Orange Host #20 Pitt in Home Finale

Syracuse closes out the 2021 regular season on Saturday with one of its toughest tests of the year when it hosts No. 20 Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. A win sends the Orange to a bowl game for the first time since 2018.

It's sure to an emotional evening as Saturday is Senior Day for the Orange. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for a pregame ceremony honoring those who are playing their last home game and stay after the game for what has become a tradition for the 'Cuse during head coach Dino Babers' tenure – the Senior Walk.

"The Senior Walk is also this weekend – last home game in the Dome," Babers said. "I'm asking the students and the community to hang around after the game. What will happen is, regardless of the outcome of the game, we will clear the field with our football team. Please stay in the stands because the seniors and everyone else – anyone who is it's going to be their last game at Syracuse – will come back out for that walk. It's an opportunity to thank them one last time and share with them some thoughts or moments in their careers that were exciting for you... It's something I've gone through and it's a very emotional thing. And it takes a while for them to get all the way around. The [Eric] Dungeys and all the guys we started this with – they all talk about this and they all talk about how much it meant. So I appreciate the students and the community hanging around. It will be a special time for the seniors, especially those 'super seniors'."

Fans can purchase tickets to the game by visiting cuse.com/tickets or call 888-DOME-TIX. Click here for Syracuse's current public health guidelines and expectations for attendees. Click here for the latest Game Day Protocol Updates.

As Babers noted, Syracuse's 'super seniors' will be among those honored on Saturday. Josh Black, Kingsley Jonathan, Cody Roscoe, Airon Servais and McKinley Williams all decided to return to Syracuse to end their careers on a better note than last season's 1-10 performance. All have made major contributions this season, and one, Chris Elmore, will return for the 2022 campaign after Babers announced the Chicago native will redshirt this season. This group was the foundation that Babers knew the team needed to move forward after last year's challenging season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It all started back with those super seniors – (with) them recommitting to coming back, I knew that we were going to have a bridge. That we had an opportunity go get some things done. We're sitting here at 11 (games) and people may not think that we've gotten all that we could get out of it, but based off of what really people thought we had and what we were going to get done, we've overshot their things. Totally, which I love proving people wrong.

"Now we have an opportunity to really prove them wrong. But we have a really good opponent. So we're going to have to see. But I'm excited about the opportunity and I think the guys in the room are as well."

Pittsburgh enters Saturday's game on a three-game winning streak and a 9-2 overall record. The Panthers have clinched the ACC's Coastal Division with a 6-1 league record.

"Our opponent this week – Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt Panthers have had an amazing season. My goes hat's off to Pat," Babers said. "I know him personally. He is a good football coach and he has a very good football team rolling in here to Syracuse. Kenny Pickett, his quarterback, is, to me, going to be a No. 1 draft pick. He's the best quarterback in the ACC. And it's going to be a heck of an opportunity to line up against them and play against that football team in our last game this year. Their rush defense is No. 1 in the ACC and I believe it's No. 2 in the country. This is a dog-gone good football team that's going to have an opportunity to play in the title game of the ACC. And they definitely deserve it. We're looking forward to the contest. It's our last contest in the Dome. Hopefully, not our last contest in 2021."

Pittsburgh is Syracuse's most frequent opponent with Saturday's contest slated to be the 77th all-time meeting between the two schools. With a win against a team that they have faced every year since 1955, the Orange will go bowling for the 27th time in school history.

There are a number of ticket deals in place for this weekend's game, including our Home for the Holidays promotion. During the holiday break, we invite high school and college students to take advantage of a special offer welcoming you to our football game this Saturday for just $10 per ticket! Show your high school or college ID at the Carrier Dome Ticket Booths on game day to receive the special ticket offer (limit 10 per customer, while supplies last). The Orange also have a special deal that runs through Nov. 26 as a Black Friday special. 4 tickets for $44. Click here to purchase.

Syracuse University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Josh Black

Chris Elmore

Kingsley Jonathan

Cody Roscoe

Airon Servais

McKinley Williams

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