By Brett McMurphy 12/05/2009 7:03 PM ET

PITTSBURGH -- Sold-out Heinz Field was rocking.
Pittsburgh had just converted a blocked punt into another touchdown and led
Cincinnati by three touchdowns with only one minute and 39 seconds until halftime.
The Bearcats were staggering. They looked discombobulated. Quarterback
Tony Pike said they were "kind of lost out there." The Bearcats' perfect season and second consecutive Big East title was slipping away.
We'll let Cincinnati senior
Mardy Gilyard explain what happened next.
"Before the kickoff,
John Goebel ran over there, he's a quiet guy, you know," Gilyard said. "He ran over and grabbed me: 'Hey Mardy!' I was in shock. He was like 'you need to turn it up another notch! We need this! We need this!'
"A couple of defensive guys came over and they was like 'Hey Mardy, man, we just need a spark, bro. We need something.' Coach [
Brian] Kelly came over: 'He was like, listen, we need something.' I just know when I'm up-tempo and moving, I'm successful out there on the field, the team looks real good. When I'm fast, the team is fast. When I'm slow, the team is slow.
"Once I popped – once I put my foot in the ground and cut back across the field -- I was just like 'Oh man.' "
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