Orange Make Road Trip to Pittsburgh Thursday
9/14/2026 3:17:00 PM | Football
Syracuse begins a 35-day stretch away from the JMA Wireless Dome as they head to Pittsburgh to clash with the Panthers on Thursday, September 17. The conference matchup between familiar foes is set to air on ESPN with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff.
With the game falling on a Thursday, the tilt in Pittsburgh comes on a short week. Regardless of when the game is, Brown said he and his team plan to work and do whatever it takes to get a win this week.
"Whatever it takes 1-0 this week, that's what we're looking to be able do," Brown said in his weekly press conference. "We'll just go out and compete and work our butts off to have the opportunity to go 1-0 this week. Whatever that means, whatever that comes down to during the game, whatever we have to do in that game to go 1-0 – that's what our mindset is.
Really, we just have to focus on Monday. Then, we get Tuesday, then we get Wednesday and before you know it, it'll be 7:30 p.m. Thursday and we'll have the chance to compete for three-and-a-half hours."
Thursday's matchup marks the 82nd all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Orange, a series dating back to 1916. Head coach Fran Brown is looking forward to the matchup, calling Pitt a well-coached team and praising head coach Pat Narduzzi.
"Coach [Pat] Narduzzi is going to have a disciplined football team that likes to compete," Brown said. "They're a physical team. I like what he does. Coach Narduzzi is a good football coach. I like how he has his defense sound and they like to hit. They run around, fly to the football, create turnovers."
Syracuse will face off with Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel for the second time in his career on Thursday. The Heintschel-led Pitt offense mustered 255 yards of total offense against Syracuse last season, its third-lowest output of the entire 2025 campaign. Brown said he has a lot of respect for Heintschel and is looking forward to his defense getting the chance to take him on.
"On the offensive side of the ball, they create big plays," Brown said. "They got a good quarterback. Mason [Heintschel] is one of the better quarterbacks in the country. This conference is quarterback happy… they make plays, they put a lot of points on the board."
Syracuse put together 437 yards of total offense against Cal, including three receivers going for over 70 yards. Justus Ross-Simmons led the group with 105 yards while Umari Hatcher and Daunte Bacheyie tallied 77 and 74 yards, respectively. Brown praised the receiving corps for its performance and said he expects the group to keep improving as the season goes on.
"I think a bunch of the [wide receivers] did a good job last week," Brown said. "All of those guys will continue to evolve and continue to get better. Just have to continue to get better, just have to keep working. Whatever it takes to win this week, that's what we're working on doing."
With Thursday's matchup approaching, Brown offered a simple key to the game.
"Make one more play than they make at the end of the game," Brown said.
The Orange's next home game comes on October 17 when they host Louisville for an ACC matchup. Tickets are still available at Cuse.com/FootballTickets.
