The opposing team was different, and so was the field. But the drive was eerily similar.
With Syracuse and Pittsburgh knotted at 20 with 9:20 to play in the fourth quarter, the Panthers had the ball deep in their own territory. They proceeded to milk the entirety of the game clock with a 19-play, 95-yard drive and have their kicker, Chris Blewitt, put a 24-yard, game-winning field goal through the uprights to seal the game.
Last week, Syracuse allowed a similar drive in a loss -- the Virginia Cavaliers drove 88 yards on 18 plays in the fourth quarter and kicked a field goal to force overtime.
Pittsburgh’s drive handed the Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) its fourth consecutive loss. Syracuse had opportunities to win and led for much of the game, but that drive gave the Orange a loss when it desperately needed a win.
“We have to play better, especially in a crunch time situation like that,” SU linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “But give credit to Pitt, they made a lot of adjustments to the things we were doing.”
For much of Saturday, Syracuse played and looked like the better team. The Orange held a number of different leads. Quarterback Eric Dungey had a very impressive first half, going 15-of-20 for 139 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Steve Ishmael put together arguably the best game of his career, catching seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. And SU’s defense held Pittsburgh to only 23 points after giving up 44 and 45 points the last two weeks.
“I like the way our kids are playing,” Shafer said. “I like the way they’re competing.”
But for everything Syracuse did well on Saturday, Pittsburgh seemed to have an answer. Down 10-3 in the second quarter, the Panthers put together a 14-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to tie the game, capped by a Qadree Ollison two-yard run. Then, down 17-13 in the third quarter, the Panthers strung together a 7-play, 44-yard drive, capped by another Ollison touchdown run, to go ahead 20-17.
And after Syracuse tied the game on a Cole Murphy field goal, Pitts’ ensuing drive served as the nail in the coffin. Starting with the ball at their own five-yard line, the Panthers calmly moved the ball down the field.
They faced a third-and-5 on the first set of downs and picked up the first down when Nate Peterman found Dontez Ford open for a 17-yard gain. Later, Syracuse managed to force Pittsburgh into a fourth-and-seven, but Pitt got creative. The Panthers ran a fake punt and punter Ryan Winslow found Matt Galambos open for a first down.
“Anytime they convert a third down or a fourth down on a trick play, it beats you up and you’ve got to fight back as quick as you can and get to the next call,” Shafer said. “Can’t let it linger.”
Unfortunately for the Orange, Syracuse was unable to fight back successfully. After converting three third-down plays, Pittsburgh managed to run the clock all the way down to three seconds and get into position for an easy field goal, which Blewitt made with ease.
Said Shafer: “Football is a game of inches. It’s one play here, one play there that can make the difference in the outcome of a ball game and we saw that.”
Shafer and Syracuse will next take the field on Oct. 31, when they travel to Tallahassee for a date with Florida State. You can listen to the game at noon ET on 88.3 WAER-FM.