Syracuse Football: Key takeaways from the Orange's week-eight loss to Pittsburgh

Head coach Fran Brown went his first 17 games with just four losses, never losing back-to-back games. Now, he, and Syracuse football, have dropped three in a row. And for the third week in a row, Syracuse was blown out, showing almost nothing on offense. Here are my takeaways from the most recent defeat, a rivalry loss to Pittsburgh.

My key takeaways from Syracuse football's week-eight loss against Pittsburgh.

Playing Luke Carney for drives only makes the quarterback situation worse

After another rough performance from quarterback Rickie Collins, Syracuse made a decision that most of the fanbase was excited about - subbing true-freshman Luke Carney into the game. At halftime, Collins had thrown two awful interceptions and was only 10-16 for 60 yards. However, that didn't last long as after 11 plays, Collins came back in for a third and nine and played the rest of the game. I am still confused about why you would play Carney here. The coaches obviously don't think he's ready, and the package of plays for Carney is limited. So, the Syracuse coaches put their true freshman quarterback who they don't trust in at halftime against a great defense with a poor offensive line. Make that make sense.

I have a couple of problems with this. First, it is obvious that Collins is struggling with confidence. He has talent and he will flash that talent a couple of times a game, but for whatever reason, it doesn't usually show up. This move only messes with Carney's confidence, too. He finally gets a chance to play meaningful snaps, but it's wasted because he didn't get a chance to do much of anything. Finally, Carney against Pittsburgh pushes him closer to his limit of four games without redshirting, something that could hurt him in the years to come. Syracuse needs to either get Carney ready to take starting snaps, or keep riding with Collins. Using both of them won't work for the Orange.

Fran Brown is losing the team and fanbase

Against Pittsburgh, Syracuse had a Fran Brown-era high 12 penalties and 107 yards. For the first time, I also noticed that Orange players were all but giving up and accepting their defeat in the fourth quarter. Fran Brown has preached DART - detailed, accountable, relentless, and tough - since he was hired and I'm sure Syracuse players hear that in their sleep. Well, against Pittsburgh, Syracuse wasn't detailed or relentless. On the other side, the JMA Wireless Dome appeared to have nowhere near the listed attendance of 40,772. By the end of the game, there were only a few thousand people in the Dome.

I get that when things aren't going so well, your focus slips and it's harder to give 100% effort when you're getting blown out. From the fans' perspective, I don't blame them for not wanting to watch a sloppy, penalty-filled blowout. However, Syracuse fans are used to football being an afterthought. They're used to losing and seeing uninspired performances. That's why it has been such a struggle to get fans in the Dome and it also hurts recruiting, Brown's biggest strength. He's got to get this Syracuse team back on track and right the ship before things really get out of control.

Elijah Robinson's defense is streaky, but they delivered

Elijah Robinson, like the rest of this Syracuse team, has had some ups and downs as the Orange's defensive coordinator. His defense has struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks and limit opponents' rushing attacks. That was not the case against the Panthers. Syracuse's defense had seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Kevin Jobity Jr. led the way with 2.5 of each as his pressure packages confused Pitt QB Mason Heintschel and their offensive line.

Past the pressure to Heintschel, the Panthers ran for just 2.7 yards per carry, and their running game was largely carried by three long rushes. For the most part, Pittsburgh was put into third-and-long situations because of how Syracuse shut down the run game. After giving up over 140 yards and four yards per carry in each of the first four FBS games, Syracuse has allowed just 76 and 117 yards, and 2.7 yards per carry, in each of the last two games.

On the day, Syracuse allowed season lows of 260 total yards and 143 yards passing. Davien Kerr also recorded an interception and Robinson's defense allowed only 23 points, despite being put in poor positions by the offense.