Pitt entered Thursday night’s game hoping to put pressure on Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord and force him out of his comfort zone.

As it turned out, McCord was the most uncomfortable man in Acrisure Stadium almost from the start of Pitt’s 41-13 victory. He threw five interceptions: four in the first half, three returned for touchdowns and one that set up a field goal. He has thrown a total of eleven this season.

The Panthers’ three pick-6s marked just the sixth time since 2000 that an FBS team has accomplished the feat and the first time since USC did it against Rice in 2022. Pitt is the third ACC team in two decades to have three defensive scores touchdowns in one half. (Boston College, 2006, and Miami, 2018).

The Syracuse quarterback, whose presence in the game attracted scouts from 14 NFL teams, was sacked four times and rushed six times. He completed 35 of 64 passes for 321 yards. Before the game, he was the second-leading passer in the country, averaging 360 yards per game.

Also in attendance was former Pitt All-American wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who was honored as a member of the College Hall of Fame’s class of 2024. Fitzgerald spoke to the team before the game.

“I just told them to play hard,” he said. “We have proven that we are one of the best teams in the game. Three interceptions in the first quarter. Come on, who could have come up with that script? This is a hungry group.”

The loss dropped the Orange to 5-2, 2-2 in the ACC, while No. 19 Pitt started 7-0 for the fifth time since 1929 (’29, ’76, ’81 and ’82). The Panthers are 3-0 in the ACC, tied for second place with SMU and Miami. Clemson leads with a 5-0 record.

Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Holstein completed 11 of 15 passes for 108 yards and touchdowns to wide receivers CJ Lee and Poppi Williams. Holstein, who was replaced by Nate Yarnell early in the fourth quarter, is the third Pitt quarterback to win his first seven starts, joining Rick Trocano (seven in the 1977 and 1978 seasons) and Dan Marino (nine, 1979). In the first half, Pitt defenders caught one fewer pass (four) than their teammates on offense (five).

The win also marked Pitt’s fourth victory this season against a team that defeated the Panthers in 2023 (Cincinnati, West Virginia, North Carolina and Syracuse).

On Syracuse’s first possession, McCord threw an interception into the arms of Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles, who returned the Orange’s fourth pass of the game 35 yards for a score. It was the first pick-6 by a Pitt linebacker since Sir Vocea Dennis did it against Clemson in 2021, but it was just the beginning.

The Panthers put pressure on Syracuse’s passing game on the next possession when they surrounded Oronde Gadsen with three players. Safety Javon McIntyre made a play on Gadsen, cornerback Ryland Gandy tipped the football into the air and linebacker Brandon George caught it inches from the turf.

Pitt was lined up at the Syracuse 44, but settled for Ben Sauls’ 49-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead with 8 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first quarter. Sauls added a 57-yard rush in the fourth quarter – the second-longest in school history. The field goals were Sauls’ 13th and 14th in a row, a Pitt record over two seasons.

Before the end of the first quarter, linebacker Kyle Louis intercepted a pass on third down and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. The surprising turn of events gave Pitt a 17-0 lead with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers scored in more conventional fashion in the second quarter when Holstein and Lee connected on a 20-yard score at the end of a 65-yard drive.

Pitt kept the pressure on McCord, and linebacker Braylan Lovelace picked off another pass and returned it 33 yards for a score and a 31-0 halftime lead.

Syracuse opened the second half with an 18-play, 73-yard drive that took 9:34 and ended with a 1-yard sneak from McCord. Pitt didn’t make its first play of the third quarter until 5:22.

The outcome extended Pitt’s winning streak to six on Thursday night, while Syracuse lost 11 straight in Pittsburgh.