CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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 ran 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 yesterday in the Meineke Bowl.

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 9 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 two touchdown passes to Greg Little, but his incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 from his own 49 with 6 seconds left sent the Tar Heels (8-5) to their second straight loss.

Yates was 19 of 32 for 183 yards and an interception while Little caught seven passes for 87 yards and Ryan Houston ran for 83 yards.

But North Carolina's defense, which came in sixth in the nation overall and ninth against the run, struggled to contain Lewis and continued a trend of struggling to close out games over the past two seasons under coach Butch Davis.

"I don't think we played as smart as we needed to," Davis said.

PITTSBURGH 0 13 3 3 — 19

NORTH CAROLINA 7 3 7 0 — 21

First Quarter

NC—Little 15 pass from Yates (Barth kick), 6:57.

Second Quarter

Pitt—FG Hutchins 31, 14:11.

Pitt—Lewis 11 run (Hutchins kick), 11:08.

NC—FG Barth 37, 1:05.

Pitt—FG Hutchins 37, :00.

Third Quarter

Pitt—FG Hutchins 42, 9:11.

NC—Little 14 pass from Yates (Barth kick), 4:00.

Fourth Quarter

Pitt—FG Hutchins 33, :52.

A—50,389.

          Pitt NC

First downs 17 18

Rushes-yards 36-129 29-81

Passing 163 183

Comp-Att-Int 17-24-0 19-33-1

Return Yards 23 28

Punts-Avg. 2-45.0 3-41.3

Fumbles-Lost 4-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 4-26 8-78

Time of Possession 29:25 30:35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Pittsburgh, Lewis 28-159, Graham 2-0, Stull 4-(minus 13), Team 2-(minus 17). North Carolina, Houston 24-83, Little 1-31, Boyd 1-(minus 11), Yates 3-(minus 22).

PASSING—Pittsburgh, Stull 17-24-0-163. North Carolina, Yates 19-32-1-183, Team 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING—Pittsburgh, Shanahan 5-83, Dickerson 4-21, Baldwin 3-31, Hynoski 3-20, Byham 1-9, Lewis 1-(minus 1). North Carolina, Little 7-87, Highsmith 3-38, Pianalto 2-26, J.White 2-17, Houston 2-8, Barham 1-4, Boyd 1-4, D.Jones 1-(minus 1).