Except for teams playing for conference championships this weekend, Pitt might have the most at stake of any team in Division I-A, because its bowl placement most likely will be tied to the outcome of its Big East Conference game Saturday against Connecticut.

And the difference in the Panthers' destination is fairly dramatic.

According to Sun Bowl chairman John Folmer, if Notre Dame is taken out of the equation and Pitt defeats Connecticut to go 9-3, the Panthers would be the first choice to play in the Dec. 31 game in El Paso, Texas. But if the Panthers lose, they likely would play in the PapaJohns.com Bowl Dec. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.

After the Bowl Championship Series game, the Sun Bowl is the Big East's top bowl this year, because the Gator Bowl will opt for a Big 12 team.

Folmer said Pitt, given its national name and the fact that it features one of the best players in Division I-A (LeSean McCoy), would be very attractive to the game and make it a very marketable product, particularly since it would be matched up against California or Oregon State from the Pacific-10.

"We have a very good history with Pitt and they have a good history with us," said Folmer, who will be at Rentschler Field Saturday to watch the Pitt-Connecticut game. "We had Tony Dorsett here [in 1975] and the next year they played for the national championship.

"They have great name recognition, they have a name coach in Dave Wannstedt, and he is known in Texas from his time with the Cowboys, they are already ranked [No. 23] and would likely move into the top 20, they have a great television market and that would make the people at CBS very happy -- having Pitt would be a win-win situation for everyone involved."

Notre Dame (6-6) would be taken out of mix Thursday if Rutgers (6-5, 4-2) defeats Louisville (5-6, 1-5) because all the bowl-eligible Big East teams would have at least seven wins.

"One of the really attractive things about Pitt would be that, they are basically going to have to win their way into our game -- as opposed to many teams who fall into games because they lose," Folmer said. "That's the great thing about it, it is in their hands."

He said a loss to Connecticut wouldn't necessarily eliminate Pitt from consideration, but it would depend on what happened with West Virginia (7-4, 4-2), which plays host to South Florida (7-4, 2-4) Saturday night. Rutgers clearly would be the bowl's third choice.

Because the Sun Bowl sells most of its tickets locally, it can make choices based on matchups and television ratings, rather than having to pick a team that travels well and sells a lot of tickets.

But Pitt's recent history of not traveling well to bowl games is the main reason so much is actually riding on the Connecticut game. The Big East's third bowl -- the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. -- likely would select West Virginia or Rutgers over Pitt because they both would sell more tickets.

That's why a loss likely would throw Pitt into the PapaJohns.com Bowl against an opponent from the Sun Belt conference -- possibly Louisiana-Lafayette or Arkansas State -- because the Southeastern Conference does not have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill its PapaJohns spot.

Pitt's path to the Sun Bowl might be clear, but beating the Huskies is something they haven't shown an ability to do. Connecticut has beaten Pitt three out of four times since joining the Big East in football.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he's not talked about bowl scenarios with his team because they are not in his control and because he wants them to focus on beating a tough Huskies team. He said the Panthers want to end their two-game losing streak to Connecticut and become the first Pitt team since 1982 to win nine games in the regular season (the 2002 team was 9-4 but that included a bowl victory.)

"Number one, these guys beat us the last couple of years," Wannstedt said yesterday at his weekly news conference. "Number two -- which might be more important -- our guys would like to end up with nine wins. That hasn't been done around here in over a quarter-century. That would be a nice thing for our football team to accomplish. That's kind of our focus more than what bowl because we have no clue.

"They're very sound in what they do in all three phases. I think they've only allowed 12 sacks all year. They have a little bit more talent than what they may get credit for and they have good coaching."

NOTES -- Middle linebacker Scott McKillop was named the Big East's defensive player of the week and tailback LeSean McCoy was named the Big East's offensive player of the week for their efforts in a 19-15 win against West Virginia. ... Two years ago, the Panthers lost a late 14-point lead at Connecticut and ended up losing 46-45 in two overtimes. Wannstedt said that game inspired him to change their weekly schedule as well as replace the strength and conditioning staff because he believed they were worn out at the end of the game.