There isn’t much to add. Against a bad Syracuse team, Pitt was rather balanced on offense.
In Syracuse, they are still dissecting how bad the offense is.
But in the blink of an eye it was over, and Dr. Jekyll transformed back into a Mr. Hyde that has haunted this team for the vast majority of seven games now. He reared his ugly mug on SU’s very next possession, which began at the Pitt 15-yard line courtesy of a brilliant individual play by senior defensive end James Wyche, who sacked Panther quarterback Tyler Palko and jarred the ball loose, then swept it into his grasp while lying on the ground before Palko and a diving offensive lineman could get to it.
… SU’s response was a 1-yard gain by Damien Rhodes, two incomplete passes and a Barker field goal.
Pitt, which could have been down 21-0 less than a quarter into the game, was only behind 10-0. Even so, considering that the Orange was about to benefit from a blocked punt by Smith that resulted in a special-teams touchdown, all the offense had to do was stay out of the way and let an impressive defensive game plan authored by Robinson continue to unfold.
It failed to do so. One interception resulted directly in a Pitt touchdown. Another set up a second one. Suddenly, a game that could have been an SU blowout at the half was instead knotted at 17.
At the very least, 13-0 if not for the missed field goal.
For Syracuse, the numbers didn’t lie. The biggest being the fact that they were 0-12 on third downs. This extended their Div 1-A lead in worst 3rd down conversion percentage over North Texas. 15.8 to 23.3.
Also, after the Pitt game, it seems Syracuse will not be calling for a screen pass for the foreseeable future.
When a reporter asked about the problems running the screen, Robinson fired back and asked what the reporter thought. Robinson asked if he thought it was because of that one interception or a season-long problem. The reporter mentioned Florida State and a few other games and Robinson agreed.
“You’re probably right,” Robinson said. “Florida State, that’s a good one. Buffalo, that’s another one. Two weeks ago. We might have to put the old screen play on the shelf.
“That’s a bone of contention right now – that play. It’s probably best to cool it off for a little bit right now.”
It was a screen pass (so they say) that Thomas Smith tipped to H.B. Blades for the interception and touchdown.
