Syracuse’s margin for error is already paper-thin, and Thursday night at Pitt looks like the kind of game that can snap it in half.
The Orange had chances to take care of business against Cal on Saturday and instead let it slip away in a 21-18 loss. Steve Angeli’s career-high three second-half interceptions, Tripp Woody’s two missed fourth-quarter field goals and 15 penalties for 132 yards buried Syracuse in a game it could not afford to waste. Now comes a short week, a road trip to Acrisure Stadium and a Panthers program that has had the Orange’s number for years.
Pitt has won 20 of the last 24 meetings, and Syracuse’s last road win in the series came in 2001. That history alone would make this a tough ask. Add in the way Syracuse played against Cal, and the challenge gets even sharper.
Noah Nussbaum sees it as another “must win” for the Orange, and he doesn’t sound overly confident about the way they’ll answer. He points to the same issues that sank Syracuse last week: Angeli’s shaky performance, a penalty count that reflected a lack of discipline and a rushing attack that managed just 3.3 yards per carry against the Golden Bears, likely without Tylik Hill.
“Pitt 24, Syracuse 20,” Nussbaum wrote, calling the game a chance for Syracuse to clean things up - even if he doesn’t expect it to happen.
Nicholas Alumkal expects a lower-scoring grind and has the Panthers taking it, 16-13. He brought up Syracuse’s last Thursday game at Pitt in 2024, when then-flawless Kyle McCord threw five interceptions in a 41-13 loss, and sees another rough night ahead for the Orange. Pitt’s defense under Pat Narduzzi is built to frustrate offenses, and Syracuse’s own offense is walking in with questions all over it.
The one area Alumkal believes can keep Syracuse afloat is defense. Through two games, the Orange have held up reasonably well, including Saturday against Cal before the self-inflicted mistakes took over. He also noted that Syracuse’s punt return game, with Demetres Samuel Jr. and Davien Kerr, could be one of the few ways to steal field position in a low-possession game.
Harris Pemberton was the third beat writer to lean Pitt, and he picked the Panthers 27-21. He said Syracuse’s opener against New Hampshire created some optimism, but the Cal loss stripped a lot of that away. The Orange looked like a team that could start 2-0 and end its eight-game ACC losing streak, but instead they “grasped defeat from the jaws of victory,” with Angeli’s interceptions, a flat run game and penalties doing the damage.
Pemberton said it’s still early and Fran Brown has stressed that his team is learning how to win close games. Even so, he doesn’t see enough evidence yet to trust Syracuse on the road, especially after the mistakes that showed up last week.
All three predictions point the same direction: Pitt. Syracuse has a chance to keep it close, but after the Cal collapse, the Orange have to prove they can stop beating themselves before anyone else will believe they can win this one.
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