ESPN Big East Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Unlike his teammates, Derek Kinder actually knows what it's like to play in a bowl game for Pittsburgh.

Kinder was a true freshman on the Panthers' 2004 team that lost to Utah in the Fiesta Bowl. That was the school's last postseason appearance. Every now and then, some of his fellow players will ask him about what must seem like a mythical experience to them.

"I get a lot of questions about how the whole process goes, what to expect and how was it during the week," said Kinder, a fifth-year senior wide receiver. "I relay to them that if we get the job done in our next three games, then we're definitely going to get the perks of a good bowl game, and they'll get to see it first-hand."

Pitt (7-2, 3-1 Big East) has already punched its ticket to the postseason, ending a three-year drought. But the Panthers have their eyes set on a bigger prize than just an ordinary bowl. They know that if they can win their last three games, starting this Saturday at No. 19 Cincinnati, they will win the Big East and see a BCS game up close.

"I'm really happy to be in a situation where we can control our destiny," fullback Conredge Collins said. "The only team that can beat us now is us. I haven't really experienced games like this, playing for something big."

Several of the team's current seniors -- like Collins, nose tackle Rashaad Duncan and running back LaRod Stephens-Howling, to name a few -- were thrown into the fire as true freshman in coach Dave Wannstedt's first year. They went through three tantalizing and often frustrating years, as the Panthers finished 6-6, 5-6 and 5-7, coming up just short of bowl bids each time.

The breakthrough finally arrived this season. After enduring several close losses the past three seasons, the Panthers have found ways to win close games in tough situations. They've won three games decided by five points or fewer and have gone 4-0 on the road.

"I think it's just experience and willpower," Collins said. "Guys could have easily just settled for less. We lost the first three years, so why would it hurt to lose for a fourth year?

"But it was good to see how people's attitudes have changed. Before, people had gotten used to losing and having a losing attitude. Then when we started to win, guys had a different attitude and a different swagger about them."

The turning point for this team might have come in South Bend earlier this month. After taking a whipping at home from Rutgers, Pittsburgh went to Notre Dame without starting quarterback Bill Stull. Another loss could have sent the season into the same kind of downward spiral that ruined previous years. But Pitt rallied from a 17-3 halftime deficit and pulled out a 36-33 triple overtime victory.

"Psychologically, that did wonders for our football team," Wannstedt said. "It got us back on the winning track and made sure we didn't let one loss become two."

There's little doubt that this week represents the biggest game of the Wannstedt era. Yet they'd better get used to that feeling. Even if the Panthers knock off Cincinnati, they'll have two games left that are just as big. West Virginia, which also tied for first place, will come to Heinz Field the day after Thanksgiving, and Pitt finishes up at Connecticut.

"We're trying to get to the best bowl game possible, and it's pretty much a three-game playoff system right now," Kinder said.

If they can manage that challenging finish, then Kinder won't be the only one who can tell stories about playing in a BCS game.

"I feel like we're making history right now," Collins said. "The first three years I was here, we couldn't really get our foot into the ground. As seniors, we take pride that it was us who helped take this program where it needed to be."