BIG EAST Win can vault Pitt into big-time bowl

The Panthers play at Syracuse today.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pitt hopes a strong November can make up for a weak September and drive the Panthers to their best bowl game of the Walt Harris era.
Even if they're not saying so.
The Panthers (5-2, 3-1 Big East) have defeated Temple, Boston College and Rutgers in succession -- not exactly a punishing stretch -- since perhaps the worst month of Harris' eight-year coaching stay at Pitt.
In September, the Panthers lost to Nebraska and Big East newcomer Connecticut and were nearly beaten by Division I-AA Furman, winning only in overtime.
But if they win Saturday at Syracuse (4-4, 2-1), the Panthers might wind up with a Gator Bowl bid even if they lose to No. 15 West Virginia on Thanksgiving night. The Panthers have played in five lower-tier bowl games since Harris took over in 1997.
History lesson
The Syracuse-Pittsburgh winner has gone on to play in a bowl game eight times in the last nine years.
"But it's not time to think about all that stuff," Harris said. "We don't need any other carrots out there, we just need to play good. Our guys fought hard after dealing with some youth and inexperience and heartbreak early."
Running back Tim Murphy said the Panthers became determined after losing to Connecticut that their season wouldn't get away from them.
"When we lost that one, we told ourselves we couldn't lose another one," he said. "That had to be the only loss for us if we wanted to get to where we wanted to be, which is the Big East championship [against West Virginia]. We knew what we had to do."
Tough at home
Syracuse presents a challenge not just because the Orangemen have played a superior schedule to Pitt, losing to four ranked teams, but also the advantage they have playing in the Carrier Dome.
That's probably why Harris wouldn't have minded if his relatively young team had played last weekend. Normally, coaches welcome off weeks at this stage of the season, but nearly all the Panthers are healthy.
"We like the idea of playing one right after the other with the streak we're on," Harris said.
Syracuse is coming off a 42-30 victory against UConn that saw the Orange move the ball much more easily and consistently than the Panthers did against the Huskies, rushing for nearly 300 yards as Walter Reyes ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Reyes is second in the conference with a 96.7 yards per game average, while Pitt has the conference's second-best rushing defense, allowing 3.3 yards per carry.
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