Even without star running back, Pitt runs for 161 yards, controls clock in 19-9 win over Syracuse
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PITTSBURGH — There was no question what Pitt was going to do on 2nd-and-goal from the one-yard line. The play it had already run nine times on that drive, where Kedon Slovis took the snap, turned and handed the ball to C’Bo Flemister, was the call. Slovis and Flemister were in shotgun, Pitt was in a jumbo set and Flemister eyed the end zone as he began his jump on run number 10.
By the time he flipped over, tossed the ball to the ground with his right hand and started his celebration, the Panthers led 16-6. There were still 17 minutes left in the game, but the 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive had already put the game out of reach for Syracuse. With SU unable to manufacture offense, and Pittsburgh controlling the clock with its rushing attack, the Panthers were well on their way to handing the Orange their third-straight loss.
Flemister (12 carries, 42 yards) was Pitt’s primary second half running back, after Rodney Hammond Jr. (28 carries, 124 yards) carried the load in the first. Pittsburgh was without starting running back Israel Abanikanda, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rushing yards leader and the national leader in all-purpose yards, total points and touchdowns. But Abanikanda’s absence didn’t matter. Pitt still ran the ball 48 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and it won the time of possession battle by 13-and-a-half minutes. The Panthers wore down the Orange’s already-depleted front six, and when combined with a struggling Syracuse offense missing its starting quarterback, Pitt controlled the second half, finishing with a 19-9 win.
“They had a lot more plays than us, which means they had a lot more opportunities to score points. We had less opportunities to score points,” head coach Dino Babers said. “Some of that is what they’re doing. Some of that is our own fault. It’s a combination of both.”
There were plenty of questions about Syracuse’s run defense coming into the game after the Orange allowed over 240 rushing yards against both Clemson and Notre Dame, leading to back-to-back defeats. Will Shipley and Audric Estime each found no problem getting chunk gains up the middle or beating SU around the edge. The fact that Abanikanda was looming as the next running back Syracuse had to face made the issue more prevalent.
Abanikanda suffered an injury at the end of Pitt’s last game against North Carolina. He still warmed up and was listed as the Panthers’ starting running back, but a team spokesperson said at the start of the game that he wasn’t expected to play. Pittsburgh’s passing game, led by USC transfer Slovis, hasn’t matched the numbers it posted last season with Kenny Pickett under center, and entered the game at sixth in the ACC in passing yards per game.
It meant the ball would primarily be in the hands of Hammond, who entered the game with 24 total attempts for 126 yards this season, and Flemister, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame with even less experience. Babers said Syracuse didn’t prepare for the backup running backs, and with Abanikanda being better than both of them, it theoretically gave the Orange an advantage.
Pitt got right to business on its first drive, running the ball with Hammond on seven of its nine plays before Slovis threw an interception in the end zone. Hammond added six more carries on the next drive, the final one coming on a six-yard touchdown run where Ja’Had Carter took a poor angle, giving the running back an easy hole to run through. Hammond eventually extended his right arm into the end zone for a 6-3 Pittsburgh lead.
That scoring drive lasted over 10 minutes after the first one ate up 7.5 minutes of the clock. In an era of no-huddle, spread offenses, the Panthers provide a more traditional attack, with multiple tight ends, occasional fullbacks and limited plays out of the shotgun. They usually broke the huddle with just 10 or 12 seconds left on the play clock and snapped the ball with only a few seconds remaining. It kept the ball away from Syracuse’s offense, speeding up the game and limiting the number of total possessions.
“It makes it seem like they have the ball for an enormous amount of time,” Babers said.
Babers also pointed to how Pitt also converted seven of its 16 third downs, extending drives and adding to its time of possession. Linebacker Marlowe Wax said SU prepares for long possessions in their practices to make games like these easier. It was still a challenge Saturday, though.
Hammond’s longest carry was 12 yards, and Flemister 13. Each averaged less than five yards per carry, but Pitt regularly positioned itself in 3rd and short situations. Timely throws from Slovis helped, but the Panthers’ offensive line and running backs were usually the ones moving the ball.
“If a team runs the ball that much, something’s gonna give. Yards are gonna happen,” Wax said.
Wax noted that Hammon and Flemister could both start on almost any other team in the country, providing a challenge even without Abanikanda. He acknowledged that teams are going to continue running the ball right at SU. The Orange’s secondary performed well Saturday, notching two interceptions and mostly shutting down targets downfield, but the defense keeps struggling to contain the run. Syracuse wants to make changes to its run defense, Wax said.
But when the offense keeps punting the ball after three plays, and Pitt keeps running the same play — the one that resulted in two touchdowns and exhausted one of the ACC’s best defenses Saturday — that’s a difficult thing to do.
“Just getting that hunger back,” Wax said. “Because we won six straight, just get that hunger back and not be satisfied.”