Syracuse football could not complete its comeback Thursday night, falling 27-13 to Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium in its first road game of the season.
The Orange dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while Pittsburgh remained unbeaten at 3-0. Syracuse trailed 17-10 at halftime after cutting into a 17-point deficit, but Pittsburgh controlled much of the second half and pulled away.
Syracuse finished with 347 total yards, including 142 rushing. Ahmad Miller led the Orange on the ground with 78 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Steve Angeli completed 13 of 25 passes for 161 yards, while Amari Odom completed all seven of his attempts after taking over at quarterback late in the game.
Pittsburgh relied heavily on its rushing attack, producing 245 yards on the ground as part of 368 total yards. Damon Ferguson Jr. led the Panthers with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown, while La’Vell Wright added 81 yards and a score. Mason Heintschel also rushed for a touchdown and finished 10-for-23 passing for 123 yards.
Pittsburgh built a 17-0 advantage during the first half before Syracuse finally found an answer. Miller scored on a two-yard touchdown run with 3:28 remaining in the second quarter, and Shay Barker connected on a 42-yard field goal as time expired to bring the Orange within one score at halftime.
The Panthers responded immediately after halftime. Pittsburgh covered 76 yards in just four plays on its opening possession of the second half, with Heintschel scoring on a nine-yard quarterback keeper to extend the lead to 24-10.
Syracuse had opportunities to make things interesting but struggled to capitalize. Angeli threw an interception in the fourth quarter, and Braylan Lovelace picked off another Syracuse pass later in the quarter. Barker added a 30-yard field goal with 3:08 remaining, but Pittsburgh closed out the game from there.
Davien Kerr recorded an interception for Syracuse, while Antoine Deslauriers and Nissi Ogbebor each finished with six tackles. Tunmise Adeleye added a sack.
The Orange now enter their bye week before returning Saturday, October 3, at Connecticut. Kickoff in Storrs is scheduled for noon.
GAME RECAP LINKS
- ‘Cuse Drops Road Opener at Pitt (cuse.com)
- Syracuse error-filled again in 27-13 loss at Pitt (dailyorange.com)
- Syracuse football: Orange can’t overcome mistakes in 27-13 loss to Pittsburgh (nunesmagician.com)
- Observations from SU’s loss to Pitt: Angeli’s benching, inconsistent RBs (dailyorange.com)
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
MEDIA
The Double Overtime | Syracuse vs. Pitt | September 17th, 2026 https://t.co/Uza3OWZDUA
— WAER Sports Talk (@WAERSportsTalk) September 18, 2026Also readEd Oliver suffers hip injury in pregame warmups, will miss Bills home opener against Lions
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.