PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Qadree Ollison, a senior, is coming off his lowest rushing total of the season against UCF, tallying just 49 yards on 11 carries. Part of that is a consequence of Pittsburgh trailing and playing catch up.
“We felt comfortable with going out there and doing what we did, we felt good with the game plan, and we go three-and-out,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “OK, now what do you like to do? Have that offense spark something and go. And then all of a sudden — but it just kind of goes back and forth, and when (our defense is) out on that field for 91 plays.”
But it’s also the third-straight game that Ollison hasn’t surpassed the 100-yard mark after racking up 119 yards in Week 2 against Penn State.
–WR Maurice Ffrench, a junior from New Brunswick, N.J., had his best outing of the year statistically against UCF, hauling in three catches for 78 yards and a score. That included a 58-yard grab. Ffrench now leads Pittsburgh with 14 catches on the year and is second with 172 yards receiving on the season — just 100 yards less than he had all of last season.
–LB Oluwaseun Idowu, a redshirt senior from Pennsylvania, is coming off a seven-tackle effort against UCF — one game removed from tallying eight against North Carolina. He also has four tackles for a loss and a sack over the last two weeks.
SERIES HISTORY: Syracuse-Pittsburgh is one of college football’s traditional rivalries. The two schools have played every year since 1955, with the Panthers winning 13 of the last 16 matchups. Pittsburgh holds an overall series lead 38-32-3.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It goes back to sometimes it’s the Xs and Os and sometimes it’s the personnel. Two years ago, I’ll never forget that game for a long time. But we had a lot of missing pieces in the back end that day, and it was structurally and it was physical because of our lack of depth back there and the amount of plays, 126 plays that day, compared to 91 last weekend.” — Pat Narduzzi on Pittsburgh’s 76-61 win over Syracuse in 2016.