Film review: Weak rush defense leads to loss against Pitt

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Syracuse didn’t score a touchdown for the first time this season, dropping its third straight game in a 19-9 loss to unranked Pittsburgh. On top of their lowest of total offensive yards this season, the Orange allowed 161 yards on the ground.

The Panthers averaged 3.4 yards per carry and finished the game with 136 more rushing yards than Syracuse. All Pittsburgh needed were two touchdowns to defeat the Orange, which came on the ground by Rodney Hammond Jr. and C’Bo Flemister, who recorded 124 and 42 yards, respectively — both career highs.

“If a team runs the ball that much, something’s gonna give. Yards are gonna happen,” Syracuse linebacker Marlowe Wax said.

Here’s how Pittsburgh dismantled Syracuse’s rushing defense on Saturday:

Pitt opens the gap, Hammond delivers

Hammond’s knack for taking advantage of gaps within Syracuse’s defense began in the second quarter. Prior to the snap on 2nd-and-5, Pitt’s Karter Johnson and Trey Andersen simultaneously swung over to the right side of the Panthers’ line, forcing Wax to step up to the line of scrimmage while Derek McDonald fell back to the second level.

McDonald was in the perfect position to make the play after moving back, but he shot up to fill the gap. This allowed for Pitt offensive lineman Marcus Minor to easily flush out McDonald. Meanwhile Hammond reached the first down plus another five yards before Duce Chestnut brought him down just shy of midfield.

The Orange’s 3-3-5 defensive lineup in this situation was obsolete as the Panthers had seven players on the line. Bringing Wax up to the line helped with the pressure, but Syracuse is going to lose this battle every time.

Flemister clutches up on back-to-back 1st downs

Just like it did with Hammond, Pittsburgh lined up Flemister in the backfield and loaded up the line of scrimmage on this play, which should’ve signaled a run for the Syracuse defense. The Orange’s lineman were drastically outnumbered on this play, again, and their secondary lined up deep despite Pitt having one receiver out wide.

On the snap, Caleb Okechukwu was immediately double-teamed, Jatius Geer was once again shoved away, and Elijah Fuentes-Cundiff was completely run over on that left side.

Mikel Jones almost made a play near the line of scrimmage, but he was stopped by Gabe Houy. The Panthers didn’t do anything special on this play. They won the 7-on-4 battle.

Flemister was lined up deep in the backfield, but this time, Pittsburgh had two receivers lined up on the right. On the handoff, it seemed that the Panthers had drawn up this run to play out on the right side. But Okechukwu successfully got through the line after Houy aimed too far outside, and Flemister had to cut.

The Panthers had their tight end, who was Johnson on this play, always work the opposite direction in case Flemister cut back. Alijah Clark would’ve met him at the line of scrimmage, but Johnson shoved him aside and gave Flemister plenty of room to run along the left sideline.

SU overpursued on this play with none of its defenders covering up any cutback lanes. Even Chestnut and Rob Hanna sprinted the other direction right when Flemister made his first cut, eventually bringing him down.

Hammond leads the charge again, Panthers run out the clock

Given Pittsburgh’s field position at its own 30, Syracuse was lined up how it should’ve on this play, keeping all 11 players within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage on 2nd-and-5.

But when Hammond took off through the pocket, that’s when everything broke down for the Orange on this play. Hanna blitzed and easily got in front of Hammond, but he completely missed the takedown at the line of scrimmage.

Hammond continued to power through the middle and scrambled five yards for the first down after Okechukwu failed to bring him down as well. The Panthers secured their first first down of the final quarter as the clock began to tick below the four minute mark.

Another six yard rush by Hammond inched Pittsburgh closer to midfield to set up this play on 2nd-and-4. A Panthers first down was likely going to be enough for them to manage the clock and hold on to snap its two-game losing streak.

Pittsburgh’s offense was once again lined up tight around the line of scrimmage, which signaled the probability that Hammond was going to have his fourth straight carry of the Pittsburgh drive. With Syracuse needing to stop the clock, its defense should’ve forced Hammond out of bounds.

But Syracuse defensive end Kevon Darton — who is lined up the furthest left on SU’s defensive line — jumps inward off the snap, anticipating a run up the middle. Jason Simmons Jr. almost made that play, but Hammond easily cut inside for the final dagger.