There are a lot of ways to analyze Pitt's 24-17 win Saturday against Cincinnati, but Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt said the key statistic is one that usually gets overlooked -- time of possession.

The Panthers won that category by almost 10 minutes, a fact which Wannstedt said is every bit as much responsible for the defense's success as anything that actually occurred on the field. After all, the Bearcats high-powered offense couldn't do much damage when they were standing on the sidelines watching the Panthers control the ball and shorten the game.

Wannstedt said that is a blueprint for success the Panthers (3-4, 1-1 Big East) must repeat tomorrow at Louisville (4-4, 1-2) if they are going to have any chance to win the game. The Cardinals have been somewhat of a disappointment this season, but their offense still has been potent. They average 530 yards and 39 points per game.

If Wannstedt has it his way, though, standout Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm will be doing a whole lot more standing and watching than actually playing.

"[Controlling the clock] would be our objective every week," Wannstedt said. "That is one of those things that shows up on the stat sheets that people don't talk about usually. They talk about the obvious -- touchdowns, interceptions, sacks -- but possession time is a key and there are so many benefits to that, particularly when you are playing a high-scoring team and you want to minimize the number of possessions they have.

"If you are a running team and you can control the clock and you have a controlled passing game -- and we're that way now -- I think the theme is, don't stop ourselves. It is amazing how, even in last week's game, we're at the 9-yard line going in and we have a holding call and we settle for a field goal."

Wannstedt said that even if the Panthers do control the clock on offense and even if they don't turn the ball over, they still will have their hands full trying to figure out how to stop the Cardinals. He has repeatedly referred to Brohm as perhaps the best pro-style quarterback in the country and he said the Cardinals skill players, particularly receivers Mario Urrutia and Harry Douglas, are as good as any.

Brohm has completed 230 of 338 passes for 2,993 yards, 25 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, and Douglas (49 catches, 816 yards with 5 touchdowns) has been his favorite target. Urrutia is third on the team with 27 receptions for 399 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Cardinals also average 153.2 yards rushing per game and are led by tailback Anthony Allen, who has 631 yards rushing and has averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

"We are going to have to play the best we've played all year by far," Wannstedt said. "This will be a very big challenge for our defense and we'll see where we are at. They have changed a few things from last year but their passing game is basically the same."

Although time of possession is one key statistic from the win against the Bearcats the Panthers would love to duplicate tomorrow, it will only be possible if they duplicate another -- turnovers.

The Panthers forced three of them and turned the ball over only once, a big difference from the first six games of the year when they had 16 turnovers and forced only six.