The game loomed large before the football season began.

A Thursday night game on national television. Defending Big East Conference champion Pittsburgh against league newcomer Louisville, the team picked ahead of Pitt in the preseason as the league favorite.

"All year and all summer we worked hard, and we had this thought that Pittsburgh would be the game that would determine how the season would go," Louisville wide receiver Joshua Tinch said. "It's still the game that will determine how our season will go."

Perhaps, but not for the reasons many expected. Losses by No. 24 Louisville (5-2, 1-2 Big East) and Pitt (4-4, 3-1) have taken some of the luster off the matchup, but the game at Louisville tonight still has bowl implications for both teams.

Pitt lost its first three games — including a 16-10 overtime stunner against Ohio — under new coach Dave Wannstedt en route to a 1-4 start. The Panthers since have rebounded with three straight league wins and, if they win out against Louisville, Connecticut and No. 18 West Virginia, Pitt could repeat as the Big East's Bowl Championship Series representative.

If nothing else, Pitt could use a win to move a step closer to being eligible for what would be its sixth straight bowl trip.

"If we're going to make anything of this season for the remaining three games, this is a great opportunity for us," Wannstedt said. "That's how I'm looking at it, and that's how I think our football team is looking at it."

But Wannstedt cautioned about looking too far ahead.

"When we come here, our players and coaches and everybody that's been around this sport, we know we're in no position to look any further than this week, and that's how we're approaching it. We really need to look real close at ourselves and make sure we look back at the last few games."

Louisville, touted by some during the preseason as a national-championship dark horse, lost its first two league games to South Florida (45-14) and West Virginia (46-44 in three overtimes), which effectively took the Cardinals out of the Big East race, at least for the time being. Louisville bounced back from the loss at West Virginia to record its first league win, thumping Cincinnati 46-22 on Oct. 22.

Louisville needs only one more win to become bowl-eligible. The game tonight will be the Cardinals' first home conference game of the season. Only three other teams — North Carolina State, Clemson and Georgia — played their first three league games on the road.

"We're fighting that a little bit," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. "To not open the conference at home until Nov. 3 is tough. You would have liked to have had some conference games earlier in the year but there's not a lot you can do about it."

There's been a distinct difference between Louisville's offensive output at home and on the road. In their three home games, against Oregon State, Florida Atlantic and North Carolina, the Cardinals are averaging 64.3 points. On the road, in four games against Kentucky, South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati, they're averaging 33.8 points.

"You have people that say, do you call the game more aggressive at home than you do on the road? You look back at the number of calls made, and I don't know," Petrino said. "I know that we have been very fortunate to get a lot of turnovers at home and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and I do think the crowd has helped us a lot."