All of ‘Cuse nation will want to wipe this game away from our collective memories.
A mixture of poor play and really terrible luck saw the Syracuse Orange (5-2, 2-2) once again falter in an ESPN primetime game. This time, the Orange had practically no chance after getting blitzed by the No. 19 Pittsburgh Panthers (7-0, 3-0) in a game that got out of hand before the first quarter even ended.
Three pick-sixes for the Panthers deflated Syracuse early on, and the Orange’s high-octane offense couldn’t consistently get much going at all. For the first time in the Fran Brown era, Syracuse not only lost but really never stood a chance early on in what transformed into a pretty tough blowout loss. How does Thursday night’s collective performance translate to the grade book?
Here are your game grades for the Orange’s 41-13 road loss to Pitt:
Quarterbacks: D
Relentless pressure all night put Kyle McCord in a difficult spot throughout the game. A few tipped balls by Pitt didn’t help the matter. With that said, it’s hard to zag against McCord easily having his worst on-paper game of the entire season and by a mile (he did still have over 300 yards once again). Five interceptions, a trio of them being returned for Panthers TDs, all but sealed Syracuse’s chances at realistically coming back. There is plenty of blame to go around (see below), but McCord can only go up from here.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
Running Backs: C-
Again, Pitt’s insane defensive line plus Syracuse’s lackluster offensive line plane put a cap on how well the running backs could play Friday night. Regardless, it’s tough to give a high grade when LeQuint Allen at one point had 15 carries for 32 yards, barely two yards a touch, while Yasin Willis was under a yard a carry heading into the fourth quarter (and would eventually leave the game due to injury). Like the defense, an all-around bad night means the blame goes around as fairly as possible.
Wide Receivers: D+
The pros: Jackson Meeks and Trebor Pena made some tough catches against a Pitt coverage designed to pressure up on them all night. Allen had some moments on screen passes as a receiving option. Emanuel Ross also came in and popped off for a few nice yardage plays during the fourth quarter, really having some decent moments. The cons: As a group the receivers failed to get separation from the Pitt defensive backs. Umari Hatcher had a really quiet night and struggled to be a deep threat and some of those McCord picks could fall on some unfortunate tipped passes.
Tight Ends: C
Oronde Gadsden did have three catches for 33 yards and at least was an inch away from making a diving touchdown catch early in the game. Unfortunately, an injury cut his night short early. Dan Villari didn’t really do much during the competitive portion of the game but had a touchdown run late.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
Offensive Line: F-
In the running for one of the worst single-game performances by a position group all season since I’ve been doing these grades. Penalties, no holes open for the Orange’s running game, almost zero time for McCord in the pocket and endless pressure in the pocket. Not much more to explain there.
Defensive Line: C+
A common theme for these next few position groups: there really isn’t much blame on the defense for this performance. Part of that is Pitt didn’t need the ball at all to score in the first half, but when the unit was on the field during when the game was somewhat in reach, they played pretty decent. While the defensive line didn’t record a sack, it did help to hold what is a really solid rush-reliant offense in check. There’s a small case the DL could be a B-.
Linebackers: B
Marlowe Wax returned and recorded a sack. The result wasn’t what fans wanted but having him back and playing decent out of the gate coming off injury was a good sign for the rest of the way. Again, the LB unit helped to hold Desmond Reid to 11 carries for 47 yards, one of the few broader highlights of the game.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
Defensive Backs: B-
There were the usual appearances of missed tackles or poor angles trying to stop Pitt’s receivers, but again, it’s not like Pitt’s offense was really running the show here right? A pick was taken off the board by a brutal roughing the passer call and Pitt only had one legit down-field drive for a TD. Shoutout to Duce Chestnut for also having one of his better games of the season.
Special Teams: C-
The special teams unit didn’t really have much to do on Thursday night. In the context of this season, of any unit to have the most mistakes against Pitt, you would’ve thought it would be the special teams via a blocked punt, for example. Jadyn Oh did miss a 48-yard field goal, knocking the grade down just below a C.
Coaching: D+
As strongly requested by the readers, we’re adding a section for coaching. Talk about a bad week to kick this portion of the grades off (writer’s note: football coaching isn’t in my future, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt).
Some of the interceptions were preventable, but the offense’s struggles came down to two schematic issues: leaving McCord in the pocket for pretty much the entire first half and not getting Pitt’s defenders out in space. Knowing the O-line had its concerns going into the game, you would’ve liked to see McCord not be a sitting duck taking all those pressures or forcing the issue in traffic. Syracuse’s run game was likewise nonexistent, but keeping things up the middle only went so far. Bonus thought: personally would’ve liked to see more of the starters (namely McCord) not play in the fourth when the game was really out of reach.
Defensively, there’s not too much to complain about and you hope that unit can stay steady from here after it began as a concern to start the year.
Now it’s your turn: how do you feel about the Orange’s blowout loss to Pitt? Which position grades do you agree or disagree with the most?