Syracuse holds on to beat Pitt 27-24, 1st time in 5 years

Oct 7, 2017 - 10:03 PM SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Eric Dungey threw two touchdown passes and ran for another and the Syracuse defense stymied Pittsburgh on third down as the Orange held on for a 27-24 victory Saturday. Syracuse's win was its first over the Panthers in five years and kept the Orange's bowl hopes alive. Pitt had won 11 of the last 12 in the series and was 4-0 against Syracuse since both teams joined the ACC. The victory came after two disheartening, close losses for the Orange at LSU and North Carolina State. "It was good to finally get that monkey off our back. It's our third close game," Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. "All the way in the second half, five minutes to go, who's going to win the game? You don't know. "To see the team rally together, and to have all three units play well in the last five minutes, is a great tribute for an ACC Atlantic win." Pitt (2-4, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) didn't record its first third-down conversion until 8:40 remained in the game, finishing 3 of 13. "When you come in at halftime and see the opposing team has not converted a third down, that's absolutely amazing," Babers said. Dungey was 33 of 49 for 365 yards for Syracuse (3-3, 1-1), and he ran for 48 more for 413 total yards. His 10-yard rushing score, which gave Syracuse a 17-13 lead with 6:59 left in the third quarter, was the ninth in his SU career, tying him for the top spot all-time at Syracuse with Donovan McNabb and Bill Hurley. Pitt quarterback Max Browne was 15 of 22 for 161 yards before leaving the game with an apparent arm injury in the third quarter. Backup Ben DiNucci was 6 of 10 for 55 yards. Cole Murphy's 38-yard field goal extended Syracuse's lead to 20-13 late in the third quarter. Alex Kessman's 56-yard field goal, a Carrier Dome record, brought Pitt to 20-16 early in the fourth, but Dungey hit Steve Ishmael on a 35-yard scoring play to extend Syracuse's lead to 27-16. Pitt made it close on a 19-yard run by Qadree Ollison and two-point conversion with 7:15 to go. After last year's 76-61 Pitt win — the highest-scoring game in FBS history — the teams slugged it out in a defensive first half which ended in a 10-10 tie. Pitt didn't get its initial first down — on a Syracuse penalty — until the last play of the first quarter. "You try not to harp on last year too much," DiNucci said. "But what we were saying going into this game was the last three times we've been here it's been real close, so we knew it was going to be a dogfight again from the start." Three of last five games between the two teams have been decided by three points or less. The Orange weren't much better in the first half. After an opening drive that led to a Murphy 26-yard field goal, Syracuse struggled mightily throughout much of the first 30 minutes until Dungey hit Devin Butler with a 32-yard scoring pass with 34 seconds left in the half. Pitt had taken a 10-3 lead on Jordan Whitehead's 35-yard touchdown run and a 49-yard field goal by Kessman. TAKEAWAY PITT: Pitt's road to a bowl game took a huge hit, with North Carolina State up next. Rafael Araujo-Lopes led the Panthers with seven receptions. SYRACUSE: Syracuse coach Dino Babers is 37-0 when leading after three quarters. ... Dungey opened up the passing game, hitting six different receivers, including tight end Ravian Pierce, who had a career-high nine receptions for 99 yards. Dontae Strickland had 81 yards rushing on 25 carries. UP NEXT: PITT: Pitt has a tough home matchup Saturday against surprising North Carolina State. SYRACUSE: The Orange begin a daunting three-game stretch, hosting No.2 Clemson on Friday night. Syracuse has road games against Miami and Florida after the Tigers.