Coaches often say that every game is important, and while that is generally true, it is also true that some games are a little more important than others.

Given that, it would appear as if Pitt's game today against Syracuse would be the least important game of the Panthers' four remaining. The Orange are not ranked, they are in last place in the Big East and while the game is being televised nationally, it is on ESPNU, a fledgling network that is not nearly as widely distributed as ESPN or ESPN2.

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Scouting report

Matchup: No. 13 Pitt (7-1, 4-0) vs. Syracuse (3-5, 0-3), noon today, Heinz Field. Pitt is favored by 21 1/2.

TV/Radio: ESPNU; WWSW-FM (94.5); WBGG-AM (970) and channel 129 on SIRIUS satellite radio.

Pitt: Leads the overall series with Syracuse, 31-30-3, and has an 18-11 home record in the series. ... Has not lost to the Orange under Dave Wannstedt (4-0) and have won six of past seven games in the series. ... Needs two wins to mark its first back-to-back nine-win seasons since 1981 and '82. ... Is 17-5 in past 22 games.

Syracuse: Has not won at Pitt since 2001. ... Is 3-28 in past 31 Big East games. ... Leading receiver Mike Williams quit the team Monday. ... Averages 203 yards passing per game, the eighth best in school history. ... Linebacker Derrell Smith is fourth in the conference with 8.88 tackles per game.

Hidden stat: Pitt averages 179.5 rushing yards per game; Syracuse allows only 88.9 rushing yards per game.

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Contrast that to the fact that the 13th-ranked Panthers (7-1, 4-0 Big East) play two ranked opponents (No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 22 Notre Dame) in their last three games and the other team is their most bitter rival (West Virginia). All three games are set to be nationally televised on either ABC or ESPN. It is easy to get the impression that those three games are bigger and more important than today's Syracuse game.

However, today's game against the Orange (3-5, 0-3) is far more important than it appears and it is certainly, in terms of positioning within the Big East, more important than the Notre Dame game, a nonconference game, and even potentially the West Virginia game.

That's because if the Panthers win today against Syracuse and Cincinnati wins its next two games against Connecticut and West Virginia, Pitt and Cincinnati will play for the Big East title Dec. 5 no matter what the Panthers do against Notre Dame and West Virginia.

It would mark the first time since 2004 the Panthers had a chance to play for the Big East championship and a BCS berth.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt knows the importance of this game and has spent all week downplaying the idea that the Panthers were heavy favorites and trying hard to sell the fact that the Orange are a dangerous team to his players.

"I hope and believe that our players understand that this is a very big football game for us," Wannstedt said. "Syracuse is a very good football team and they have an outstanding defense. We're focused right now on our conference, on winning the Big East and this is a very big conference game for us."

If the Panthers win today it will give them eight wins for the second season in a row, marking the first time they've accomplished that since 2003 and 2004. It would also mark their 17th win in the past two years, matching 2002 and 2003, as their winningest two year-stretch since they won a combined 20 games in 1981 and 1982.

Paul Zeise's "Pitt Stop" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.