No. 14 Pitt Starts Slowly but Beats Syracuse 37-10

Pittsburgh linebacker Greg Williams (38) is congratulated by teammates after returning an...

Pittsburgh linebacker Greg Williams (38) is congratulated by teammates after returning an interception for a touchdown against Syracuse during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

(AP)

Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.

Dion Lewis ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the freshman's sixth 100-yard game, tight end Dorin Dickerson caught his 10th touchdown pass this season and the Panthers (8-1, 5-0 in Big East) won their fifth in a row heading into next Saturday's game against No. 19 Notre Dame.

Bill Stull was 16 of 23 for 225 yards and no interceptions as the Panthers, who last were 8-1 during Dan Marino's senior season 27 years ago, set themselves up for a possible Big East title-deciding game against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 5.

If the Bearcats defeat Connecticut on Saturday night and West Virginia on Friday, the Cincinnati-Pitt game will determine the conference's BCS bowl participant regardless of what happens in the Pitt-West Virginia game on Nov. 27.

Pitt played much of the first half as if it was looking ahead to those three upcoming games, stalling offensively while leading only 6-3 on two Dan Hutchins field goals — until Williams returned a Greg Paulus pass tipped by Jabaal Sheard for his third career touchdown with 1:20 left in the half. Pitt outscored Syracuse 24-7 in the second half, with the Orange's only TD coming with barely a minute remaining.

Paulus to Williams normally is a productive combination for Syracuse (3-6, 0-4), which lost its 29th in its last 32 Big East games. But the Orange clearly missed leading receiver Mike Williams, who quit the team on Monday after averaging 106.6 yards receiving per game.

Neither Paulus (12 of 18, 120 yards, 2 interceptions) nor backup Ryan Nassib (5 of 16, 21 yards, 1 interception) did much as Delone Carter's 143 yards rushing represented most of Syracuse's offense, which came into the game ranked 106th nationally.