CINCINNATI -- The Pitt Panthers went to Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium last night hoping to keep their dream of the Big East Conference championship alive.

They will have to wait until next year to win that championship mostly because they couldn't handle Cincinnati's multi-talented quarterback, Tony Pike.

Pike completed 26 of 32 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns and led Cincinnati to a 28-21 win against Pitt in the fourth edition of the River City Rivalry.

"Defensively we could not get them off the field," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "That kid [Pike], I have to give him credit, he played about as good as any quarterback has played against us in the last two or three years. Not only did he get away from our rush, and we got guys who can rush, he made throws, he found receivers down the field and made some excellent throws under pressure."

Pitt middle linebacker Scott McKillop added, "You have to give a lot of credit to Tony Pike, he had a great day, he made some throws with his arm and he made some plays with his legs. If you watch some of his film from his previous games, he feels the pocket closing and he leaves and the receivers are very good when he gets out of the pocket, of running the routes. He has a good feel for them, he made big plays."

Wannstedt's statement about Pike's performance is strong considering the way Rutgers' Mike Teel sliced the Panthers' secondary about a month ago, but he wasn't exaggerating as Pike was near-perfect and made big play after big play to sustain drives.

It is the first time the Bearcats have won the River City Rivalry trophy and the first time they've beaten the Panthers in eight tries.

More importantly, the victory means the Bearcats (9-2, 5-1 Big East) are one step away from clinching their first Big East championship as well as a spot in their first Bowl Championship Series game. Cincinnati needs only to win at home Saturday against last-place Syracuse (3-8, 1-5) and it will win the conference title.

As for Pitt (7-3, 3-2), the loss means that it is essentially playing for second place and perhaps a spot in the Big East's other big bowl game, the Gator Bowl Jan. 1. The Panthers also must regroup quickly because they only have five days to prepare for the annual Backyard Brawl Friday against West Virginia (7-3, 4-1) at Heinz Field.

The Mountaineers still have an outside shot of winning the Big East but would need to win their final two games and then root for the Orange to upset the Bearcats.

As for the game, the Bearcats won in every measurable category: They outgained the Panthers, 393-264, held Panthers running back LeSean McCoy to only 82 rushing yards and sacked Pitt quarterback Bill Stull seven times.

Pitt took an early 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run around the left end by McCoy but the Bearcats responded with an impressive 16-play, 99-yard scoring drive and tied the score with a 20-yard pass from Pike to Marcus Barnett.

The drive consumed nearly eight minutes and the Bearcats converted three third-and-long situations and also a fourth-and-1.

"That first drive, must have been 15 plays or 16 plays or whatever it was, I thought it kind of set the tone for the first half" McKillop said. "I thought their screens hurt us in the first half, but in the second half we were able to react better to them but by then it might have been a little bit too late."

Pike then hit Dominick Goodman with a 4-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to give the Bearcats their first lead, 14-7, and took control of the game on their first possession of the second half when they capped a six-play, 62-yard scoring drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Pike to Gilyard to push their lead to 21-7. Jacob Ramsey then gave Cincinnati a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Pitt did mount a late comeback.

The Panthers pulled to within 28-14 with 10:12 to play on a 16-yard touchdown run by McCoy and then to 28-21 when Stull hit Dorin Dickerson with a 41-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 to play.

Pitt attempted an onside kick but it was recovered by the Bearcats. The Panthers actually got one more chance, but they took possession at their own 32 and had only 18 seconds. A desperation play involving multiple laterals failed as time ran out.