2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team The 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2008 college football season . The season was the fourth under head coach Dave Wannstedt , who was looking to achieve his first winning season with the Panthers . The 2008 season marked the team ' s eighth at Heinz Field and the University ' s 119th season . The Panthers started the 2008 season with new defensive coordinator Phil Bennett . Ranked in the top 25 for the second time under Wannstedt ' s leadership , Pitt suffered an early and surprising setback in the opening game against Bowling Green . Pitt rebounded to defeat Buffalo and then Iowa by a score of 21 – 20 . The winning continued when the Panthers upset undefeated and tenth ranked South Florida in a game nationally televised by ESPN . A win at Navy preceded a home upset to Rutgers , Pitt ' s fourth consecutive loss to the Scarlet Knights . However , Pitt rebounded the following week at Notre Dame with a 36 - 33 four - overtime victory over the Irish , the longest game ever for both Notre Dame and Pittsburgh . After a 41 – 7 rout of visiting Louisville , the Panthers improved to 7 – 2 , were bowl - bound for the first time under Wannstedt , and were in contention for a Big East Championship and a BCS bowl bid . However , a loss at Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry eliminated the Panthers from championship contention . Pitt rallied to defeat archrival West Virginia 19 - 15 on the Friday after Thanksgiving in a nationally televised game on ABC for its second consecutive win in the Backyard Brawl . The following week the Panthers won at UConn to improve to 9 - 3 and clinched a bid to the Sun Bowl , the first bowl bid under Wannstedt . Pitt lost 3 - 0 to Oregon State , a team that had previously defeated USC . It was the first time Pitt was held scoreless in twelve years . Previous season . The Panthers finished with a disappointing 5 - 7 record in the 2007 season . Rarely though does a losing record leave fans filled with satisfaction and optimism , but that was the case in 2007 . It was the third season under the direction of Head Coach Dave Wannstedt . It was also the third consecutive season without a postseason bowl game . The Panthers schedule included six home games and six road games . The schedule was generally viewed as unappealing , lacking any marquee matchups at home . The Panthers appeared on national television on a Wednesday night , October 10 , with a 48 - 45 2OT loss to Navy that ended when Pitt failed to convert on a two - point conversion . For Homecoming 2007 Pitt hosted # 23 Cincinnati , defeating the Bearcats 24 - 17 . The final game of the season on December 1 saw the Panthers visit # 2 West Virginia . In this game , the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl , the Panthers defeated the Mountaineers , 13 - 9 , to gain their first road victory of the season and , more importantly , eliminate West Virginia from the National Championship race in one of the most memorable games of the entire 2007 college football season . Preseason . Recruits . Head Coach Dave Wannstedt signed the top recruiting class in the Big East , his 3rd consecutive top - 25 recruiting class , to kick off the 2008 football year . Although Wannstedt had been recruiting well since the beginning of his tenure at Pitt some of that 2008 recruiting power has been attributed to the Panthers ' season finale win over West Virginia . The highlights of the class are projected to be WR Jonathan Baldwin , RB Chris Burns , OT Lucas Nix , LB Shayne Hale , and athlete Cameron Saddler . Spring Practices . Throughout spring practices the defense dominated the offense , but in the annual Blue - Gold Game on April 19 at Heinz Field , the offense got the better of the defense , winning 60 - 25 under a modified scoring system that favored the offense . The rising stars of the spring practices were defensive tackle Mick Williams , wide receiver Cedric McGee , and newly - converted tight end Dorin Dickerson , who all earned the Ed Conway Award given to Pitt ' s most improved players at spring practices . Other important spring performances included Bill Stull , who re - established himself as the team ' s top quarterback , and John Malecki , a two - time letterman on defense at nose tackle who earned a starting spot on the offensive line at guard . The Blue - Gold Game was simulcast live locally in Pittsburgh on WPCW and nationally on the NFL Network . Award Watchlists . Several players on the Panthers have been nominated to various award preseason watchlists . Walter Camp Award : Outland Trophy : John Mackey Award : Bronko Nagurski Trophy : Lombardi Award : Dick Butkus Award : Maxwell Award : Chuck Bednarik Award : Rankings . Pitt began the season ranked at # 25 in the AP Poll . It was the Panthers first appearance in any major polling service since 2005 and first preseason ranking since 2003 . Game notes . Bowling Green . The Panthers entered the season in the preseason rankings for the first time since 2003 , but their stay didn ' t last long as they were upset at home by the Falcons . The Panthers , who outgained the Falcons 393 - 254 on the day , jumped out to an early 14 - 0 lead in the first half as they outgained Bowling Green 137 - 6 in the first quarter . After falling behind early the Falcons rallied and took advantage of four costly Pitt turnovers . The Falcons keyed on Panther tailback LeSean McCoy , who fumbled once and was held to 71 yards on 23 carries . The Panthers defense was repeatedly befuddled by some of the odd formations that the Falcons used on offense , such utilizing an imbalanced offensive line or lining up a wide receiver at the quarterback position . However , the following year , defensive coordinator Phil Bennett praised head coach Dave Wannstedt for the way he handled the defeat , saying , " I told many people this : I ' ve seen a lot of head coaches where the whole thing would have toppled after a game like that . I thought the way he handled it – his demeanor not just with the players but with the coaches – was phenomenal . " ( Game report ) Buffalo . The Panthers , facing a MAC foe for the second straight game , withstood an early charge by the Bulls , taking the lead in the 2nd quarter and holding off Buffalo every time they made a move . LeSean McCoy scored all three touchdowns for the Panthers , scoring on runs of three , one , and two yards . ( Game report ) Iowa . Pitt went into the Iowa game looking to make a positive statement for themselves against a quality program as well as wipe away some of the stigma attached to themselves due to their earlier loss to Bowling Green . The game was billed as a showdown of two top running backs , Pitt ' s LeSean McCoy and Iowa ' s Shonn Greene . Pitt men ' s basketball coach Jamie Dixon provided a motivational speech for the football team two days before the game against the Hawkeyes in which he described a potential win over Iowa as a " program - building " victory that could help put the Panthers back onto the national radar , propelling them to new heights of success . The Panthers jumped out to an early 14 – 3 lead when two Pitt quarterbacks , Bill Stull and Gregg Cross , each ran a called draw in for a touchdown in the first half . Greg Cross , an athletic , change - of - pace , junior college transfer quarterback , made his Panthers debut , scoring a touchdown on a 17 - yard scramble in his first play as a Panther . The Panthers offense struggled greatly after taking the lead in the second quarter . However , Pitt ' s defensive line dominated Iowa ' s offensive line in the fourth quarter as the well - conditioned yet undersized Panthers outlasted the Hawkeyes . The Panthers ' depth on the defensive line also played a role as they were able to rotate nine defensive linemen throughout the game . Coach Wannstedt and his staff were noticeably more aggressive in their play - calling ; all three Panthers touchdowns resulted from an offensive drive that included a fourth - down conversion . Although the victory was a big one for the team , the offense still showed great inconsistency and need for improvement . Punter Dave Brytus and linkbacker Scott McKillop were named the Big East Player of the Week for special teams and defense , respectively , following their performances against Iowa . Brytus punted eight times for an average of 47 . 8 yards , including a longest of sixty yards , one touchback , and one downed inside the twenty . McKillop , who broke his nose on a tackle of Shonn Greene when his nose was crushed by his own facemask , finished with ten tackles , including six solo tackles , two and a half tackles for a loss of nine yards , and one sack . ( Game report ) Notre Dame . The Panthers came away with a 36 - 33 , four - overtime victory after falling behind Notre Dame by two touchdowns , 17 - 3 , at halftime . Conor Lee made the game - winning field goal , one of four overtime fields goals , during his perfect , 5 - for - 5 day to help lead the Panthers . His five field goals and 18 points are both Pitt records for a kicker ; he also extended his school record of consecutive extra points without a miss to 100 . LeSean McCoy lead the way on offense with 32 rushing attempts for 169 yards , his 5th straight 100 - yard game , and one touchdown as he surpassed 1 , 000 yards rushing for the season ; he also had two catches for 23 yards . The Panthers fell behind in the first half when Notre Dame controlled the clock and took advantage of poor play by Pitt on offense . Quarterbacks Kevan Smith and Pat Bostick , who were playing in place of the injured started Bill Stull , who suffered a concussion in the previous game , were ineffective in the first half , and the running game couldn ' t get going as McCoy had only 5 yards on 3 carries . In total , the offense only had 71 yards and five first downs in the entire first half . The offense got back on track in the 2nd half as the Panthers scored 10 straight points to tie the game at 17 . The Panthers first possession of the 3rd quarter went eight plays and 71 yards , including a converted fourth - and - one pass that Oderick Turner turned into a 37 - yard gain . The Panthers next touchdown came on a 15 - play , 70 - yard drive that used 8 : 28 of time during the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th quarters . Pat Bostick , although he was intercepted three times in the game , persevered and stepped up his play in the second half , leading the Panthers on three critical scoring drives . After the game Bostick , speaking of his own performance , said , " " I came out and made some mistakes out there , forced a couple of things , made a couple of plays . We made enough plays to win though and this was a total team win . . . But the bottom line is we are here to win a football game and when you throw picks , it is not about you , you can ' t say ' Woe is me . ' It is all about , ' What do I have to do on the next drive to take this team down the field to win the game ? ' " The Panthers defense , led again by linebacker Scott McKillop with 15 tackles , played significantly better than in the week before , allowing only one big play versus the Irish ' s offense , a 47 - yard pass from Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate . They also held Notre Dame to only 146 yards in the second half and all four overtimes , including just seven yards on three three - and - out possessions in the third quarter . ( Game report ) Statistics . Individual . Rushing . " Minimum five attempts or one touchdown "