PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh spent most of the first three quarters doing everything it could to lose. Afterward, the Panthers did all they needed to rally from 15 points down to beat Connecticut.

Dan Hutchins kicked an 18-yard field goal on the final play and Pittsburgh pulled off the biggest comeback in coach Dave Wannstedt's five seasons, beating the Huskies 24-21 on Saturday.

"We kept pushing on, we never hung our heads and said this game's over," tight end Nate Byham said. "We didn't give up or hang our heads."

Pittsburgh's Bill Stull went 21 of 31 for 268 yards and two touchdowns despite missing three open receivers in the end zone during the first half and throwing two interceptions, one for a touchdown. Dion Lewis, a freshman who is the nation's No. 6 rusher, ran for 158 of Pitt's 221 yards rushing.

UConn never got any offense going in the fourth quarter while being outgained 147-6 and punted on its final two possessions. After the second punt, Pitt (5-1, 2-0 in Big East) spent the final 6 minutes, 14 seconds on a 74-yard drive that ended with Hutchins' third field goal, one play after Stull couldn't score from the 1 on third-and-goal.

"If you want to win, you've got to quit making mistakes and start scoring some points and coming together as one," said Stull, who was booed in the first half. "You've got to let it go, forget the past and create the future by taking care of the present."

Connecticut (3-2, 0-1) led 21-6 after Andre Dixon scored on a 2-yard run to end a 61-yard drive with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter.