PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pitt coach Paul Chryst urged his players to believe they could beat Notre Dame.

The Panthers nearly pulled it off.

Pitt lost 29-26 on Saturday night in triple overtime as the Fighting Irish rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to keep their national title hopes alive.

The Panthers (4-5) have no such dreams and will need to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible, but Chryst believes his team is heading in the right direction.

Chryst said the mindset was to win the game and he has no problem with the aggressive playcalling in the final minutes that backfired and opened the door for a late Notre Dame score.

The Panthers don't have long to gather themselves. They play at Connecticut on Friday night.