SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The opening drive said it all for Pitt and its offense Saturday inside… SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The opening drive said it all for Pitt and its offense Saturday inside the Carrier Dome against Syracuse.

Four rushes and two passes pushed the Panthers 71 yards in six plays as quarterback Tyler Palko ran in from four yards out, putting Pitt on top early 7-0 after one possession.

The defense chipped in, and Pitt (5-1, 2-0 Big East) never looked back. Head coach Dave Wannstedt’s offense pounded out 236 of 413 total yards on the ground and escaped Syracuse with a 21-11 win over the Orange.

“This is a big win for us,” Wannstedt said. “This isn’t one that you pencil in back in September. Maybe some people think it is, but not to the coaching staff.”

Palko completed his first 12 passes of the game en route to a 20-for-24 performance with 177 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Over his last three games, Palko has completed 83.3 percent (47 of 56) of his passes for 662 yards, which has him as the nation’s leader in passing efficiency.

“Tyler Palko has grown up and matured mentally so much in the last year,” Wannstedt said. “He’s focused on doing whatever it takes to move the sticks and I guarantee you the people at the next level, that’s what they want to see.”

Overshadowing Palko, however, was Pitt’s ability to run the football.

Despite the loss of senior offensive lineman John Simonitis last week, the offense posted its best rushing performance of the season — something Wannstedt and Palko believed was on the verge of breaking through.

“It’s funny how things work out,” Palko said after the game. “All season we’ve heard ‘Where’s the run game? Where’s the run game?’ but I said we were close.”

Starting tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling carried the ball 27 times for a career-high 221 yards, becoming Pitt’s first player to rush for 200 or more yards since Kevan Barlow accomplished the feat in 2000 against West Virginia.

Stephens-Howling’s lone touchdown run came on a 70-yard sprint down the right side of the field which put Pitt up 14-3 at the time. He also had runs of 40 and 34 yards in the first half.

“It was definitely a step backwards,” Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson said of his defensive efforts. “Defensively, the first half, we let that kid [Stephens-Howling] look like he is all-world.

“He is a good back, don’t get me wrong. He is quick and he is fast, but there were two plays that I would like to believe shouldn’t happen.”

In the third quarter, Pitt increased its lead on an 11-play, 63-yard drive that used 5:10 off the clock which was capped by a one-yard touchdown pass from Palko to tight end Steve Buches.

On the other side of the ball, the Panther defense rose up to the challenge of playing inside the loud Carrier Dome.

The Pitt defense held the Orange to under 100 yards rushing, while quarterback Perry Patterson completed 20 of 29 passes for 225 yards for one touchdown and no interceptions.

Despite the numbers Patterson put up through the air, the Syracuse offense struggled to move the ball downfield, mainly because it lost three of its four fumbles in the game.

Even with the turnovers, Pitt cornerback Darrelle Revis thought the Orange offense didn’t challenge the Panthers too much.

“Just basic plays,” he said after the game. “We studied them the whole week. They do a lot of waggles and naked passes. They got us in the beginning, but we adjusted and got them later.

“It was just basic stuff.”

Syracuse added to its final points of the game with 4:05 to play in the fourth quarter when it traveled 70 yards in five plays on Pitt’s prevent defense. Patterson completed a touchdown pass and 2-point conversion to Mike Williams for the 22-11 final.

As for the final four minutes on the clock, Pitt’s offensive line and rushing game went back to work. The team ran the ball within the five-yard line before finally taking a knee to end the game.

“That was exciting. To take a knee, that was exciting,” Palko said. “With four minutes to go and be able to run the clock out like that.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”

The Panthers prepare now for a short week as they travel to Florida for a non-conference matchup with Central Florida Friday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.