Pitt's defense made a few mistakes in the Panthers' 27-17 loss Saturday to Bowling Green, but overall played well enough to give the team a chance to win the game.

The Panthers (0-1) gave up 254 total yards and held the Falcons to only 3.6 yards per play and 2.3 yards per rushing attempt. They did give up 27 points, but 14 came as a result of a turnovers that gave the Falcons a short field.

They also played the entire game without starting weakside linebacker Shane Murray, who was out with a knee injury, and the second half without strongside linebacker Adam Gunn, who fractured his neck and could miss the rest of the season.

The performance wasn't perfect, but as defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said, it was not bad for an opening act and there was plenty to build on heading into tomorrow's game against Buffalo (1-0).

"We did some really good things," Bennett said. "With the exception of two plays in the red zone, where we had a good situation and just didn't make a play, we did a lot of things well. We had one position on defense where he had an inexperienced player and he struggled. There is no question, he had a tough game.

"But I thought there was a lot of positives, and I think we should be all right against any team we play. I always say great defenses dictate the situation and we need to do more of that this week and force our opponents to react to us."

One of the most frustrating parts for Bennett was that the defense misplayed four possible turnovers -- two interceptions and two fumbles -- because he had emphasized that area all summer. One critical play was a dropped interception by safety Eric Thatcher in the end zone; the Falcons scored on the next play.

But Bennett praised the work of the defensive line, pointing out that out of Bowling Green's 42 pass attempts, 12 were to receivers behind the line of scrimmage, an indication the Panthers were getting pressure on the quarterbacks.

Sophomore strong safety Dom DeCicco, making his first start, had a good game, making five tackles and breaking up a pass, but he also missed three key tackles. Two led to big plays for the Falcons and the other turned into a first down.

"If you looked at the way they attacked us, it was obvious they didn't feel like they could throw the ball vertically on us, so they did some different things," Bennett said. "I thought Dom, the first 19 plays of the game, was outstanding, he did everything we needed him to do.

"Then they went to that swinging gate [an unorthodox formation with an unbalanced line] and I think that got him off balance a little bit. And even though they only made 9 yards on two plays, it seemed to get him a little bit off track.

"It was like after that he was doing a little too much thinking and not enough reacting, but ... we have full confidence that he is going to make those plays."

The other issue facing Bennett is at linebacker where Murray likely won't play tomorrow and Gunn is likely done for the season.

That means fifth-year senior Austin Ransom will make his second career start and redshirt freshman Greg Williams will make his first.

Bennett said he's interested to see how both players follow up this week against Buffalo.

"With Greg it is just a matter of playing to our strength," Bennett said. "And he has a lot of speed and is very agile, so we just wanted to put him out there. And I told Austin last week I was very proud of him. He played like Troy Polamalu, but he was wearing Hines Ward's jersey number, so I'll be interested to see how both those guys do now that they'll have a week to think about it."

NOTES -- The Panthers practiced with a wet football yesterday, as rain is expected tomorrow. ... Wannstedt said the Panthers will apply for an extra year of eligibility for Gunn, but given that he already has redshirted a year, his odds of being granted a sixth are not clear.