Story by Zach Francis
Photo by Kerry Bretti
Syracuse, N.Y. - Coming off three consecutive losses, two of which were on the road, the Syracuse University football team was looking to return to the confines of the Carrier Dome, where the team had won three of four this season. However, despite trailing twice by a touchdown, No. 25 Pittsburgh ruined the Orange homecoming, defeating Syracuse 23-20 Saturday afternoon on a last-second field goal.
"We're in the games, and they are exciting games," Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said. "But we'd like to finish them with exciting wins, not exciting losses."
After Syracuse's Cole Murphy kicked a 37-yard field goal to tie the game at 20, Pittsburgh got the ball back at its own five-yard line with 9:20 left in the game. The offense never left the field, covering 87 yards on the game-winning drive before Chris Blewitt hit the winner from 25 yards out as time expired.
The key play was one from SU's book of tricks - a fake punt near midfield. Facing 4th down and seven from the Pitt 48-yard line, Panthers punter Ryan Winslow lined up as if to kick the ball away, but instead rolled right, pulled up and found Matt Galambos for a 12-yard gain and the first down.
"It was a smart play by them," Shafer said. "We went high-low trying to get a return. But I'm disappointed, not discouraged."
Quarterback Nathan Peterman took it from there, directing the Pittsburgh offense the remaining 40 yards, mostly running the ball to continue to eat clock. This allowed Blewitt to take the last shot at scoring from close range.
Running back Qadree Ollison was a workhorse on the drive, rushing seven times for 25 of his game high 103 yards. Ollison also added two rushing touchdowns for the Panthers.
Goings Easy Early
The game looked like it would be an offensive shootout early, with both teams scoring on their opening drives.
After Pittsburgh's Blewitt kicked a 33-yard field goal to take the early 3-0 lead, Syracuse got the ball at its 25-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, freshman running back Jordan Fredericks, named the starter just this week, took the ball up the middle and rumbled to the Pittsburgh 20-yard line for a 55-yard gain. On the next play, quarterback Eric Dungey found tight end Ervin Philips on the left side, who then made two defenders miss and raced into the end zone to give the Orange a 7-3 lead.
Both offenses began to stall as this was the score at the end of the second quarter. However, on the first drive of the second quarter, Syracuse drove 68 yards over eight minutes, before settling for a 23-yard field goal by Murphy to extend the lead to 10-3.
Pittsburgh answered with a six-minute drive of its own, going 70 yards capped by the first of Ollison's touchdowns to tie the game at 10.
But in the matter of just 1:11, the Orange threw the ball all over the field, targeting wide receiver Steve Ishmael three times for 52 yards including a 40-yard pass down the right side. To cap off his hard work on the drive, Dungey found Ishmael in the back of the end zone to give the Orange a 17-10 lead.
On the day, Ishmael finished with seven receptions for a career-high 114 yards.
"I think Stevie got some good looks today," Shafer said. "I was happy to see him get going the way he did. We were just trying to find him open to get him in the game.
"I've got a lot of confidence in him," Dungey said. "He's a baller, so he'll go up and get a ball. I've just got a lot of confidence in him."
The game-winner wasn't the only kick Blewitt made as time expired as he booted a 30-yard field goal that bounced off the left upright and through as time expired in the half to cut the lead to 17-13 heading into the locker rooms.
Interceptions Hurt
On one of the first plays of the second half, Dungey ran up the middle for a three yard gain, but was hit hard and laid motionless on the ground for a few seconds before popping up, seemingly fine. Shafer pulled Dungey, who has had a concussion this season, and replaced him with Zach Mahoney. Dungey was sent to the locker room where he had tests, and a few minutes later, he ran back onto the field.
However, the problems were only beginning for Dungey, who threw the first of his two interceptions on the first drive after returning to the game. Even though Pitt punted on that drive, Dungey's day didn't get any better. On the first play of the next drive, he threw an errant pass up the middle that was picked off.
That time, the Panthers took advantage, scoring on a one-yard run from Ollison.
"Those are the ones that are going to make it hard to fall asleep tonight," Dungey said.
The freshman quarterback finished 21-for-30 for 210 yards, two touchdowns, and the two interceptions.
The Orange couldn't stop the Panthers on third down, allowing them to convert nine of 17, including five on the final drive.
"We need to finish those drives on defense and giving the offense the ball back," Shafer said. "Its a tough thing to deal with. The only way you get good at them is to continue to work them.
"We've just got to be able to find that play when we need it the most," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "We've just got to keep pushing. We've just got to get that one play that decides between winning and losing."
On the Road
Next week, the Orange will hit the road for a tough test against No. 9 Florida State. Syracuse will look to take its first road victory of the year, while the Seminoles will put their perfect record on the line.
Scott Shafer's Post-Game Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqd2rgv91iQ
Zaire Franklin, Steve Ishmael, Eric Dungey Post-Game Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExRoe-N97sM
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