Welcome to “Behind Enemy Lines,” where, rather than writing from the perspective of a Pitt football writer, we write about the opposing team’s outlook on the upcoming game with the help of one of their own.
This is the second edition of this series, and we’re continuing with the rivalry pattern by turning our attention to Pitt’s biggest ACC enemy — the Syracuse Orange. The Pitt-Syracuse matchup is one of the oldest and most enduring rivalries in college football, dating back to their first meeting in 1916.
Since then, the two programs have clashed over 75 times, creating more than a century of shared history. Pitt holds the all-time edge in the series, with a record of 44-33-3. As of late, it has been nothing but Pitt wins and Syracuse losses.
The last decade up until now shows an 8-2 record for the Panthers, and heading into Saturday, it seems as if that win margin is only increasing. Or, will it?
Meet Aiden Stepansky, a senior staff writer for The Daily Orange. Stepansky and I discussed Saturday’s primetime contest and the historic rivalry. The looming question is, what is Syracuse going to do regarding the quarterback position post-Steve Angeli’s injury?
“Since the Steve Angeli injury … this team has looked entirely different on offense,” Stepansky said.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Rickie Collins entered the season with high expectations, expected to take the starting role after spring camp. But the arrival of Angeli reshuffled the depth chart, leaving Collins still searching for consistency.
“[Collins] was supposed to be the starter after spring camp, and then they brought in Steve Angeli,” Stepansky said. “They had a competition in the offseason and into fall camp, and Steve Angeli ended up winning the job. Rickie Collins … [is] finding his groove right now, but these last two games have been pretty rough for him.”
That was just one side of the ball for the struggling Orange. The other side was not much better.
“Defensively, Syracuse was extraordinary against Clemson, but in the last two games has been pretty awful, to say the least,” Stepansky said. “They’ve given up a bunch of chunk plays and haven’t been able to stop the run much either. Syracuse is coming in wounded right now after these last two losses, but the bye week might have helped recharge some things. We’ll see.”
Syracuse brings strengths of its own that Pitt may struggle against. For starters — the special teams unit that ‘Cuse brings to the table is possibly the best in the ACC.
“Syracuse’s special teams unit was horrific last year. They got rid of the coach James Villano just two days after the bowl game — very quick — and brought in Ricky Brumfield,” Stepansky said. “He’s overturned that unit significantly. Jack Stonehouse, the punter who’s been at Syracuse for a little while now, is top five in all of college football based on his numbers. He’s the cousin of Ryan Stonehouse, who has bounced around a few teams in the NFL. His dad and uncle also played in the NFL.”
Stonehouse holds the single-season record for punting average at 45.7 yards per punt and owns the highest net punting average in program history at 45.0 yards. Stonehouse also ranks among the nation’s elite for his precision, consistently pinning opponents deep with punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Other strengths Otto’s squad brings are pass-rushing defenders and an experienced wide receiver corps — all of which fall under what Stepansky described as “the veteran presence” that defines a successful football program.
To cap it all off, as always, the question had to be asked — the score prediction for this contest, and his answer surprised me.
“I have 33-20 Pitt. A big thing I wrote in my beat writer prediction was that Syracuse, coming off a bye last year, faced Stanford and then Pitt. They lost both games, and Stanford was one of the worst teams in the ACC. They played terribly and lost to Stanford, and then to Pitt — we know how that went last year,” Stepansky said. “They’ve been terrible coming off byes, and this week, I just don’t see how that changes unless they make something drastic happen.”
We’ll see what happens come Saturday night, Mr. Stepansky. Either “Sweet Caroline” will echo through the Dome, or the Orange will squeeze the pulp out of Pitt’s offense.
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