Earlier this week, Paul Pasqualoni dodged the subject like it was a black cat or the space under a ladder.

‘We won’t talk about that,’ the Syracuse football coach said when asked about quarterback R.J. Anderson not having thrown an interception all season. ‘I don’t want to jinx it.’

Well, even a rabbit’s foot couldn’t have prevented the inevitable, which occurred Saturday in SU’s 34-14 loss at Pittsburgh. Anderson threw his first pick in 178 passes in the second quarter.

‘It had to end one of these days, right?’ Anderson said of his Syracuse-record streak. ‘It was a bad play. It was bound to happen.’

The play that ended the streak came when Anderson heaved a long pass off his back foot to a double-covered Johnnie Morant. The pass was accurate, but while Morant stretched his arms out to catch the ball, Pitt cornerback Shawntae Spencer leaped and snatched the ball.

The pick, which made Syracuse the final team in college football to throw an interception, came on the heels of a fumbled option pitch by Anderson that led to a Pitt touchdown.

‘There was probably some frustration there,’ Pasqualoni said. ‘I’m sure when he watches film, he’s going to wish he hadn’t thrown it.’

Anderson threw a second interception on SU’s final offensive play of the game to Corey Humphries.

Back and kicking

Junior kicker Collin Barber returned Saturday after missing last week’s game versus Boston College with a right quadriceps injury. He was scratched just before game time last week in favor of freshman Ricky Krautman and, later, punter Brendan Carney. Barber didn’t attempt a field goal but was good on two extra points. This season, Barber has made 7 of 9 field goals.

SU running back Damien Rhodes didn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday because of an injured left ankle. It was the second straight game he missed after injuring his left ankle Oct. 11 against Virginia Tech. Rhodes had sat out the game against Central Florida on Sept. 20 with a separate ankle injury. He’s rushed for 123 yards this season on 35 attempts.

Outside linebacker Jameel Dumas, who Pasqualoni called ‘doubtful’ to play, did not make the trip because of a left knee injury.

Blame game

Together, they gave away the ball. After, they refused to give away the blame.

With the game tied at 14 in the second quarter, Anderson and running back Walter Reyes ran an option to the left. Anderson’s pitch fell at Reyes’s feet and was scooped up by Pitt cornerback Bernard Lay, who returned the ball 20 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

‘My fault again,’ Anderson said. ‘I saw (Reyes). I didn’t get the pitch out to him. Simple as that.’

Reyes saw the play differently.

‘If I knew (what happened), I’d tell you,’ Reyes said. ‘I’ll blame it on myself because I know I’m a better football player than that. As a running back, the ball should never be on the ground.’

Rough start

Though Larry Fitzgerald rolled for most of the game, Pitt began the game with a worse drive than a road trip to Boise, Idaho.

Pitt started its drive on its own 36-yard line. After drawing an offensive pass interference penalty on the first play, the Panthers faced a first and 25. Then, after Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford was sacked for a 16-yard loss by Josh Thomas, the Panthers had a second-and-41 from their own 5-yard line.

Needing to advance the ball almost half of the field for a first down, Rutherford threw a shovel pass to running back Jawan Walker for 14 yards, making it third-and- 27. A 3-yard pass to Walker set up fourth-and-24.

If the Panthers thought things couldn’t get any worse, they were wrong. On the ensuing punt, Andy Lee fumbled the snap. SU cornerback Steve Gregory snatched the football out of the air and ran it seven yards for the touchdown.

‘It was rolling around,’ Gregory said. ‘Somebody flung it up, and I guess it just popped up in the air. I caught it and ran it in.’

‘We were ugly there for a while,’ Pitt head coach Walt Harris said. ‘Doggone, what a terrible way to start.

‘We tried to prepare our guys, if it doesn’t start off (well), we gotta hang in there, keep believing, keep trusting, keep our confidence, and good things will happen.’

This and that

For the first time this season, Reyes did not score a touchdown. Dating back to last season, Reyes had scored a touchdown in 11 straight games, an SU record. Reyes has 12 touchdowns this season. … Pitt ran for just 44 rushing yards on 39 attempts. Syracuse has held opponents to less than 100 yards four times in its last seven games. … This was the second time SU lost on an opponent’s homecoming. Virginia Tech celebrated its homecoming with a 51-7 thrashing of SU. … Tony Dorsett, former Pitt running back and Dallas Cowboy legend, was honored before the game with a Pitt Award of Distinction. He chose to show his appreciation by wearing a long-sleeve Converse T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Published on October 26, 2003 at 12:00 pm