SYRACUSE - In the wake of an embarrassing loss that dimmed their hopes of winning the conference title, the Syracuse Orange's tunnel vision remained intact on Monday as they stared at the schedule.

"The Big East title is still up there," tailback Damien Rhodes said. "We want to go 4-0 these last four games so that at least we can go to a bowl game. You never know what's going to happen to the Big East picture."

"We still feel we can go to a bowl," quarterback Perry Patterson said. "That's still one of our goals. We've just got to go forward now."

Good idea. Looking backward would not be a smart thing as the Orange (3-4, 1-1 Big East) prepare to host Connecticut (5-2, 2-2) on Saturday.

After nearly upsetting fifth-ranked Florida State in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse had 11 days to prepare for No. 15 West Virginia and lost 27-6 at Morgantown on Thursday night.

Special teams play, which in the not-so-distant past was a source of team pride, turned abysmal against the Mountaineers and allowed them to take control. Syracuse committed six glaring gaffes: place-kicker Collin Barber, a fifth-year senior, missed two field goals, had another blocked, and also missed his first extra point of the season; Brendan Carney had a punt blocked; and Marcus Clayton fumbled away a punt just before halftime.

West Virginia scored all 17 of its points in the first half following a missed field goal, the blocked field goal, and the muffed punt. The Orange couldn't overcome those mistakes and suffered their fourth loss this season to a ranked team.

"It's just frustrating when you shoot yourself in the foot and you cause yourself to climb into a hole," said head coach Paul Pasqualoni, whose job seems to be teetering on the brink midway through his third straight lackluster season. "You just can't do that in these games."

The most glaring - and embarrassing - mistake was the blocked punt. The Mountaineers set up for a return and rushed only one player, and he somehow snuck in from the right, made it past a trio of blockers standing in a row in front of Carney, and stuffed the ball.

Apparently, the play looked as weird on the field as it did on television.

"The ball was snapped a little bit to the right," Pasqualoni explained. "The (three) guys in the shield just felt he was too wide and was a non-factor. Obviously, he was not. It was bizarre. It probably would not happen again in 100 years, but it happened."

So did Clayton's muff, which easily was the costliest. Despite the mistakes and an awful start by Patterson, Syracuse only trailed 10-0 when Clayton made it. And Rasheed Marshall quickly took advantage, combining with Chris Henry on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds left in the half.

"Despite everything that we missed in the first half, with 1:15 to go we're receiving the punt and it's 10-0," Pasqualoni said. "You have a chance to come out in the second half and get something done."

To his credit, Patterson did. He simply had too much to overcome against a quality team that now sits alone atop the Big East at 2-0.

"What you learn from playing outstanding teams with good, experienced players is the margin of error is really quite minimal," Pasqualoni said.

Patterson, who finished with a career-high 249 passing yards, remained contrite in the aftermath of his third loss in four starts. He's still searching for the reasons he can look so good at times and so awful at others.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," he said. "Coaches are just telling me that you gain confidence with preparation through the week. I'm just going to try to practice harder, watch more film, and get better. I'm good enough to make those plays. Now I just have to go out there and make them."

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Notes: Pasqualoni said tailback Walter Reyes, who did not play against West Virginia because of the flu, was expected to practice Monday and be ready for UConn. Rhodes also was ailing with similar symptoms but managed to play the entire game against the Mountaineers. ... Pasqualoni said cornerback DeAndre LaCaille, who suffered a separated shoulder against West Virginia, would be limited in practice early in the week but hoped to have him ready for the Huskies.