Syracuse heads to Pittsburgh on Thursday night trying to stop the slide after a rough Week 2 loss to California, but the Orange are also walking straight into a place that has been a nightmare for them for a long time.
Winning a conference road game is always a tough ask. Doing it at Pittsburgh has been even tougher for Syracuse. The Panthers have taken seven of the last eight meetings and 11 of the last 13 overall, and Syracuse has not won in Pittsburgh since 2001.
That home-field drought has come with plenty of one-sided results. Since that 2001 victory, Pittsburgh is 11-0 against Syracuse at home.
The average score in those games has been 35-19, though that number is skewed by one Syracuse outburst of 61 points. Take that game out, and Syracuse has managed only 15 points per game in the rest of the stretch.
Nine of those 11 losses came by double digits, and Syracuse scored 17 points or fewer eight times.
There are at least a few similarities between the two teams heading into this matchup. Syracuse opened the season looking sharp before the offense stalled in a 21-18 loss to Cal, while Pittsburgh beat UCF 12-7 but didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard either.
Pitt piled up only 315 total yards, didn’t throw a touchdown after tossing seven in Week 1, and averaged just 2.4 yards per rush. Syracuse had its own problems, throwing three interceptions and averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
Still, the numbers and the history both lean heavily toward Pittsburgh. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Syracuse a 17.5% chance to win, and the Panthers are favored by 10.5 points.
So the challenge for Syracuse is clear: buck the odds, end the Pittsburgh drought, and get the season moving in the right direction.
In Other News...
Syracuse Has A Discipline Problem It Cant Ignore Anymore
The early-season record is already ugly enough for Syracuse, but the bigger issue through three games has been the sloppiness that keeps putting the Orange behind the chains and making every drive harder than it needs to be. In losses that dropped them to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play after the Pitt game, Syracuse has been flagged for 12, 14 and 10 penalties, a pattern that has become impossible to brush aside as a one-off.
With a bye week before the Oct. 3 meeting with UConn, Syracuse has a brief window to clean up the mistakes that have undercut its start. The break arrives at a useful time for a team that needs more than a reset in the standings - it needs a sharper, more disciplined version of itself before the seasons next stretch begins. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Heads Into UConn With One Big Backfield Decision
Syracuses backfield has already looked like a weekly guessing game through the first three games, with a different running back leading the rushing attack each time. Ahmad Millers showing in Week 3 only added another layer to the picture, and the bye week gave the Orange a little extra time to sort through how they want to divvy up carries as they prepare for UConn.
The bigger wrinkle may be at quarterback, where a possible move to Amari Odom would add another runner to the mix and could change the way Syracuse builds its offense. At 1-2, the Orange need more consistency somewhere, and how they handle the backfield against UConn will tell a lot about whether they lean into balance, speed, or a more open ground game. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Is Pushing Early For A Fast-Rising New York Forward
Syracuses recruiting staff is already doing the kind of broad, early work that can shape a class years down the line, and Damian Mojica has quickly become part of that picture. The Orange are centered on the 2027 cycle, but they have also extended offers to more than a dozen players in 2028, including the 6-foot-8 power forward from New York, who picked up an offer after taking an unofficial visit.
Mojicas stock is rising quickly enough to draw interest from multiple schools, and Syracuse appears intent on staying involved as his profile grows. He recently played for the PSA Cardinals AAU team, and more contact with the Orange coaching staff is expected, which makes him one of the more intriguing names to watch as Syracuse keeps laying groundwork well ahead of the main recruiting push. [Read more 🡒]