Ten penalties for 94 yards on Syracuse; Pitt 8/72.
Axe and co-s were also spot-on about Steve Angeli. Finally, in this game, Fran Brown lifted him. Brown is in trouble, Syracuse football is in trouble.
In this millennium (a stat that makes Axe an axe murderer) Pitt is 21-5 against Syracuse.
The "Mountain Cats" are 3-0 against Miami (1-1 on season), Central Florida (1-1), and Syracuse (1-2). All three games at home. No, not Murderer's Row but a MAC team that was 7-7 in 2025, a Big XII team (5-7, 2025) and an ACC team (3-9). Pitt was 8-5 last season. Not Murderer's Row, but just a block down from where we ourselves were. We were favored in all three dubs.
How good is Pitt? They got one vote for top twenty-five this past week. I think the consensus hovered around 40th pre-season. I think as a whole the team is better than that, I'd peg them as border top-25. Mason Heintschel has not thrown a TD pass since Miami. He has the one INT tonight. He has not dominated, except for Miami. Teams have film on him now. He is very good, and he won't kill you with mistakes, but axe the dark horse Heisman talk. We do run the ball at Pitt and tonight Ferguson, Jr. and Wright made like Dorsett and Walker, over 200 yards between them. I think the offense is better than 40-ish. But the defense, Pat Narduzzi's specialty--CONGRATULATIONS PAT!--is one of the best in the country imo, and it is that unit that moves Pitt's needle at, or into, the top-25 league.
