Pitt Football: 3 takeaways from ACC win at Syracuse in Week 8

3. The Pitt defense came up big on the road

Syracuse never really had a chance on their home field, thanks to the performance by the Pitt defense on Friday night in New York. The Panthers made life difficult for their hosts regardless of whether the Orange tried to pass the ball or keep it on the ground. Unable to move the ball consistently downfield, Syracuse was betrayed by their offensive line.

Starting quarterback Tommy DeVito was knocked out of the game after taking his sixth sack of the contest on the opening drive of the third quarter as he was driven into the turf right on his throwing shoulder. DeVito came into the game on the next series, but coughed up a fumble and was sidelined. With the early exit he ended the night with 101 yards through the air on 11-of-23 passing.

In came Clayton Welch, who had one huge touchdown throw on his first snap after DeVito left the game for good. But other than the 94-yard pass on third-and-9 that pulled the Orange within 11 points of their visitors, Welch threw for only 82 yards the rest of the night as he completed only eight of his 20 passing attempts.

Syracuse also struggled to move the ball on the ground, as Pitt continued to stuff holes and prevent the Orange from making any substantive progress. Averaging just 1.5 yards per play, the home team finished with only 51 rushing yards on 34 team carries as the Panthers repeatedly thwarted their efforts to get on the scoreboard.