BIG EAST Syrause, Pitt both seek a needed win

Pittsburgh needs three wins in its last four games to be bowl eligible.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Nobody's feeling sorry for Syracuse or Pitt, especially not the coach standing on the opposing sideline.
These are unaccustomed lean times for two Big East teams that have a combined 15 bowl game appearances since the conference was formed in 1991. For two schools that have played each other continuously since 1955, a 50-year span that has seen both win national championships and play in the biggest bowl games.
Pitt (3-4, 2-1 in the Big East) started its first season under new coach Dave Wannstedt badly by losing three in a row and four of five and has only begun to recover by beating South Florida and Cincinnati the last two weeks. Not that it matters to Syracuse.
Syracuse (1-5, 0-4) started its first season under new coach Greg Robinson badly by losing to West Virginia. And it hasn't recovered, beating only Buffalo while losing to Rutgers and Connecticut among others. Not that it matters to Pitt.
"I've known Dave for a long time," said Robinson, an assistant coach in the NFL while Wannstedt was coaching the Bears and Dolphins. "And Dave ain't feeling sorry for me, and I ain't feeling for Dave."
Glimmer of hope
The one difference is Pitt, despite losing to Ohio U. and Rutgers, still has a glimmer of hope it can salvage a bowl game out of a disappointing season. The Panthers need to beat Syracuse, Connecticut and either No. 20 West Virginia or Louisville to do so, but it's the one incentive Wannstedt can dangle in front of his players.
One upbeat note in a downbeat Pitt season is the gradually improving play of quarterback Tyler Palko, who enjoyed an exceptional closing stretch last season. He has 11 touchdown passes and two interceptions as Pitt has won three of four, a badly needed turnaround for a player who seemed lost in Wannstedt's new offensive system earlier this season.
Palko threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions in Pitt's 31-17 victory over South Florida last Saturday, easily his best game this season.
Robinson probably doesn't want to say what he thinks of last week's 31-9 loss to Rutgers in which the Orange lost five of nine fumbles. At the same time, Pitt was forcing three turnovers in beating South Florida.
"It's something to exploit every week," said middle linebacker H.B. Blades, even though Pitt has forced only nine turnovers and committed 14 in seven games.
"We expect to get a lot of them and we definitely expect to get them this week."
As with all Pitt opponents, Syracuse's biggest challenge will be stopping the Palko-to-Greg Lee passing combination that has combined for 664 yards passing and five touchdowns, including two touchdowns the last two games.
Damien Rhodes has accounted for much of Syracuse's offense by rushing for 559 yards and five touchdowns, but quarterback Perry Patterson Jr. has only three TD passes.