Syracuse - Pitt Prediction Contest

Image courtesy of WV Mountaineer Sports

By now, you know the rules. Take a guess at the final score of the SU-Pitt game and the person who comes closest gets free space on this blog. If you don't want free space, no worries.

As always, I'll kick things off with how I see the game unfolding.

Rush's Prediction

The Pitt Panthers are 3 touchdown favorites. They are rested and coming off a bye. The have a kick-ass freshman running back named Dion Lewis. They are physical and talented along both lines. They have a coach who wears a mustache and still pulls it off - to the extent you can actually pull off wearing a stache. The Wannestache does have its own facebook fan page.

On the other hand, Syracuse is a mess. The team's best player flaked out and quit. If he hadn't quit, he would have been suspended. The second leading rusher and starting guard will miss the game due to suspension. Two defensive lineman who were in the rotation last week won't be playing this week. They are down to 60 scholarship players, including a starting quarterback the fans don't like and the head coach does. The Orange are 0-3 in conference and are only scoring a little more than 13 points a game in those losses.

In other words, on paper this is a blow out. A huge blow out. However, college football is rarely this easy. Pitt's strength is running the ball. Syracuse is 7th nationally stopping the run. Pitt QB Bill Stull is competent, but not a world beater. The Syracuse team has been battered this week - and that can sometimes pull a team together and allow them to play above their heads.

Pitt has to constantly remind everyone they are not looking past this game -- which means there's a good chance the players, whether they know it or not, are looking past this game. Pitt's coach has a history of blowing games he shouldn't, including losing this year to a bad NC State team. He's been doing this for years.

I think Syracuse comes out and plays with an emotion and intensity we haven't seen this year. Greg Paulus and Ryan Nassib rotate and both do a good job of executing the packages they are assigned. The Orange D does a nice job of bottling up the Pitt running game and Rob Long actually helps the Orange win the field position battle. At the half this game is tied.

However, emotion can only take a team so far, and Pitt is far too talented and much, much deeper than the Orange. They take advantage of a weak and battered SU secondary in the second half to pull away and win this one -- but it's closer than people think.*

Pitt - 27

SU - 17

* That being said, if SU gets down by a couple of scores early I could totally see them folding up the tents and getting beat by 40. However, I'm sticking with my prediction.