Pitt Football: 3 takeaways from ACC win at Syracuse in Week 8
By Zach Bigalke
1. It was a tale of two halves for A.J. Davis and V’Lique Carter
In the first half, the Pitt running game looked stellar against Syracuse. The backfield combination of A.J. Davis and V’Lique Carter teamed up for more than 100 yards in the first two quarters of the game. Davis punched in a five-yard touchdown run up the gut with just under five minutes left before halftime as the duo helped pace the Panthers to a big lead at the intermission.
The second half was far less kind to the two running backs. In the third quarter, the duo struggled to find holes as Syracuse stiffened up at the line of scrimmage. In the third quarter each back managed only three yards apiece on the ground, as the Orange front seven closed up the holes that opened up so easily in the first 30 minutes of the game.
By the end of the night, Davis and Carter finished with a combined 133 yards between them on 22 carries. All but 31 of those yards were gained in the first half of the game. It was a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance by the Pitt ground game that kept them from putting up any more touchdowns after halftime.
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If Pitt is going to make a legitimate charge to try to defend their ACC Coastal crown this season, they need more consistent production from their backfield throughout an entire game.