Syracuse @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 7, 2017 ) Pittsburgh 24, Syracuse 27

Syracuse was 13 minutes away from upending No. 4 Clemson last week for a second consecutive season and entering the top-25 rankings for the first time since 2001 before the Tigers rallied for two touchdowns and a 27-23 victory. Orange coach Dino Babers said his team needs to take a page from the Clemson playbook and battle through adversity this Saturday when it visits a struggling Pittsburgh team.

“The big thing about Clemson (last year) is they didn't let Syracuse beat them twice," Babers said during his weekly press conference "We've got to take a page out of that book. They beat us once, but we can't make that football team good enough to beat us twice. We need to lock in, refocus, and put all of our attention and energy into the Pitt Panthers." Pittsburgh holds a 38-32-3 edge in the all-time series that has taken place annually since 1955, although Syracuse won 27-24 last season behind 413 total yards by quarterback Eric Dungey. Following last season’s contest with the Panthers, the Orange knocked off the Tigers 27-24 to improve to 4-3 and match their most wins in a season since 2014, but they dropped their final five games of the season, albeit the last three without their star signal-caller. Pitt was reminded last week how far it sits from the top-25 in coach Pat Narduzzi’s fourth season when it got clobbered 45-14 by No. 13 Central Florida after an earlier 51-6 loss to No. 11 Penn State.

TV: 12:20 p.m. ET. Raycom Sports. LINE: Syracuse -4.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (4-1, 1-1 ACC): Dungey completed 26-of-41 passes for 250 yards and scored two rushing TDs against Clemson, and the senior has accounted for 15 TDs (nine passing, two interceptions) while compiling 1,378 yards of total offense this season. The Orange defense tallied four quarterback sacks against the Tigers and are averaging 4.7 over their last three contests with junior defensive end Kendall Coleman accounting for two sacks in two of the last three games. The biggest surprise on defense has been the nation-leading four interceptions by Andre Sisco, the first true freshman to start a season opener at safety for the Orange since 1985.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (2-3, 1-1): Narduzzi, known for his tenacious defenses at Michigan State, has not been able to duplicate that in the Steel City (457.5 total yards per game in last four FBS contests), but he’s as equally frustrated by increased penalties, including 11 last week against Clemson. “The last two years, we’ve been one of the least penalized football teams in the country and I think the least penalized in the ACC,” he said during his weekly press conference. “All of a sudden, we’re one of the highest. That just doesn’t calculate with me. I don’t understand, I don’t have an answer for that and it bothers me.” The Panthers also felt they had their quarterback issues resolved with Kenny Pickett, but the sophomore hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in any of his six career starts (he did throw for 242 yards off the bench vs. Virginia Tech last season) and 58 of his 163 yards passing last week came on a short pass at the line of scrimmage in which Maurice Ffrench turned into his second TD of the season.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Pitt has jumped from sixth in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game last year (38.2) to No. 112 this season (75.8).

2. Syracuse K Andre Szmyt has converted multiple field goals in all five games this season, making 13-of-14 while drilling all 26 extra points. He ranks first in the ACC and third in the FBS in scoring (13 points per game) while leading FBS with 2.6 field goals per game.

3. With his two TDs last week, Dungey passed all-time leading rusher Joe Morris for sixth in school history with 26 rushing TDs.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 41, Pittsburgh 20