Palko sharp in opener as Pitt routs Virginia, 38-13
PITTSBURGH – Pitt entered this football season with question marks at many positions due to the number of youngsters expected to contribute, but head coach Dave Wannstedt had no worries about his veterans. They proved him right Saturday night by spearheading the Panthers’ 38-13 win over Virginia in their season-opener at Heinz Field in front of 46,758. “This game was a direct reflection of our seniors and team leaders because they refused to be beat in this game,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t know what would have happened in this game last year or how we would have bounced back from some adversity, but we certainly continued to play hard in this game.”
The only adversity the Panthers really faced was late in the second quarter. Pitt was already ahead 17-3 after Tyler Palko hit Darrell Strong with a 1-yard shovel pass for a touchdown and also hit Oderick Turner on a 72-yard score. Conor Lee sandwiched a 38-yard field goal in between.
The Panthers chose to try for more points before halftime rather than run out the clock, but Palko threw an interception near midfield on a broken route and it was returned to Pitt’s 8-yard line.
The Cavaliers responded with a touchdown to close the gap to 17-10 before the half, but they would get no closer in the second half as the Panthers pulled away.
Palko led the charge on offense by completing 17 of 22 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He completed his first seven passes to six different receivers.
“Since we don’t have one go-to guy this year, we need a team effort to win and we got that tonight,” Palko said. “We made good decisions most of the night as a team and we won as a team.”
Palko connected on two long touchdown strikes, including a 78-yarder to Derek Kinder in the third quarter.
On defense, senior linebackers H. B. Blades and Clint Session and defensive back Darrelle Revis played like madmen. Blades led the team with 13 tackles. Revis picked off a Christian Olsen pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown, and Session also took back an interception for a score, going 78 yards with 3:34 left in the game.
“We saw a lot of film on Virginia and felt like we knew their tendencies,” Revis said. “I was in the right coverage and when I saw the ball go up, I knew I was beating their man to the ball.”
Even the opposing head coach, Virginia’s Al Groh, recognized the role Pitt’s veterans played in the game.
“Their stars came to play and they did just that,” Groh said. “It’s almost impossible to overcome four 1-play touchdowns and expect to win.”
Pitt has now won nine of their last 10 season-openers with the lone loss in that stretch coming last year to Notre Dame.
“The most enjoyable thing about this is starting the season with a big win over a good team,” Wannstedt said. “This outcome is obviously better than last year.”
LaRod Stephens-Howling sparked the offense in the first half as he ran 17 times for 58 yards, caught 2 passes for 37 yards and returned a kickoff for 31 yards. He twisted an ankle in the second half and did not play the rest of the game, but is expected to return for Pitt’s next game, which is the Big East Conference opener, at Cincinnati on Friday.
“It’s a good start, but we know we have a long way to go,” Wannstedt said. “We’re going to get ready for Cincinnati tomorrow morning.”
Cincinnati won their opener 31-0 yesterday against Eastern Kentucky.