Pitt ends road woes with win at Cincinnati
CINCINNATI (AP) – The only thing more shocking than Derek Kinder’s catch-and-run was the result it produced: Pitt finally won one on the road. Kinder turned Tyler Palko’s sideline passes into a pair of long touchdowns in the third quarter, helping Pittsburgh end its road woes Friday night with a 33-15 victory over Cincinnati.
As with most of the Panthers’ excursions, this one ended with a little excitement. Palko’s fumble helped Cincinnati (1-1, 0-1 Big East) cut it to 26-15 and get the ball back in the closing minutes.
Unlike any of their road games last season, this one had a happy ending.
“It sure beats a year ago,” coach Dave Wannstedt said.
Credit Kinder.
The junior receiver turned a short pass into an 80-yard score on the first play of the second half, avoiding two tacklers along the way. Minutes later, he ran past a defender for a 55-yard touchdown that put Pitt (2-0, 1-0 Big East) in line for its first road victory since the end of the 2004 season.
Kinder, who has fast become Palko’s most dangerous option, had three catches for a career-high 172 yards.
“Coming into the season, everybody thought I’d be just a possession receiver,” he said. “I’m showing everybody I can do a lot of things.”
Palko threw three touchdown passes for the second straight game, going 11-of-21 for 267 yards. The senior quarterback also had three during an opening 38-13 win over Virginia, including a 72-yarder to Oderick Turner and a 78-yarder to Kinder.
Two long plays broke this one open.
“That’s the weakness in their defense,” Palko said. “They’re so aggressive, they leave their cornerbacks one-on-one. We didn’t panic. That’s the most important thing of anything.”
Facing Cincinnati’s blitz, Palko found Kinder uncovered near the left sideline on the first play of the third quarter. Kinder headed upfield, broke out of an attempted shoulder tackle by Antoine Horton, slipped past safety Haruki Nakamura and outran him across the field for the 80-yard score that stunned everyone.
“I was real shocked,” Kinder said. “It was just a little dump-off pass. They lost track of me. I cut back and saw nobody was there. I was real surprised.”
Kinder then beat cornerback John Bowie down the sideline for his 55-yard touchdown, which put Pitt in control 23-0.
Pitt ended the road slump in its first visit to Cincinnati since 1922. The Panthers were 0-5 on the road last year, a slide that began with a shocking visit to the other corner of Ohio. The Panthers lost to Ohio 16-10 in overtime, when Palko’s pass was returned for a touchdown.
He had the right touch in this road opener, dramatically changing a game that had been dominated by defense.
“You’ve got to give Palko credit,” Cincinnati coach Mark Dantonio said. “He was right on the money a couple of times. They made two great catches.”
The first half bogged down in a routine: Cincinnati would get a couple of first downs, stall around midfield, then pin the Panthers with a punt. Pitt’s first five possessions started at its 15, 26, 15, 2 and 17.
An alert defensive play broke the pattern.
Cornerback Kennard Cox saw Dustin Grutza setting up a screen and intercepted at the Cincinnati 18-yard line. Two plays later, Palko faked a handoff, faked a throw down the middle and perfectly led Turner to the right corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown with 1:49 left.
It was the first score allowed this season by the Bearcats’ maturing defense, which was one of the nation’s youngest last year. Cincinnati opened the season with a 31-0 win over Eastern Kentucky, its first shutout in 11 years.
Pitt’s defense has come a long way, too. The Panthers held Cincinnati scoreless until a fumbled put set up a 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
A botched handoff by Palko resulted in a fumble that helped Cincinnati make it close at the end. Grutza threw a touchdown pass that made it 26-15 with 4:35 left, and the fumble gave the Bearcats one last chance.
Grutza threw a completion that was initially ruled a first down, but the ball was moved back after the play was reviewed. Grutza then was stopped on fourth-and-inches at the 8.
Darrelle Revis’ 57-yard interception return with 4 seconds provided Pitt’s final points.