Syracuse (4-7, 2-5 atlantic Coast) goes down to Heinz Field for its last game of the season against Pittsburgh (7-4, 4-3) Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Orange is coming off a 45-14 beat down by Florida State, while the Panthers won, 56-14, over Duke.

Tomer Langer (5-3)
Squeezed out
Pittsburgh 34, Syracuse 14

With some spots still open, Syracuse still has a chance to make a bowl game if it makes to five wins, but it’s unlikely that’ll happen. Overall, head coach Dino Babers’ first year went about as expected. The biggest question mark now is the health of quarterback Eric Dungey. SU has been banged up a lot this year, especially down the stretch, and a lot of other key players missed games. But, assuming Dungey doesn’t play, this will be the second straight season he misses the last several games with some sort of “upper-body injury.” And the only thing that’s maybe even more concerning than his injuries is to what lengths the team’s gone to try to conceal it.

Chris Libonati (8-3)
On the prowl
Pittsburgh 38, Syracuse 17

I had Syracuse as a 5-7 team at the beginning of the season, and I stand by my thinking that SU would have gotten there had Eric Dungey not gotten hurt. But the reality is that he did. Pitt’s biggest weakness is its pass defense, and I’m just not sure that Zack Mahoney has enough tools to take advantage of that. The Orange doesn’t get its fifth win and narrowly misses a bowl game.

Jon Mettus (8-3)
Hail 2 Pitt
Pittsburgh 48, Syracuse 14

Babers’ first year will come to an end Saturday with a loss to Pittsburgh. Because of the win over Virginia Tech and 4-4 record at one point, it’ll be a disappointment when the Orange misses a bowl game. But remember, at 4-8 SU is exactly where we (or at least I) expected it to be. SU has dealt with massive injuries on both sides of the ball yet still made progress. Get ready for the fun part: Year 2.