When it comes to individual games, rarely is there one ‘must’ for victory for Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone. It’s more about tempo. More about mindset.

Most weeks, Marrone points to an array of aspects for Syracuse to defeat its opponent. Leading up to SU’s 13-9 win over South Florida, Marrone did, however, harp on one aspect of SU’s game: turnovers. Marrone said if the Orange won the turnover battle against the Bulls, SU would come away with the win. One SU turnover to two USF turnovers later, Marrone left Tampa, Fla., with the four-point victory, just as he said.

Marrone said Monday there isn’t one singular, tangible ‘must’ for the Orange (4-1, 1-0 Big East) to defeat Pittsburgh (2-3, 0-0) Saturday (noon, ESPN). For Marrone, Monday was a step back from the recognition of one hard truth and a rekindling of more ambiguous and overarching goals. SU vs. Pitt will be about physicality.

It won’t come down to one number. Rather, the tempo of the football.

‘The most physical team is going to win this game,’ Marrone said. ‘With the style of Pittsburgh, they are a physical team.’

The challenge for Marrone and SU against Pittsburgh will perhaps come with winning those small battles in the trenches and in one-on-one matchups. And whenever the Orange can take advantage when given the chance to be physical, it will need to.

That is because the one portion of the game without inherent contact — Pittsburgh punter Dan Hutchins 15-yards back from the physicality at the line on punts — will put the Orange in an unfavorable situation every offensive drive.

The Panthers are first in the nation in net punting, with a 45.3 average. Marrone may need that physicality even more on defense, knowing his offense will have to sacrifice almost half a field every time Pittsburgh punts. The Orange needs to want it more, again, just like USF defensive end Craig Marshall admitted Saturday.

‘It seems like (Syracuse) wanted it more,’ Marshall said after the Bulls’ loss. ‘They did what they had to do to come away with the victory. That’s all we can say about it. … They just executed better than we did.’

The Orange will need to win the field-position battle versus the Panthers, unlike Saturday’s game against the Bulls, when USF consistently started drives inside SU territory.

When the nation’s leading all-purpose runner in Ray Graham (207 yards per game) touches the football, the physical presence exuded against USF’s Mo Plancher last week will need to be there. When Jabaal Sheard — Pitt’s defensive end who is in the top 20 in the nation in both sacks and tackles for loss — attempts to rush off the edge like USF defensive ends in Marshall and David Bedford, the Orange will need to halt Sheard just like it tried (but failed to) with the pair from USF. Marshall had three sacks, and the pair combined for 12 tackles.

Where Pitt differs from USF is with its punting game. Even with a poor nonphysical offensive drive, the Panthers can pin their opponents.

Something extra is needed. Even if the Orange had its best few minutes of football marching 98 yards to defeat USF. It worked, but it won’t be optimal versus Pittsburgh.

‘I thrive, and I’m OK with being backed up,’ Marrone said. ‘It’s a mindset. … I like the challenge.’

But the similarities between the Panthers and Bulls, and the Orange’s subsequent preparation, are more prevalent than the differences. With the Big East schedule pitting the Orange against South Florida and Pittsburgh to begin the conference slate, Marrone wants the Orange to depart the first two weeks of conference play with a proven physical demeanor and mindset all over the field.

In its first four weeks of the season prior to the bye week, the Orange did not have that mindset. Matchups against 0-6 Akron and Football Championship Subdivision teams Colgate and Maine perhaps didn’t allow for it. And a poor showing at Washington in which the Orange was plastered for 41 points simply didn’t showcase the optimal Marrone physicality.

‘I talk to the team about this,’ Marrone said. ‘It is just the beginning of the Big East conference play. We went down there and worked hard and know that all the hard work and everything put into getting to that point is just beginning.’

And against USF, the Orange harnessed that mindset to get to that point. The tempo was exuded.

And the overall tempo and flow is good for the Orange. No injuries to fret about. No losses that have to linger for four to five days. Just a 4-1 record and a group that proved it can be the most physical, right when it needed to.

Now it’s just about repetition. About the classic Marrone mindset, which may now start to become the norm: Prepare. Win. Repeat.

‘There isn’t a magic formula because if there is, we will be looking for it every week,’ Marrone said. ‘It’s just a matter in this game; if you aren’t ready to play every Saturday, you are going to get beat.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on October 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm