ESPN College Football

LeSean McCoy hasn't had too many disappointing moments in his remarkable young college career.

Last year's game at Louisville, though, might have been the low point. After he helped spark a fourth-quarter rally, McCoy fumbled the exchange from quarterback Pat Bostick on the Cardinals' 1-yard line as Pittsburgh was about to go in for the tying score. The Panthers ended up losing 24-17.

McCoy told the Harrisburg (Penn.) Patriot News last year that he turned off his cell phone for about four days after that fumble and was so despondent that he could barely leave his room.

The star sophomore gets a chance to avenge that loss this Saturday, when Louisville comes to Heinz Field. But he says last year is the farthest thing from his mind.

"I don't look at it as a battle between me and what happened last year," he said. "I don't get into that sort of thing."

McCoy and his teammates prefer to look forward. And right now, the Panthers have a lot of reasons to do so.

They can assure themselves of a winning season for the first time since 2004 by beating Louisville. Their last winning campaign resulted in a Big East title and BCS bid, where they lost to Utah in the Fiesta Bowl. Pitt (6-2, 2-1 Big East) can still match that accomplishment.

"We're excited for the fact that we pretty much write our own destiny here," quarterback Bill Stull said. "We have to take them one game at a time, but we know if our goal of winning out does come true, then some good things are going to happen."

For that to come true, the Panthers must first figure out how to become a better home team. They have gone 4-0 on the road but just 2-2 at Heinz Field, suffering double-digit losses to Bowling Green and Rutgers in games they probably should have won. They had to come back in the second half to win their other two home games, against Buffalo and Iowa.

"How do I explain that?" head coach Dave Wannstedt said. "I can't. I wish I could.

"I thought our guys have always been prepared. I know we were prepared for the Bowling Green game. From my perspective it's pretty simple, even though you'd like to psychoanalyze it, I don't know. We'll be ready to play."

Wannstedt is 0-3 against Louisville, but the Cardinals' run defense just got chewed up by Syracuse last weekend. That could mean another huge day for McCoy.

After a slow start to the season, McCoy has run for at least 142 yards in each of his last five games, including 169 yards on 32 carries in last week's four-overtime win at Notre Dame. With 1,004 yards on the season, he's just 324 yards away from matching his freshman year stats, and he is the FBS leader in career rushing yards per game.

"The things that he does, I don't see anyone else doing," Stull said. "It takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback."

Pitt didn't have much of a downfield passing game last year, but the emergence of freshman receiver Jonathan Baldwin has given them a true deep threat. McCoy said that in turn has helped soften defenses for him to run. And though Wannstedt said earlier this year that McCoy wasn't protecting the ball well enough, he has not had fumble problems lately.

"You can't be a complete back if you put the ball on the ground," he said. "I've gotten used to tucking the ball in. You can do all the same things while tucking it in anyway."

Pitt can do something it hasn't in a while with one more win. McCoy is looking forward to it

"There a lot of guys that have been here for a while who haven't had a shot to really go to a bowl game, and you kind of feel for those guys," he said. "And for coach, he's been taking so much heat, and he's such a great guy. So it means a lot."