Pittsburgh @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 22, 2014 ) Syracuse 7, Pittsburgh 30

Pittsburgh is starting to catch the attention of the college football world with five victories in six games, suffering only a loss to unbeaten Iowa on a 57-yard field goal at the buzzer. Next up for the Panthers - who already have played four of their first six games on the road - is a visit to Syracuse for an ACC clash on Saturday.

The Panthers won at Georgia Tech 31-28 last weekend and must continue to play consistently with a daunting stretch of games looming in November. “The great thing is they were nowhere on the radar,” coach Mark Narduzzi said of his team, which is likely a win away from joining the Top 25. “They weren’t even a blip a week ago. We talk about earning respect and we do that every week, and our kids earned it.” The Orange, meanwhile, have lost three straight games, including a triple-overtime setback against Virginia last week, as their 3-0 start to the season is a distant memory. "We're going to have to ramp it up in the second half of the season," head coach Scott Shafer said this week. "The good news is those guys, they're still young, but they're not as young as they were when they first walked in here. They're continuing to grow."

TV: Noon ET, ESPNU. LINE: Pittsburgh -6.5

ABOUT PITT (5-1, 3-0 ACC): Off to their best start in six years, the Panthers survived last weekend on Chris Blewitt's school-record 56-yard field goal with 1:11 left. They will look to ride the momentum behind a defense that ranks 17th in the nation in yards allowed (300.8) and has consistently terrorized quarterbacks all season. Quarterback Nathan Peterman (922 yards, nine touchdown passes) and tailback Qadree Ollison (559 yards, five scores) have been solid, but Pitt's headliner on offense is the ACC's leading receiver this season and the program's all-time leading receiver, Tyler Boyd (41 catches, 396 yards, four TDs).

ABOUT SYRACUSE (3-3, 1-1): The Orange wasted a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead last week and now have given up 123 points over their last three games. The team already has used four quarterbacks this season - one of which is freshman Eric Dungey, who continues to play at a high level after completing 72.7 percent of his passes against Virginia for two touchdowns and no picks, to go along with 85 rushing yards and a score. Steve Ishmael paces the team in receptions (18), receiving yards (258) and TDs (three), while Brisly Estime (10 catches, 209 yards, two TDs) is a solid deep threat.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Pitt has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including a 30-7 rout at home last season.

2. Only two teams in the nation average more sacks than Pitt (3.67), which already has more sacks (22) than it did all of last season.

3. All five of the Panthers' wins have come by 17 points or fewer.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 38, Syracuse 23