If Syracuse or Pittsburgh wanted to see the state of their programs, they could have just looked across the sidelines on Saturday.

The two teams are eerily similar, tradition-rich programs with second-year head coaches who had losing records in their first season. Both entered Saturday with winning records but with the accusation that neither team has beaten anyone remotely praiseworthy.

Pitt’s 21-11 win over Syracuse was an indication that the Panthers are further along than the Orange in a stare-off that’s three years in the making – and will carry significant implications in the Big East standings. Pitt established itself as a legitimate bowl contender. Syracuse proved it has lot of work to do.

‘It was definitely a step backwards,’ SU head coach Greg Robinson said in the first sentence of his post-game press conference.

That was one side of the sideline.

‘We know the type of football Syracuse plays, we know the type of players they have and we know the program they have,’ Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said. ‘So to come up here today and play the way we did in the Dome is a big win for us.’

That was the other sideline.

Three seasons ago, SU and Pitt were involved in a four-way tie for the Big East championship. During that season, though, neither team was particularly impressive and both coaches were under turmoil. They were each blown out in their respective bowl games – SU fell to Georgia Tech, 51-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl and Pitt fell to Utah, 35-7, in the Fiesta Bowl.

Following the embarrassing losses, then-Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni was fired and Pittsburgh didn’t offer head coach Walt Harris a contract extension.

Both programs turned to former NFL defensive coordinators of Super Bowl teams.

Pittsburgh hired Wannstedt, who won the Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys in 1992. He then was a head coach for the Chicago Bears and eventually head coach for the Miami Dolphins.

Syracuse called upon Robinson, who won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. Robinson coached defenses for the Kansas City Chiefs and University of Texas before SU hired him.

Pitt was picked to finish second in the Big East in 2005. Syracuse was predicted to finish fourth. But new offensive systems at both schools hindered the production of redshirt junior quarterbacks – SU’s Perry Patterson and Pitt’s Tyler Palko – and the Orange finished 1-10 while the Panthers slipped to 5-6.

They recruited head-to-head in the winter. Pitt plucked ballyhooed recruit McKenzie Mathews from Syracuse’s Christian Brothers Academy, the same pipeline that pumped safety Bruce Williams and receiver Lavar Lobdell to SU. The Panthers also landed hyped New York running back Kevin Collier.

Bowl-less and embarrassed, both entered 2006 with a renewed focus and another spring to soak up the playbook.

Early in the season, it’s worked. Syracuse entered Saturday with three straight wins and Patterson firmly behind the center, the first time SU hasn’t had a quarterback controversy since 2003. Pitt entered 4-1 with Palko as the most efficient quarterback in the nation.

One of these teams was going to leave the Carrier Dome free from their 2005 debacle and instead with scrambling alumni calling travel agents about holiday-week fares. The other faced the risk of winter break at home.

The giants of the Big East – West Virginia and Louisville – won’t be reached by SU or Pitt, and upstart Rutgers figures to be in New Year’s Day bowl considerations. South Florida appears deserving of bowl discussions, too. Including Pitt and SU, six of eight Big East teams carry realistic postseason aspirations.

The Big East won’t have six Bowl teams. More likely, five will earn bids.

After Saturday, it appears like Syracuse will be on the outside looking in unless it can knock off two of the conference’s top teams. That’ll be easier said than done, though, considering four of the remaining six conference games are on the road.

The critical home game was Saturday. SU was hot, Pittsburgh was traveling to its first tough road game and the jury was out on the two similar programs. Plus, Syracuse faces the frightening duo of West Virginia and Louisville next.

‘We wanted to have won four straight going into West Virginia,’ defensive tackle Tony Jenkins said. ‘But we are still going to go to West Virginia with confidence and we are going to be a tough team when we get there.’

Maybe SU will be. That is next week’s story. But on Saturday, it was an indication that Pitt is ready to be a major contender in the Big East and SU still has work to do.

‘In my mind, we’re big boys,’ defensive end Jameel McClain said. ‘I don’t know what everyone else thinks but I know what I believe. I believe we’re big boys and today we didn’t prove it. (Pitt) out-worked us. Plain and simple.’

Two sidelines. Two different fates.