Pitt Football: 3 reasons the Panthers will beat Syracuse in Week 3
By Nick Fiore
3. Syracuse offensive line issues
The offensive line was a concern coming into this season for Syracuse and we saw why against North Carolina.
Last year’s unit gave up 50 sacks, the second most among all Power Five teams. On Saturday, the Tar Heels had seven sacks along with 11 tackles for loss and nine quarterback hurries. They were in the backfield all day, anytime Syracuse looked like they were getting a little bit of momentum offensively, a Carolina defender got pressure on quarterback Tommy DeVito.
The run game couldn’t get anything going either with very few running lanes. One of the biggest offseason moves for Syracuse was getting Florida guard transfer Chris Bleich who would’ve immediately been a starter and the best player on the Syracuse line. The NCAA denied his request for immediate eligibility though so he won’t be playing this year.
Converted fullback/tight end Chris Elmore was forced to start at guard and will be starting again against Pitt. Elmore actually wasn’t the biggest issue but that shows you how thin this unit is.
Syracuse’s biggest weakness is their offensive line and they’ll be going up against a Pitt front that could end up being the best in the ACC. This is a nightmare scenario for Syracuse’s offense.