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Pitt learned very quickly about the cruelties of early season college football.
One week, you're one of the best teams in the country. The next week, you're just another unranked team trying to win a game and make an impression on the voters.
The Panthers, No. 15 in The Associated Press preseason poll, tumbled out of the Top 25 on Tuesday in the aftermath of their 27-24 overtime loss to No. 20 Utah.
Pitt was punished somewhat for playing such a difficult opener - an easy win over a nondescript opponent would have preserved its national ranking - but coach Dave Wannstedt knew in advance what he was getting into.
''That was a great game for our young players to experience,'' Wannstedt said Tuesday. ''As difficult as the situation might have been, it was a good experience. It will help us down the road. That was as good a place to play as any.''
Under its original schedule, Pitt would have opened Saturday at home against New Hampshire (1-0), then traveled to Utah next week. The Utah game was moved to Sept. 2 so it could be nationally televised, and Wannstedt also liked that it gave his team more recovery time after traveling so far.
The downside is Pitt loses its national ranking during a season in which it is favored to win the Big East Conference. The schedule doesn't lighten up, either; after playing New Hampshire, Pitt takes on No. 12 Miami at home on Sept. 23.
New Hampshire isn't a Division I-A opponent, but is ranked No. 6 in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Wildcats advanced to the FCS quarterfinals last season before losing to Villanova 46-7.
One priority for Pitt is finding more running room for Dion Lewis, the 2009 second-team All-American who was held to a career-low 75 yards on 25 carries. Utah often crowded defenders along the line of scrimmage to slow Lewis, who is coming off a 1,799-yard season.
''Their defense brought a lot of different stuff,'' Lewis said. ''It was pretty tough to find room, because they brought a lot of guys into the box. They pretty much tried to stop the run the whole time.''
Lewis knows what's coming against New Hampshire, at least until new starting quarterback Tino Sunseri proves he can regularly get the ball downfield.
''I expect eight, nine in the box,'' Lewis said. ''They play a 4-4 defense and bring the safety down low for run support. As soon as he sees the tight end blocking, he gets down in there. So it should be an interesting game.''
Given that Pitt has Miami and Notre Dame upcoming in its next three games, Wannstedt no doubt hopes it is anything but interesting.
''We're focused, and we'd better be,'' Wannstedt said. ''Right now we have to get a win. We have to correct the things we did not do well enough to win. We need to be ready to play at the highest level we can play.''
