A smarter way to bet

By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH(AP) -- Notre Dame, then West Virginia, with a possible
Big East-deciding game against Cincinnati to follow.

No. 14 Pittsburgh hasn't met a Top 25 opponent all season, but
the Panthers will end the season by playing nothing but teams
that are ranked or are rivals.

First, there's Syracuse to deal with on Saturday, and the
Panthers realize their remaining games won't mean nearly as much
if they don't get past the Orange.

With so much to play for, the Panthers (7-1, 4-0 in Big East)
might be tempted to forget they were eight points down to
Syracuse last season before rallying to win 34-24. Or that
neither No. 4 Cincinnati nor No. 11 Penn State was able to run
all over Syracuse.

The Orange (3-5, 0-3) may be in last place in the Big East, but
records and rankings often matter very little when they play
Pitt. The Panthers beat them 20-17 at home two years ago, and
Pitt looked ready to be upset last season before outscoring
Syracuse 18-0 in the fourth quarter.

Three difficult games to end the season? Pitt fullback Henry
Hynoski said it's more like four.

"These last four games can make us or break us, and we have a
tough one to start out against Syracuse," Hynoski said. "So the
main thing for us is to not look ahead to next week. We just
have to stay focused on Syracuse."

Or what's left of Syracuse. It was a tough week for the Orange
even before they left for Pittsburgh, where they haven't won
since 2001.

Wide receiver Mike Williams, their leading receiver and top
playmaker, quit the team on Monday. A day later, tailback Antwon
Bailey, defensive end Torrey Ball and guard Andrew Tiller were
suspended for violating team rules and defensive end Jared
Kimmel was lost to knee surgery.

Beating a Pitt team that's off to the school's best start in 27
years would be difficult enough on the road, but doing so with a
depleted cast will be considerably harder.

"At the beginning of the year, people said, 'Where are all the
Big East teams in the top 20?"' Syracuse coach Doug Marrone
said. "We just played the No. 4 team in the country (Cincinnati)
and we're getting ready to play the 14th team in the country."

The No. 4 rusher, too.

Pitt freshman Dion Lewis is averaging 128.6 yards per game, and
will be a major challenge even for the Big East's best rushing
defense (88.9 yards a game) because the Orange also must deal
with quarterback Bill Stull and Pitt's deep group of receivers.
Stull is third nationally in passing efficiency, while tight end
Dorin Dickerson is tied for second with nine touchdown catches.

At least Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus won't have to listen
to all the jeering from his home fans while he's in Pittsburgh.
Marrone was so upset with the booing of Paulus during the 28-7
loss to Cincinnati that he read a statement this week supporting
him.

Paulus is the former Duke point guard who is using his final
season of college eligibility to return to football.

"When he's in the game, it's because we believe he gives us the
best chance to win," Marrone said. "I truly thank him for being
here."

However, Paulus' inconsistency (10 TD passes, 11 interceptions)
means he's not always been in games at the end, as Marrone
sometimes goes to backup Ryan Nassib.

"Things change," Paulus said, referring to the shifting
personnel around him. "It's about sticking together. We'll be
ready to go."

Last year's scare in Syracuse might be enough to prevent Pitt
from looking ahead to its prime-time game against No. 19 Notre
Dame next weekend.

"They're a team that's a lot better than their record shows,"
Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn said. "A win against Pitt would
definitely make their season, so we're not going to give them a
chance to ruin our season or spark theirs. We want to be Big
East champs, and we have to get past Syracuse to stay on track
for that."