Pitt's offense came to life in a 27-16 win against Buffalo Saturday, but the players know there is still room for improvement.

The Panthers have two weeks to work on their offense and to add a few wrinkles before they take on Big Ten Conference opponent Iowa Sept. 20 at Heinz Field.

"I think what we showed is we can be a very versatile offense and we have a lot of weapons," tight end Nate Byham said after a win against Buffalo. "I think that is the thing we can do over the next two weeks -- just continue to work on getting everyone involved. You saw [Saturday], we had tight ends catching passes, we ran some reverses, we had Shady [McCoy] going -- we got everyone involved.

"But the best thing is ... we have a new quarterback, a newer offensive line and some other new guys so we're only going to get better and better. We just have to work hard."

To be sure, the Panthers were by no means declaring themselves to be all the way back after their loss to Bowling Green. The team still wasted several opportunities to score, didn't run the ball as well as it wants to and dropped key passes.

In terms of growth from Week 1 to Week 2, it was certainly a step forward.

That starts with quarterback Bill Stull, who looked more confident and made much better decisions. He took command of the offense at critical times during the game.

Stull completed 22 of 33 passes for 241 yards and led the team on three scoring drives in the second half. He did not direct a scoring drive in the second half against Bowling Green.

"I think a big factor with Billy was he had a lot more protection," said Byham. "The offensive line gave him more time to throw it, we did a better job of catching it and you could see he gained confidence, almost every play out there. Again, we have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of weapons and we can be diverse and that is a key."

Diversity and versatility also were keys to the success against Buffalo as seven receivers caught passes from Stull. Pitt ran two versions of the reverse, including one to tight end Dorin Dickerson and kept the Bulls off balance with a good mix of run and pass (31 runs, 34 passes).

While the Panthers blocked better for Stull, they blocked better for McCoy as well. McCoy rushed for only 71 yards on 23 carries against Bowling Green, but he ran 20 times for 93 yards against Buffalo and scored three touchdowns.

"The running game is just scratching the surface," McCoy said. "But we're getting there. A lot of this is just timing and coming together and figuring it all out. We're going to be OK, we just need to keep together. Nobody got down or pointed fingers after the loss, we're in this together, we have a lot we think we can accomplish."

The Panthers limited turnovers against Buffalo, something that Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh emphasized all week. The Panthers had four turnovers against Bowling Green, but only one against Buffalo. That was an interception at the end of the first half of what was a desperation pass by Stull.

Wannstedt said the Panthers played with the kind of urgency and intensity that they hadn't shown in the loss against Bowling Green.

"If you turn the ball over, you have a tough time winning," Wannstedt said. "I thought our players protected the ball well but overall it was a game that our older players showed great leadership. We did what we had to do to win the game and our younger players got a lot of experience.

"Hopefully, it instills what it takes to win a football game."