Pitt wins clunker over Syracuse for 3rd straight victory, overcoming injuries, penalties

Following Pitt’s 30-13 win over Syracuse on Saturday at JMA Wireless Dome, coach Pat Narduzzi succinctly summed up the Panthers’ performance.

“It was an ugly win, but they all count as one,” Narduzzi said on the field.

Narduzzi can say that again.

While Pitt (5-2, 3-1 ACC) won its third straight game, it overcame 13 penalties for 114 yards and produced a season-low 260 yards of total offense.

Mason Heintschel failed to throw a touchdown pass but scored one with his legs, completing 13 of 24 passes (54%) for 143 yards and an interception.

Kenny Johnson produced a critical special teams highlight, returning a punt 66 yards for a score with only two seconds remaining in the first half to put Pitt ahead, 17-7, while Trey Butkowski made three field goals in the win.

“It wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world, but our guys found a way to get a (win), so I’m proud of them there,” Narduzzi said on the 93.7 FM postgame show. “They weren’t real excited in the locker room afterwards. I think they thought I was going to rip their tails, but you’ve got to celebrate these. They’re hard, (and) it was a rough atmosphere.”

All-American linebacker Kyle Louis left the game with an apparent head injury with about five minutes remaining in the first quarter, not to return.

Pitt also played without leading tackler Rasheem Biles, leading Nick Lapi and Cameron Lindsey to play starring roles next to Braylan Lovelace at linebacker.

Lapi and Lindsey tied for the team lead with seven tackles each, including two tackles for loss apiece.

Injury updates on both Louis and Biles were not immediately known postgame.

Three plays into the game, Syracuse (3-4, 1-3) suffered the first of many self-inflicted wounds, as quarterback Rickie Collins was intercepted by Tamon Lynum at the Orange 37-yard line.

Collins, who threw three picks last week in the Orange’s loss to SMU, threw three more Saturday against Pitt.

He was 16 of 32 for 126 yards, while also throwing two touchdowns.

The Panthers capitalized on the early turnover, as Heintschel busted out a 36-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 just over three minutes into the first quarter.

Heintschel followed up his impressive score with an interception, as Davien Kenn picked off a deep pass over the middle intended for Johnson, returning it 34 yards to the Pitt 12.

Two plays later, Collins found Darrell Gill for an 11-yard touchdown, tying the score with 2:08 left in the first quarter.

Pitt’s ensuing drive was more successful, with Heintschel hitting Johnson and Blue Hicks for gains of 10 and 12 yards before Ja’Kyrian Turner had an 18-yard run to the Orange 5-yard line.

Syracuse stood firm on defense and sacked Heintschel on third down, forcing a field goal try, which Butkowski made from 31 yards to create a 10-7 lead with 11 minutes remaining before halftime.

Turner led Pitt on the ground with 15 carries for 42 yards, while Desmond Reid ran six times for 38 yards. Johnson was Pitt’s leading wideout, catching four passes for 59 yards.

Reid was used sparingly in the second half, taking just one handoff, with Narduzzi stating he was not playing at 100% health.

Collins blundered again toward the end of the second quarter, throwing another interception, this time to Cruce Brookins, with 1:49 on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, penalties derailed their drive and wiped a 61-yard Turner touchdown run off the board on the first play post-pick, leading to a punt with 34 seconds left in the half.

After the Orange, in turn, went three-and-out, punting the ball back to Pitt, Johnson atoned for his holding call that negated Turner’s touchdown, as he returned the punt 66 yards for a score.

“The penalties today were ridiculous, looks like on both sides of the ball,” Narduzzi said. “ … We earned quite a bit of those.”

Beginning the third quarter with the ball, Pitt penetrated to Syracuse’s 20-yard line.

But Heintschel was sacked for the fifth time on third down, as Butkowski came out again, this time hitting a 42-yard field goal that made it 20-7 Panthers with 11:20 left in the third.

Syracuse’s opening possession of the second half saw Brown make a change at quarterback, replacing Collins with true freshman Luke Carney.

Pitt, having applied minimal pressure on the quarterback throughout the game, finally picked up its first sack late in the third, courtesy of Lapi on third down, which stopped an Orange drive near midfield.

With about 12 minutes to play and Collins back in the game under center, Pitt picked him off for the third time, as Kavir Bains-Marquez came down with the ball before a 57-yard return to Syracuse’s 18-yard line.

The Panthers went three-and-out, but Butkowski made it 23-7 with 10:52 to go, hitting a 32-yard field goal.

Syracuse made it a 23-13 game with about six minutes remaining, scoring a touchdown to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive when Collins hit Emanuel Ross for a 12-yard strike.

But the Orange failed on their ensuing 2-point conversion, keeping it a two-possession game.

Only moments later, Syracuse pulled off a surprise onside kick, getting the ball back near midfield to give Pitt a late scare before turning the ball over on downs.

On a late, penalty-riddled possession for the Panthers, Juelz Goff scored with 1:57 left from a yard out to ice the game, making the score 30-13.

“I’m just happy for our team,” Narduzzi said. “Move onto the next one. We (won) without a lot of extra guys out there. We were banged up at backer today on defense but (Syracuse) had 212 total yards. … Heck of a job by our defense, Our offense sputtered at times, so we’ve got to clean that up.”