The Pitt Panthers will play their most important home game since 2003 Saturday when they entertain No. 5 Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0) to decide the Big East championship.

In 2003 the Panthers (9-2, 5-1) played host to Miami on the final day of the season. The Hurricanes dominated the Panthers that day and Pitt had to watch a Big East championship and a BCS berth be awarded to a visiting team on its home field.

In 2004, the Panthers had a similar home game when they played host to West Virginia. Unlike the game Saturday against Cincinnati and the 2003 game against Miami, it wasn't for the Big East title.

Pitt beat the Mountaineers that day, 16-13, to gain control of its own BCS destiny but had to go to South Florida the next week and win in order to capture the conference championship. Pitt prevailed, 43-14.

Saturday's game will be a rare thing for the Panthers -- a home contest to end the season with a championship of some sort on the line.

Pitt's players understand what is at stake as do the coaches. All of them turned their focus to the Cincinnati game immediately after their 19-16 loss at West Virginia Friday night.

"Cincinnati is explosive on offense and we know that," Pitt defensive end Greg Romeus said. "We look at it as an opportunity to go out and win a Big East championship. We just have to get into a good mindset and get ready to play."

The Panthers' turnaround that started in 2007 is often credited to the 13-9 win against West Virginia at the end of that season. It really had started a few weeks earlier against the Bearcats.

Pitt was 2-4 and reeling from a 48-45 overtime loss to Navy, while Cincinnati was 6-1 and ranked No. 23. The Bearcats, like this year's squad, featured an explosive offense and it seemed like a very tough matchup for the Panthers.

But Pitt played its best game of the Dave Wannstedt era to that point and upset the Bearcats, 24-17. In doing so, Pitt showed it was capable of playing with and beating the top teams in the Big East.

It was the first ranked team Wannstedt had beaten at Pitt and it was Wannstedt's first fourth-quarter comeback victory. It laid the foundation for the defense the Panthers crafted to shock the Mountaineers a few weeks later.

If the Panthers are going to duplicate that feat Saturday, they are going to have to come up with another inspired defensive performance. They will be facing an offense that has averaged 473 yards and 39.4 points per game.

• Game: No. 14 Pitt (9-2, 5-1 Big East) vs. No. 5 Cincinnati (11-0, 6-0), noon.

• Where: Heinz Field.

• TV: KDKA.

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