SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- One coach, Syracuse's Greg Robinson, played not to lose.

The other, Pitt's Dave Wannstedt, played to win.

And not surprisingly, Wannstedt watched as his team did win, 34-24, while Robinson found himself in the familiar position of having to defend his decisions after yet another loss for the Orange.

The Orange had a 14-3 first-quarter lead over the Panthers, were dominating the game and had Pitt's defense completely on its heels, driving towards what could have potentially been a "finish 'em off" kind of score.

But they found themselves facing a fourth-and-1 on the Panthers 38 and Robinson decided to punt. His decision was met with a very loud chorus of boos from the crowd of 27,549 in the Carrier Dome, and they voiced their displeasure throughout the game at Robinson's conservative coaching style.

Pitt's players said the decision and the fact that they forced a punt gave them confidence, because it was the first major stand they made during the game. The Panthers then banked 10 unanswered points and outscored the Orange 31-10 afterward.

Robinson defended the decision by saying going for the fourth-down conversion was "desperate in my mind. You play smart football, you punt it down there and we're supposed to stop them."

On the other hand, the Panthers, trailing 24-16, faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 32 in the third quarter, and Wannstedt said there was "no hesitation, no decision at all." He kept the offense on the field, and they went for it -- and made it on a quarterback sneak by Bill Stull.

The Panthers went on to score a touchdown and 2-point conversion on that drive to tie the game, then scored ten more points to complete the comeback.

"That feels good to go for it there because it shows the coaches trust us, they trust us to make the plays," tackle Jason Pinkston said. "And that's what we have done --- we've gone out there and made those fourth downs. That kind of confidence from your coaches means a whole lot."

The Panthers are now 6-4 in the ten games since and including a 24-17 win against Cincinnati Oct. 20th last season.

That isn't a dominant run to be sure, but consider this -- in the ten games against Division I-A competition prior to the match against the Bearcats, the Panthers were an embarrassing 1-9 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

And perhaps more importantly, the Panthers during this latest 10-game stretch have won four games -- against the Bearcats, against West Virginia to end the season, last week against Iowa and yesterday against Syracuse -- after trailing in the second half, which is something they had not done in their first 29 games under Wannstedt's watch.

Yesterday's win, in fact, was the first time they had come back to win a game under Wannstedt after trailing by more than ten points in the second half.

"I think we're getting better," Pinkston said. "We're gaining more confidence each week, we're starting to play better, particularly up front. We have a lot of games to go. We just need to keep working on it and keep working on getting better."

Freshman receiver Jonathan Baldwin made his first catch of the season -- an 8-yard wide receiver screen that set the Panthers up with a fourth-and-inches at their own 32. He also caught the 2-point conversion pass after the touchdown on the same drive, which tied the game at 24-24 with 14:26 to play. ...The Panthers seemed to have only one injury -- a twisted ankle by starting right tackle Joe Thomas. Pinkston, however, said Thomas was fine. "He was dancing around in the locker room and singing so I think he's OK," Pinkston said, then smiled. "I think he was just tired and needed a break." ...Linebacker Shane Murray played a few snaps in the second half but didn't record any statistics. ... Junior tight end Dorin Dickerson recorded his first touchdown of the season -- a 2-yard reception. It is the second touchdown of his career. ... Conor Lee kicked four field goals and two extra points to record 14 points -- which moved him into seventh on Pitt's all-time scoring leaders list. ... Tailback LeSean McCoy's 100-yard game (he rushed 28 times for 149 yards) was his first of the season but the eighth of his career. ... Wannstedt, now in his fourth season, has recorded 10 Big East wins and seven of them have come against either Cincinnati or Syracuse. ... Pitt's next game is Thursday night at South Florida.