Following a loss to Youngstown State of the FCS to open the 2012 campaign, the Pittsburgh Panthers slipped farther into their early season hole after a one-sided loss to Cincinnati on Thursday night, 34-10.
Pitt never really made the game a contest, as they fell behind to the Bearcats early while surrendering big plays and coughing up turnovers in the process.
Things are only getting worse, writes SB Nation's Pitt blog, Cardiac Hill:
There's not even a good place to start and how a team that's been at least mediocre the past two seasons can completely sink to the depths of possibly one of the worst teams in the FBS is beyond me.
Over at ESPN's Big East Blog, Matt Fortuna writes that head coach Paul Chryst's tenure is certainly off to a bleak start:
Pitt needed to get back on the field and put a season-opening, two-touchdown home loss to an FCS team behind it as quickly as possible. Instead the Panthers were outplayed from start to finish, kicking off the Paul Chryst era with a pair of ugly losses.
Pitt's next chance to turn the season around comes with another stiff challenge when they face Virginia Tech on Saturday, Sept. 15.
For more on Pitt football, check out Cardiac Hill.