BIG EAST Pitt's Harris doesn't have answer for loss

In each of the coach's seven years at Pitt, there has been at least one totally unexpected defeat.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Maybe they wouldn't feel as terrible if there were a ready-made excuse for a loss that Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris said Monday has devastated his players.
But there isn't, and that's why an already bad loss feels even worse to the No. 17 Panthers. They got beat because they got outplayed, got outcoached, got outmaneuvered -- and not by Texas or Tennessee or another team that plays at their perceived level, but by Toledo.
Not lack of effort
"The pitfalls of that game, in some people's minds, were that we'd be looking past them, but I don't think that happened," Harris said of Saturday's 35-31 loss to the Rockets. "I don't believe it by the way we played. I think we played our hearts out."
What Harris didn't say is, even if he wouldn't say so, he thought the Panthers were beyond this with these players, this program, at this time.
The Panthers knew that playing possibly the best team in a conference, the Mid-American, that has pulled off upset after upset was a dangerous, risky and tricky proposition. But, with the Panthers (2-1) ranked in the Top 10 for the first time since the 1980s and blessed with more talent than at any time since, they never expected to lose.
This was supposed to be the easy part, after all -- Kent State, Ball State and Toledo -- a three-part snack against the MAC before the main course begins Saturday with Texas A & amp;M (2-1), followed by Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Miami.
Maybe that's why Harris attempted Monday to quickly distance his players from Toledo and put the attention onto Texas A & amp;M.
"I don't think we're going be living with that loss, I think we've got to move on," he said. "If you take each week as it comes, you have less chance of being devastated with the downs or being caught up in the clouds when you win a big one."
Danger sign
Still, the residual effect that may be felt the rest of the season is that Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski's success in running the spread offense -- he threw for 461 yards -- gave a blueprint to future opponents for attacking Pitt.
"We have not had that kind of trouble on defense around here; it was uncharacteristic of the way we've played," Harris said. "We're excited about putting that behind us."
However, the loss wasn't uncharacteristic. In each of Harris' seven years at Pitt, there has been at least one totally unexpected or momentum-stopping defeat that has disrupted or ruined a season.
It began in 1997, when a nationally televised upset of Miami was followed by a loss to Temple. A year later, home losses to Temple and Rutgers led to a 2-9 finish. In 1999, an upset of Notre Dame in the final game at Pitt Stadium was followed by a 52-21 loss at West Virginia that took away a bowl bid. Two years ago, a loss to South Florida at Heinz Field led to a 1-5 start.