If there is such a thing as rock bottom for a defense, the Pitt Panthers found themselves dangerously close to it six games into the season.

The Panthers were coming off a 48-45 double-overtime loss to Navy in which they were shredded for 331 yards rushing and 497 total yards. It was the tail end of a stretch in which the defense had given up 126 points in three games.

Since then, however, something dramatic has changed about the defense and it suddenly looks like a unit that is good enough to lead the Panthers to a strong finish to an otherwise disappointing season.

Pitt has given up only 58 points in the past three games. And that is an impressive total considering two of the opponents in that stretch -- Cincinnati and Louisville -- average 37 points per game. Not coincidentally, the Panthers have won two of those three games.

The Panthers have improved to 17th in Division I-A in total defense (313.11 yards per game) and 13th in pass defense (184.56 yards per game).

The Panthers' defense led the charge in a 20-17 win against Syracuse Saturday. Even though the Orange is ranked 114 out of 119 teams in NCAA Division I-A in total yards, Pitt's defense did play a relatively complete game. The Panthers limited the Orange to 265 total yards, including 30 yards rushing on 31 carries. Pitt also forced 10 punts, had six sacks and the Orange only converted 2 of 14 on third down.

And although the Orange specializes in making big plays, it had only one big play -- a 56-yard touchdown pass from Cameron Dantley to Taj Smith.

Pitt middle linebacker Scott McKillop, who had a team-high 12 tackles, said the defense is playing at a higher level than it was earlier in the season but he contends it still has a ways to go. He said the defense had several breakdowns Saturday that, had the Orange been more equipped to capitalize on, could have turned into a disaster.

"I think what happened a little late in the game is we lost focus a little bit and we shouldn't have let a couple of those plays that happened," McKillop said. "But overall we've started to play better each week, you can see there is more confidence out there and we're getting more confident the more we have success. We've got some things to work on though. We have to just stay hungry and keep improving because we know we have some big games coming up."

One other factor in the Panthers' resurgence on defense has been the offense's commitment to protect the ball. The Panthers had turned the ball over nine times in three games leading up to and including the Navy loss but have turned the ball over only twice in the past three games.

That development has helped keep the Panthers' defense out of poor field position and has enabled them to force other teams to string together long drives in order to score touchdowns.

Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick said protecting the ball has been a priority for the Panthers in recent weeks, but that doesn't mean they have become so conservative they aren't trying to make plays as well.

"[Protecting the ball] has been very important to us, but I don't know that is priority No. 1," he said. "It has been a big focus of ours but priority No. 1 for us is winning games. Secondly, protecting the ball is important but we're not just going to be caretakers and sit back there and go three and out. We have to take some shots and make some plays, but having no turnovers and eliminating those [negative plays] has been a recipe for good things."

Pitt's victory Saturday improved its record to 4-5, 2-2 in the Big East Conference. With three games remaining its margin for error in terms of getting the six wins necessary for bowl eligibility is slim. But the chances of the Panthers winning two of their final three suddenly are better than originally believed because at least two of their remaining opponents appear vulnerable.

The Panthers have an off week then travel to Rutgers (5-4, 2-3), which has lost two in a row and four of its past six. The Scarlet Knights have been outscored, 69-22, in its previous two games. The next week, the Panthers will play host to South Florida (6-3, 1-3), which at one point was ranked as high as No. 2 but has lost three in a row and dropped out of the rankings.

Pitt's defense then will be put to the ultimate test in the season finale at West Virginia (7-1, 2-1). The Mountaineers lead the Big East in scoring (40.8 points per game) and are second in total offense (470.9 yards per game).