrumental in Pitt salting the game away late into the fourth quarter. Turner features a similar skill set to Reid, allowing the latter to take some time off, and gives Heintchel another great passing option out of the backfield. With redshirt first-year running back Julez Goff providing another solid option in the run game, the Panther backfield could feast against a middle-of-the-pack Syracuse run defense. 

So far this season, Pitt has struggled in the run game, averaging 115 yards per game, which ranks 36th worst in the nation. But with Reid’s return and the emergence of Turner, this game marks a potential turnaround for the Pitt rushing attack. 

Prevent a shootout 

Syracuse’s offense is a lot like Pitt’s — they use a lot of spread formations to find open receivers and gain yards after the catch. The Orange enters the game averaging 295 passing yards per game — 14th best in the nation. But the Orange are without their opening day starter, redshirt junior quarterback Steve Angeli, who went down for the season in Syracuse’s win over Clemson. 

Leading the charge now is sophomore quarterback Rickie Collins, who has tallied an underwhelming 607 yards with three touchdowns to five interceptions. He has also completed only 55% of his passes in place of Angeli. The Orange do not particularly run the ball well either, as they average just 100 yards per game — the 20th lowest margin in the country. 

With a weak downfield passing attack, look for Pitt to bring their safeties down and force the Orange to beat them between the hashes. Redshirt junior linebacker Kyle Louis had another outstanding afternoon against the Seminoles last weekend and looks to feast again this week. 

It is safe to say the team won’t get the same boost of five interceptions and three pick-sixes like they did against Syracuse last year, but the Panthers’ defense should pitch in another good performance against a Syracuse offense that is still finding its footing. 

While the odds are greatly in Pitt’s favor, it still should not take the Orange lightly. If the Panthers can keep rolling with Heintschel and the defense handles the struggling Orange, the Panthers should have yet another victory for this red-hot crew.