There’s no doubt in any Pitt fan’s mind that Friday’s game was a bit of a disappointment. Losing in the Backyard Brawl is always a blow to any Pitt fan. But the Panthers can’t afford to dwell on the past right now. With what is probably their biggest game since 2004 coming up this Saturday, Pitt needs to focus on one thing: How to prepare for Cincinnati. According to Coach Wannstedt, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

“We obviously have to take care of our business to make sure that we are prepared to go out and play the best game that we’ve played all season.”

– Dave Wannstedt

In his press conference yesterday afternoon, Coach Wannstedt addressed the upcoming season finale against the Cincinnati Bearcats, who are undefeated this year at 11-0. Refusing to say much about the WVU game other than a quick comment about how Pitt came up short in critical situations, Wannstedt made it clear that Pitt understands what they need to do this week. They need to prepare as best as possible on the practice field and in the meeting rooms. Pitt is well aware of the talent that the Bearcats have. Even better, Pitt respects the caliber of their upcoming opponent. They understand that they need to play the best game of their season this Saturday to beat Cincinnati. In order to do that, they need to prepare as much as possible this week, and then simply play like they know they can on Saturday.

“We just have to make sure that we handle our preparation in the correct way — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — and don’t get ahead of ourselves. Saturday will be a big day. [...] There were only two or three little things that I talked about with the team. This is the plan. This is what we all need to do. If we do these the next few days, we’ll be ready to play Saturday. Then Saturday we need to go out and find a way to play our best football game. We’ve talked all year that we want to play our best game the last game. It’s going to take that type of effort and execution. [...] To beat a team like Cincinnati, you need to play well as a team in all three phases. That’s what we expect to do.”

– Dave Wannstedt

And make no mistakes, Pitt understands that Cincinnati will be at their best come Saturday as well. Afterall, the Bearcats have had all season to improve just as Pitt has. Cincinnati has seen the tapes and is no doubt analyzing Pitt in detail. Last year, it was the Bearcats who won the River City Rivalry game in Cincinnati by a score of 28-21. Quarterback Tony Pike is a returning starter. Mardy Gilyard is a senior playmaker as well. These guys are leaders that want to complete a perfect regular season worse than anyone. With their only distant shot at a BCS Championship hanging in the balance, they need a win on Saturday.

But no matter how prepared Cincinnati will be, one fact lingers: Pitt plays well in these situations. In 2007, it was the Panthers that busted WVU’s season with an upset win in the Backyard Brawl, knocking the #2 Mountaineers out of a BCS National Championship game. This may not be the Backyard Brawl, but it’s still the River City Rivalry.

But aside from rivalries and BCS busters, Pitt’s motivation is the Big East Championship and automatic BCS Bowl bid that are on the line Saturday. That’s what this game boils down to in the end. The Panthers need this win. They want this win.

“A year ago, everybody was doing back flips because we won nine games, and rightfully so. It was the first time (Pitt had won nine regular-season games) in over a quarter century. Now we’re at nine games and we’re pressing for more. We feel that we can get more. We want more. The kids want more. The fans want more. That is all part of winning.”

– Dave Wannstedt