TAMPA, Fla. -- Maybe the Pitt win Dec. 1 in Morgantown felt a little better. That one came against hated West Virginia. It denied the Mountaineers a trip to the national championship game and led to West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez leaving for Michigan. For anyone who likes Pitt, it was the perfect start to the holiday season if only because it was such a bummer for all of West Virginia.

But the 26-21 win last night against No. 10 South Florida was more significant -- no matter what coach Dave Wannstedt thinks.

"The West Virginia win always will be best. They're our backyard rival," Wannstedt said a few moments before midnight outside Pitt's raucous locker room. "But this one is right behind it."

America's great, isn't it?

We're all entitled to our opinions.

This Pitt win meant more because it proved that Wannstedt, in his fourth season, has the program back on track after the nightmarish home loss to Bowling Green in the opener Aug. 30. It also means Pitt is a strong contender -- maybe even the favorite -- to win the Big East Conference.

Imagine that.

Hats off to Wannstedt and his staff for keeping the Pitt team together when just about everybody -- me included, certainly -- gave up on the Panthers.

Hats also off to the Pitt players, who took a number of big shots last night but didn't stagger or fall. They hit back harder, actually. You almost had to see it to believe it.

"There were a lot of opportunities for that game to flip," Wannstedt said, referring to a punt Pitt had blocked that resulted in a South Florida touchdown, a fumble by star running back LeSean McCoy, another fumble by quarterback Bill Stull and a poorly executed fake punt.

"I can't say enough for the character and heart of these kids. It's a neat group. I think they're starting to grow into something pretty special."

The man gets no argument here this morning.

Mistakes aside -- "We are going to play a clean game. We've got a lot of room for improvement," Wannstedt said -- there is no questioning the Panthers' desire.

Really, what chance did you give Pitt after that early blocked punt gave South Florida a 7-0 lead? Five plays later, Stull threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin.

Tell the truth, did you think Pitt would come back after South Florida put together a nine-play, 86-yard touchdown drive to take a 21-20 lead with 5:57 left in the game?

Pitt needed all of three plays -- bing, bang, boom -- to score the winning touchdown. Bing: a 38-yard Stull pass to wide receiver Oderick Turner. Bang: a 19-yard run by McCoy, a work of art on which he practically stripped cornerback Tyller Roberts with a move to the outside. Boom: a 3-yard touchdown run by McCoy.

Yep, that's hitting back harder.

Like the win in Morgantown, this one was no fluke.

Much as the Pitt defense did against West Virginia quarterback Pat White, it largely took away South Florida's best player, quarterback Matt Grothe. Grothe hurt the Panthers with a 27-yard scramble in the first quarter, shaking off defensive end Greg Romeus in the backfield, but that was it with his legs. Grothe also threw a 38-yard pass to wide receiver A.J. Love on a long, third-quarter touchdown drive and a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jessie Hester for that score late in the game. But, all things considered, Grothe -- the second-best quarterback in the Big East behind White -- was a non-factor.

"[Defensive coordinator] Phil Bennett had a nice game plan," Wannstedt said. "We locked up their receivers. We played six defensive backs most of the game and only rushed four most of the game."

The plan surely worked.

The Pitt defensive players should have gone to bed feeling mighty proud after they returned to Oakland early this morning.

So should have McCoy, who had 28 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns. It was a lot like his performance at West Virginia last season when he toted the pig 38 times for 148 yards. Big-time players make big-time plays in big games.

McCoy's best run last night might have come late with Pitt trying to kill the clock. He ran for 12 yards on a third-and-9 play, putting yet another sweet move on cornerback Jerome Murphy. South Florida didn't get the ball back until there were just 22 seconds left.

That wasn't nearly enough time.

Not against the proud Pitt defense.

Not on this wonderful night.

"A great night," Wannstedt called it. "A great night for Pitt."