SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kenny Pickett threw for four touchdowns as Pitt’s Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback led the Panthers over they Syracuse Orange, 31-14 to close the regular season.
After a slow start to the game, Pickett and the Pitt offense came alive with two long scoring drives in the second quarter, with Pickett finding Rodney Hammond Jr. and Biletnikoff Award candidate Jordan Addison.
Pickett picked up right where he left off after the break, with a four-yard swing pass to Gavin Bartholomew to make it 21-7 and then a five-yard wide receiver screen to Addison to put Pitt up three scores.
Pickett threw 38 times, completing 28 for 209 yards, four scores and one interception as he put the finishing touches on his Heisman candidacy on a day where many of his chief rivals stumbled.
Addison, similarly, had a strong statistical performance, hauling in 11 passes for 81 yards and two scores.
Former Gateway wide receiver Courtney Jackson was the only Orange player that could hurt Pitt, catching two touchdown passes, one on either side of Pickett’s four scores, to keep the game close as the Pitt defense completely neutralized Orange running back Sean Tucker, who had a season-low 29 yards on 13 carries.
Pitt, already Coastal Champs, will face Wake Forest in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte next Saturday at 8 p.m.
