Pitt 27, SU 24

Rice Moss has the next few weeks mapped out.

The Syracuse wide receiver, who said he will likely play this week after suffering a shoulder injury, envisions SU’s current three-game winning streak will produce a large crowd at the Carrier Dome Saturday that will carry the Orange over Pittsburgh.

He does have some reasoning – with Pitt that is. Panthers’ head coach Dave Wannstedt highlighted the SU home crowd as a major concern. Despite Pittsburgh’s 4-1 record, it really hasn’t beaten anyone yet and has only played one road contest – at Cincinnati.

But the major difference between the two teams is the Panthers have beaten their opponents with full force by an average of 35 points. Syracuse, with exception to Wyoming, has improved week to week but has yet to play a complete game.

Wannstedt acknowledged a win against Syracuse is important to secure given the difficulty of Rutgers, West Virginia and Louisville looming ahead later in the season. Wins against teams like Syracuse will dictate Pitt’s bowl eligibility – and vice versa.

However, Syracuse won’t be able to replicate what Ohio University did last year, an upset that cost the Panthers a winning season and a bowl trip.

‘This will probably be the most emotional game we have from an opponents’ standpoint,’ Wannstedt said in this week’s teleconference. ‘That’s what I’m telling my team.’

Published on October 4, 2006 at 12:00 pm