Pitt's defense had been shredded for 92 points in consecutive losses to Navy and Virginia. Cincinnati had a high-octane, spread offense that averaged 40.6 points per game in its first seven contests.

It seemed like a nightmare scenario for the Panthers, but they were tired of hearing about how badly they had played, tired of hearing about how great the Bearcats were and tired of hearing people bad-mouth defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads.

Saturday, the Panthers took out their frustrations on Cincinnati, playing a complete game against a quality offensive opponent for the first time in a long time.

The result was an impressive 24-17 win against the Bearcats, which allowed Pitt to begin dreaming about a bowl game.

"We know we are a good team, we're not a bad team," defensive back Kennard Cox said. "And coach [Dave] Wannstedt is a great coach and so is our coaching staff. We had some adversity but we just kept on sawing wood. We just had the will to win.

"And we've been rallying around coach Rhoads all year. You think about it, as a defense we only had one off game all season. As a team, we've been up and down, but we've stuck together and from this point forward now we need to keep it together."

The theme of rallying behind Rhoads seems to be a major one among the defensive players. Instead of just talking, the Panthers showed it on the field against Cincinnati, doing some things that have been uncharacteristic.

They held the Bearcats to a field goal early on even though Pitt's offense had turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers' 28. In the recent weeks, a short field usually guaranteed the opposition a touchdown.

Pitt was more active up front. It brought more pressure and blitzed successfully. Middle linebacker Scott McKillop said blitzes and pressure packages have been in the game plans all along, but they were called more frequently against Cincinnati.

As a result, Pitt forced three turnovers -- the first turnovers it forced since the victory against Grambling Sept. 8.

Defensive end Chris McKillop said holding the Bearcats to a field goal early set everything in motion. After that, the defense played with more confidence.

"To hold an offense with so many weapons to a field goal there was huge," he said. "It was awesome. We talk about keeping teams out of the end zone and [Saturday] we were able to do that. And things got better from there. That's the kind of game we expect to play."

The Panthers need to find a way to win three of their next five games in order to become bowl eligible. That seems like a long shot given the limitations of the offense and the difficult schedule, but it is clear the only way it can happen is if the defense continues to play like it did against Cincinnati.

Pitt (3-4, 1-1 Big East) plays at noon Saturday at Louisville, and though Louisville (4-4, 1-2) has struggled as a team, it still features a high-powered offense.