Nov 25, 2003 By Associated Press 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pitt will never have this chance again. Some other year, the Panthers may have the opportunity to undo all the failings of a disappointing-to-date season, win at least a share of the Big East championship and possibly go the Orange Bowl.

But unless there is another top-to-bottom upheaval of the college football hierarchy in which schools again switch conferences as rapidly as coaches change quarterbacks, this is Pitt’s last opportunity to win a full-strength Big East.

The winner of Saturday’s No. 10 Miami at No. 20 Pittsburgh is guaranteed no worse than a share of the Big East title. If Miami wins, it is assured of claiming the conference’s BCS bowl bid; Pitt is all but assured of doing so if it wins.

“For us to have fought all way through all the trials and tribulations this year to get to this game and be in this position is very, very exciting,” coach Walt Harris said Monday.

Even with all the upset losses and the ups and downs by both teams – Miami is 9-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big East, Pittsburgh is 8-3 and 5-1 – the conference season is ending much like it did last season.

Then, the Panthers won their first five conference games before taking then-No. 1 Miami to the final play in a 28-21 loss in Miami. The Hurricanes went on to lose to Ohio State in overtime for the national championship; Pitt settled for the Insight Bowl after also losing to West Virginia.

Saturday’s winner will share the title if West Virginia (7-4, 5-1) beats Temple, but the Mountaineers’ four early losses likely will prevent them from finishing high enough in the BCS rankings to get the Big East’s automatic bid.

“This is just a big game,” safety Corey Humphries said. “We don’t want to get too excited, because a lot of things happen when a lot of players get too excited … but it’s hard. I’m real excited.”

Understandably so. Pitt is 1-9 against Miami in Big East play, winning only in 1997 during a brief rebuilding period by the Hurricanes. With Miami heading off to the Atlantic Coast Conference and no future games scheduled between the schools, Pitt has no idea when it might play Miami again.

Still, with so much to be decided, Harris said the Panthers can’t expend too much time and energy worrying about that.

“I don’t think any of our players or coaches are into that, with regards to their last game in the Big East,” Harris said. “We don’t have any room to add anything more to our plate in terms of getting ourselves ready. We’re sorry to see them leave the Big East because we really like playing them. We’re sorry all this has happened.”

Harris has a 1-5 record and five-game losing streak against Miami, which has averaged 35.4 points during that run. That might be a worrisome sign for a Pitt team that has allowed more than 30 points three times this season.

Beating Miami would ease some of the disappointment that followed three losses to teams unranked at the time: Toledo, Notre Dame and West Virginia. Pitt is the only Top 20 team with so many losses to unranked teams.

“The losses that we’ve had, nothing’s changed,” Humphries said. “But big things are at stake with this game.”