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When Syracuse started hot this season, it finished cold. And when SU needed to capitalize in key situations throughout the year, it rarely did.

The Orange (5-7, 2-6 Atlantic Coast) started hot on their first drive against No. 20 Pittsburgh (10-2, 7-1 ACC) on Saturday. Quarterback Garrett Shrader led SU on a 14-play drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Jackson, Shrader’s first touchdown pass in over a month.

Syracuse’s defense, like its offense, opened the game strong. It forced the Panthers’ Atlantic Coast Conference-leading offense into two punts and one turnover on downs in their first three drives, making it appear as if SU had a chance to spring an upset win that would send it to a bowl game.

But Syracuse couldn’t hold on. A screen pass from Kenny Pickett to Rodney Hammond Jr. tied the game midway through the second quarter, and from there, the Orange were outscored 24-7. A combination of personal fouls, a costly fumble and a struggling rushing attack led SU to a 31-14 home loss that likely ended its season. Barring a surprise bowl bid, the 5-7 Orange will stay home in late December for the third straight year, with Saturday’s loss concluding a once-hopeful season with a deflating defeat.

“It’s frustrating we couldn’t pull it out,” Shrader said. “We just got to find our silver lining and carry that into next year and be better.”

SU started its season strong, going 3-1 through its first four games and looking like a potential contender in the ACC after a close win over Malik Willis and Liberty in September. But then Syracuse endured a rough stretch in October, losing three straight games by exactly three points. Wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College put the Orange on the brink of bowl eligibility, yet when they had opportunities to take advantage, they didn’t, losing three games to end the season, each by 17 points or more. Syracuse’s offense recorded just over 11 points per game in November.

“I feel like it’s extremely frustrating, and I think people were getting complacent a little bit with three games left,” Jackson said. “We only needed one, but we’ll get back to work and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Shrader and SU’s offense had an opportunity in the second quarter. Tied 7-7, The quarterback found Devaughn Cooper open over the middle, and it looked like Cooper would break into Pitt territory for a big gain. But then Cooper lost the football. Linebacker SirVocea Dennis scooped it up, giving the Panthers good field position.

Then, Pittsburgh’s star quarterback, Pickett, hit Jordan Addison for a touchdown, giving the Panthers their first lead of the game. Syracuse was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on its next drive, which ended with a three-and-out and a punt from the back of its end zone. Shrader ran the ball on all three plays, never giving it to running back Sean Tucker or looking for receivers downfield.

The lack of offensive production from Tucker and the rest of SU’s offense symbolized how much of the game went for the Orange offensively. Syracuse gained just 25 rushing yards on 30 attempts, and Tucker finished with only 29 yards on 13 carries. It was Tucker’s third game this season with fewer than 100 rushing yards, and his worst performance of the year in SU’s most critical game.

The Orange’s only two touchdowns against NC State came on touchdowns runs from Shrader and Tucker. But Pitt entered the game with the best rushing defense in the ACC, allowing just 98.1 yards on the ground per game, and have emphasized all season loading the box and bringing seven or eight plays near the line of scrimmage. The strategy has shut down rushing attacks all season, and it did the same for Syracuse’s on Saturday night.

Syracuse made adjustments during the game, Shrader said, specifically with getting receivers open against the tight man coverage Pittsburgh was playing. It worked late in the third quarter when Shrader hit Jackson for a 15-yard touchdown pass off a wheel route, but at that point, it seemed like it was too late.

Pitt had scored on its first two drives after halftime, opening a seven-point halftime lead into a 21-point one. SU was forced to defend Pickett, who came into Saturday ranked top-five nationally in both passing yards (3,857) and touchdowns (36). Against Syracuse, the senior gave Pittsburgh its 10th win behind four touchdown tosses — including two to Addison — that will send the Panthers into next week’s ACC Championship Game on a four-game win streak.

“That was one of the best offenses in the conference,” Syracuse head coach Dino Babers said. “That quarterback is the best quarterback in the conference. What our defense did against him was really good. … It’s like you were dealing with an NFL guy in college.”

Pickett’s 25-yard pass to Addison off a play-action fake broke the game’s tie in the second quarter, with the sophomore receiver easily beating Aman Greenwood in coverage and hauling in the pass for his Football Bowl Subdivision-leading 16th receiving touchdown of the season.

Then in the third quarter, Pitt ran three straight screen passes for Addison, and the receiver took the last of them for a 5-yard touchdown. Addison got a key block on the edge from Shocky Jacques-Louis on Duce Chestnut and took a bow in the end zone after recording his second touchdown of the game. It put the Panthers up 28-7 with 20 minutes left in Syracuse’s season.

After those 20 minutes were up and the final whistle blew, SU’s season was over. The 3-1 start didn’t lead to a bowl game, and the situational mistakes led to postgame questions about whether Babers will return to coach the Orange for a seventh season.

Babers and his players wouldn’t address those questions. But for the third consecutive year, Syracuse will not be playing in a bowl game. Despite Tucker’s historic season and the boost Shrader brought to SU’s rushing attack, the Orange couldn’t manufacture enough offense in their final three losses of the season, leading to them again likely missing out on late-December football.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” Tucker said. “We tried to get a win today to become bowl eligible, but it didn’t go that way.”

Published on November 27, 2021 at 10:49 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @csmith17_