Pittsburgh Beats Syracuse 76-61. In Football.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse set a record for most points scored in a NCAA Division I non-overtime game on November 26th. In what would have been a fairly typical basketball score , Pittsburgh beat Syracuse 76-61, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, and yes the defenses actually played. Or were at least on the field; it’s questionable if they actually played.

If you like offense, then this four hour marathon was your dream game. There were a combined 20 touchdowns scored. Syracuse quarterback Zach Mahoney passed for 440 yards and five touchdowns, and completed 43 of 61 passes. His counterpart at Pittsburgh, passed for 251 yards and four touchdowns. He got those 251 yards and four TDs on just nine completed passes. The Panthers outrushed Syracuse 393-228; Pittsburgh had 6 rushing touchdowns while Syracuse had four. There were no kick or punt returns for touchdowns, and only two interceptions, none of which were returned for touchdowns. There were no field goals, or two point conversions; all the points scored were by touchdowns or kicked PATs, three of which were no good. Considering how many attempts there were, missing three is probably related to the Law of Averages.

Syracuse finished the season 4-8, while Pittsburgh finished the regular season at 8-4. The Panthers will await a Bowl bid. Here’s a thought: Perhaps they could match up against Navy. The Midshipmen, who are 9-2 and will host Temple in the American Athletic Conference championship game next weekend, beat SMU 75-31.