Syracuse Comeback Comes Up Short

Saturday, October 18

Syracuse, N.Y.

7:30 PM

Syracuse University

3-4 , 1-3

Pittsburgh

5-2 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Pittsburgh

Syracuse

10/18/2025 11:21:00 PM | Football

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Syracuse football's defense was on display through much of a long-standing rivalry game with Pittsburgh Saturday night, but the Orange dropped a 30-13 final score at the JMA Wireless Dome, despite pulling within 10 points and having possession of the ball midway through the fourth quarter.

Syracuse (3-4, 1-3 ACC) was backed by its defense, which came up with 12 total tackles for loss, including 2.5 from Kevin Jobity Jr. Davien Kerr picked off the Panthers once while the defensive corps held Pitt to just 260 total yards.

Syracuse's offense was led by Rickie Collins, who completed 16 passes for 126 yards while leading the Orange on the ground with 37 total yards. Collins connected with Darrell Gill Jr. and Emanuel Ross for touchdowns.

Pitt (5-2, 3-1 ACC) had 143 passing yards from Mason Heintschel, who was held without a passing touchdown and was picked off once. Ja'Kyrian Turner led the game with 42 rushing yards, with Heintschel and Juelz Goff scoring on the ground.

The Orange make the trek to Atlanta next week for a showdown with No. 12 Georgia Tech on October 25 with a noon start on ESPN. 'Cuse returns to the JMA Wireless Dome for a Halloween night game with North Carolina on Friday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Cuse.com/Tickets.

Pitt took an early lead in the contest after Collins threw a sideline interception on the Orange's first possession. Pitt took advantage of the miscue and scored just three plays later on a 36-yard run by Heintschel on 3rd and long.

After each team traded punts, Kerr picked off Heintschel late in the first quarter deep in the Panthers' end. Two plays later, Collins hit Gill for an 11-yard touchdown pass, tying things up 7-7 going into the second quarter.

The Orange defense continued to hold the Panthers, limiting Pitt to a field goal after a 14-play, 62-yard drive that used over six minutes of clock. The visitors took a 10-7 lead on a field goal with 11:02 left in the second quarter.

With 18 seconds left in the half, a booming Jack Stonehouse kick was returned 66 yards by Pitt's Kenny Johnson for a touchdown and a 17-7 Pittsburgh lead going into the break.

After a field goal for Pitt three and a half minutes into the third quarter, the teams again traded punts over the next six combined possessions.

A third Collins interception, this one coming off a late deflection that sent the ball directly into the hands of a Panthers DB, set up Pitt deep in Syracuse territory, but once again, the defense held strong and limited the Panthers to another field goal to push the lead to 23-7.

The Orange responded with a touchdown five minutes later as Collins hit Emanuel Ross for a 12-yard touchdown to cap a 65-yard scoring drive. The 2-point try came up short as 'Cuse pulled back to a 23-13 deficit with six minutes left on the clock.

Reaching into the bag of tricks, Jayden Oh blasted the kickoff right at a Pitt player, setting up a Syracuse recovery just short of midfield to start the next drive. Syracuse was unable to convert the extra possession into points, and Pitt wound out the clock, traversing 35 yards for one final score.