BRONX, N.Y. – Syracuse earned their first conference win of the season in a 28-13 victory over Pitt at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. From a five-game losing streak to one win closer to bowl eligibility, the Syracuse Orange in their 79th matchup against Pittsburgh demonstrated just why head coach Dino Babers said not to count his team out just yet, especially his leaders.
“I think when you look inside Garrett Shrader’s chest and you pull out his heart … and Dan Villari … and LeQuint Allen, you get those three hearts and you put them together, you have a heck of a beat,” said Babers. “I just feel like those guys, the way they play the game and the way they inspire others in the way they play the game. If you just give it to them enough, even if you’re denied the opportunity to win, if you’re gonna go down you’re gonna go down because you just want those types of people out there.”
The team ran a new run heavy offense they had just implemented in practice last week. This offense included Garrett Shrader, LeQuint Allen and Dan Villari all taking snaps at the quarterback position.
Villari had a standout game, leading the team in both passing yards with 12 and rushing yards with 154 out of the Orange’s 382. Villari scored a rushing touchdown to top it all off and earned the conference honor of ACC Running Back of the Week.
For Villari, he said this was essentially a game played at home for him as friends and family came out to support him, which he said meant a lot.
“I’m very satisfied with this game. I had about 75 people, my family and friends in one section, so it was nice to put on a show for them,” said Vallari. “They’ve been there for me through hard times when I was still a quarterback not playing so I think it was really special.”
Quarterback Garrett Shrader who had to hit the ground running Saturday afternoon had 109 rushing yards and a touchdown. But he said he couldn’t have gotten through this game and this new offense without the help of his teammates.
“A bunch of guys like LeQuint and Dan stepped up and some other guys role-playing and really playing their tails off,” said Shrader. “ It was awesome. It’s definitely a team win and the defense plays deadly so combine all those things we’re just happy to flip the script and get a win this week.”
The win at Yankee Stadium brought the team to 5-5 on the season. One win away from a trip to a bowl game. When asked his thoughts, Coach Babers said he would continue to believe.
The Orange will head down to Atlanta, on Saturday November, 18th to take on Georgia Tech, one of their last two games of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 8 PM on the ACC Network.