EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Pitt safety Eric Thatcher said the Panthers are beyond the point where they find comfort in moral victories, but he knows the defense's performance Saturday in a 17-13 loss at Michigan State is something to build on.

"It was tough losing this one, that is a tough football team, but we need to do get it done," he said. "We played well enough to win, I mean, we gave up 10 points, but the key is that we build on this and we get better. There are still some things we need to clean up, and those guys up front, they played great, they are just playing great football for us and if they continue to do that, we're going to continue to improve.

"The thing is, while there was some good, this is a loss and we win and lose as a team, so we need to put it behind us. We have to start winning some of these games.

While the Panthers weren't in the mood to discuss moral victories, the bottom line is the defense -- in particular the defensive line -- played well. Michigan State entered the game averaging 220 yards rushing and 41.5 points per game, but the Panthers limited them to 144 yards rushing on 51 carries. The three Michigan State scores came as a result of Pitt turnovers deep in its own territory.

The defensive line silenced critics who said it would get pushed around by the Spartans' physical offensive front. In a 38-23 loss last season, Michigan State shredded Pitt for 335 rushing yards, something the Panthers defensive players didn't forget.

"They were very big and had some physical guys, we answered the test, we handled everything they gave us," Pitt defensive tackle Tommie Duhart said. "As far as them coming out and pounding us, it didn't happen, we fought them every play and that's what we wanted to do. At the same time, we lost the game, so we're not over here acting like we accomplished something. We have a long way to go as a football team.

"I think what we did do is prove to a lot of people, and maybe in some respects ourselves as well, that we can line up and fight and battle and be as physical as anyone. We played them hard for four quarters and that's all we can ask for. We stay focused, we kept our composure and kept playing."

If the Panthers defense can continue to play like it has thus far -- it has given up only 30 points in three games -- it will enable the team to perhaps salvage something out of a season that is threatening to be a losing one because of inexperience at quarterback.

The offense produced so little through the air Saturday that the coaches scrapped the traditional West Coast offense and instead turned to what they call a "Wildcat" offense, which featured running back LeSean McCoy lined up in shotgun formation and taking direct snaps. The passing offense produced nine completions on 18 attempts for only 85 yards and two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said it is up to him to help the offense find a way to produce more points. He was especially irritated by the turnovers which led to points for the Spartans. He said the defense's effort was wasted, but it was encouraging to see the defense play as well as it did.

Keeping with the "team first" theme that has been adopted by the Panthers, the defensive players were supportive of the offense.

"This isn't an offense-defense thing, we know our offense can score any given time and we have faith in them 110 percent," Thatcher said. "What we have to do as a defense is get some stops and, you know, we have to do a better job of getting some turnovers and put our offense in good field position sometimes and make it easy for them to score. Mike [Phillips] had a chance to get a pick and dropped it and I had a chance to get one and I dropped it, and we have to do a better job of forcing some fumbles, just strip that ball out of there so we can create some field position for our offense.

"We're all in this thing together and we'll get it turned around."