Pickett Tosses 4 TDs In Win Over Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was worried about a letdown. Kenny Pickett wasn’t about to let that happen again. Pickett threw for four touchdowns to break the Pittsburgh school record for scoring passes in a season, and the 20th-ranked Panthers beat Syracuse 31-14 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win heading into next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship against Wake Forest. Pittsburgh (10-2, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, CFP No. 20) finished the regular season 5-0 on the road. It’s the Panthers’ first 10-win season since 1981. Pickett connected with tailback Rodney Hammond Jr. and wideout Jordan Addison in the second quarter. He hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew and Addison again in the third to stake the Panthers to a 28-7 lead and boost his season total to 40 touchdown passes. That’s three more than the previous record set by Dan Marino in 1981 and matched by Rod Rutherford in 2003, and his career total is now at 79, equaling Marino’s school mark.