CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Did the best team win last night at Nippert Stadium?

Pitt tailback LeSean McCoy was asked this in the aftermath of the Panthers 28-21 loss to Cincinnati and was not in the mood to tip his cap to the Bearcats.

"[Is Cincinnati] a better team?," McCoy asked defiantly. "No, not at all."

Pitt middle linebacker Scott McKillop was a little more diplomatic and said, "I think today, from the scoreboard, they were the better team but there was some penalties and we shot ourselves in the foot. They executed today against us. We didn't play our best game today."

McCoy then attempted to answer the question again.

"I'm sorry, I am just a little bit upset," he said. "But I thought it was us. Speaking from an offensive standpoint, we didn't execute enough. It is sad, I think it was a lack of execution but they are definitely not the better team. I don't think we played like we can, it has nothing to do with better team, it is just some of the things we do, we didn't do today. I guess you can look at it like, for this game, they were a better team."

One of the more eye-opening statistics is that McCoy had only 17 carries. Still, as usually, McCoy didn't question the play calling or his amount of carries, particularly in the first half when the offensive line couldn't protect Bill Stull.

"I think [I was given an opportunity to carry the load]," McCoy said when asked if he felt like he was involved enough in the game plan. "We killed ourselves with all these penalties, man, we just shot ourselves in the foot. There was nothing that the defense did differently or spectacular, but it was us, all 11 guys on the offensive side of the ball. In the first half, we drove down the field."

Pitt has been very good at making comebacks this season and have come from behind to win a number of games.

Last night, despite trailing 28-7 in the fourth quarter, the Panthers mounted a come back and pulled to within seven points but ran out of time. Their last ditch attempt at scoring a tying touchdown ended somewhere near midfield.

"There wasn't a play or a time where we were worried at all," McKillop said. "Coach Wannstedt told us it was going to be a 15-round fight and wouldn't be settled until the last second and that was evident if you look at the game. It was difficult, we knew we would have to deal with some adversity in that game but we just didn't know it would be that soon.

"I think if there would have been a little more time, we had the momentum and it was going our way but it was a little bit too late."

Pitt took possession with 18 seconds left at its own 32 but Stull was sacked on first down and that appeared to be the last play in the game. But the Panthers were able to line up again, spike the ball and catch Cincinnati offside.

The fans, however, had began rushing the field and the officials at Nippert Stadium took down the goal posts in anticipation of the on-field celebration. The crowd had to be cleared and then Pitt was granted one more play.

Stull then threw a screen pass to McCoy and he ran for some yards and then pitched it back to Derek Kinder who ran a few more yards before he pitched it back to McCoy, who looked like he had an opening to run for some more yards, but he stopped, as if he thought the play was over. And by the time he realized the play was still live, the Bearcats defense had grabbed him and his attempt at another lateral fell on the turf and was recovered by the Bearcats, ending the game.

"I thought I heard the whistle," McCoy said, "that's why I stopped, I thought I heard the whistle."

Pitt blocked two kicks -- Greg Williams blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt and a Nat Nix blocked a punt -- to bring their total to nine for the season, breaking the school record of eight which was set in 1987. ... McCoy finished with 17 carries for 82 yards and passed Kevan Barlow to move into seventh place on Pitt's all-time rushing list with 2,445 yards. He is also now eighth on Pitt's all-time scoring list with 198 points and he scored two touchdowns giving him 33 for his career, one short of Larry Fitzgerald's total of 34 during his freshman and sophomore seasons (2002 and 2003). ... Place kicker Conor Lee has now made 107 extra points in a row. ... Cincinnati played the game without standout corner Mike Mickens, who missed the game with a knee sprain.