Pitt / Syracuse Bring Rivalry To The ACC

In a series that began in 1916 including every year since 1955, on paper one would think Pitt and Syracuse have been long, bitter rivals in college football. The truth is that’s not the case.

While it’s true, the two teams have played some very memorable games none of them were very meaningful. The mere mention of former Orange QB Troy Nunes for instance, a Pittsburgh area native that seemed to thrive on broken plays that would always result in Syracuse game-deciding TDs against his hometown team in miraculous fashion, makes any Pitt fan cringe. Or perhaps one could mention the blown fumble call on the final kickoff of 1997 matchup at Pitt Stadium (that would have sealed a Pitt win) that makes Pitt stomachs turn. For those history buffs, in that one Donovan McNabb took the non-fumble call from the refs and promptly marched the Orange down the field in just a few plays (in the driving snow) before throwing a last minute TD to pull out a 32-27 Orange win. Despite whatever “painful memory” Pitt/Syracuse games felt like for Pitt fans, the two teams have rarely if ever played any meaningful games against each other.

The problem has been the two teams always seemed to peak at different times. When Pitt was a powerhouse from 1975-1982, Syracuse wasn’t. When Syracuse was a powerhouse from 1987-1997, Pitt’s program (particularly after 1990) was in shambles.

From 1969-1982, Pitt went 13-2 against Syracuse, including 11 straight wins from 1973-1983. Oddly, Syracuse returned the favor in the subsequent years from 1984-2001. During that span, the Orange dominated the Panthers 16-1-1 including 11 straight wins from 1991-2001.

Since 2002, however, Pitt has held the edge 9-2 even though Syracuse won last year’s game 14-13 which ended the Panthers’ 7 game win streak against the Orange.

So as you can see, the series hasn’t really been a “rivalry” in the bitter sense but rather a series of long winning streaks, a few memorable games marked by broken plays and rather meaningless stakes. Its been that way for almost the past 40 plus years.

Unlike the rivalry on the hardwood, the fact is the gridiron match-up has (more often than not) been a struggle for relevancy. This year is no different.

The only real headline to the story of this year’s game is the fact that the two teams are meeting for the first time in the ACC Conference, after spending the last *22 seasons in the now-defunct Big East football conference. (* Big East football technically began during the 1991 season but didn’t crown an official champion until 1993).

In fact, the ACC has decided to make the Syracuse / Pitt game a permanent cross-over contest annually in football. That said, both programs are still in a rebuilding mode. With 5 wins a piece, the importance of getting that all-important 6th win for bowl eligibility looms large. Despite the meaningless bowl either program hopes to reach, the prospect of 15 extra practices is the bigger table stakes for this year’s game.

Last year, Syracuse beat Pitt 14-13 after stopping a late 4th Quarter Pitt drive deep in Syracuse territory. That drive resulted in a huge sack of Tino Sunseri. On the subsequent series, Syracuse simply burned out the remaining 4 minutes and change to seal the win behind a strong rushing attack that Pitt couldn’t stop. It didn’t help matters that Pitt also missed a field goal earlier that would have won the game.

It remains to be seen whether this year’s game will continue a new streak for Syracuse or pile onto Pitt’s successful run over the Orange the past decade.