The Pitt Panthers (2-1) will play host to Connecticut (3-0) tonight in their Big East Conference opener, and they are favored to win by more than a touchdown.

After tonight, the Panthers will have eight games remaining, four at home and four on the road. Two of those games -- Oct. 10 against Navy and Nov. 3 against Syracuse -- will come against opponents they likely will be favored to beat.

Because of that, the Panthers almost surely face a must-win situation tonight at Heinz Field if they hope to end their bowl-less drought at two seasons.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said the Huskies are a much better team than some people give them credit for, and he knows the Panthers will need to play well to win it. He also said avenging Connecticut's 46-45, double-overtime win last season won't be a factor because both teams have much different personnel.

"They have changed up things on offense," Wannstedt said. "I think they are throwing the ball a little bit more, and they have a new starting quarterback from a year ago.

"But they have a big offensive line that is committed to running the football and they have some good running backs. They are quicker in their front four this year than what they were a year ago. They have a really good football team.

"This is an important one because it is a conference game, but it is at home and we'll come out of the chute ready to play."

The Panthers will have to do two things better than they did last week in a loss against Michigan State -- protect the football and play more disciplined in order to eliminate costly penalties.

Pitt was also 0 for 12 on third down against the Spartans, but that spoke more to the inexperience of redshirt freshman quarterback Kevan Smith than anything else, and the Panthers also failed to force a turnover.

Wannstedt believes there is no excuse for taking penalties and knows that a team with an offense as anemic as Pitt's is usually is unable to overcome turnovers that lead to easy points for the other team.

Last week, all 17 of the Spartans' points came directly from Pitt turnovers, and Wannstedt said if that happens tonight, the Panthers will likely lose.

"Sometimes it isn't the plays that you make to win the game that really make the difference," Wannstedt said. "It is those negative plays that cause you to lose the game that you just can't overcome. I thought we made too many mistakes against Michigan State, and those are things we need to get cleaned up."

Although Connecticut is undefeated, the Huskies have not played. a tough schedule. The Huskies have wins against Duke, 45-14; Maine, 38-0; and Temple. The win against the Owls was secured after a controversial out-of-bounds call negated what seemed to be the winning touchdown for Temple.

Smith is expected to be the starting quarterback again for Pitt, but, if he struggles early -- and even if he does not -- the Panthers are expected to go to their Wildcat offense featuring tailback LeSean McCoy or LaRod Stephens-Howling in shotgun formation taking direct snaps from center. The formation was used for most of the second half against the Spartans.

Wannstedt downplayed how much the Panthers might actually use the formation, but, with Stephens-Howling returning from a rib injury and a week to implement new wrinkles, it clearly will be used if the conventional offense struggles.