Dear Orange Fizz reader, I hope you are enjoying a weekend free of Syracuse stress. No untimely interceptions, blown coverages, lopsided results, or awkward press conference moments can ruin your three-day weekend.
That being said, I do write today with some disappointing news. Syracuse’s next opponent, the formidable Pittsburgh Panthers, may be slightly better than we expected.
While the Orange were enjoying a week off of gameplay, the Panthers went to battle against #25 Florida State this Saturday and came out on top, 34-31, after trailing by seven at the half.
Now, is this one of the elite Florida State teams of the past? No. But they’ve been ranked throughout the season, and Pittsburgh was able to hold off a late comeback attempt and down the Seminoles.
Next week’s clash for SU now seems like it might be even harder than it was previously thought to be. And a large reason for that is Pitt’s true freshman quarterback, Mason Heintschel. He took over the starting duties last week for Pitt and has looked really good since.
Heintschel’s starting journey began with a huge 47-7 rout of Boston College last week. And what better way to follow that up than throwing for 321 yards and defeating a top 25 team on the road a week later.
There may be a real new QB threat in the ACC, and the Orange run into him less than a week from now. This is all the more reason that Syracuse has to clean up its quarterback situation by next Saturday. Rickie Collins has turned in two forgettable performances and now faces off against a quarterback who’s in the complete opposite situation.
Rickie has the chance to prove himself against another young gunslinger. Is he (and the rest of SU) up to the task?
