Pittsburgh takes early lead against Syracuse after coming back for touchdown (live score, updates)

PITTSBURGH – The Syracuse football team will face the No. 19 Pittsburgh Panthers here at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

View in-game team and individual stats here.

Note: Refresh this page during Syracuse's game at Pittsburgh to see the latest updates

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First quarter

11:58: Syracuse begins this drive with a 6-yard run by LeQuint Allen, followed by a 4-yard run for a first down.

12:47: Syracuse starts its 25 after a touchback

SCORE: Pittsburgh 7, Syracuse 0

12:47: McCord throws high to Emanuel Ross. Then his fourth pass is intercepted by Rasheem Biles and returned 35 yards for a touchdown. Pitt converts the extra point. He is the first linebacker since Christian Brothers Academy product SirVocea Dennis to return an interception for a touchdown.

1:37 p.m.: McCord's first pass was passed to Umari Hatcher and could have been intercepted. McCord escapes a sack and throws it to Jackson Meeks in a scramble situation. Syracuse gains 10 yards.

1:43 p.m.: Pittsburgh punt. Trebor Pena returns to SU 23.

3:00 p.m.: Pitt starts its first drive after a touchback from its 25. Marlowe Wax starts for the Orange. Des Reid runs for 2 yards on first down, followed by a bad pass from Eli Holstein that could have been intercepted. Syracuse forces Holstein to scramble on 3rd-and-8 and he gains 1 yard.

Before the game

Pitt wins the coin toss and decides to go on offense first

Syracuse sends its offensive line (except center J'Onre Reed) as game captains.

Update 6:15 p.m: Linebacker Marlowe Wax and slot receiver Trebor Pena will play tonight, the school said.

Wax, a preseason All-ACC linebacker and one of the team's best defensive players, would make his first appearance since suffering a lower leg injury in the team's season-opening win over Ohio.

His return can be seen as a pleasant surprise after coach Fran Brown said earlier this week that Wax was unlikely to play this week.

Pena, who leads the team in receptions, didn't finish in the Orange's 24-17 win at NC State on Oct. 12. Brown expressed doubts about his playing status earlier in the week by saying Pena could not practice, alluding to a concussion and an unknown injury.

The game between the two Northeast rivals is likely to be the biggest between the two since at least 1991, when both teams competed in the national polls midseason.

Pittsburgh (6-0, 2-0 ACC) will look to stay undefeated. Syracuse (5-1, 2-1) is looking to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race and beat its third AP Top 25 opponent (at the time of the game). The Orange hasn't achieved this feat since 1998.

The Panthers appear to be more vulnerable than their record suggests, needing to win two of those games on dramatic comebacks and a third on a missed field goal attempt by California. Still, Pitt has the most recent history between the schools (16-3 in the last 19 meetings) and Syracuse hasn't won at Pitt since 2001.

Known for its consistent blitzing under head coach Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh ranks fourth in the ACC with an average of three sacks per game.

Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord has been excellent against the blitz this season, ranking second overall in the conference in passing yards, but he is expected to be without Trebor Peña, who leads the team in catches.

Peña was unable to practice Tuesday after suffering a blow to the head in SU's last game against North Carolina State. He thrives when it comes to the types of throws needed to beat blitz attacks.

The status of two of Pittsburgh's offensive players (left tackle Branson Taylor and left guard Ryan Jacoby) is uncertain. Both left the Panthers' last win over Cal with injuries and did not return.