About the actual game, it was observed that the offensive line provided decent protection for Palko — after the 1st quarter.
The battle between Syracuse’s defensive ends and Pitt’s offensive tackles was supposed to be a mismatch, and it turned out to be just that.
The funny thing is, the Panthers’ tackles were supposed to be the ones who were overmatched, but, instead, they dominated the Orange’s stellar pass-rushing combination of James Wyche and Ryan LaCasse the entire game.
It wasn’t by coincidence, either.
“I heard an awful lot about those two guys all this week,” said Pitt left tackle Charles Spencer, who was a big reason the Panthers gave up only one sack.
“I’ve been getting it all week from our coaches about their defensive ends, so this was something personal. They are really good defensive ends. I don’t take anything from them, but I think I did a pretty good job against them.”
The young players stepped up on offense, with LaRod Stephens-Howling getting his first 100 yard game. Derek Kinder had probably his best game in his young career with 8 catches for 81 yards and a TD.
“I think I’m gaining Tyler’s confidence a lot,” Kinder said. “I’m just trying to come down with every pass he throws to me, and I think it helps him a lot that he knows he can look to me when he goes through his progressions and trusts that I’ll be open. And scoring a touchdown was icing on the cake.”
The one guy on Syracuse who was as good on the field as the press and coaches were saying before hand was Safety Anthony Smith.
No one has blocked more kicks at Syracuse than senior free safety Anthony Smith.
On Saturday, Smith blocked a punt attempt by Pittsburgh’s Adam Graessle. Teammate Reggie McCoy gathered the block and returned it 21 yards for a Syracuse touchdown.
It was the sixth block of Smith’s career and established a school mark. All have been punts.
“We went out there with a plan and executed the plan,” Smith said. “One of their guys kicked too wide and I just went underneath. It was pretty easy (to get it). I got in there scot-free. I seen Reggie out of the corner of my eye, I was just like, touchdown.”
Smith, who led the nation coming into the contest in passes defended, had an interception which he returned 73 yards. Smith led the Orange with 12 tackles.
I don’t know how the coaches are spinning it or how it looked on TV, but from where we were in the stands, it looked like Graessle took way too much time to get off the punt. Something that would infuriate Pat all of last year.
Something I wish I could have passed on before the game, but I didn’t realize it. The Syracuse beat writer has a blog and was live-blogging updates throughout the game. Actually, a pretty cool thing.
Not surprisingly, the loss is being pegged on the offense (gee, that sounds awfully familiar).
The Syracuse University football team is chained to an offense that is taking the Orange straight to the bottom of the ocean.
Defense and special teams set the stage for an upset on Saturday against the University of Pittsburgh. But the Orange offense tossed it all overboard with another dreary performance in a 34-17 Big East Conference loss before 33,059 fans at rain-soaked Heinz Field.
Syracuse blew a 17-7 lead against the Panthers – the first time since the Virginia game on Sept. 17 it has led an opponent – by throwing four interceptions, losing a fumble and finishing with 202 yards of offense. The Orange was 0-for-12 converting third downs, had possession of the football 11 minutes less than Pittsburgh because the offense could not stay on the field and repeated a familiar and demoralizing script that is grotesque in its consistency.
At Syracuse Head Coach Robinson’s press conference today, he was not terribly optimistic.
Robinson on if there is anything positive after looking at the film:“No fumbles. We went from nine to zero. That’s much improved. Now, there were other turnovers, but our ball security was better. You have to eliminate the interceptions and getting hit by the ball on a punt.”Robinson on the biggest challenge of coaching a 1-6 team:“Getting that second win. It really is. I thought that last week; same thing. It’s hard. Like I said, at halftime we had given ourselves a chance at least. It was basically a 0-0 ball game. It’s hard. It’s hard to win, it really is. That’s where it’s at right now.”
Saturday was Pitt’s homecoming, so it was fitting that Syracuse running backs coach Desmond Robinson would find himself on the sideline at Heinz Field.
Robinson, a linebacker and defensive end at Pitt in the late 1970s, is in his first season as the running backs coach at Syracuse. He broke into coaching as a graduate assistant for Jackie Sherrill at Pitt in 1981.
Just one of those things.
Other stories on Pitt, focus on the offense coming along from where it was at the start of the season.
Pitt had seven second-half drives. Four of those lasted at least six plays. Two of those hit double digits and were more than four minutes long. This from a team that combined with its offensively challenged opponent on 17 drives that went five plays or less through early in the third quarter.
Is the Frankenstein-like running offense Wannstedt has created perfect? Hardly. But it’s worlds better than the one that pushed around by Notre Dame and Nebraska early in the season.
He left out Ohio.
Tyler Palko doesn’t have any answers for the bad offensive starts, but he’s trying not to think too much about it (at least publicly).
“I don’t know why we keep coming out flat and falling behind in the first half,” Palko said.
“I really can’t put my finger on it, but we’ve been able to recover and win, so I guess we’re doing a good job in staying focused.”
And as long as the opponents are bottom feeders, there’s always time to comeback.
Coach Wannstedt is also trying to figure out the slow offensive starts.
“It’s not a physical thing. I don’t know if it’s a mental thing. Overconfidence? God, I hope not,” Wannstedt said. “It’s a mental maturity thing. It’s about not being stressed, like thinking, ‘I’ve got to make the play.’
“Being poised. That’s it. Poised football.”
Must. Go. Zen.
