Syracuse and Pittsburgh came into the ACC seemingly attached at the hip, Big East defectors under new head coaches who engineered key upsets and surprised many by making bowl games. Wins in those bowl games boosted expectations for Year 2 in the conference, with Scott Shafer talking eight-win seasons and Pitt looking like as good of a darkhorse shot as any to win the cluttered Coastal division.
Both scenarios are far from reality as these two gear up for Saturday's meeting at Heinz Field, with the Orange being ravaged by injuries and staff turmoil en route to a losing season, and the Panthers needing to win out to get to another bowl game.
Syracuse has been stellar defensively, but its offense has, for a number of reasons, been a mess. Pitt, meanwhile, has shown flashes of firepower from its offensive stars but has been done in by recent dreadful defensive performances.
"No doubt, we've got to be better (defensively) this week to give ourselves a chance," said Chryst, in his third season at Pitt. "I anticipate us doing that. I think we're in this thing together. There's not a time when there's not interaction in the hallways every week -- 'We're getting this.' 'What do you think?' 'This is what's happening.' You're going to be watching film and, every week, you make comments."
The situation did not seem so dire for Pitt entering this month, as its defense ranked 14th nationally in scoring average (18.6). It has dropped all three games since, giving up 56 points to Georgia Tech, 51 to Duke and 40 to North Carolina. The Panthers have lost six of seven games since a promising 3-0 start and have seen great offensive performances go to waste, as sophomore receiver Tyler Boyd is on the verge of a second straight 1,000-yard season (951) and sophomore James Conner has tallied 21 rushing touchdowns while averaging 156.2 rushing yards per game (both rank third nationally).
Syracuse, which ranks 115th nationally in scoring (19.1) and 103rd in total offense (356.8), as the opposite problem. The Orange have been done in by injury after injury to the quarterback position, which has seen casualties such as Terrel Hunt, Austin Wilson, Mitch Kimble and AJ Long, though Long is expected to start this weekend. Receivers Ashton Broyld (leg) and Brisley Estime (ankle) have battled injuries as well, and neither will play on Saturday.
A mid-season demotion to offensive coordinator George McDonald only added to the chaos, and it has all contributed to the undoing of a team whose defense has been respectable, ranking 27th nationally and giving the Orange chances at two major upsets this season, having forced five turnovers against Notre Dame and four against Clemson.
The last two meetings between these teams, both at the Carrier Dome, were decided by a point apiece, with Syracuse winning in 2012 and Pitt winning last year's tilt to clinch bowl eligibility. The Orange rebounded a week after that defeat to clinch a bowl berth, something that is not on the table this time around. Shafer is not worried about his players' motivation level with two games remaining in his second year at the helm of the program, though.
"What we're focused in on and what we should be focused in on is playing for the love of the game, and for the respect of what the game has given each and every one of us," Shafer said. "It's an absurd sport. It's a dead pig with air in it, and when you break it down into the rudimentary elements of what we do, it's somewhat laughable. But the passion we have for this game that was created so many years ago has given us so much."