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Teams: No. 20 Syracuse Orange (6-2, 3-1) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4, 1-3)
Day & Time: Saturday, November 5, 3:30 pm
Location: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Line: The Draftkings Line doesn’t think Syracuse can get it done on the road, with the Orange sitting as 3 point underdogs
TV/Streaming: ACC Network, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, Sirius XM 133 or 193/SXM App 955
Pitt Blog: Cardiac Hill
Rivalry: 42-32-3, Pitt
Current Streak: 4, Pitt
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: Syracuse got overwhelmed by Pitt’s superior defense at the end of last season with the Panthers sacking Garrett Shrader five times and limiting the Orange to 25 rushing yards. Add in an average Kenny Pickett game by his standards and that’s all the Panthers needed to win 31-14.
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Head Coaches: Syracuse - Dino Babers (seventh year, 35-45) | Pitt - Pat Narduzzi (eighth year, 57-41)
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: Despite questionable losses to Western Michigan and Miami, the Panthers ran through the ACC Coastal, picking up a win against Clemson along the way. Pitt made it to the ACC Championship, where the Panthers trounced Wake Forest to win the conference title. Pitt faced off against Michigan State in the Peach Bowl, where the Spartans won 31-21 over the Panthers.
Last Game: Because Pitt thinks the idea of consistency is overrated this season, the Panthers continued their up and down play with a 4th quarter collapse against UNC. Pitt allowed 21 points while scoring 0 in the final 15 minutes of play.
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“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Israel Abanikanda launched himself into Pitt folklore with a legendary rushing performance against Virginia Tech last month. 320 rushing yards set a new program record while six rushing touchdowns tied a program record. He’s already eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing and is gaining 5.9 yards per carry.
If Syracuse Wins: Legally, the city of Pittsburgh has to change the field name back to Heinz Field.
If Syracuse Loses: Well that means we get the Carrier Dome back.
Fun Fact: Sean Tucker needs 55 rushing yards to move past Larry Csonka for fourth on the program’s career rushing list.
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