Pitt at Syracuse: Game Info, Odds, Three Storylines
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are hitting the road for their first neutral site game of the year against longtime rival, Syracuse.
And the site of the latest installment of the Pitt-Syracuse rivalry will take these two teams back in time to celebrate their meeting 100 years ago, which marked the first football game ever played at Yankee Stadium.
Game Info
Opponent: Syracuse (4-5 overall, 0-5 ACC)
Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Location: Yankee Stadium; New York, New York
Broadcast: ACC Network and 93.7 The Fan
Odds
The Panthers are three-point favorites over the Orange. Pitt is available at -150 on the moneyline, compared to +125 for Syracuse. The point total line has been set at 37.5.
Three Storylines
No More Giveaways
Christian Veilleux had opened his tenure as Pitt's starting quarterback by turning in two turnover-free games in the upset win over then-No. 14 Louisville and the loss to Wake Forest. But over his last two games, Veilleux's thrown five interceptions to just one touchdown and the rest of the offense
The Panthers defense has created three turnovers themselves against a pair of top-15 opponents but the offense's giveaways mean Pitt is still in a -5 hole in the turnover margin. That's no way to win games and even against a team of lower quality compared to Notre Dame and Florida State, Pitt's no. 1 priority should be ball security. Control the ball, control the clock and control the game - that's a recipe for getting back in the win column.
Iffy QB Situation for Syracuse
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said the Panthers are preparing for two different Syracuse starting quarterbacks as they travel to the Big Apple.
Starter Garrett Schrader sat out of the Orange's loss to Boston College last weekend and head coach Dino Babers said he's unsure if they will have him at all the rest of the season. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, but he's dealing with an injury as well.
The Panthers faced a similar situation in the lead-up to last season's game against Syracuse, when Schrader did not play with an injury and Del Rio-Wilson completed just 8-23 passes for 120 yards in his absence. There aren't many stylistic differences between the two but the gap in experience is massive.
"Well, one’s taller. They both are athletic," Narduzzi said. "Shrader can run and he’s a little bit taller, probably a more seasoned passer. He’s got 34 career starts to Del Rio Wilson’s got just two - one against us and one last week. So I’d say experience is the main thing. 34-2."
Rivalry Makes For Familiarity
Syracuse is Pitt's third-most played opponent in program history, trailing only West Virginia and Penn State. The ACC has codified Panthers-Orange as an annual rivalry under their new scheduling model and Narduzzi enjoys that.
He doesn't necessarily hold any contempt for Syracuse, in fact he and Orange head coach Dino Babers are good friends, but he does like how the schematics have to be adjusted and retooled with each meeting. Games between these two teams tend to be close - seven of the last eight have been decided by two scores or fewer - and it's because gameplans and adjustments require detailed looks into the past.
"Like, we go back to 2016 watching some of the plays they run," Narduzzi said. "One of the plays they ran in that basketball game we played here, they ran last week against B.C., they ran it against Western Michigan. It’s the same stuff coming back out, like, here it is. So you’re practicing the heck out of that. There’s that chess match that you get when you play someone more than once or twice, so I kind of like that chess match.
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