Zaire Franklin thought a holding penalty was called after he sacked Pittsburgh’s Nate Peterman midway through the second quarter. The Carrier Dome crowd was so loud he couldn’t hear the referee. But moments later, teammates told Franklin it was him who was flagged for targeting.

If the play stood — targeting is automatically reviewed — Franklin would have been ejected.

“To be honest, I was terrified,” Franklin said after Syracuse’s 23-20 loss to No. 25 Pitt. “… I would have been crushed if I was kicked out of the game on that type of play. But thankfully the officials made a good call.”

The penalty was reversed, the Orange’s captain remained in the game and Pitt faced a second-and-18. But on the next play, Panthers (6-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) running back Chris James scampered for 17 yards, essentially nullifying SU’s (3-4, 1-2) momentum and any effect Franklin’s sack had on the rest of the game.

The sequence was emblematic of Franklin’s entire performance on Saturday. He finished with 11 total tackles, three for a loss, two sacks — all career highs — and a forced fumble. But when the game hung in the balance in the fourth quarter, Franklin couldn’t do enough to help make the one stop his team needed.

“We just got to play better, especially in crunch time,” Franklin said. “We need to step up and make that play.”

After Franklin’s sack turned legal, he only recorded two more tackles prior to Pitt’s final drive. Before, he filled up his stat line, playing key roles in both run and pass defense.

On the Panthers’ first possession, he busted through the line of scrimmage and forced Peterman to fumble when he piled on top of him. Three plays later, with Pittsburgh creeping toward the end zone at SU’s 15-yard line, Franklin assisted on a key third-and-4 stop. Running back Qadree Ollison bounced to the outside but Franklin and safety Antwan Cordy didn’t allow him to turn the corner and UP was held to just a field goal.

While the defense’s late collapse determined the outcome of the game, Franklin’s performance early kept Pittsburgh at bay before it was able to send Syracuse to a fourth consecutive loss.

Published on October 25, 2015 at 1:58 pm

Contact Paul: [email protected] | @pschweds