Pittsburgh caps 10-win season

Pittsburgh hasn't won this many games since Dan Marino was the quarterback. The only player in school history to rush for more yards in a season than freshman sensation Dion Lewis is somebody named Tony Dorsett.

Thanks to a late-game rally in front of a hostile crowd, the Panthers made a strong case they've returned to prominence.

Lewis rushed for 159 yards and a touchdown to move up in the record book, and Dan Hutchins kicked a 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds left, giving 17th-ranked Pitt a 19-17 victory over North Carolina on Saturday in the Meineke Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.

Winning 10 games for the first time since the Marino era in 1981, Pitt (10-3) overcame a disappointing loss to Cincinnati three weeks ago that cost it a spot in a BCS bowl.

"It's back," Lewis said of Pitt football, moments after he was voted bowl MVP. "We're not satisfied with just 10 wins. We want to get more next year."

The last win in 2009 required a remarkable 17-play drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, included a key fourth-down conversion, a costly penalty against North Carolina and 13 runs by the dynamic Lewis.

Eclipsing Dorsett's freshman rushing record of 1,686 yards in the first quarter, Lewis also moved past Craig Heyward into second on the school's single-season list with 1,799 yards. Dorsett rushed for 2,150 yards in 1976 when he won the Heisman Trophy and Pitt won its last national title.

"It's tough to describe what Dion has accomplished," coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He's special."

T.J. Yates threw 2 TD passes to Greg Little, but his incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 from his own 49 with six seconds left sent the Tar Heels (8-5) to their second straight loss.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Martin Ward ran for 2 touchdowns in the first half, and Marshall held off Ohio 21-17 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Detroit. DeQuan Bembry's interception with 40 seconds left sealed the victory for the Thundering Herd (7-6), which led by 3 TDs midway through the second quarter. The Bobcats (9-5) rallied with Shannon Ballard's 75-yard return off a fumble in the second quarter, Terrence McCrae's TD catch and Matt Weller's field goal. Ohio had chances to complete the comeback but was stunted on the drive before its final possession.

Emerald Bowl: Matt Barkley threw touchdown passes to Stanley Havili on Southern California's first two possessions and added a touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help the Trojans beat Boston College 24-13 in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco. The victory was far from impressive but it did put a positive ending on a disappointing season for USC (9-4). The Trojans, in an unfamiliar bowl setting after making it to the Bowl Championship Series the past seven years, made the most of it, handing Boston College (8-5) its second straight bowl loss after an eight-year bowl winning streak.