CINCINNATI -- And just like that, the dream has died.

Gone are Pitt's chances of winning the Big East title.

Gone are the Panthers' chances of erasing the sour taste of some early season losses and gone are the Panthers' dreams of going from no bowl games in the past three years to the Bowl Championship Series this year.

Pitt lost to Cincinnati, 28-21, Saturday night at Nippert Stadium.

"This being my senior year, this could be the toughest loss right now," middle linebacker Scott McKillop said. "And it is one of those things that myself, the other seniors, the other leaders, we have to as a team regroup. We do have two games left, we can't go into the tank right now, we can still go out there and finish second in the Big East.

"A lot of things could still go either way, but we have to take care of what we control and we know we have a big game on Friday at home against West Virginia. I'm sure they've been eyeing this game on the schedule for a while so I think we'll be ready and it will be interesting."

Ahhh, yes, West Virginia (7-3, 4-1 Big East) -- it's true that nothing can get a team back up after a heartbreaking loss better than a game against its most bitter rival.

At least that is what Pitt's coaches are banking on. The Mountaineers and Panthers will play the 101st edition of the Backyard Brawl Friday at Heinz Field.

There is no doubt losing the Cincinnati game, and with it losing any chance of winning the Big East title, was devastating; but as McKillop said, the Panthers (7-3, 3-2) have plenty left to play for, particularly since their top priority this year was to return to respectability and prove they could be a legitimate contender for the Big East title.

And an eight- or nine-win season will go a lot further toward those ends than a seven-win season loaded with far too many "what ifs" to make anyone feel comfortable about the future and direction of the program.

Beyond that, there are still some bowl implications on the line for Pitt. The Panthers still have a chance to get to either the Gator Bowl or the Sun Bowl, and either would represent a significantly bigger payday than the rest of the Big East's bowls. The Gator Bowl is paid out $2.5 million last year and the Sun Bowl will pay $1.9 million -- the others are: Meineke Car Care ($1 million), St. Petersburg ($1 million), International ($750,000) and PapaJohns.com ($300,000).

And the Big East's chances of holding on to its spot in either the Gator or Sun (the conference has an agreement for a spot in one or the other but can be trumped by Notre Dame) increased significantly Saturday when the Irish lost to Syracuse and fell to 6-5.

Notre Dame is obviously an attractive team for any bowl, and while the Irish are technically bowl eligible, they need seven wins in order for bowls with conference tie-ins to choose them. NCAA rules state a 6-6 team can't fill bowl spots if there are teams with seven or more wins. And in order for Notre Dame to get to 7-5, it will have to pull a major upset Saturday at Southern California.

Without Notre Dame in the mix to take the Sun/Gator Bowl option, the race for second place in the Big East is meaningful again. Both Pitt and West Virginia at 9-3, or perhaps even 8-4, would be an attractive option for either, though it is likely the Gator Bowl will take a Big 12 team, meaning a Big East team is probably headed to the Sun.

"We have responded [after losses] all year," Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. "We've got great leadership. It will be tough to take tonight, but we have to turn the page in a hurry and get ready for West Virginia. We know what we're going to deal with come Friday. There is no question what is on the line this year, it is the Backyard Brawl and given what happened last year [when Pitt knocked West Virginia out of the BCS national championship game], we've got to turn this page and move on fast."