Teams: Syracuse Orange (3-3, 1-2) vs Pittsburgh Panthers (4-2, 2-1)
Day & Time: Saturday, October 18, 7:30 pm
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Line: Despite the bye week and a trip back home, Syracuse
is still a +10.5 point underdog according to Fanduel’s odds.
TV/Streaming: ACCN, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, SiriusXM 106 or 193
Rivalry: 41-33-3, SMU
Current Streak: 1, Pittsburgh
First Meeting: Syracuse has faced Pittsburgh more than any other team in its history, so you’d expect this series to have a really early origin story. The first ever game between the two programs was held in 1916, which the Panthers won 30-0.
Last Meeting: Kyle McCord threw for 321 yards. His seventh straight game passing for over 300 yards! Fantastic! Allow this Jedi Mind Trick to fool you to forget the five interceptions he threw, three of them returned to the house, as Syracuse lost 41-13 at Pitt.
Head Coaches: Syracuse: Fran Brown (second year, 13-6) | Pittsburgh: Pat Narduzzi (11th year, 76-58)
Coach Bio: Narduzzi played for his father, Bill, at Youngstown State University for one year before transferring to Rhode Island for the remainder of his collegiate career. He played linebacker and was a three-year starter for the Rams. Narduzzi’s big break was with Cincinnati 2004, where he was Mark Dantonio’s defensive coordinator for the Bearcats. He followed Dantonio to Michigan State in 2007 where he held the same position on his staff. Narduzzi moved to Pittsburgh to become its head coach for the 2015 season and has stayed there since. Pitt has made five bowl games under Narduzzi.
Last Year: Pitt started 7-0, rising to No. 18 in the polls. What followed was disaster as the Panthers dropped their final five games of the regular season. Pitt still made the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit but lost a marathon game in six overtimes to Toledo.
Last Game: Pitt piled on to Florida State’s misery as the Panthers pushed past the Seminoles in Tallahassee 34-31. The Panthers outscored the Seminoles by 10 in the second half to complete a comeback win.
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Narduzzi made the switch to true freshman Mason Heintschel at quarterback two weeks ago. Heintschel has repaid his head coach’s confidence, passing for 644 yards on 51-70 passing, which is a 72.8% completion rate, and six passing touchdowns. He’s also rushed 26 times for 92 yards.
If Syracuse Wins: Take that, bye week demons.
If Syracuse Loses: Time for basketball.
Fun Fact: Syracuse will play its 1,400th game in program history on Saturday. The Orange will be the sixth team in the FBS to play 1,400 games.
