Pitt stays perfect, improves to 3-0 by grinding its way to a 27-13 win over sloppy Syracuse

PITTSBURGH -- , Damon Ferguson Jr ., La'Vell Wright and Mason Heintschel ran for touchdowns, and Pittsburgh continued its perfect start with a 27-13 win over Syracuse on Thursday night. The Panthers (3-0, 1-0 ACC) piled up 245 yards on the ground despite playing without injured starting running back Boosier Turner to make Pat Narduzzi a winner in his school-record 144th game as head coach. “Nice to win when you don’t play your best football on offense or defense,” Narduzzi said. Pitt's running game had struggled a bit coming in, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. The Panthers nearly doubled that total in their conference opener. Ferguson, a freshman, provided a jolt with a 32-yard sprint to the end zone early in the second quarter that gave Pitt a 14-point lead. “He’s that guy,” Panther linebacker Braylon Lovelace said of Ferguson. “He’s a young guy.