Pittsburgh linebacker coach Ryan Manalac nicknamed his group “The Sharks” throughout coaching camp, an ode to their relentlessness and starvation.

Manalac’s gamers have leaned into it. And on Thursday evening, the Nineteenth-ranked Panthers and “The Sharks’ in the course of their protection despatched a message to Syracuse and the remainder of the ACC that Pitt’s unbeaten begin is hardly a fluke.

Rasheem Biles, Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace — linebackers all — returned first-half interceptions for touchdowns because the Panthers crushed Syracuse 41-13.

“This ‘shark’ stuff is known as a motion,” mentioned Biles, whose 35-yard rating simply over two minutes in set the tone. “It’s actually deep for us. … It simply exhibits how a lot work we put in, how good we’re, … it brings pleasure to us.”

They are not the one ones. The “Panther Pitt” pupil part at Acrisure Stadium is dotted with shark gear, together with followers in full costume. They celebrated collectively after Lovelace’s 33-yard dash to the top zone late within the second quarter put Pitt up 31-0.

“We satisfaction ourselves on being referred to as ‘The Sharks,’” mentioned Louis, who weaved 59 yards for a rating halfway via the primary quarter. “Should you are available in right here, you higher learn to swim.”

Syracuse (5-2, 2-2) couldn’t as Pitt improved to 7-0 for the primary time since 1982 behind a protection that harassed Kyle McCord from the primary snap and by no means let up.

The Ohio State switch threw picks on every of Syracuse’s first three possessions, with Biles and Louis scoring on two of them. The opposite got here with linebacker Brandon George mendacity on his abdomen and plucking a deflected ball out of the air simply earlier than it hit the bottom.

The Panthers had been hardly accomplished. When Lovelace sniffed out a display late and raced to the top zone, the Panthers turned the primary group since Southern California in 2022 to have three pick-6s in a recreation.

“Our protection was our offense in the present day,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi mentioned.

The protection was so dominant it hardly mattered that the Panthers’ high-powered offense was not often on the sector. Eli Holstein handed for 108 yards and two touchdowns earlier than exiting within the fourth quarter after taking a success on the finish of a designed quarterback run.

Narduzzi mentioned afterward that Holstein “was going to be positive” and held out for the rest of the sport as a precaution.

Pitt — picked to complete thirteenth within the new-look ACC in August — improved to 3-0 within the league and remained within the combine for a spot within the convention championship recreation as November begins.

“This was extra like an announcement recreation to the ACC and actually to all people,” Lovelace mentioned. “We’re going to shine each week.”

And earn a little bit of payback within the course of. The Orange embarrassed Pitt at Yankee Stadium final fall whereas working for 382 yards. Syracuse’s offense has made a significant shift with McCord behind heart, and the Panthers relished the prospect to even the rating.

McCord completed 35 of 64 for 327 yards with 5 interceptions as Syracuse (5-2, 2-2) hit its first main speedbump underneath first-year head coach Fran Brown. The Orange dominated in time of possession (41:12 to 18:48) and whole yards (327-223) however had been undone by McCord’s errors and an incapability to deal with Pitt defenders as they raced to the top zone.

“This has acquired to be the very best efficiency all-time on this group,” Louis mentioned. “Any individual’s acquired to point out me one thing higher … We’ve acquired to get placed on a wall or one thing after that efficiency.”

The takeaway

Syracuse: It wasn’t simply the interceptions that doomed the Orange, it was the penalties. Syracuse was flagged eight occasions for 70 yards, together with a roughing-the-passer name within the second quarter that worn out an interception in Pitt territory that would have gotten the Orange again within the recreation.

Pitt: The Panthers relied closely on first-year offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s uptempo offense whereas successful their first 5 video games. The protection, lengthy Pitt’s calling card throughout Pat Narduzzi’s 10-year tenure, has returned to type, although loads of challenges stay if Pitt desires to return to the ACC title recreation for the second time in 4 years.

Ballot implications

Count on the Panthers to rise a bit subsequent week when the brand new ballot comes out Sunday. The Orange had been second amongst groups additionally receiving votes this week however count on the variety of their supporters to drop precipitously.