PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Paul Chryst wants his players to expect to win. The tricky part is making sure that confidence doesn’t morph into overconfidence.

Too late, apparently.

Several Pittsburgh players admitted they took Navy lightly before a 24-21 loss to the Midshipmen on Saturday, telling reporters they figured the Panthers would pull away for a victory. Instead, Pitt (4-3) collapsed as Navy scored 10 points in the final 4 minutes, including the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Though Chryst didn’t get the sense his players were overlooking the Midshipmen, if they did he has no doubt on who to blame.

“That’s on me,” Chryst said. “I’ve got to do a better job.”

So do the guys on the field. Though Navy is hardly a pushover, the Panthers were favored by a touchdown. Pitt did nearly everything right in the first half, controlling the clock for over 22 minutes and keeping the service academy’s triple-option offense standing on the sideline.

A 13-7 halftime lead seemed to feel bigger. While defensive back Ray Vinopal didn’t hear any of the guys in his group talking about the game being over, he’s hardly surprised some of his teammates figured a move to three games over .500 was all but in the bag.

“I’m sure there was a bit of that on the team,” Vinopal said.