The2016 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh football game was a regular-seasoncollege football game between theSyracuse Orange and thePittsburgh Panthers, played on November 26, 2016, atHeinz Field inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The game held the record^[2] for the most combined points scored in anNCAADivision I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) regulation game^[a] with 137 total points,^[3] breaking the previous record (136 points, set in a2007 game played betweenNavy andNorth Texas) by a single point.^[4] The record was broken onNovember 5, 2022 when theSMU Mustangs defeated theHouston Cougars 77–63 for a combined 140 points.^[5] Oddly, this game aired on Pittsburgh ABC affiliateWTAE-TV's main signal, while the one betweenMichigan andOhio State aired onESPN2 and on theThis TV digital subchannel the station had at the time.^[6]

With first-year head coachDino Babers in command, the Syracuse Orange entered their final game of 2016 with a record of 4–7, 2–5 inACC play.^[7] The Orange had experienced ups and downs throughout the 2016 season, with peaks including wins against seventeenth-rankedVirginia Tech and rivalBoston College a week later. However, the lows of the season tended to outweigh the highs, as the Orange defense had allowed at least 20 points in all but two games, and the team had suffered blowout losses at the hands of nationally rankedLouisville (No. 13),Clemson (No. 3), andFlorida State (No. 17). The aforementioned loss to Florida State was Syracuse's seventh of the season, which put a bowl game out of reach coming into their final game.^[8]

Under second-year head coachPat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh entered this game 7–4, 4–3 in ACC play, having clinched abowl game berth the week prior.^[9] The Panthers entered their final regular-season with a few very impressive wins on their schedule, namely an early-season win against eventualBig Ten championsPenn State and a road win against eventualnational championsClemson. These two victories proved to be the only two against ranked opponents, however, as they lost at home to No. 25 Virginia Tech on October 27. The Panthers offense had been doing its job throughout the 2016 season, scoring no less than 28 points in each of their previous 11 contests.

Coming into the game, the Pitt–Syracuse series stood 37–31 in favor of Pitt, with three ties; previously, the highest-scoring meeting in the series was a 45–28 Syracuse win in 1998, totaling 73 points. Pittsburgh had won the last three matchups; furthermore, Syracuse's last victory in Pittsburgh against the Panthers came in 2001, as their two victories in the series since then had come inSyracuse.

This game was Syracuse's last of the season, as they finished the 2016 campaign with a 4–8 record. Pittsburgh improved to 8–4 and accepted an invitation to theNew Era Pinstripe Bowl atYankee Stadium. The Panthers were favored by five,^[11] but lost toNorthwestern, 31–24^[12] and finished their season with a record of 8–5.

• 2007 Navy vs. North Texas football game, the previous record-holder for highest scoring NCAA Division I regulation football game, totaling 136 points.
• 2001 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss football game, the record-holder for longest NCAA Division I football game, one of five to reach at least seven overtimes.
• 2018 LSU vs. Texas A&M football game, the record-holder for highest-scoring game in FBS history, with 146 combined points. This game also reached seven overtimes.
• 2022 Houston vs. SMU football game, the current record holder for most points in an NCAA Division I regulation football game, with 140 points

• 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football season
• Pittsburgh Panthers football games
• Syracuse Orange football games
• 2016 in sports in Pennsylvania
• November 2016 sports events in the United States

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