Defense leads Pitt to victory, 34-14

Rod Rutherford threw for over 300 yards and Larry Fitzgerald set a new Big East record for… Rod Rutherford threw for over 300 yards and Larry Fitzgerald set a new Big East record for receiving touchdowns in a season as Pitt defeated Syracuse, 34-14, in front of a Homecoming crowd at Heinz Field.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But believe it or not, it was the questionable Panther defense that led the way to Pitt’s second victory over the Orangemen in the past 13 seasons on Saturday.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ With the game knotted at 14 in the second quarter, Orangemen quarterback R.J. Anderson took the hand-off on second and eight, and ran the option to the left. The Panther defense swarmed toward Anderson causing him to lateral the ball short of running back Walter Reyes. The ball bounced off the ground and into the hands of Panther cornerback Bernard Lay, who ran it 20 yards for Pitt’s first defensive touchdown on the year.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt (5-2 Overall, 2-0 Big East) kept Syracuse out of Panther territory throughout most of the game. After Anderson finished a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown, Syracuse reached Panther territory only two more times and never saw the red zone again.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Syracuse (4-3, 1-2) was held to 59 yards on its final 12 drives of the game. Those final twelve drives ended with two interceptions, one fumble, six punts and two turnovers on downs.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt defense stepped up and held the potent Syracuse offense to a meager 195 total yards; an offense which averaged 407.3 yards per game coming into the contest.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers defense looked better in all aspects of the game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It comes down to execution,’ defensive tackle Dan Stephens said. ‘We played every quarter great.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Syracuse ran for 146 yards on the ground, but it was on 39 carries — only 3.7 yards per carry. Reyes, one of the nation’s best running backs, managed only 95 yards rushing in the game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt pass defense was also a key factor in the game. The Panther secondary, led by cornerback Shawntae Spencer who had an acrobatic interception and three pass deflections in the game, contained the Syracuse air attack to 49 yards.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘[Spencer] made a bunch of big plays,’ coach Walt Harris said. Harris accredited the better defensive play to harder work on the practice field that carried over into the game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I credit those interceptions to the guys up front,’ Spencer said of Pitt’s two interceptions. Anderson had yet to throw an interception all year.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The game did not start out well for the Pitt offense.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ On first and 10 from the Panther 36-yard line, quarterback Rod Rutherford completed a 9-yard pass to full back Lousaka Polite. An offensive pass interference call would negate the play and put the Panthers in a first-and-25 situation. On the very next play, Rutherford dropped back to pass, but was sacked for a loss of 16 yards. That led to an unimaginable second and 41.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Unable to reach the first down, Pitt was forced to punt the ball away. Punter Andy Lee fumbled the snap and the Orangemen swarmed to the loose ball. Steve Gregory recovered the fumble for Syracuse and ran it in for the 7-yard touchdown.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ On the next possession, the Pitt offense returned to the field with a better sense of direction. Rutherford moved the offense 80 yards, capping the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown pass to receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Rutherford saw that Syracuse left Fitzgerald in one-on-one coverage and put the ball where only his receiver could get it.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fitzgerald also demonstrated great balance on the play, as he was tripped up when running to the corner, but recovered in time to stay on his feet and pull in the pass for his record-breaking touchdown catch.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The touchdown was Fitzgerald’s 14th of the season, breaking the Big East record held by former Pitt receiver Terry Murphy, and tying the record, at 13, for consecutive games with a touchdown.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fitzgerald had a key play earlier in the drive that moved the offense into scoring position. Rutherford ran a play-action fake, causing the safeties to bite in on the play and Fitzgerald was left in man coverage. He ran a fly pattern down the right side of the field, Rutherford tossed it up and the receiver came down with the ball.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Following the long Syracuse drive that put the Orangemen up 14-7, Rutherford continued his success in the air, hitting Fitzgerald for a 35-yard gain. Fitzgerald then sniffed out a large hole in the Syracuse zone coverage and Rutherford laid the ball nicely into his hands for a 43-yard gain.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Three plays later, Rutherford found tight end Kris Wilson in the end zone between two Syracuse defenders. Wilson was hit hard in the air by the safety, but he still pulled the high pass out of the air to tie the game at 14 early in the second quarter.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt offense wouldn’t strike again until late in the third quarter, with the score 21-14. Rutherford finished off a 67-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Fitzgerald caught the ball on the 2-yard line and powered the ball into the end zone with cornerback Thomas Whitfield on his back to put Pitt up 28-14.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers would drive deep into Syracuse territory twice in the fourth quarter and come away with two David Abdul field goals from distances of 30 and 43 yards. Abdul was only four for 10 coming into the game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harris was happy with his special teams play. Besides the fumble by Lee early in the game, the Pitt punter had a good game, pinning the Orangemen inside the 20-yard line four times.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This was our best game of the season so far,’ said Rutherford, who was 21-of-32 for 311 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Rutherford admitted he had an ankle injury and a sore arch in his foot that has bothered him in previous weeks, but said he was completely healthy when he stepped onto the field on Saturday.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We played strong all four quarters. All three phases, we did a good job,’ Fitzgerald said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Even though the consensus was that the Panthers played well in all aspects of the game, Pitt’s running game still struggled with only 44 rushing yards.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It wasn’t as bad as it looked,’ Harris said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers travel to BostonCollege next Saturday where they look to continue their Big East success.