For the second time this season, Pitt is coming off extended rest and preparation as the Panthers needed all that time and then some to ready themselves for one of the best quarterbacks they will face this season on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Syracuse signal caller Kyle McCord, a senior Ohio State transfer, is putting together a historic season for the Orange.
McCord has thrown for over 300 yards in each of his six starts – a Syracuse record. His 2,160 passing yards are the most by an Orange through six games.
He has also situated himself at the top of quarterback production in the nation with the most completions per game with 30.83 and the second-most passing yards per game with 360, along with 19 touchdown passes, tied for fifth in the country.
Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi has repeatedly offered glowing praise of how effective McCord is leading up to his team’s matchup with the Orange under the lights.
“Everything,” Narduzzi said on Tuesday regarding what makes McCord so dangerous. “He’s a really good football player that can make plays with his feet when he needs to. We got to play good coverage. That’s what scares you because he can make every throw and he’s very accurate.”
Narduzzi continually highlighted the success and poise McCord and the Orange have on third down.
“We watched him on third down the other day. I don’t know if he throws an incomplete pass, especially on third and medium. He throws darts. He’s accurate. He’s smart. He knows where to go with the ball. He will be the best quarterback that’s walked in to play us in this stadium in a while. So, we got a great chore ahead for us to defend him and a slew of really good receivers,” Narduzzi said.
Syracuse is converting at a 54.2 percent (52-of-95) clip on third down, which is tied for second-best in the country, making that an area of focus for the Panthers.
“The scariest part is third down,” Narduzzi said. “Money down will be critical. Third and medium, he doesn’t miss. He’s about 75 percent completion on third-down-and-long. We got to get off the field on third down.”
A key for Pitt in stopping McCord will come via pressure. The Panthers have ramped up their success rate at getting to the quarterback in the last few weeks, including a season-high six sacks against the California Golden Bears. Pitt ranks 13th nationally with three sacks per game.
“Getting pressure on the quarterback is obviously critical every week. With Kyle McCord back there with the ball in his hand, I mean, let me just tell you, third and medium, I mean if you look at third and medium — okay, and third and long he’s good, too. But third and medium, it’s like — I’m watching a videotape, and I’m like does the guy throw an incomplete pass. I mean, like, he’s special. I mean he’s as good a quarterback as I’ve seen that we’ve got to defend this week.”
Defensively, the Panthers have answered the bell as games have gone on, especially in the secondary. However, the Panthers allow 244.7 yards per game through the air – 104th out of 136 FBS teams. The young cornerbacks will be in for their toughest test yet.
“McCord, he’s a good quarterback for sure,” cornerback Ryland Gandy said on Monday. “He can throw the ball all around the yard. We have to make sure that we do what we have to do to take him off his first read. Of course, that’s what we want to do with every quarterback, take them off their first read and make them look somewhere else. Then, hopefully we have pressure coming his way. We know he can throw the ball and we have to cover these guys, especially when he scrambles out.”
For McCord, he has a load of pass catchers to his advantage with three surpassing 400 yards. Jackson Meeks has caught 38 passes for 459 yards and four touchdowns, Trebor Pena, who is doubtful for Thursday’s matchup, has 42 receptions for 458 yards and five scores and tight end Oronde Gadsden II has 32 catches for 433 yards and three touchdowns.
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