PITTSBURGH – After Pittsburgh quarterback Tyler Palko scored from inside the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson threw a handful of papers onto Heinz Field. He shook his head, walked away from the 14-point deficit and just stood on the sideline.

He could have been upset from pretty much anything at that point Saturday, but the end result, Syracuse’s 34-17 loss to Pittsburgh and fifth straight loss overall, impended.

An anemic Orange offense, SU’s malaise all season, managed just 202 yards and assured Robinson, in his first year as head coach, will suffer a losing season. The five-game losing streak is the worst since 1982 and marks the fourth straight year SU will end a season with a .500 record or worse.

‘I’m disappointed because I believe we could have won that football game,’ Robinson said. ‘I’m not really thinking where the silver lining is. With that in mind, I hope that maybe I can find something good. Right now I’m frustrated and disappointed.’

Syracuse’s problems remain offensive and very little progress was shown before 33,059 at Heinz Field on Saturday. Perry Patterson and Joe Fields combined for 89 yards passing, four interceptions and managed just two drives of more than six plays, both in the second half when SU trailed. The longest SU held the ball was 3:37. Syracuse suffered seven drives of less than two minutes in length.

SU (1-6, 0-4 Big East) also recorded seven possessions of three plays or less, punted six times, went 0-for-12 on third downs and produced a drive of more than 50 yards once. Pittsburgh (4-4, 3-1) held an 11-minute advantage in time of possession and ran 78 plays accumulating 378 yards.

‘I wish the offense would have done more,’ Robinson said. ‘We could have prevented the interceptions.’

The SU offense made the situation worse in the first half by squandering excellent field position. The Panthers turned the ball more than three times in the first 11 minutes, giving the Orange possession at the Pittsburgh 37, 27, and 15.

SU managed just a touchdown and a field goal with 41 yards of offense.

The 10 first quarter points marked the first time SU scored in the initial frame since playing Virginia on Sept. 17, but the offense didn’t score the rest of the game.

A series of drives in the second quarter illustrated the problems.

Patterson missed a screen pass to Damien Rhodes on one drive that was intercepted by linebacker H.B. Blades and returned for a touchdown. SU didn’t produce a first down on its next drive and then Patterson threw another interception the next time out. The pass hit fullback Stephen McDonald as he turned around and bounced into Darrelle Revis’ hands for another turnover.

Patterson went 9-of-25 for 89 yards, three interceptions and one touchdown.

‘We had some throws in there that you could make all kinds of excuses, but we didn’t get it done in the throwing game,’ quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite said. ‘We were inaccurate at times; we were going to the wrong guy. We had people open and we missed them.’

Robinson inserted Joe Fields on the next drive and fared no better. Fields was intercepted on his first pass, throwing behind Tim Lane on an out route toward the sideline. Fields stayed in the game for three possessions, failed to complete a pass and picked up just one first down. He came out to start the second half and SU managed just seven yards.

Instead, Pittsburgh scored on a seven-play, 60-yard drive on its first possession of the second half to take a 24-17 lead.

‘I would have liked to see something in the very first series there,’ Robinson said. ‘Nothing really happened. If I’m not mistaken they go down and score right there. From both sides of the ball, it wasn’t the way it was supposed to start.’

When Patterson returned, he said he was a bit rusty and it showed. SU gained just three yards on three plays. On the next drive – Syracuse’s longest of the afternoon – SU went 50 yards on 10 plays, but stalled at the Pittsburgh 25. Freshman kicker John Barker then hit the right upright on a 43-yard field goal try.

‘I wanted to be in there, but Coach felt like he needed to change some things up,’ Patterson said. ‘That’s his decision.’

Robinson said Sunday he hasn’t considered if the two-quarterback setup will continue against Cincinnati.

‘It’s probably too early. I haven’t given it too much thought,’ Robinson said. ‘It’s more about evaluating the last game. It was not a good day for the quarterbacks.’

Published on October 23, 2005 at 12:00 pm