The Syracuse safeties could recognize Pittsburgh’s formations on Saturday, and they could warn their teammates what to expect. But the advice of Bruce Williams and A.J. Brown was not enough for the Orange front seven, not enough to prevent the basic running plays that were coming at them.

And, by the second half, not enough for a win.

‘We were yelling to our linebackers ‘the power’s coming,’ or ‘they’re coming with their trap,” Williams said. ‘And then one thing led to another and they’re breaking out, and me and A.J. are chasing them down.’

There was little subtlety in the Panthers’ second half attack, a continuous cascade of straight-forward running plays – 29 rushes in all, dives and traps mostly – as it churned out a 34-24 comeback win against Syracuse on Saturday.

Panther quarterback Bill Stull threw the ball nine times in the second half, and just twice in the fourth quarter. Tailbacks LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling did most of the damage. McCoy was the workhorse, pounding his way to a season-high 149 yards, and Stephens-Howling was the jitterbug, scooting around and through the Syracuse defense for 71 yards and two scores.

The running backs were the fulcrum of Pitt’s 89-yard drive to tie the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter. McCoy carried six times and snapped off a 34-yard jaunt, while Stephens-Howling ran the ball twice and scored the tying touchdown.

It didn’t matter which back carried the ball Saturday. They had the same effect on the Orange, Brown said. ‘They both have the same, similar things,’ Brown said. ‘It’s just one’s bigger and one’s smaller.’

And both chewed up clock. Pittsburgh held the ball for 19:52 in the second half, dominating time of possession and towing itself back into the game. Then, into the lead and into a win.

The numbing, Novocain drip selection of handoffs catalyzed the Panthers when they were sluggish. But they never wavered, even when they trailed.

Early on, it seemed like a rushing attack might not be in the cards for the visitors. Pitt came out throwing and fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter and again in the third.

So the Syracuse defense had reason to be optimistic heading into the second half. The Orange led, 17-13. It had harassed Stull and harnessed the Pitt backs. It prevented big plays, the ‘explosive’ plays that head coach Greg Robinson worries about.

The defense had bent, but not broken. ‘We played good,’ defensive tackle Nick Santiago said of the first half.

‘And that second half, I don’t know what happened.’

The Pitt running game happened. The Panthers ran a two-tight end set most of the game, their front seven (average weight: 280 pounds) ramming into the Syracuse front seven (average weight: 250 pounds) play after play, narrowing the gap with chunks of yards accumulated on the ground.

‘We let them get to a point where we let them get to a lead,’ Robinson said. ‘And I’d say this about them, when they get into that situation, they’re tough because they go to two tight ends, two backs and all of a sudden those quick-hitting backs, with more blocking on you, it’s tough.’

The last Pittsburgh scoring drive showed that. The Panthers took over at the Orange 34 after a Cameron Dantley fumble. They led 27-24. McCoy ran three straight times up the middle: three yards, then six, then four. As a change of pace, he ran right on the next play. McCoy picked up another four yards. Glancing blows, really. But steady blows.

Then Stephen-Howlings subbed in and finished the job. He got four carries, too: seven yards, then one, then six, then a three-yard touchdown to seal the Panthers win.

That was the second half, in an exaggerated nutshell: The Panthers kept driving the ball forward. Simple, but effective. Enough for a win.

‘I guess it was too easy for them,’ Williams said, ‘because they stuck with one play.’

ramccull@syr.edu

Published on September 28, 2008 at 12:00 pm