PITTSBURGH — After watching his team limp to a pair of losses to Rutgers and Utah that included all of one offensive touchdown, Pitt coach Todd Graham decided it was time to give his players a history lesson, a very recent one.

A year ago, Connecticut lost its first two Big East games then ripped off five straight to claim the conference title and earn the school’s first trip to the Fiesta Bowl.

There’s no reason the Panthers (3-4, 1-1 Big East) can’t do the same, Graham said.

“It’s just about a belief in yourself, a belief in your team,” Graham said.

Of course, Pitt is hardly the only team looking for inspiration in the wide-open Big East.

The Huskies (3-4, 1-1) — who travel to Heinz Field in a rare Wednesday night game — think they’re still alive too despite a sometimes bumpy coaching transition from Randy Edsall to Paul Pasqualoni.

The Huskies, like the Panthers, have had major difficulty getting to the end zone. UConn hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown since losing to Western Michigan more than three weeks ago.

Yet the Huskies found a way to beat reeling South Florida 16-10 on Oct. 15, the kind of solid if not aesthetically pleasing victory the program racked up with regularity under Edsall.

Now UConn thinks it’s right back in it. Another loss for either team, however, and it likely means the opposite.

“It’s definitely a big game for both of us,” UConn quarterback Johnny McEntee said. “It could turn either of our seasons around, so it’s important we come out with a win.”

Something both teams need badly. Pitt appeared to have discovered the rhythm of Graham’s “high octane” offense a month ago in a 44-17 pasting of USF, a game in which the Panthers rolled up 523 total yards. They’ve managed 391 in the eight quarters since, including a paltry 120 in a 26-14 loss to Utah.

Graham promised to regroup and stop the two-quarterback tango between junior Tino Sunseri and freshman Trey Anderson, giving Sunseri a vote of confidence even though he’s thrown for more interceptions than TDs.