Fake punt helps Pitt win, remain atop ACC Coastal standings

Chris Blewitt kicked a 25-yard field goal at the buzzer, and Pitt beat Syracuse, 23-20 to stay undefeated in ACC play.

Pitt, which has played five of its seven games on the road, had to come from behind to improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC Coastal.

With that in mind, the selection for the game’s turning point yesterday was the team’s fake punt, which propelled the team to a 23-20 win. Pittsburgh Panthers rank at 68 for 203.5 road passing yards where as Syracuse Orange rank at 94 for allowing 255.0 passing yards at home. “We had practiced it so much during the week that it was second nature at that point”. “We trusted the guy next to us. I’ve been in these situations where you’ve been ranked, you keep plugging away, and one thing that I have picked up in the past is how to play and make sure you’re not complacent”.

The Panthers scored first with a 33-yard field goal by Blewitt just five minutes into the first quarter, but Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 ACC Atlantic) took leads of 7-3, 10-3 and 17-10 before the Panthers closed the first half trailing 17-13 on Blewitt’s 30-yard field goal with one second remaining in the half.

“To be honest, I didn’t even think about it”, Winslow said. “At the end of the day, we came up short and it’s disappointing”.

“I asked (Orange defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough) if I could have a couple plays on him because I really wanted to stick him”, Cordy said. “I like the way they’re competing”.

HARVARD 42, PRINCETON 7 (at Cambridge, Mass.) – Scott Hosch threw for a career-high 437 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score as the Crimson (6-0, 3-0 Ivy League) romped.

Pat Narduzzi could be seen counting the number of officiating mistakes on the sidelines, and the game today felt like one in which Pitt typically loses.

Honestly, I am shocked that he returned, and he clearly was not the same player as in the first half, as he tossed two interceptions. The Panthers are 5-1 in contests decided by single digits, including last week’s 31-28 victory at Georgia Tech on Blewitt’s school-record, 56-yard field goal with 1:11 left. Quarterback Eric Dungey had a very impressive first half, going 15-of-20 for 139 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

For long stretches Saturday afternoon, it looked like all the good will and positive momentum Pitt built up over the past week would be left inside the Carrier Dome. Dungey popped back up without any help, but he was still taken to the locker room to be evaluated. Syracuse escaped the first pick, near midfield by Galambos, when the Panthers couldn’t overcome an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and were forced to punt. Then, down 17-13 in the third quarter, the Panthers strung together a 7-play, 44-yard drive, capped by another Ollison touchdown run, to go ahead 20-17.

Dungey sped untouched for 26 yards when Syracuse got the ball back to set up Cole Murphy’s tying 37-yard field goal.