COLLEGE BOWLS Pitt battles back for chance at BCS

Three-loss teams don't often land in top bowls, but the Panthers have a shot.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Don't tell the Pitt Panthers they're a perfect example of what's wrong with the BCS system.
Consecutive wins over ranked-at-the-time Notre Dame and West Virginia vaulted the Panthers (7-3) to No. 19, and they will get the Big East Conference's automatic BCS bowl bid if they beat South Florida (4-6) in Tampa on Saturday.
Three-loss teams with no victories over Top 15 opponents aren't supposed to be in the running for one of the BCS' $14 million to $17 million paydays, especially when quality teams such as No. 6 Texas (10-1) and No. 7 Louisville (9-1) are being left out.
Just don't ask the Panthers to apologize for winning, especially when they're doing so with a lineup that includes just six seniors -- a year after they went only 8-5 with a deep, experienced team led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Larry Fitzgerald.
When Pitt was 2-2 and apparently going nowhere, Harris said he felt the Panthers had the makings of being special. But, realistically, he probably didn't think a team that could barely beat Division I-AA Furman or Big East tailender Temple might wind up playing No. 5 Utah in the Fiesta Bowl -- currently, the Panthers' most likely bowl matchup.
"I'm one of those guys who feels strongly about what we do, almost to a fault," Harris said Monday. "Our challenge was to get them to believe, and to execute."
Harris also took an apparent shot at those who felt the Panthers failed to recruit well in recent years, saying they are winning with players "nobody knew about or believed in except for our staff."
If nothing else, whatever bowl settles for the Panthers will be getting one of college football's more exciting teams. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko has engineered five comeback victories in the fourth quarter or overtime, a remarkable percentage for a player who has started only 10 college games.
An 8-3 regular season would also be the school's best since coach Mike Gottfried's second Pitt team went 8-3 in 1987 before losing to Texas in the Bluebonnet Bowl.
Gator Bowl
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden will face his former team for the first time in more than two decades when the 16th-ranked Seminoles play West Virginia in the Gator Bowl.
The Mountaineers (8-3) accepted an invitation to the Jan. 1 bowl Monday, and bowl officials said Florida State (8-3) would be named the opponent today.
Bowden coached at West Virginia from 1970 to 1975. He took over at Florida State in January 1976 and has the most coaching victories (350) in Division I-A history.
He last faced the Mountaineers in the 1982 Gator Bowl, which the Seminoles won 31-12. West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez was a defensive back for the Mountaineers in that game.
Fort Worth Bowl
The Cincinnati Bearcats were invited Sunday to play in the Fort Worth Bowl, a day after losing 70-7 to No. 7 Louisville.
The bowl, played on Dec. 23, is one of five affiliated with Conference USA. A Big 12 team normally would get the other invitation, but the bowl-eligible schools have locked up bids already.
Bowl officials are negotiating with the Atlantic Coast, Big East and Mid-American conferences for another participant.