Football: Dominant defense leads Pitt to 37-10 win over Syracuse

It took awhile, but the No. 13 Pitt football team was finally able take control of the game late in the first half to defeat Big East bottom feeder Syracuse 37-10 in front of 46,885 at Heinz Field.

It looked like the Orange (3-6 0-4 Big East) were gaining some momentum late in the second quarter only trailing 6-3 and driving as they completed their longest pass of the day, a 22-yard play-action pass to running back Delone Carter.

Yet, on the very next play a Greg Paulus pass was intercepted by Pitt linebacker Greg Williams, who ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown to make the score 13-3 with 1:20 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers picked up right where they left off to start the second half. Redshirt freshman Cam Saddler’s 32-yard kickoff return put Pitt in nice field position to start a drive that eventually capped off with a Dion Lewis one-yard touchdown run.

Lewis had another 100-yard rushing effort, his fourth in a row, as he ran for 114 yards on 19 carries. But his best play may have come on a 31-yard screen pass in the third quarter that didn’t result in a touchdown, but set him up for his one-yard touchdown run. On the play he slipped by a few defenders and then out-ran a few more to put the Panthers on the goal-line.

“It was a great call. It was one of our screen plays and it just opened up,” Lewis said. “It was one of the first times we’d run it all year.”

The Pitt defense continued its recent dominance, holding the Orange to 285 total yards with many of those coming against the Panthers second- and third-team defenses as the game was already out of reach.

The Orange passing game struggled to get anything going all day as the Panthers linebackers and defensive line were constantly in the backfield. Pitt, which already led the nation with 33 sacks coming into the game, added six more to its total and made the Syracuse quarterbacks work for all 141 passing yards they got.

“It all starts up front for our defense,” senior defensive tackle Gus Mustakas said. “For us to have six sacks, that’s a great day for the defensive line.”

Redshirt sophomore backup defensive end Brandon Lindsey recorded six tackles, 2.5 for a loss, with two sacks while another backup, defensive tackle Chas Alecxih, also had two sacks.

“Brandon’s speed and agility is awesome,” Mustakas said. “For him to step up and make the coaches realize that when Greg [Romeus] and Jabaal [Sheard] get tired they can put him in, that’s such a help for our defensive line so in the fourth quarter we can stay fresh.”

Pitt (8-1, 5-0 Big East) began to pour it on midway through the third quarter when Jonathan Baldwin ran an end-around 61 yards to set up a Dorin Dickerson 12-yard touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone on the next play to make it 27-3. It was one of Dickerson’s seven catches for 118 yards as he continues to make his case as the nation’s top tight end.

One reason for the team’s slow start in the first quarter and a half may be attributed to the fact that it was coming off a bye-week and hadn’t played in two weeks. Syracuse jumped on them quickly with several impressive Delone Carter runs. He was the lone bright spot for the Orange, as he rushed for 144 yards on 17 carries.

The Panthers have to be ready to play all four quarters next week as they take on Notre Dame at 8 p.m. at Heinz Field.