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Pitt vs Syracuse Predictions Thread 2022

Involvement Fair 2017 Otto
Involvement Fair 2017 Otto

Here we go again… Hopes are high that we will somehow break out of our offensive slump against decent FBS teams and score more points than our opponent. Well, that could happen on Saturday but I somehow doubt it.

SYR is a very good defensive team – especially in the area where we can least afford to be hindered with our passing game. Not that Slovis or our receivers have been lighting things up anyway with an anemic 80th ranked Passing Offense of only 227 ypg.

The Orange have done this so far (I cherry picked important rankings here):

SYR Rank3

If you look at the top few rows you see that they ain’t shabby on defense at all. Let’s see – SYR has an awesome passing defense especially based on a very strong defensive backfield and our QB Slovis is ranked 65th in QBs with only 223 ypg.  But wait, there’s more: Slovis, against FBS teams has two TDs with four INTs. Can you think of anything else that we need to know about the upcoming game?

I can. Izzy has to run for 319 yards and four TDs for us to beat the Orange – but who in the world is going to get 319 yards rushing in a single game these days?

Hey, look where their Red Zone Offense ranks – #3. How do we stack up with our Red Zone Defense? Oh yeah! 96th and dropping like a rock after Saturday I think.

Look, I know we can win this game as college ball is very unpredictable but it is a pretty weak long shot in my opinion. But my opinion isn’t based on anything but what I see, read and hear. The oddsmakers disagree with me.  Odds Shark has the score 22-12 Pitt. Sure…

My prediction?

SYR 27 – Pitt 10

HTP!

Leaping Panther

90 thoughts on “Pitt vs Syracuse Predictions Thread 2022”

  1. When I started following Pitt football as a young fifth grade lad during the Johnny Majors Part II era, I witnessed what seemed like ten straight losses to Syracuse. We were vexed by their Butler County qb Troy Nunes. Over the last decade, the tables have turned and we have owned the Cuse…our last loss being the career ending injury of Max Browne at the Dome and the first ever pass attempt for Kenny Pickett.

    Now to the present. Sadly, the I believe the magic of the Nard Dawg is gone. He had a great 8 win first season (anyone remember a huge fake punt to get a win against the Cuse) and last year we had the unreal season that looks and feels so far away. He is stubborn with his island defensive scheme that only works 50% of the time and frankly as a former junior high school offensive coordinator, I think myself and several Pov’ers could give Frank Jr. a run for his money in play calling and scheme.

    I want to believe in this team, I want to believe in Nard…but this offense is bad, Slovis is really bad which I didn’t expect, the receivers are SUPER BAD…8th grade bad like the way our logo used to be painted in the middle of Heinz Field. Tomorrow is another stumble in our quest to get to the Beef O’ Brady or Quick Lane Bowl.

    Cuse 27 Pitt 17…rinse and repeat…defense plays acceptable and Izzy has a good day but we can’t throw, catch, run routes correctly, or pass block

    *put in Junko at punter, Guess and the Aussie don’t have it

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  2. Look, this is just not Pitt’s year.

    The Orange are due, and we are down. And to their credit they have a pretty good squad.

    AND Robert Anae at OC – who Narduzzi should have snapped up on Day 1.

    Anyway I don’t see Pitt doing much to fix the “execution issues” at this point in the season.

    Pitt’s going to lose by 7, maybe 10 in a tough, physical battle. Also I predict there will be a contrversial fluke play that goes that way of the Orange.

    Passing game woes will continue for Pitt…sadly.

    Hail and all that jazz.

    Maestro

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Why are people are saying SRY is ‘down’ right now?

      Yes, they lost to two damn good teams in #5 Clemson and then ND. But first they won 6 straight and are still ranked #22.

      Is it only home field advantage that the bookies look at for this match giving SYR +5 at this point?

      I’m sticking with a SYR win in double digits.

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    1. MM – what you stated makes perfect sense. I just have this strange feeling – okay, it’s really a desperate hope – that Pitt will finally play a game where each unit plays at its potential for the full game. We haven’t done that yet.

      My wild guess:
      Pitt 30
      Orange 24

      Go Pitt.

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  4. Pitt falls behind 28-3 in first half on 3 Slovis picks. Then idiot Duzz goes to a new QB (anyone but Slovis) second half and Pitt comes back to win 31-28.

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  5. New coach needs at least 2 years to recruit and upgrade our very weak swimming and diving programs. Hopefully we have found a “Coach Fisher” to make us winners in one of the very best Olympic sports.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Game prediction and this hurts me to post it:

    Cuse 45 Pitt 31 Sloppy play, penalties, QB who will be frozen like a deer in the headlights, torched secondary and little fan support from a stadium with less than 25,000 fans at the game. UGLEEE! “OUR TEAM PLAYED HARD”

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Some things to consider. Cuse could not stop ND rushing O. Their best DB is out for the season, speedy but lightweight D line. Can we run Cuse to a pulp?

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  9. The OC Pitt should have hired versus the OC we did hire. Anae will put up at least thirty on Pitt. Cignetti won’t sniff thirty unless the Pitt D scores.

    Cuse 34 – 21

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    1. Cignetti has been a terrible hire for us and don’t see anything getting better until he is replaced

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  10. Pitt loses the football game tomorrow against the Orange by a score of 35-10.

    In the volleyball match tonight, the Orange go down in four sets on their home court to the Pitt juggernaut!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Pitt can run against Syracuse. Play action will work against them. And I’d get the TE involved. If Cig has this game plan, Pitt will score. I think Pitt does score more than thirty and I think a pick 6 seals the win. Cuse will go home with lemons.

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  15. In 2001, Pitt’s players quit on Walt and his no-huddle spread during a 42-10 loss to Syracuse, which is giving me bad vibes for this one as there are rumored locker room rumblings going on at the practice facility.

    Syracuse 31
    Pitt 17

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    1. Funny you should say that Nate… I’ve hear a bit of the same about the “We not me” mantra falling short this season.

      We’ll see more transfers out via portal than in past years I think. Bradley was just the first.

      Cignetti & his offense isn’t sitting well.

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      1. That and backups who feel like they should playing but are sitting because of entitled seniors starting. The first place to look is at the offensive line. Minor and Kradel should both be on the bench.

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  19. Rumor on the Lair has it that Izzy is not playing tomorrow. I didn’t think Pitt had much of a chance to win this Saturday with the absolute horrible Cignetti offense. But we Pitt fans could always hope Izzy would have another VT performance to give Pitt a good shot at winning.—If the rumor is true you all might just tape the game and only watch out if you find out later Pitt had a miracle win as the favorite. I’ll stick with my previous prediction however of Cuse 31 Pitt 10.

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  20. Well, we lose Izzy from the only unit that is playing well. What ese can go wrong? When no unit is playing up to its expected pre-season level of performance, it is hard to envision a scenario where one group takes the game over. The only hope we have is that Slovis somehow wakes up and throws 3 TD passes, and the defense shuts down their offense. I’m not thinking this will happen… Pitt loses 31 -24.

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    1. If not injury, he is quitting to get ready for draft.
      Why play? Coaching is awful. Awful. Players are poor. Simple dumpster fire. If it’s not an injury, this will be the first of many to come.

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  23. Cuse will load the box and Kancey will be in the Cuse backfield. If Shrader plays we will probably lose. So it is 4-5 or 5-4. Either way the season is shot.

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  25. I’m in the Burgh and have heard nothing about Izzy. A cynical ( are there any other kind?) Pitt fan at my hotel said “maybe he entered the transfer portal!”

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  26. Syracuse is pretty beat up on both sides of the ball from the last 2 weeks, the line has moved to Pitt -4, not sure if Shrader plays at all.

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  27. Just to be clear, my 35 – 30 Pitt win prediction was assuming Izzy is playing.
    😎
    Will be at Red5a at 10:30 am tomorrow with Wolfe…come early if you can.

    Liked by 1 person

        1. Actually we met briefly at the POV golf outing in Lancaster, Dan. Looking forward to seeing you again.

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    3. Just to be clear – today my entire game day entertainment experience is predicated on the tailgating at Red 5a –

      Lastrow, Wolfe, JoeL and others, please don’t opt out.

      A friend of mine text me yesterday to remind me “only 3 days until Pitt men’s BB season starts”. Oy vey!

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  28. Doesn’t Kancey have to sit out the first half tomorrow?

    I can tell you all the score before it even starts.

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    1. Ike – I’m no expert on the targeting rule, but Kancey’s crime occurred in the first half in our most recent loss.

      #8 sat out the entire 2nd half and I believe that he is eligible to start the cuse game.

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  29. I don’t trust this offense to score enough points to hang with Cuse. The defense will tire, and…

    Cuse 28
    Pitt 17

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      1. is99,
        Altoona Josh and Zack (twins?) were former posters on the POV who still stop out at the tailgate with their dad about once a year. Great guys.

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  32. Pitt wins their match against Syracuse in volleyball 3-0. Syracuse gave Pitt all it could handle in the first set pushing Pitt to a 25-23 win. Nwokolo was having a bad day in the first set. Starks replaced her in the second and third sets. Pitt did better in those two sets winning 25-18 and 25-19.

    Next volleyball match is Sunday at 1:00 PM at Boston College.

    Liked by 2 people

  33. Man Pat is smug in that interview. He is just taunting the audience and throwing it in your face.

    Orange 30
    pitt 9

    Gasoline gets thrown on the dumpster fire.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. I’m hoping that WR Barden contributes tomorrow. His talent has flashed before. There’s some sort of backstory to his playing time I believe.

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  38. ike – what I heard is that since it happened in the first half, and he sat out the second half, Kancey is good to go tomorrow…

    Watched a few minutes of Duke – BC. Duke’s QB is an excellent athlete; runs and passes well. I doubt we beat Duke.

    When Duzz studies film of opponents, he has to see the glaring difference a mobile QB makes (even if he has amnesia about what Kenny Pickett did last season)…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  39. Majors is correct on Kancey as the target call came in the 1st half. He sat out the rest of the 1st half and the 2nd half. That satisfies the 2 half stand down requirement for targeting.

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  40. Rumors of unrest in the locker room…Rumors of Izzy not playing…Rumors of the Altoona Brothers attending the tailgate.
    Guess we need some Fleetwood Mac to kick off the tailgate. 😎

    Liked by 2 people

  41. High winds this afternoon. All the more reason to run the ball. But will Pitt get too cute for their own good.

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    1. Look for Air-Cig and his SLO-MO protege to light up the sky vs the banged up cuse D who gave up a large amount of yardage on the ground the past two weeks.

      I question what tape these coaches actually look at.

      Liked by 1 person

  42. I’m actually surprised that Cignetti doesn’t run the wishbone. I doubt miffed we actually would have anymore players go the portable route. Who wouldn’t want to play in this dynamic, ball control, grind it out, win time of possession offense? Yup, Imthink that’s the future of college ball, and Imsee the NFL trending in that dir also. Further, why would you not run behind that road grating o line. They’ve always been great run blockers.
    And while I’m at it, what defensive player wouldn’t want to play in this shut down d which always adjusts and puts players in best position to make plays. Hey, we lead the nation in sacks, just ignore the 36 a game we give up.
    The more I think about it, we’re sure to rout these guys, yup, I’m actually changing my prediction, 48-3 us.

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    2. You sound almost as snarky as Duzz.

      King Pat sure embraces the fanbase with his charisma and engaging comments. Just watch the tape…

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  45. Our guys just have not been making enough plays, and making too many poor ones. Interceptions, fumbles, missed tackles and blocks not to mention inopportune penalties don’t add up to winning football games.

    Last year guys came up with those plays when needed, this year they are not. Of course the most obvious difference is at the QB and receiver positions, but on defense, the pressure has not been there to create turnovers which is crucial to success.

    Will that change today? While I hope so I wouldn’t bet on it.

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  47. The downtown tavern we stopped at for a pre-game meal has soccer on the TV screens, CFB Game Day and nothing resembling a Pitt pre-game show.

    Half the tavern staff have Pitt shirts and the same with the clientele.

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  48. Watching the Florida vs Tx A&M game – FL is 4-4 and Tex A&M is 3-5.

    Disappointed fans in many towns across the land.

    Heading to the Red 5A tailgate with Mrs. Erie who is rocking the gold pants.

    Go Pitt!

    Liked by 1 person

  50. For what its worth it looks like Izzy is on the field with the RB’s pre game. How much he plays who knows? But he certainly didn’t opt out for the remainder of the season as some speculated.

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  51. Izzy warming up BUT Chris peak from Lair doesn’t think he is playing today. DL Bentley out Gavin Thomson WR out. Hammond looks like he is taking 1st team reps so the Izzy not playing rumor may end up being accurate. Who know why?

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