SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Beware Pittsburgh.

Walter Reyes is staring at the last home game of his Syracuse career on Saturday against the Panthers, and there's only one ending he's thinking about.

"We have to come out firing," said Reyes, the all-time leading rusher in the Carrier Dome with 2,116 yards in 23 games. "Two years ago, they kind of embarrassed us in the Dome. We haven't been to a bowl game since 2001, and the past two years Pitt has had our number. As seniors, you feel like it's on your shoulders to help lead the team back to a bowl game."

Reyes has rushed for 677 yards despite sitting out the West Virginia game with the flu and is vying to become the first Syracuse player to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons. He enters the game with 3,298 yards rushing (Joe Morris holds the school record of 4,299) and is one touchdown short of Floyd Little's Syracuse record of 46 TDs.

And Reyes does not perform alone in the backfield. Pitt also has to worry about tailback Damien Rhodes, who has rushed for 446 yards and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

"Reyes and Rhodes are two really great backs," Pitt coach Walt Harris said. "How do you stop them? Well, we'd like to get ahead so they don't sit there and pound it out all day."

That's exactly what the Panthers did the last time they visited. Two years ago, they jumped to a big early lead, silencing the often-raucous home crowd, and coasted to a 48-24 win, their first since 1982 in the Carrier Dome after a nine-game winless streak (0-8-1).

Saturday's game is big for both teams. Pitt (5-2, 3-1 Big East) is looking to stay in the hunt for the Big East title and a BCS bowl berth. The Panthers control their own fate in the conference because they play first-place West Virginia (7-1, 3-0) at home on Thanksgiving night. The Orange (4-4, 2-1) can ill afford another loss, and even if they finish at 7-4 aren't necessarily a shoe-in for the postseason.

The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak, having beaten Temple, Boston College in overtime, and Rutgers since losing 29-17 at Connecticut. But they're coming off a bye week, and that doesn't exactly put a smile on the head coach's face.

"We like the idea of playing one right after the other with the streak we're on," Harris said. "We have a huge four-game stretch that will prove what kind of football team we are, and we want to make sure we are as fresh as we can be.

"It's going to be fast up there because of the turf field and it's going to be indoors, so that's the bad part about not playing. You get out of your groove a little bit."

The Orange, which fell below .500 for the third time in three years after a loss at West Virginia two games ago, rebounded nicely with a 42-30 win last week over UConn. Despite allowing 566 yards offensively, the Syracuse defense forced five turnovers, and Reyes and Rhodes combined to rush for 201 yards.

Reyes, who scored two TDs in the game, is second in the conference with 96.7 yards per game, while Pitt has the Big East's second-best rushing defense, allowing 3.3 yards per carry.

Last week, Connecticut needed a win to become bowl eligible. Pitt arrives in a similar circumstance, striving to play in the postseason for the fifth season in a row. A victory by the Panthers also would clinch a winning record for the fifth year in a row.

It's not something Harris is worried about at this stage.

"I don't think this is the time to think about that stuff," he said. "This is the time to get ourselves ready to play. We just need to get ready to play."

If Reyes can come close to duplicating his performance against Notre Dame in the last home game of 2003, the Orange likely will be smiling afterward. He rushed for 189 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 38-12 victory over the Irish last December that evened Syracuse's record at 6-6 and saved head coach Paul Pasqualoni from his second straight losing season.

"That day was something special," Reyes said.

And only one thing could top it - leading the Orange to a bowl game.

"That will be the greatest memory by far for me, knowing the seniors helped this team back to a bowl game," Reyes said.